Land reclamation is certainly not a new thing, the Dutch have been doing it since the late 19th century out of need to control and elevate their shores, creating who knows how many square kilometers of new land. Mexico city was built on a former lake, Texcoco, in the 14th century by the Aztecs. The list goes on and on, Helsinki, Washington DC, the Chicago coastline, Battery park city in Manhattan, and the famous Kansai Airport, all have been, totally or partially, created by putting more earth into the water to extend the coastline.
When in 1994 construction started In Dubai to create the Burj-Al-Arab Hotel on an artificial island as one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. It's definitely a beautiful piece of architecture, and a powerful symbol for the evolution of the Arab Emirates, just like the Eiffel tower is to Paris or the Opera House is to Sydney. It's true that the reasons for it being 280 meters offshore are somewhat justifiable, they nonetheless started a trend, an economic and Real Estate trend, to create new land with the lengthiest coastline possible so everybody has their own beach kind of trend. I won't go into details, but the frenzy started with Palm Jumeirah, then two other palms, each one larger than the previous one, then the World, and now The Universe. All of them in Dubai, and all of them within the length of about 45 kilometers, along the original coastline of course.
After Dubai proved that this kind of enterprise was economically viable, soon all the powerful developers of the rest of the world jumped in the wagon. Here's a list of the Islands of the World:
Dutch Tulip Island: After helping Dubai create the palms, the Dutch are using the newly learned knowledge at home, creating a new polder in the north sea to protect the coastline against rising sea levels.
Federation Island: in the Russian Black Sea is just an excuse to sell new land and new beaches as a luxury leisure development.
Toronto Maple Leaf: West 8 won an international competition with an entry that includes this floating island off the coast of Toronto.
La Luna de Valencia: With the sole purpose of attracting tourism and investors to Valencia, the round shape is inspired by the moon.
The Pearl: this multi million dollar international development that creates more than 32 kilometers of new beaches is located in Qatar.
And of course, us, supposedly the healthiest economy in the Caribbean, and one of the top 5 economies in Latin America. The Dominican Republic couldn't be left behind. Back in 1995 an artificial island was proposed, with Ricardo Boffil as architect, for the coast of the capital city of Santo Domingo. It also was designed with the sole purpose of creating new, maybe more expensive, land for developers. The project was trashed because of the public's disapproval.
No comments:
Post a Comment