The Palm Islands
I think that this project is an extraordinary
example of all aspects of the Technology Education Job Clusters at work.
Let's
all think about traveling to Dubai!
“Today, there are many man-made marvels under construction. One such marvel is the Palm Islands off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. This project is an incredible feat of engineering – there art now three islands where once there was just sea! These three palm tree-shaped islands are the largest man-made islands on the planet. This huge project involves all the careers we learn about in our Technology Education class, from agriculture to science and engineering.
The Palm Islands, also called The Palm Dubai and The Palms, are the world's three largest man-made islands, which are being built on the coast of the emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The project is being handled by Al Nakheel Properties, which will increase Dubai's shoreline by 72 miles and create a large number of residential, leisure, and entertainment areas, adding to the Arts, A/V Technology, and Communications cluster.
The idea was first announced in May 2002 and the two manmade artificial palm tree-shaped resort islands are expected to maintain Dubai's position as a premium tourist destination, making them part of the Hospitality and Tourism Cluster. The two Dubai islands, The Palm Jumeirah and The Palm Jebel Ali, will be built in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk, a crown with 17 leaves, and a surrounding crescent island, the back of which forms the breakwater for the island. The island will support more than 60 luxury hotels, 4,000 residential villas for sale, 1,000 unique water homes for sale, 5,000 shoreline apartments for sale, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities, health spas, cinemas and various dive sites, adding to the Finance and Business Clusters.
The project took four years of methodical planning and studies in Dubai, ensuring that the islands would not disrupt the environment. The first stage of the development of The Palm Islands includes the construction of the land foundations, which involves sand transfer and rock placement, all of this involving the agriculture cluster. The next stage will include the building of infrastructure and services, as well as the 990 feet bridges linking the islands to the mainland, which is part of the transportation cluster. The final stage consists of the construction of homes, townhouses, and apartments, part of the architecture and construction cluster.
As incredible as it all sounds, we could be doing it! Such a mass production as this includes the clusters of agriculture, architecture, sales, business, finance, tourism, etc, all of which we learn about it Tech. Ed. Who knows, maybe one day we might be building the next great marvel.”
Credit: http://guide.theemiratesnetwork.com/living/dubai/the_palm_islands.php