[malec]

A mixed-use, 86 storey tower designed by Foster and partners.
It's near the main road but not right next to it.


Old render.

http://207.44.228.232/photopost/data//500/2One_Central_Park.jpg



New renders

http://i3.tinypic.com/vo6hvt.jpg

http://i2.tinypic.com/vhucrt.jpg

http://i2.tinypic.com/vhtcft.jpg

[malec]

Construction pic by AltinD


http://i7.tinypic.com/21e71o4.jpg

[Fabb]

Foster is prolific.
He did a good job, again.

[Lecom]

Wow, massive, especially at such height. The tower is bound to make one hell of an impact on the skyline, even on a major one like they have (or will have) in Dubai.

Foster could've got rid of the louvres on the sides though.

[malec]

Wow, massive, especially at such height. The tower is bound to make one hell of an impact on the skyline, even on a major one like they have (or will have) in Dubai.

It depends which side you see it from. Most of the tall towers there are ultra-thin like rose rotana so from one side it'll look massive while from the other side it'll look like just another in the pack. It should look a bit bigger than the rest though since there are floors up to the top.

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/3338/indexvs9.jpg

[Fabb]

It should look a bit bigger than the rest though since there are floors up to the top.

A rarity in Dubai. And a good thing, too.

[wrendog]

holy cow.. that's a lot of cranes

[Thefigman]

I like this one.

[kalmia]

holy cow.. that's a lot of cranes



Dubai's Crane Crunch

24% Of World Supply May Be At Work In Mideast Boomtown, And It Needs More

By JIM KRANE
Associated Press

July 21 2006

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- New York has the Statue of Liberty. Paris has the Eiffel Tower. Dubai's symbol, for now, is the construction crane.

This Persian Gulf boomtown is more accurately described as an enormous construction site than as a finished city.

Cranes cram the skyline and line the highways, marring the view from almost any window. Their latticed booms wheel over hundreds of half-finished skyscrapers, hauling up gray slabs of prefabricated wall, buckets of wet concrete and bundles of steel reinforcing rod that resembles rust-colored spaghetti.

Building analysts say Dubai has emerged as the world's fastest-growing city, as well as its largest repository of building cranes.

"Dubai is the biggest market for tower cranes," said Klaus Binder, who heads tower crane production for the German manufacturer Liebherr. "No other city in the world has such a number. Maybe Shanghai did three or five years ago. There are growing markets in Russia, but they are not as big as Dubai's."

The frantic growth is the fruit of oil-rich investors plowing record profits into luxury real estate in this liberal and cosmopolitan city. Dubai now groans under $200 billion in projects that are either underway or slated to begin shortly, said Colin Foreman, a Gulf construction expert with the Middle East Economic Digest.

No one here seems to know how many building cranes have been aiding the city's sprawl across miles of sweltering desert dunes. But inevitably, when one of Dubai's newspapers or pundits seeks to describe the scale of the city's building boom, a crane statistic is mentioned.

In June, Dubai's Gulf News daily asserted that the city harbors 24 percent of the world's construction cranes - or 30,000 of 125,000 cranes worldwide. Less ambitious estimates range from 6 percent to 10 percent.

Binder believes that there are between 1,100 and 1,200 tower cranes in the Emirates, mainly in Dubai, which is roughly 5 to 10 percent of the world's active tower cranes - one of three varieties used in construction.

Dubai harbors many thousands more mobile cranes and crawler cranes - those on wheels or tracks.

Despite the crane-scarred skyline, Dubai needs more - far more - to complete its projects. Problem is, manufacturers can't make cranes fast enough and the second-hand market has been largely cleaned out, those in the industry say.

Rental companies in Dubai are booked solid. Gallagher International, which rents 53 mobile cranes to developers in Dubai, had leased its entire fleet last week.

"You have to say no to your customers. You cannot find cranes anywhere," said Arty Wartanian, Gallagher's general manager. "People are going to China to buy them because sources in Europe have dried up."

A recent article in Construction Week magazine said crane prices have jumped 30 percent this year and that the two major European manufacturers - Liebherr and Potain - were so backlogged that Italian and Chinese cranes were taking a growing share of the Gulf market.

A new Liebherr tower crane costs $100,000 to $1.9 million, depending on the size.

It's not just cranes that are in short supply. The simultaneous building booms in the Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, and in nearby Qatar and Bahrain have swept the market of bulldozers, excavators, pile drivers and other machinery. Prices of raw materials such as concrete, glass, steel and aluminum are soaring, as is demand for laborers and engineers.

All this is driving up building prices. "It's a classic supply-and-demand problem," Foreman said.

The 2006 Gulf Construction Yearbook estimates that $4 billion is spent each week on projects in the six Gulf Arab countries.

"I guess it's going to be like this for the next five years," Wartanian said.

[kalmia]

Construction pic by AltinD


http://i7.tinypic.com/21e71o4.jpg


what are all those blocks for in that big stack?

[malec]

^^ I think it's some sort of weight test


By Imre 2 days ago:

http://i8.tinypic.com/24x4f9f.jpg

http://i8.tinypic.com/24x4fa0.jpg

http://i7.tinypic.com/24x4fn8.jpg

http://i8.tinypic.com/24x4fnl.jpg

http://i7.tinypic.com/24xdfk2.jpg

http://i8.tinypic.com/24xdfkh.jpg

http://i7.tinypic.com/24xdfma.jpg

[Lecom]

Nice updates, but it really needs to get rid of those side louvres, or at least convert them into something useful like solar energy collectors.

If I had to buy a residence in Dubai, I'd definitely go for something else. I'd rather live in a slim ultratall sleek tower, of which Dubai has/will have more than plenty.

[Fabb]

I never noticed the art-déco towers right behind the site (photo 4). In the distance they look good... and kind of out of place.

[colemonkee]

Nice. It's starting to rise. One of the best things about this tower, and the entire DIFC project, is that it will add some depth to the SZR skyline.

[kznyc2k]

It reminds me of the AT&T Long Lines building in NYC, except this one is covered in louvres. Nice to see brutalism is back in style :rolleyes:

[Lecom]

It reminds me of the AT&T Long Lines building in NYC, except this one is covered in louvres. Nice to see brutalism is back in style :rolleyes:
But now we call it "minimalism" ;)

[kznyc2k]

Great. Leave it to the theorists to present us with the same (bad) solutions, just under different jargon. Just like how there are lots of buildings going up that look like the Javits Federal Office Building with those alternating window/metal panels. Real hip and original, guys....

[Lecom]

3 Park Avenue, New York

https://extranet.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2004/11/321605.jpg

[mightygoose]

with its name and its design it just so reminds me of halo so bad lol

[Dalton]

What is wrong with Dubai?

So much bad design with all that money to spend and cheap labor to exploit! They ought to be building the finest designs in the world - buildings so innovative and lavish (as opposed to gaudy) that they would be financially impossible in other countries. Instead, they go for sheer height and flash over substance. Most Dubai skyscrapers are cartoon architecture, a grotesque pastiche of elements from successful American and Asian designs. The city is fast becoming the equivalent of a pimps' Cadillac. The worst examples of their world-class bad architecture are hideous. But even the "good" buildings in Dubai are ever-so-slightly amiss somehow - whether it be massing, setbacks, facade colors and materials, etc. The only building that has a real chance of being something special - something Dubai can truly be proud of for something other than being the "World's Blankest Blank" - is the Burj Dubai (which ironically be the World's Tallest Skyscraper when complete).

So now "Index" is what passes for Minimalism and "distinctive elegance" in Dubai? To me it looks more like early 70s Modernism run amok, like a failed design for an overgrown EPCOT hotel that even Disney would have thought twice about slapping up.

It's bad. It's really bad.

[Fabb]

It's derived of that other building of Madrid Arena that Foster designed.

[malec]

Well, as usual with Dubai projects the renders are shit. This thing is designed by Foster and Partners so it should be good, but the only way to see is to wait

[hoosier]

Given that Dubai has many buildings with tapered tops and spires, the Index will provide balance to the skyline. I like this building a lot. It reminds me of the 1969 Chase Building in Chicago.

[kznyc2k]

3 Park Avenue, New York

You hit the nail square on its head.

[h2omaster]

looks very elegant
i like this design

[TowerPower]

I like it.

It's good. It's really good.

[malec]

A picture from september 8th

http://xs306.xs.to/xs306/06365/1d.jpg


BTW you can really see how huge this thing is in these images. I stole these from civicarts, they seem to be doing the masterplanning and they had a few pics I never saw before. There are also a few towers in there nobody knew about until now such as the 2 towers in the middle. I wonder square feet the index has.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1175/1xn0.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1xn0.jpg)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1954/2cy6.th.jpg (http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2cy6.jpg)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7947/3hd0.th.jpg (http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=3hd0.jpg)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/6876/4dd8.th.jpg (http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4dd8.jpg)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7927/5ri0.th.jpg (http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=5ri0.jpg)

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/5341/6de7.th.jpg (http://img244.imageshack.us/my.php?image=6de7.jpg)

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4466/7db4.th.jpg (http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=7db4.jpg)

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5955/8da9.th.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=8da9.jpg)


Massive Masterplan

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4995/masterplanbigae3.th.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=masterplanbigae3.jpg)

[malec]

What is wrong with Dubai?

So much bad design with all that money to spend and cheap labor to exploit! They ought to be building the finest designs in the world - buildings so innovative and lavish (as opposed to gaudy) that they would be financially impossible in other countries. Instead, they go for sheer height and flash over substance. Most Dubai skyscrapers are cartoon architecture, a grotesque pastiche of elements from successful American and Asian designs. The city is fast becoming the equivalent of a pimps' Cadillac. The worst examples of their world-class bad architecture are hideous. But even the "good" buildings in Dubai are ever-so-slightly amiss somehow - whether it be massing, setbacks, facade colors and materials, etc. The only building that has a real chance of being something special - something Dubai can truly be proud of for something other than being the "World's Blankest Blank" - is the Burj Dubai (which ironically be the World's Tallest Skyscraper when complete).

So now "Index" is what passes for Minimalism and "distinctive elegance" in Dubai? To me it looks more like early 70s Modernism run amok, like a failed design for an overgrown EPCOT hotel that even Disney would have thought twice about slapping up.

It's bad. It's really bad.
Hmm, you overcritisize everything so I bet you must be an architect :D

[DetroitSky]

I don't really love the design, but its interesting that it has floors all the way to the top. That seems to be unusual for supertalls.

[malec]

Huge:


http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7678/img3892jo1.jpg

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1329/img3896cf7.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/2263/img3897xv3.jpg

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1654/img3900ve4.jpg

[TowerPower]

With SSC down currently I guess I'll get my updates here today.

[RLS_rls]

Minimalist...pfft. I too have noticed the detachment from 'grotesque' post-modernism into the untraveled realms of modern design. Give me a break, these new glass towers are different from 70s glass towers in that they're size and features are more refined and less bulky, which ends up giving them an even more cold hearted appearance.

Now with that said...I actually love the Index. It has that heavy brutalist style from the late 70s (and, I find, late 70s early 80s sci-fi) that, to me at least, just looks truly timeless. It's futuristic, refreshing, and just really impressive. I'd rather see it in North America, even scaled down in Japan, but in Dubai it'll just be ignored by most people as 'boring, and not Kewl looking.'

[TowerPower]

I wonder if they'll give skyscraper tours of Dubai in the future. Dubai: You look up, we look forward.

[Thskyscraper]

I love this tower. Kinda looks like it's brutalist, yet not as ugly as past examples. I think this building is perfectly executed, let's see how it looks once it's completed.

[malec]

We'll have to see how it turns out with all the details and stuff. As usual in dubai the renders are shit so there's no way to judge the details.

[malec]

Updates from today

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/7493/img4155cg0.jpg

[malec]

Rediculously big!


http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/106/img4706lz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/853/img4707rm9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[malec]

http://static.flickr.com/110/278003746_68a14bce1d_b.jpg

[malec]

Gigantic!

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9462/dsc0919cr5.jpg

:)

[AltinD]

12-Nov-2006

http://i15.tinypic.com/4hw11ko.jpg


On the bottom right:

http://i15.tinypic.com/2zguotv.jpg

[rodrt121]

Foster is always been in the fore front of innovation in architecture. Index tower 's main structure is not of the typical central core system, the supports are on the sides thus giving the building a spacious open plan design from side to side. Sounds interesting. But reminds me of the project design by Oscar Niemeyer fo France Le Defense Tower in 1973. Looks pretty much design.

[ZZ-II]

i love that tower

[staff]

I saw an ad for this tower in a Shanghai magazine today. Pretty funny.

[malec]

Bloody massive! Look at the workers, they look like ants!
The "openess" of this design looks interesting. I wonder how it'll turn out in the end.

http://i14.tinypic.com/4i6kr38.jpg

[Nowhereman1280]

I don't really love the design, but its interesting that it has floors all the way to the top. That seems to be unusual for supertalls.

Maybe unusual for supertalls in Dubai and many other cities (NY included), but not for Chicago, everyone of our supertalls is all the way to the top with floors, of course that will change if CS is built.

Anyhow, I love the index, but it kinda reminds me of Chase tower in Chicago, but with fewer vertical cement butresses and quite a bit taller. I have to say this is one of the few in Dubai I am very jealous of!

Thanks for the pics Malec! Its going to be f-ing massive!

[Lecom]

So what is the point of the enormous concrete wings on the sides, besides blocking views from the narrow sides?

[Nowhereman1280]

So what is the point of the enormous concrete wings on the sides, besides blocking views from the narrow sides?

you mean the big thick things on the left and right of the building? Those are the "cores" if you can even call them that. All the elevators, stairs, and such are in there. Thats at least a creative and interesting idea, if not a really good one. Look at how much it opens up the floor space, basically no columns. Most other concrete residential towers can't say the same, look at Trump Tower in Chicago for example, its got collumns all the way around.

[Lecom]

^thanks

[malec]

The Index

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2599/img6148ji4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4448/img6149jn5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/263/img6150vy5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[rbowk]

holy now i think about itt i love it and it is massive

[M II A II R II K]

Seems to be shaping up nicely.

That street would make for an interesting walk when all those projects are complete.

[Fabb]

I've just realized that the Index is a beefed up version of Foster's Repsol Tower in Madrid.

http://static.flickr.com/27/56069469_f84ea2848b.jpghttp://i2.tinypic.com/vhucrt.jpg

Bigger is definitely better.

[Lecom]

A nice project to add dimension to Sheikh Road's linear skyline.

However, I would rather get an apartment in one of Dubai's [soon to be even more] abundant skinny residential towers, where I may get a nice place with views on about three sides and maybe a balcony or two, rather than share space in this monolith with views only on two sides.

[Nowhereman1280]

I've just realized that the Index is a beefed up version of Foster's Repsol Tower in Madrid.

http://static.flickr.com/27/56069469_f84ea2848b.jpghttp://i2.tinypic.com/vhucrt.jpg


How so? I don't see the connection?

[Alliance]

I like this building a lot. It's my favorite project in Dubai right now. I'm very excited to see it going up.

[sentinel]

How so? I don't see the connection?

well, they were both designed by Norman Foster, that helps.

[Nowhereman1280]

well, they were both designed by Norman Foster, that helps.

I know that, I'm asking about the design, I just don't see how the index is a larger, beefier version of Repsol. I'm sure Fabb has good reasons, I'm just wondering what his thinking is on that, just curious, thats all...

[Fabb]

They both have a dark facade framed with white, blind walls. The top is different, as well as the surface treatment, but that's a detail. To me, they're variations on a common theme.

[mightygoose]

damn it look straight out of halo man, even the name gah it is my favourite project in dubai

[AltinD]

25/12/2006

http://i16.tinypic.com/472g0id.jpg

[malec]

A nice project to add dimension to Sheikh Road's linear skyline.

However, I would rather get an apartment in one of Dubai's [soon to be even more] abundant skinny residential towers, where I may get a nice place with views on about three sides and maybe a balcony or two, rather than share space in this monolith with views only on two sides.

Well, most of the skinny res towers are all crammed into a tiny area in the marina so chances are you'll buy an apartment on the 80th floor and still have no views :haha:
Instead I'd love to own one in this 360m res tower which'll probably have some amazing views and also be near a metro station.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v705/altind/AlSharq.jpg

[Buck]

I like this one.... it will be nice in Dubai cos it's a bit different from most of their stuff. But at the same time, I think it's as ugly as sin. That said, I probably wouldn't mind it in my city.

[Alliance]

25/12/2006

http://i16.tinypic.com/472g0id.jpg

Its even kind of cool without the siding.

[malec]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/353412962_730425ce12_o.jpg

[LeftCoaster]

Wow Dubai's skyline really looks like a traditional cluster from that angle, pretty cool. Gets me anticipating when much more of Dubai is complete and there will be several well developed massive skylines, without the eyesore holes that exist right now.

[Bergenser]

For me, it fits perfect in Dubai.
This and the rose will create a better skyline!

[malec]

Wow Dubai's skyline really looks like a traditional cluster from that angle, pretty cool. Gets me anticipating when much more of Dubai is complete and there will be several well developed massive skylines, without the eyesore holes that exist right now.

Well, all those holes on the left of the index will be built up with towers. In fact behind where the photo was taken (burj dubai) will be even more towers. It'll take many years before it gets any way dense though since towers are not built in a cluster and then outwards but when an area is designated for highrises they'll be built in random locations until there are enough of them to create density.

[M.K.]

For my sense of Point of View, already visited Dubai last year, I see the biggest Lego construction city in the world that should be futuristic soon made by the playmobils. So, many icons there have futuristic appearance like Burj Al Arab, Burj Dubai and so on. That new icon is asking past architecture items and try to use elements of the 70's to bring contradiction to the Skyline.
Seeing as a big building, I prefer other ones more up to date, like the ones beeing building in Shanghai, other boom in new scrapers. This one is just one more very high building in Dubai as quantity at all. Considering it would be huge, impress, but only in how big it is, but not in quality- I do not see a strong postcard on it, like the others mentioned. :notacrook:

[Lecom]

I think The Index, despite its name, will make for one of Dubai's best background buildings.

[malec]

Updates by Imre


http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/46/photo1468bn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1190/photo1476ud.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2153/photo1480um.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[M.K.]

Very nice Malec, Thanks for calling. The building is getting its high. I see too concrete on it, not more a tendency in architecture up to date, but great. considering the position of it, it would be a good office use one. The pics are very nice. Let's see how high comes. BTW, have you photos from BurjDubai updated??? It is now more than half. I have only photos from the initial phase. Maybe there is a topic here. Thanks for sharing... :) :) :)

[malec]

^^ They're not my photos. I just reposted them from SSC. They belong to Imre

[mightygoose]

dayum this thing is big, despite its size it will make a great background building your right..

[Bergenser]

it's kind of massive already! :tup:

[WonderlandPark]

This one has the coolest concrete form lift system.

[Fabb]

I hope that they're not going to apply paint on the concrete.

[Thskyscraper]

I hope that they're not going to apply paint on the concrete.

You know what... I totally agree with you. Usually I'm not a big fan of these concrete massings, but it the glass is nice I think that it would actually look good.

[AltinD]

And who said that the concrete will be painted? Everything will be covered in cladding.

[M.K.]

The renderings show a treatment in white to those concrete structures, but none is said about paint. So don't worry people here. The bldg at all will be very nice when finished, although is still 70's architecture. Cladding could be, maybe some new materials as plastic panels or some ceramics. I do not know. :slob:

[AltinD]

http://www.bondrealestate.com/OffPlan_Projects/images/index.jpg

[mightygoose]

dayum that looks good....

[M.K.]

^^^^^^^^ Nice pic. I see an IBM thing on it. Some known good name company in computers if would be in West.... A cool bldg is not, impress the wall how tall it is. Some big spread name in a solid icon. :rolleyes:

[vanhenrik]

this bulding is going to be bigger then we can enagine the final hight will be 328 meters tall end look at the widnes of the bace of this bulding

compair this hight wit the Chrysler Building in new york Chrysler Building is 318.9 m at the spire

[AltinD]

^^^^^^^^ Nice pic. I see an IBM thing on it. Some known good name company in computers if would be in West.... A cool bldg is not, impress the wall how tall it is. Some big spread name in a solid icon. :rolleyes:

What in the hell are you talking about :koko: :jester:


BTW, the building reached 21st floor already.

[neverdone]

I'm loving it. It reminds of one of my favorite buildings here in Chicago:

http://www.richmangalleries.com/images/BankOnePlzaChi281.jpg

[M.K.]

What in the hell are you talking about :koko: :jester:


BTW, the building reached 21st floor already.

I mean it seems a little bit a main office building, Headquarters, from a big computer company lilke IBM- For example see IBM building in Sao Paulo. It has a little bit of it, although in Dubai the architecture is better. :D
http://www.terra.com.br/istoedinheiro/349/fotos/ibm_01.jpg

[MattSal]

I like this building. Very minimalistic.

Can't imagine why they named it The Index though...:slob:

[AltinD]

^^ It is named The Index becouse it is part of Dubai International FINANCIAL Market complex. ;)

[malec]

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6039/photo008gi6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/8725/photo031kz8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/6354/photo036qe8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2852/photo037uk9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Dac150]

That is just insane! How wide that is plus how tall its going to be. By far I think thats going to be the best building in Dubai.

[Sellu]

Reminds me of the Fortum building in Finland:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Fortum_HQ.jpg/225px-Fortum_HQ.jpg

[Ghost]

Yeah same here :)

Dubai is amazing...

[Scruffy]

delicious. thank you mr. foster

[Lecom]

How many u/g levels will it have? I counted at least 5.

[SFUVancouver]

This building reminds me of an office tower here in Vancouver. The building was built as the headquarters for timber firm MacMillan Blodel. It was designed by Vancouver architect Arthur Erickson. The picture below is the tower as it was when it was built.

http://www.arthurerickson.com/images/buildings/macblo1.jpg

[WonderlandPark]

Nice photos, but damn, are they ever going to finish that Rose Hotel tower, they have spent like a year on that spire ^^^

The Index is one of the stronger designs in Dubai, IMO, and it is AWESOME to watch going up, that concrete form system is huuuuge.

[DUBAI2015]

Is there even a core on this Monster? Can't see it

[Nowhereman1280]

Is there even a core on this Monster? Can't see it

Yes there are actually two of them... Both of the gigantic concrete edges of the building are actually cores. You know, where the tower cranes are poking out of the building. In fact those tower cranes are probably going down/coming out of the unfinished tops of elevator shafts or stairwells or something like that.

[DUBAI2015]

^ That's what I first thought!

[malec]

Feb 20th by Imre:


http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/1216/photo02tq6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5350/photo03qg4.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo03qg4.jpg)http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/1760/photo04zy8.th.jpg (http://img225.imageshack.us/my.php?image=photo04zy8.jpg)