Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi

1 February 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  6 minutes

Louvre Abu Dhabi © Boubloub/cc-by-sa-4.0

Louvre Abu Dhabi © Boubloub/cc-by-sa-4.0

Saadiyat Island (for “Island of Happiness”) is a natural island and a tourism-cultural environmentally friendly project for Emirati heritage and culture that is located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The project is located in a large, low-lying island, 500 metres (1,600 ft) off the coast of Abu Dhabi island. A mixed commercial, residential, and leisure project is currently under construction on the island. When completed, Saadiyat Island is expected to become Abu Dhabi’s cultural centre, mostly for the Island’s Cultural District that is expected to include eight museums. Due to the Corona pandemic, some projects have fallen noticeably behind schedule, but are now on the way to completion.   read more…

Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi

20 August 2023 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Abrahamic Family House model © flickr.com - U.S. Embassy Jerusalem/cc-by-2.0

Abrahamic Family House model © flickr.com – U.S. Embassy Jerusalem/cc-by-2.0

The Abrahamic Family House is an interfaith complex on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The undertaking was inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis on behalf of the Catholic Church and Ahmed El-Tayeb on behalf of the al-Azhar Mosque on Feb. 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi. It houses the St. Francis Church, Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue in separate structures.   read more…

Sir Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi

26 April 2022 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Ismail.alghussein/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Ismail.alghussein/cc-by-sa-3.0

Ṣīr Banī Yās is a natural island located 170 km (110 mi) southwest of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It lies 9 km (5.6 mi) offshore from Jebel Dhanna, which serves as a crossing point to other islands such as Dalma. Sir Bani Yas is 17.5 km (10.9 mi) from north to south and 9 km (5.6 mi) from east to west, making it the largest natural island in the United Arab Emirates. Located just off the shore of the western region of Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas was originally home to Arabia‘s largest wildlife reserve. Spanning over 87 km² (34 sq mi), the reserve was established in 1977 by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Thanks to decades of conservation work and ecological investment, it is now home to thousands of large free-roaming animals and several million trees and plants. A bird sanctuary as well as a wildlife reserve, Sir Bani Yas showcases nature through activities such as adventure safaris, kayaking, mountain biking, archery, hiking and snorkeling.   read more…

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

1 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Architecture, House of the Month Reading Time:  3 minutes

Sheikh Zayed Mosque seen from the courtyard © Wikiemirati/cc-by-sa-4.0

Sheikh Zayed Mosque seen from the courtyard © Wikiemirati/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The largest mosque in the country, it is the key place of worship for daily prayers, Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid, it may be visited by more than 41,000 people. The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1996 and 2007. It was designed by Syrian architect Yousef Abdelky. The building complex measures approximately 290 by 420 m (950 by 1,380 ft), covering an area of more than 12 hectares (30 acres), excluding exterior landscaping and vehicle parking. The main axis of the building is rotated about 11° south of true west, aligning it in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.   read more…

The European Union: Real Estate and Demography

25 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Architecture, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union, Living, Working, Building Reading Time:  467 minutes

(Latest update: 22 August 2022) First, there is not THE real estate market – not national and certainly not international. In fact, the market situation is very fragmented due to the general conditions, in other words, many individual markets, collectively referred to as “the market”. Metropolitan Area A faces different challenges than Metropolitan Area B and Metropolitan Area C can not even understand what A and B are talking about. Where there is comparability, is the housing situation in the “affordable segment” in urban centers in all western EU states, the US and Canada. This is where the call for the state, which should intervene regulatively, quickly becomes louder. In free market economies, however, this is on the one hand not wanted and therefore on the other hand, only limited possible. That’s pretty okay, because the market is inherently profit-oriented and that’s just what it will stay, otherwise investment incentives for new construction would sooner or later be completely absent. The “rental price brake” (Mietpreisbremse) exemplifies the problem. At the same time, more and more social housing is being let out of the rental price brake without replacement investment being made. In the following, single aspects are examined in more detail using the example of Germany, whereby the scenarios also apply to other western countries such as the EU states, the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, but also, e.g., to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul in South Korea, Tel Aviv in Israel and other emerging metropolitan regions around the world.   read more…

Louvre Abu Dhabi

1 May 2019 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Architecture, House of the Month, Museums, Exhibitions Reading Time:  16 minutes

© Phpeter/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Phpeter/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an art and civilization museum, located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The museum was inaugurated on 8 November 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Arab Emirates Vice President Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The museum is part of a thirty-year agreement between the city of Abu Dhabi and the French government. The museum is located on the Saadiyat Island Cultural District.   read more…

One57 in New York

1 October 2018 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, House of the Month, New York City Reading Time:  13 minutes

© flickr.com - Anthony Quintano/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Anthony Quintano/cc-by-2.0

One57, formerly known as Carnegie 57 and nicknamed “The Billionaire Building”, is a 75-story (marketed as 90-story) supertall skyscraper at 157 West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in the Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Upon completion in 2014, it stood at 1,005 feet (306 m) tall, making it the tallest residential building in the city for a few months until the completion of 432 Park Avenue. The building has 92 condominium units on top of a new Park Hyatt Hotel with 210 rooms, which is set to become the flagship Hyatt property. The building’s developer is Extell Development Company, the contractor is Lend Lease Project Management & Construction, and the architect is Christian de Portzamparc. As of January 2015, it is home to the most expensive residence ever sold in New York City.   read more…

Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi

27 August 2018 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  3 minutes

© reem-island.ae

© reem-island.ae

Reem Island is a natural island 600 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi island. Sorouh Real Estate, Reem Investments, and Tamouh are independently developing parts of the island with projects like Shams Abu Dhabi. Reem Developers define the overall dimensions of the project as 6.5 million square metres and investment costs as exceeding $30 billion. The project has gained international interest as one of the first free zones in Abu Dhabi, where foreign nationals can buy property as leasehold.   read more…

Theme Week United Arab Emirates – Emirate of Abu Dhabi

24 February 2018 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Abu Dhabi view from Marina village © panoramio.com - patano/cc-by-sa-3.0

Abu Dhabi view from Marina village © panoramio.com – patano/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the largest emirate by area (67,340 km2), accounting for approximately 87 percent of the total land area of the federation. Abu Dhabi also has the largest population of the seven emirates. The population is at 2.8 million, of which less than 20% are Emirati citizens. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the emirate, after which it is named, as well as the capital of the federation. Main cities and towns are Abu al Abyad, Al Ain, Al Shahama, Al Tawelah, Al Shalelah, Al-Aryam Island, Al Shamkha, Bani Yas City, Ghayathi, Ghantoot, Habshan, Al Wathba, Al Mu’azaz, Al Ad’la, Swehan, Halat Al Bahrani, Khalifa Port, Liwa Oasis, Madinat Zayed, Marabe al Dhafra, Marawah, Port Zayed, Ruwais, Sila, Sir Bani Yas, and Tarif.   read more…

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