Engineering Passion

  Image by: Richard MacLennan (Pinterest) Challenges and Solutions 1.   The Island Construction Burj Al-Arab was to be built on an artificial island over 6ft water, about 280 meter off the coast of Dubai. Building a 9000 tons structure over an artificial island in the sea presented an unprecedented challenge, especially in the harsh weather conditions of Dubai. To make matters worse, the architect wanted the island to be low rising above the sea level to make it look like the building is rising directly from water like a boat. This would expose the structure to the damaging forces of sea waves. Initially, a rock Island was proposed but a rock island had to rise to a considerable height above the sea level to ensure the structure won’t be damaged by the sea waves. Thus, the engineer Mike McNicholas suggested that they use hollow hexagonal concrete blocks on the sides of the island to dissipate the energy of the waves. The problem with that solution was that it had nev...

Burj Al-Arab   Image: Maddie Braswell (Pinterest) With the oil wealth of Dubai fast depleting, The City's ruler, Sheikh Muhammad bin-Rasheed Al-Maktoum envisioned a project to put Dubai on the map of the world as a tourist destination. For this to happen, Dubai needed an iconic hotel that was meant to be a symbol of beauty and luxury. At 321 meters this building is the tallest and arguably the most luxurious hotel in the world.  The Design The Sheikh wanted something so iconic that would make Dubai and essential tourist stop. For that purpose he hired a team of young, inexperienced but known for their unique designs, architects under the leadership of Tom Wright. This team did not disappoint the Sheikh by designing a building so simple and so elegant that it became the center piece of  Dubai's tourism industry. While explaining the design process, Tom Wright said: "If you could draw a building simply, with a few strokes of the pen and it was instantly recognizable as not ...