Burj Dubai completed

MrDrake · **Reply #20 on:** January 06, 2010, 03:13:21 AM

Quote from: Noname,Jan 6 2010 on 08:11 PM

That thing will be a burden on an already-collapsing economy. The UAE really isn't as rich as it would like to have others think it is. All those luxury hotels, mound-of-sand islands, and apartments were bought with the equivalent of a giant credit card, with no way to repay the huge debts, and way too much celebration. Really. Dubai will NEVER equal New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, or Rome.

Or in New Zealand....it will never be like Auckland! *pauses* Okay, so Auckland isn't as big as other places....but still! It's pretty much our biggest city, so that must compensate for something!

Noname · **Reply #21 on:** January 06, 2010, 03:24:18 AM

I'm sure that Auckland is a good place. Dubai is becoming a ghost town really fast.

And New York... at this rate, we'll never fall like Dubai has.

SouthPawRacer · **Reply #22 on:** January 06, 2010, 04:07:23 AM

Quote from: Noname,Jan 6 2010 on 02:24 AM

I'm sure that Auckland is a good place. Dubai is becoming a ghost town really fast.

I went to NZ in 2005, and visited some family in Auckland. Though I only saw the city skyline from a distance, I can tell you it's a great place. Heck, the whole of New Zealand is a great place. If I didn't love Perth and Oz so much I'd move there.

Noname · **Reply #23 on:** January 06, 2010, 04:22:06 AM

Quote from: SouthPawRacer,Jan 6 2010 on 03:07 AM

Quote from: Noname,Jan 6 2010 on 02:24 AM
I'm sure that Auckland is a good place. Dubai is becoming a ghost town really fast.
I went to NZ in 2005, and visited some family in Auckland. Though I only saw the city skyline from a distance, I can tell you it's a great place. Heck, the whole of New Zealand is a great place. If I didn't love Perth and Oz so much I'd move there.

As for me, I would never want to leave New York City. Just about anywhere else would seem like a small town, except for maybe Tokyo, and even that is not a match for New York.

Malte279 · **Reply #24 on:** January 06, 2010, 04:50:55 AM

I find this interesting. While on the one hand the tower as such is being criticized and ridiculed as unimpressive and for the egos of rich eccentrics the fact that it was built up by architects from other countries is emphasized and the hope is being expressed that the next higher tower will be in your own country.
Really it sounds like some of us too would be all to glad to join in such a silly nationalist "who has the longest?" kind of competition :huh:
I admit that I do think this tower looks fascinating, but in these times I would be a lot more impressed if a country for example invested such amounts of money to improve thermal insulation of existing buildings on behalf of the environment.

Noname · **Reply #25 on:** January 06, 2010, 04:59:26 AM

The next tower will probably be built for a legitimate reason, Malte. The USA actually has an economy that can fill a tower of that size with real businesses and jobs. Germany, Japan, China, France, even Canada have real economies with real production and a serious reason to build such a thing. No offense meant to the Canadians.

Dubai was a place for rich people to invest in properties, expecting unrealistic returns, and hoping that prices would keep going up forever. It didn't work. Speculation and construction are not the same things as real production.

And yes, helping the environment is a more noble cause. I agree.

MrDrake · **Reply #26 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:03:05 AM

My best guess is that if they're going to build another tall as building, it'll be out of bordem, you know, they need something to do with all the money they have and would say something along the lines of "Okay, we've got this extra money....let's go build another tower, it'll pass away the time"

Noname · **Reply #27 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:06:19 AM

That's not why those towers are supposed to be built. There are actual concerns about money and return on an investment. When people invest irresponsibly, it is known as rampant speculation. I think the term used in the United States was "irrational exuberance." Anyway, the idea is that a building is to be tall because it maximizes valuable space, such as in New York City or Tokyo, as opposed to feeding the egos of a few heavily-indebted sheiks.

MrDrake · **Reply #28 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:08:47 AM

Hehe yeah, I know what you mean ^^

Noname · **Reply #29 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:10:22 AM

As it is, it takes more than a few really tall buildings to make a decent skyline. New York City has over a thousand such buildings, possibly more, depending on how it is defined. Few of them were built for someone's ego.

MrDrake · **Reply #30 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:11:46 AM

You mean like Trump Tower? Wasn't that built for Donald Trump's ego?

Noname · **Reply #31 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:17:59 AM

Note that I said "FEW of them were built for someone's ego."

He has many such towers with his name on them, and even so, they generally serve a legitimate purpose in a functioning economy. Dubai, by contrast, has less of an economy, and more of a set of bad investments which blew up in its face, like a credit card bill that can't be repaid. :blink:

MrDrake · **Reply #32 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:20:25 AM

Wait, you mean there's more than one Trump Tower?

But yeah, it seems like that for the UAE in regards to Burj Dubai. All we must do is wait and see before they loose even more money.

Noname · **Reply #33 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:22:27 AM

Yes. Trump has many towers, usually built in the legitimate expectation of returns on his investment, as opposed to just building it in the vain hopes that people would continue to shovel money into something which they couldn't hope to profit from.

Here are some of them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Interna...r_%28Chicago%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Tower_%28New_York%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_World_Tower

MrDrake · **Reply #34 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:56:52 AM

If I were to build sky scrapers, I would at least name then something different, not Trump this and Trump that

Noname · **Reply #35 on:** January 06, 2010, 05:58:15 AM

The naming of those towers is hardly original, I will grant you that.

MrDrake · **Reply #36 on:** January 06, 2010, 06:05:23 AM

Yeah, at least Burj Dubai is original....at least, it sounds original

Noname · **Reply #37 on:** January 06, 2010, 06:08:37 AM

It means "Dubai Tower." They changed it to "Burj Khalifa"; the Khalifa Tower.

MrDrake · **Reply #38 on:** January 06, 2010, 06:12:36 AM

Burj Khalifa? That does sound more original at least. At least it's not called the UAE Tower

Noname · **Reply #39 on:** January 06, 2010, 06:14:06 AM

Maybe they were hoping that by renaming it, people would buy space in it? A foolish hope.