Modern Day Babel: Saudi prince plans mile-high skyscraper!

I've said many times before in my coverage of the insane building projects in the middle east that they represent the modern day spirit of babel. This most recent project is therefore no surprise to me:

"Mile-high tower: Saudi prince promises £5bn desert spire TWICE as tall as nearest rival being built"

On a clear day, the view from the top will take in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Ocean - providing you've a head for heights.

Plans for a mile-high tower in the Saudi Arabian desert have been unveiled by the billionaire owner of London's Savoy Hotel.

At 5,250ft, the ~$10billion project, masterminded by two British engineering consultancies, will be twice as high as its nearest rivals, skyscrapers under construction in Dubai and Kuwait, and almost seven times as high as the Canary Wharf tower in London's Docklands....

.... Experts say the technical challenges are enormous. Much of the lifting will be carried out by helicopters, which will also be used as commuter transport for builders.

The tower will have to be capable of withstanding a wide range of temperatures, with its top baking in the desert sun by day but dropping to well below freezing at night.

To resist the strong winds prevalent in the area and stop it swaying, giving its occupants a form of high-rise seasickness, it will be fitted with a giant computer-operated damper.

(Estimated completion date: 2012. )

Everything new, is old. Nimrod lives.

Picture/Report: Dubai to build world's largest arch bridge by 2012

It's an example that there's truth in the saying: "the internet gods are fickle."

This summer, on a slow news day, I put together a little post titled "Proof that Dubai has more money that it can spend" and in it explained some of the incredible construction projects that the U.A.E. has undertaken there.

For whatever reason, that post is one of the most popular ones I have ever written, no doubt aided by favorable google image search rankings. So, what they heck, here's another post in the same vein.

"Dubai to build world's largest arch bridge by 2012" (click image above for full-size version):

If any real city on our planet can claim an active stake in creating the urban landscape of the future, it's probably Dubai. Artificial islands arranged in the shape of the world? Check. The world's only seven-star hotel? Check. And in 2012, it will also become home to the largest, tallest arch bridge ever.

Here's some info on the bridge as envisioned by New York architecture firm Fxfowle:

1) It's one mile long and 670 feet tall. 2) It will have 12 lanes for traffic. 3) It will cost 817 million dollars. 4) The design has Sheikh Mohammed's official stamp of approval. 5) The bridge will carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction. 6) A metro line will run across the middle. 7) Construction begins in March, with a slated completion date of 2012.

My favorite description of Dubai, instead of "urban landscape of the future", is quite simply "Babel".

... and wouldn't you know it? Also: No word on any massive language meltdowns - yet.

On a more somber note, Dubai reminds me of Babel not only for its behemoth construction enterprises, but also because there is evidently a great deal of unjust worker exploitation taking place on the work sites.

Who said Babel doesn't have modern-day applicability?

Tallest in the world, and still going strong...

The Dubai construction crew is an international hodge-podge of workers, many of them exploited. Riots and unrest have been reported from the site previously. No word on any massive language meltdowns - yet.