[ SOM & Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture ] Jumeirah Gardens

It seems no one told Dubai about the financial crisis, as new projects keep being unveiled. This time, our green friends over Inhabitat tipped us on a mega development, owned by Maraas Holding: The Jumeirah Gardens. The master plan for this project was designed by SOM Chicago, and consists of  a mixed-use development that incorporates low, medium, and high-density zones for business, residences, retail, leisure, and recreation - a city within a city, with an estimated cost of US$95 billion.

The three main towers were comissioned to Chicago based architects AS+GG (Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill), The most impressive one -and the third tallest tower in the UAE- is 1 Dubai, pictured above. The tri-partite skyscraper will be 3218 ft (981m) tall, and the towers will be connected by a series of glass suspension sky-bridges. This bridges are so big, they even grow palms on them as you can see on the further renderings. At the base of the buildings, grand arched entrances allow boats to travel underneath the building and into a central atrium space. The mixed-use development includes a hotel, residential, commercial retail and entertainment space totaling 800,000-900,000 square meters.

Next, we have Park Gate, a complex of 6 mid-rise towers facing each other to form a grand garden space and create a shaded micro climate - ad-hoc for the desert climate.

The shade is accomplished by linking the towers with a vaulted canopy structure. The space beneath the canopies is transformed into a verdant grotto. Vegetation is enmeshed with the canopies and exterior balconies of the towers, creating a highly sustainable 360 degree garden.

The result is an impressive urban hall. Each of the six towers is 30-40 stories. The development includes residential, commercial, retail, hospitality and entertainment spaces.

1 Park Avenue is a 1968ft (600m) with a fluid shape, that “[...] symbolizes Dubai’s historic relationship to water- drawing parallels to the movement of the Gulf around which the city was built and the waterways that will transport newcomers and travelers throughout the city in the future”. The mixed-use tower will have a total built-up area of 350,000 square meters.

Excavations have started, and project should be completed by 2020.

I gotta say that I´m really looking forward to visit Dubai. I need to see how this turns up with my own eyes.