Five years ago…

 
Five years ago this week Dezeen was in Dubai, reporting on the jaw-dropping architectural projects being proposed for the Gulf states including a raised city in the shape of a cloud, an inhabited mountain-top dam and a convention centre that resembles the Death Star.

Also in the news during our trip, which came just before the crash that led to the abandonment of many fantastical projects, were a fashion store in Bahrain by Marcel Wanders and another in Dubai by Jaime Hayon.

We were in Dubai for the International Design Forum along with speakers including Rem Koolhaas, Michael Young, Oliviero Toscani plus DJ Kreemy, the alter-ego of designer Karim Rashid, who provided the sounds at the first alcohol-free disco we’ve been to since we were in junior school.

Other projects proposed around the time of our visit – and since abandoned – include a rotating skyscraper, a skyscraper with wind-powered rotating floors and an opera house resembling an iceberg.

See all our stories about Dubai.