Can the experience of scaling Mount Everest be duplicated in an arid, desert market whose average annual high temperature exceeds 92 F?
Dubai is that market, and the improbable has been proposed, in the form of a 300-plus-meter-tall (984.3-foot) extreme sports tower, for which the firm 10 Design has been commissioned as the design architect. If approved, the tower would be located at Dubai’s Marina, and provide opportunities for climbing, rappelling, and BASE jumping.
News of the proposal was first reported by The Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
10 Design’s website says the waterfront site for the tower would be 106,169 sm. The tower itself would be created through an exterior hexagrid skin.
“The form morphs between two inverse triangles from the top to bottom, creating three platforms for jumping at the upper level and three open spaces at the ground for landing,” 10 Design stated. “The form is sculpted to create jumping platforms at 300 meters, 250 meters, and 200 meters. The ground floor is pushed out to create a large canopy.”
The proposed tower would attempt to reproduce the Mt. Everest experience with a series of base camps, locating a variety of extreme climbing, abseiling, and jumping activities, according to The Dubai Chronicle and other news outlets. The base and lower levels of the tower would offer training and simulation services as well as climbing walls and bungee jump towers for beginner visitors to help them up their abilities, according to the website GrindTV.com.
If this tower proposal goes forward, it might even feature ice-pick climbing, which would be a neat trick, given that Dubai’s average high temperature ranges from 75 F in January to 106 F in August.
Cost estimates and a completion date for this project were not available.
The unusually shaped tower would allow BASE jumps from 300, 250, and 200 meters above the ground. Image: 10 Design
The base and lower levels of the tower would offer instruction, simulation services, and climbing walls and bungee jump towers for beginners. Image: 10 Design
Related Stories
Cultural Facilities | Jun 11, 2018
Cultural centers: Community-based venues can be catalysts for downtown renewal
New cultural centers have sparked development in the form of new offices, restaurants, retail, hotels, business incubators, apartments, and arenas.
Cultural Facilities | Jun 2, 2018
Topping Off: Pikes Peak is getting a new Summit Complex
The 26,000-sf facility will be green, resilient, and emphasize the view rather than the architecture.
Libraries | Jun 1, 2018
New library offers a one-stop shop for what society is craving: hands-on learning
Beyond lending books and DVDs, the Elkridge (Md.) branch library loans household tools like ladders, wheelbarrows, and sewing machines.
Museums | Jun 1, 2018
The new Orange County Museum of Art will be Orange County’s largest center for arts and culture
Morphosis designed the building.
| May 24, 2018
Accelerate Live! talk: Security and the built environment: Insights from an embassy designer
In this 15-minute talk at BD+C’s Accelerate Live! conference (May 10, 2018, Chicago), embassy designer Tom Jacobs explores ways that provide the needed protection while keeping intact the representational and inspirational qualities of a design.
Cultural Facilities | Apr 16, 2018
Best in library design 2018: Six projects earn AIA/ALA library awards
Austin Central Library and the Tulsa City-County Central Library are among the top projects for 2018.
Performing Arts Centers | Feb 20, 2018
Citrus trees inspired the design of this half-billion-dollar performing arts center
SPF:architects designed the complex.
Cultural Facilities | Jan 23, 2018
BIG reveals revised Smithsonian Campus master plan
The original proposal was first unveiled in 2014.
Mixed-Use | Dec 12, 2017
A new live/work neighborhood is about to get under way in Omaha, Neb.
Walkability and recreation will be key features of West Farm.
Cultural Facilities | Nov 2, 2017
Perkins Eastman wins competition to redesign San Francisco’s Harvey Milk Plaza
The Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza unanimously selected the Perkins Eastman entry as the winner.
