So, how did the islands come to be? Dredging sand from the Persian and Arabian Gulf floors, the sand was then sprayed and "vibro-compacted" into form using GPS technology for precision and encased by millions of tons of rock for protection. This is how modern cities are built.
In conclusion, Dubai is an amazing city that uses technology to create some beautiful structures. All in all, it is a modern society that uses commerce as its main source of income.
1. It is constructed of millions of tons of rock and sand. While the desert emirate is surrounded by sand, the island was formed from 120 million cubic meters of sand scraped from the seabed. This makes it the largest single source of sand in the world.
2. Water plays a major role in the construction of Dubai, especially since 75% of the site is covered in water. Large amounts of water are needed for excavation and dumping sea sand.
3. The foundation of a building in Dubai is its basement, which can be as deep as 15 to 20 metres (50-65 feet). These basements are used for storage, and they are usually located beneath urban areas and not on land. They are usually entered through manholes that are typically placed at busy intersections, where traffic cameras can monitor who goes in and out.
4. The basement of a house in Dubai is called a "madinaty" - an underground room with a door that opens onto a street line. It is here that all household appliances, pipes, and other items that are visible outside the house should be kept. These rooms are used for storage, and they are usually located beneath urban areas and not on land.
It was built by dredging 3,389 cubic feet of sand from the Persian Gulf and spraying it into position, extending approximately 50 kilometers to Dubai's shoreline. GPS satellites were employed to verify that the sand poured in the palm tree design was precisely placed. The project took about six years to complete.
Dubai has a number of other famous landmarks, including the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa - which was built for hotel development. However, it is the Palm that attracts most visitors. It is now a major tourist attraction in its own right, with walking trails and viewing points providing close-up views of the seed pods and leaf structures of the date palms.
The trees used in the construction of the Palm were given names instead of numbers, with the largest known as "King Abdullah". They can grow up to 110 feet tall and have a trunk diameter of more than 21 feet. The average lifespan of a Palm is around 100 years.
The water source used during construction of the Palm was transferred into giant tanks for future use as needed. These days, the Palm requires about 10 millimeter of water per day for survival. During the drought, this amount increases significantly.
You may wonder how you could build such a huge structure using only sand.
In an unexpected twist, the construction of massive sand islands has the potential to alter an ecosystem. The immense dredging necessary to develop the island altered the Persian Gulf's wave, temperature, and erosion patterns, killing a square mile of coral. The death of this much coral has the potential to be devastating for marine life.
Palm Island was originally planned as a series of luxury hotels and resorts. It was also hoped that some of the money made from building these hotels would be put back into the environment through conservation programs. But development on Palm Island has been halted for now because there was not enough interest from investors to continue.
People can still visit the area where the island was going to be built, but only by boat. They are able to see what happens when a huge structure is built out in the middle of an oceanic desert and know that it will never be visited by anyone except for those who build it.
This episode shows that our actions have consequences and can affect people forever. Building something so large that no one wants to visit it makes us feel powerful but also very sad. Hopefully, one day, someone will come up with another idea for building big things that we can be proud of.
Sheikh Mohammed commissioned the Dubai Islands project in order to maximize coastal property. Dubai's palm-tree-shaped resort island created on seabed land will add to 120 kilometers of coastline. It is expected that the value of real estate on the island will rise after it is completed.
The first phase of the project was launched in 2009 by Saudi Arabia's Daman Group and China's Guangzhou Wanwail Developments. The second phase was announced in 2011 when Dubai's ruler approved a plan by Sheikh Mohammed to build two new islands. The third phase was officially confirmed in 2015 when Dubai's government announced plans for another three islands.
Palm Island will be a luxury hotel and residential area. There will be a marina, shops, restaurants, and other services available on the island.
In conclusion, Dubai Islands are being constructed to maximize coastal property while providing residents with a place to go escape the heat and dry weather of Dubai.