Sitting on top of the Bay

Expansion of the steel during the day had to be factored into how the lift was conducted.
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One of Business Bay’s most ambitious projects, the complex U-Bora towers continue to rise from the ground. We drop in to see an enormous steel section being hoisted into place.

There was talk a couple of months ago about the UN moving its headquarters from New York to Dubai. If you read the story, then you might remember that this was fuelled by a US academic who suggested that the building that houses the talking shop was too far away from the world’s population centres, was falling down through years of over use and neglect, and anyway was resented by the majority of the Big Apple’s residents for being an expensive way to snarl up traffic on a regular basis.

The professor argued that Dubai on the other hand, was perfect for the task – and the place he suggested was most perfect, was Downtown Burj Khalifa’s Business Bay.

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Now, there is absolutely no suggestion that the UN would or has ever considered relocating to the Middle East, though the government did issue a statement saying that the body would be most welcome if it chose to come, but if it did, then we can see why the leather-patched lecturer specifically mentioned Business Bay.

Put simply, it is where most of us would aspire to work, and the sweeping, mixed-use towers are ideally suited for large organizations who want their white-collar staff to work and live in the same place.

Apart from the practical benefits, such a development is also very secure, but being a stone’s throw from the Dubai Mall and the rest of the city it will hardly feel like being confined to barracks.

Self Development
There are lots of these mixed-use projects in Business Bay, but one of the most noteworthy is the U-Bora towers.

Being built by Korean firm Bando, the project consists of a large five-storey podium onto which a curved residence building, with a roofline that sweeps from 12 levels at one end, up to 16 at the other, as well as a magnificent 56-storey office tower, with a sail-like curved side.

Every single floor of this business tower was snapped up by a foreign hedge fund firm, off-plan, back in 2006, before a single bore was cast. Meanwhile, the residence was sold in two phases to private investors.

As an aside, the term ‘Bando’ has a double meaning, as literally translated it means ‘self development’.

The build was started back in 2007, initially with Simplex acting as subcontractor. The subcontractor left site in September 2008, leaving Bando both as developer and lead contractor.

Like most of Dubai, the project was launched with massive optimism, and the residences sold out fast thanks to a payment scheme where investors could put 20% down and pay the remainder on handover.

This lead the off-plan apartments to change hands at one stage for a reported AED3000 per square foot. The market has changed considerably now of course, but Bando are still confident that the market wants a building constructed to the highest standards of design and finish.
 

However, due in part to the market and also because of the challenging design, the build is running behind the originally projected completion date of September 2009. That said, the project is progressing at a steady rate again and project director Jae Myung Park told us that the building would still be ready at the end of the year.