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...
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