June 14th, 2007

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The Cloud is a speculative design for a resort city elevated 300 metres in the air above Dubai and supported on slanting legs resembling rain.

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Designed by Nadim Karam of Lebanese architect Atelier Hapsitus, the concept was presented at the International Design Forum in Dubai last month.

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We’ll update this post with more information about the project soon. Update 18/06/07: below is some text about the project from Atelier Hapsitus, plus details of the new book about The Cloud:

The Cloud, the Desert and the Arabian breeze

At the forefront of the few cities today experiencing exponential growth, Dubai is the ultimate city of mutation. Within its constantly-changing scenery and infinite growth-scale, Dubai needs a dream expressing its current transient phase. If cities can dream, does Dubai have a dream?

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The Cloud of Dubai is one of a series of Gulf region projects created by Nadim Karam and Atelier Hapsitus. It is inspired by the nomads, whose lives were defined by the rigours of their relation to sun, water and sand, and whose travels followed the borderless movement of clouds. The Cloud is a trip, a playful adventure in the city. It is a horizontal presence on an elevated platform, an antithesis to the sum of skyscrapers spreading over the entire region. The Cloud is a dream, suspended between artificiality and reality.

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Above: plan

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Above: plan sketch

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Above: section

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An essentially sustainable project standing at a height of approximately 300 metres, the Cloud is a 20000m2 landscape-in-the-sky comprising a lake, gardens, rotating bridges, spiraling walkways and terraces, an auditorium and sky-sports platform. The Cloud is approached on ground level from an esplanade with a pool reflecting a forest of inclined columns reaching up to the huge, translucent floating island. Access to the Cloud is gained through a few non-inclined tubular shafts, which double as structural support. In collaboration with ARUP AGU (Advanced Geometry Unit), significantly creative technological solutions are being developed for its realization.

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Published in May 2007 by Booth-Clibborn Editions, London, 2007, ‘The Cloud, the Desert and the Arabian Breeze’ by Nadim Karam & Atelier Hapsitus presents the Cloud through a narrative whose protagonist explores Dubai, seeking a dream for the city.

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Posted by Marcus Fairs

94 Responses to “The Cloud by Atelier Hapsitus”

  1. Ben Peake Says:

    wow… this would be amazing!

  2. VIDAL Says:

    .
    .
    .
    IMPRE$$IONANTE!!!
    O QUE MAIS ESTE PESSOAL VAI INVENTAR?
    ESPERO QUE SEJA CONSTRUÃ?DO O QUANTO ANTES.
    .
    .
    .

  3. VIDAL Says:

    .
    .
    .
    IMPRE$$IVE!!!
    WHAT MORE THESE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO INVENT?
    I HOPE IT WOULD BE BUILT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
    .
    .
    .

  4. foreverdelayed Says:

    such a great idea, i hope this get built. UAE has the real visions

  5. leonardo Bercovich Says:

    Its wonderfull. but you youd check the winner of the 2006 Architecture competition of ChanChan organized by Arquitectum, it handles a similar concept.

  6. Toby Horrocks Says:

    Don’t be ridiculous. How is this helping the energy/climate crisis? It is rubbish!

  7. FayeKane Says:

    Typical postmodernist BS.

    — Faye Kane, homeless smartmouth — see more of my smartmouth opinions at blog.myspace.com/fayekane

  8. pina Says:

    ugly … ugly

  9. chopchop Says:

    It’s going to look pretty lame after the structural engineer gets a hold of it and adds the lateral bracing to those columns.

  10. frank ling Says:

    When people cant distinguish between cartoon/metaphor & architectural vision/work of art,it’s a sign of rancid decadence. It’s not even funny! How disappointing & sad.

  11. frank ling Says:

    on 2nd thought,it may just work…if the author/client grew a super-bean & hire a giant for a tenant.best of luck.

  12. bob Says:

    I can’t figure out why the architect did not design the emergency stairwells in a zig-zag “lightning” pattern. Perhaps he thought that would be “too much”.

  13. Anita Says:

    ……………pie in the sky………

  14. PPatrício Says:

    So silly that it’s almost cool!

  15. hju Says:

    It doubles as a cricket ground too?

  16. Fuhrer BFG Says:

    This is a wonderful concept, but in reality, it is extremely flawed. According to the plans, there would have to be massive weight shifts so that the thing will not come crumbling down killing everyone. For another, there would have to be at least one major brace going the opposite way of the others, That does not completely eliminate it, but maybe they could make it look cool, like have a lightening bolt shoot out of the far edge and make it a support, you know? Lastly, there was no way mentioned about how to get up there. An elevator would be logical, but that would be a tad awkward, and may even screw up the magical look of it. For another thing, if people are going to live up there, they would have to be either a) self sufficient, which is hard to do on unnatural earth, and high in the air, or b) have a almost constant supply of materials coming up to them. Remember the Berlin airlift? One city. They had to have planes landing every 3 minutes completely stocked with supplies to keep the people somewhat decently nourished.

    Dreams like this are all good, but with our current materials and such, it is highly unlikely any of this can happen.

  17. Nick Says:

    An impractical pipedream…consider the massive wiring, pumps to move water up, plumbing waste pipes, and enormous air conditioning equipment (remember, this is Dubai) and assurance that the structure will be cyclone proof. I see it evolving to a fancy bar or nightclub with much lower capacity but very high cover charge!

  18. Ivan Says:

    Since money is no object, they will be using Anti-gravity units for each column.

  19. moty Says:

    this is egomaniac folly

  20. Meepz Says:

    This is cool, but it is flawed as said before.
    If it would actually work..then it’d be pretty cool.
    But, clearly, a building..shaped like a cloud 900feet in the air, and only colums to support it?
    It’ll go crashing down..and kill all the guests.
    I would want to see that. But not be in it…

  21. Sam Says:

    never has ‘pie in the sky’ been a more appropriate phrase. audacious concept, totally impractical, but ten out of ten for imagination. why not build it in 2nd life? I like the look of Dubai in architectural drawings, but to visit? nah, keep it.

  22. Engin Says:

    very unnecessary !! huh

  23. Vuk Says:

    at first i thought is was a cheeky, superstudio-type proposal. haha that clever, a rain cloud in dubai. then i realized that ARUP is working on it. we might actually see this thing go up.

  24. io1111 Says:

    i agree with the egomaniac folly statement. how is a resort city “essentially sustainable”? this design claims to be inspired by the nomads, but isn’t the whole dubai construction explosion exploiting the poor for labor and destroying the ability for nomadic lifestyles to exist in the region? in my mind, as architects we are creators of environments for humanity and thus have an enormous social responsibility. i find designing resort cities for the wealthy to be morally reprehensive.

  25. Moon Says:

    One word: PLANES!

  26. jer Says:

    juvenile and tacky, but then again so is the man-made ‘palm tree island’.

  27. Michael Maggard Says:

    An interesting idea.

    Like most ‘interesting ideas’ I doubt it’ll get built, at least not recognizably. However it does highlight the transformation of structures resulting from improved materials, computer-based engineering analysis, and some customers willing to invest buckets of money in prestige structures.

    I do look forward to other, more modest, executions of this idea.

  28. shade Says:

    Oh! So that’s what they need all of that money for!

  29. Karen Says:

    Last week’s issue of “The New Yorker” had an article on Cecil Balmond, the chief engineer at Arup. I can guarantee you that if Arup’s AGU designed this, than any structural flaws you all think you see have been addressed already. Those people are geniuses, and Balmond leads the vanguard.

    That being said, it just seems such a revolting waste of money and an example of senseless excess. At least it’s prettier than that silly housing development made in the bay in the shape of a palm tree…

  30. Yvonne Says:

    I have seen this from its inception and I know it will work - watch this space.

  31. frank ling Says:

    ..these days anything can be built;even a space holiday-resort is but a yawn..Sufficient funding can attract super scientists\technicians to construct resort stars & moons to waltz around dying Earth,blinkinking to eternity.

  32. miguelags Says:

    What a piece of crap!! What a waste of money and hard work

  33. Fernando Says:

    jajaja very awesome, cery creative

  34. AlTuRRon Says:

    OHHH, que bonito!!
    vaya pandilla de cometronchos que estais hechos…

  35. Hugo Chavez Says:

    Dis is crazy. Dubai haz to by WEPONSSS to fait de imperialism of de United Estates, not bild dis crazy tings. WEPANS, TANKS, AIRPLENS haf to by… like me.

  36. guanabano perkyns Says:

    dubai es una nota en una vaina asi es que deberian pensar los maricones chavista para desarrollar el turismo por toda venezuela y no en estar haciendo ballet rosado y todas esas mariqueras super gay que hacen pero les queda poco dios le debe tener su castigo reservado a poco tiempo de entrega

  37. Vedasri Siddamsetty Says:

    Well anything new and novel is often criticised and hated when first begun to be brought out in the open. Like was the Eifel tower this is innovation and am all for it. Way to go ppl….

  38. rocket Says:

    OH FFS its stupid,and it would/will probably kill a lot of people in a collapse.

    “lets make islands that look like palmtrees..oops its harder than we thought!”

  39. Islamabadass Says:

    Buck the Middle Feast.

  40. Susan Opton Says:

    Remember this was a competition of ideas, not reality. If someone thought this idea was worth solidifying into a reality than you have creativity at its best.
    I’m not sure I would want to vacation there though.

  41. ladyla Says:

    To call this “essentially sustainable” indicates a profound lack of understanding of what sustainability means. I’d like to see all that creativity focused on creating something truly sustainable - that would be “cutting edge”.

  42. L4 Says:

    moon (and we know *whose* planes) and f.bfg had same initial reaction i had (though Karen’s comment about arup is intriguing).

    Me: it’s somewhat good, because an uncommon concept. and concepts can lead to real work eventually.

    i see the most immediate real potential as an expensive, albeit still ridiculously expensive, shade structure for more ‘conventional’ structure below.

    even as shown, presumably the ground level area would be more populated than depicted.

  43. L4 Says:

    without yet looking up the arup reference, i recalled that deep sea drilling platforms have some trusswork near the platform, but i believe their pilings run a long ways to ocean floor with no further cross bracing. and while the ocean provides buoyancy to underwater parts, the ocean currents also impart huge forces to the underwater parts. so if oil income can pay for platform structures, perhaps it can pay for this Dubai Cloud structure :-)

    “more sustainable” in such a hot region would probably be earth insulated rather than aerial. :-)
    btw, that brown fuzzy rendering seems an odd barbershop floor depiction. (or symbolizing smog?!) :-)

  44. Atreu Cell Says:

    In it’s own way this is cool, but I can’t help of think of Battle Angel Alita when I look at this (and if you don’t know the story, ‘google it’). If you’re that lazy you can’t be bothered, the first volume of the Battle Angel Alita manga is essentially about the lucky few who live in the ‘Sky City’ vs the masses who live below, in what literally is it’s dumping ground. This isn’t that extreme, but it’s heading in that direction, is it not? After all, were the very first skyscrapers not built for the very purpose of escaping the crap on the street? (Anyone who knows even a basic amount of architectural AND cultural history will know what I am talking about).

    If they spent all the money they do on folly such as this on homeless and poor people instead, there would be much better living conditions for everyone, very few if any poor people, and the world in itself would be a much better place. But who am I kidding, if one has the massive capital to fund such frivolity, it’s unlikely one will care what fate belies the less fortunate mass.

    I wonder what Yukito (creator of Battle Angel Alita) thinks of this…

  45. Greg Says:

    Put me on the list for a condo, lower level please. I know the view isn’t as good, but i dont want to have to walk up too many stairs.

  46. Brendan Says:

    Honestly, this just feels obnoxious to me.

  47. Richard Says:

    What a fantastic idea!

    I could never imagine such an inventive way of killing poor immigrant construction workers…

  48. von Says:

    totally different but cool!

  49. avartist Says:

    Genial!

  50. Pecasso Says:

    Accident in the Making!

  51. pug Says:

    I bet my life this will never be built.

  52. mochili Says:

    Dubai is building these opulent structures to spur tourism
    they will run out of oil(cash) in 3 years
    too little too late i think,the local economy relies on near slavery now
    when the oil stops flowing i predict Dubai will be swallowed up in the sand

  53. Chris Jones Says:

    I can’t wait to visit Dubai I love every thing I’ve seen there!!!!

    from the team Inspirational Experiences

  54. Riiiight Says:

    fodaaaaaaaaaa-se

  55. Edward Says:

    if it gets built anywhere it will be in Dubai, artificial islands, artificial ski slopes now artificial cloud

  56. Banalor Says:

    Lol, I can’t help but think of the Jetsons when I see this structure. Wheres Elroy?

  57. Yvonne Says:

    what a brilliant bit of architecture. lets hope it happens

  58. Sam Says:

    Looks impressive architectually.

    From an engineering point of view, unless the rain from the cloud falls vertically, its basically going to fall down in a cloud of dust.

  59. div Says:

    How many slaves, trapped on a few $ a month will it take to build this one?

  60. Dubai Says:

    Wow is that for real? Some realy amazing buildings are coming out of Dubai.

  61. CHRISTIAN Says:

    This is by far the Dumbest Architecture idea i have ever seen. This would be the worst eyesore and the creator should be shot in the face

  62. efrosini Says:

    it looks wonderful and not an expert in order to state my opinion if this is possible or not….but since political views are arising in here and since I had working in the UAE for some time, I find I must point out to all that
    1. Yes it is a waiste of money and am sure the UAE could do so much more to help poor countries around the world, evenso, it is THEIR money and THEIRS ONLY and therefore cannot comment further.
    2. The UAE is not all Middle East (something that most U.S. population don’t tend to know or even start to understand) and the UAE is making money from it’s oil, something that is essential to all and not from selling weapons worlwide, creating conflicts between nations and starting wars where so many people have lost their lives.
    3. UAE is not stealing their capital from anyone but gaining it through trading it’s exports (making it clear once again)
    4. Nothing wrong with making dreams even when sometimes not possible. Agree on manpower which is essential for projects similar to this one and the conditions they live in but all must know (I was working on a construction site for over a year), that these manpower firms have been established in the UAE by British & American businessmen.
    5. Hopefully people may be able to dream of more practical and helpfull things and situations for the well being of humanity (prevention of starvation, stopping wars, etc.)

  63. MajiK Says:

    This would look great at about ~3-to-20 stories high connected and supported in some manner to a larger building. The “rain” could be have water made turbulent by mixing it with air (bubbles). Or it could be actually water let loose Vegas-style from the underside of the transparent cloud-shaped VIP bar that would be connected to some commercial building or hotel. Or a mixture of these solid and liquid sculptural elements…that would make for a nice spectacle along with a light show…ahem. I have a feeling it would end up being nicknamed “The Urinal”.

    The originally proposed design would have so much torsion so as to be impossible no matter how many verticals(unless the main structure was 100-150m long with a substantial enough width). 300m up with no horizontal bracing for so small a structure is insanity.

    More spit and wind from the desert.

  64. Malay Says:

    This unique project is going to be executed by the end of year 2012 and there are more to come for my beloved Dubai. It is not oil that makes Dubai on what it is today, it all comes from a vision of a great man that is turning it into a beautiful reality… The best place to ever live!!!
    Regards,
    The Art of Building Team UAE-Dubai

  65. Janson Says:

    Some people say “UAE has the vision”. I beg to differ. UAE has the money. None of the architects are from the UAE.

  66. Johan Says:

    I think people must stop beeing so critical in life, I think this might not be the most beautiful “building” in the world and might not even get built. But who am I to judge, if they get this thing built I would want to see it plainly for its Engineering and structural wonder.
    People must critisize less and work together towards architectural perfection (if there ever will be such a thing as perfection, who is the judge to perfection?), we as architects and designers have the right to dream don’t we. How else will buildings like the Burj ever been built if it wasn’t for a dream.

  67. Hammad Raza Says:

    Amazing…….increasing the beauty of Dubai comparatively.

  68. Jimmy Says:

    One more ridiculous addition to the funfare that is Dubai.
    Only time will prove that civilisation is about more than cheap (but very expensive) thrills

  69. SAM Says:

    has God created the world or is man inventing his own ?????? its yet to be seen. But seeing this the later statment seems to be coming true…and if it really happens then the statment will be confirmed….but please don’t forget He is still the owner of this entire universe…remeber the story of how man said to God, “we don’t need you now as we mastered the technique of giving birth…(cloning of human)”. God was impressed and asked for a demonstration. Man quickly got down to collect some earth to mould into the shape of a man he was to clone…God said “What are you doing, thats my earth…you first creat your own earth and then brag about being able to give life”……so guys…designers…don’t forget..don’t try to do the inthinkable that it may back fire….

  70. Ron Says:

    Go for it Dubai!

  71. Nisha Says:

    total fanatics. Ideas brought into reality which will bring value addition is good idea , otherwise its something like this. Absolutely unneccassary!!

  72. Orionsbow Says:

    No REAL structural designer or anyone schooled in physics could look at such an absurd piece of nonsense with anything more than a passing chuckle. The columns, as described, could not possibly support the weight of the living unit above as they do not appear to be load bearing in any real way. A slanted support will not bear weight on it’s apex without substantial support on the lower end in the opposite direction. To maintain structural integrity at three hundred meters up, these slanting supports need to be criss-cross braced from about midway. Otherwise, they would catastrophically fail during the building process just as soon as they received a load greater than the midpoint load bearing maximum. You can’t build things with slanted supports if they only slant in one direction unless you provide equal, opposite direction bracing. Oh, of course, this statement precludes the development of some super dense, weight bearing material developed in the near future by the Arabs. Like KRYPTONITE, maybe, or SCIFILUMINUM. Pure nonsense, just like Parisian runway fashions and haute couture.

  73. Lyzza Blues Says:

    It’s realy cool idea…Brilliant…Hope to see this soon…
    tak tercapai akal mu!!

  74. Ismail Says:

    how wil people shit?

  75. wayfarer Says:

    The Prophet of Islam said” for every nation there is a trial. The trial of Muslims is wealth ( i.e. How they conduct themselves in their wealth).” These obscene displays of wealth are scary for the Muslims and all in the dangerous world we live in.
    Allaho yahdina wa yahdihim. Aamin.

  76. shaz~ Says:

    nice…very nice~~

    me likey!!!

  77. santosh Says:

    simply mind blowing…

  78. delian mayo Says:

    Why don’t you just go play Second Life.

  79. Bryan Says:

    This is an interesting concept. If it can snow there why not have a cloud city.

    With all the starving people in the world why does no one care?

    We can waste money on anything but housing and feeding the needy.

    at least in second Life it can be done without costing anything but time in Real Life it is just silly like snow in the desert.

  80. Luís Says:

    I prefer when it’s sunny…

  81. Dion Says:

    what about the terrorists???
    one leg gone and shaboom its down in smoke

  82. arnelly Says:

    it’s a diabolically clever minds who plan and did this “clouds” .

    I’m interested of knowing the details of the structure to sustain such massive mass above.

    i wish i can go there above the cloud stepping on it surface.

  83. Woke Says:

    Hilarious.
    I do not know which is more unimaginable. The concept of the project or the Pakistani guy playing cricket anywhere near a high profile building in Dubai.

    I hope the developers of ‘Bubble city’ has nothing to do with it.

    http://wokeupjustnow.blogspot.com/2006/10/busting-dubai-bubble-city.html

  84. Muru Says:

    Really i’m looking forward this kind of design. Really wonderful and its will be going to one of world seven in the future.

    I wish a goodluck to team and UAE.

    Muru
    Singapore

  85. Greenday_obsessed Says:

    Yeah sure its an architectural innovation or whatever but all this doesn’t seem to be alleviating the inequality in the world. I don’t wanna sound like a killjoy but the US, Britain and Dubai seem to be so into wasting money on stuff that looks good and they end up forgetting starving people, slavery and working children. THIS IDEA IS A LOAD OF CRAP- GIVE THE MONEY TO POOR PEOPLE. REMEMBER THEM?!?!?!!

  86. hilarleo@gmail.com Says:

    2 words:
    Le Corbusier.
    Eye candy…
    Nouveau riche.
    Daring sculpture con/fused with human living space.
    Review what has become of Corbusier’s homes.
    Residents reject his imposed forms.
    Then the mere durability of this ‘Cloud’ concept remains to be seen. Prototype and experiment is called for.
    Environments need to be evolved via experience-
    not simply manufactured to appeal to the eye.
    Such designs made for the eye- like Acropoli- are shrine, not home.

    Consider: whats it gonna look like when the plastic ‘translucent’ crap forming the ‘cloud’ effect gets sandblasted… goes dirty … &when it goes brownish-yellow under UV exposure. Attractive or gross?

    If history is any guide, endless compromise with reality will be the norm after the warranty runs out - ie., maintenance funding will pass onto later novelties. They’ll want to put a dome over it to protect it.
    \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ * * * OTOH * * * \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
    The wealth that is Dubai could better -purrhaps more compassionately- concentrate on developing less glamorous innovations in sustainable, self-sufficient ‘Saharan’ desert economy.
    THAT would be true Futurism: a beneficial and marketable design solution addressing the 21st Century’s climate and population challenges. Not eye candy for corporate baronies.

  87. Jay Says:

    Most of you people make me sick.

    If it ever gets built (unlikely) it will be with THEIR money, not yours
    None of your taxes are going to pay for it, so you really have no say in it do you?
    They could choose to spend their oil revenue on building up their armed forces like every other middle eastern nation, but instead they put that money into building. Gee, what bastards.
    As for the immigrant workers getting low pay, the US/United Nations/God/Universe/etc. ain’t finding work for them, but at least here they have the chance to make some money.

    What’s better geniuses, having $0 (no job) or having something (work in Dubai)?

    Bloody hypocrites. Wearing your very cheap clothes, buying cheap TV’s, computers, knowing FULL WELL that they were produced in China by people working $1 a day… yet you still buy them don’t you?

  88. Nick Says:

    As an engineer, I cannot help but marvel at what stupid ideas people can come up with. Looks great in a drawing, but fundamentally flawed in almost every way.

  89. Sachin Nema-Hyderabad Says:

    I think, Here Decoration is more important then life.

    Why engineers are working for few Rich People???

    Human dont have much time left to live on earth. Why dont we utilize this money for needy of africa, south asia or inventing lifesaving drugs etc instead of decorations for few people.

  90. ángel Says:

    que buuuenooooooooooooooo

  91. gjo Says:

    lol.. a lot of ppl r gna have trouble takin their foot out of their mouth when dis one’s built.. arup’s doing it mate.. cecil knows wot he’s doing.. unbelievers, google him..

  92. ... Says:

    how could this be an architecture??

  93. Archinomy Says:

    What Dubai is doing isn’t sustainable at all. They are providing a very bad example to the rest of the world by building fancy and sparky things but missing out the real intention of living architecture…

  94. jade Says:

    There isn’t a building out here that even remotely resembles this.
    It’s all lies. LIES.
    All the other buildings are going to fall down soon anyway. The building is done so fast and carelessly it’s so rubbish.

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