The transplant of a huge coral reef 15 kilometres long is one of the major achievements in the sophisticated development of Dubai, according to the producer of a documentary series on extreme cities.
Dubai is one of six cities featured in a new Discovery Channel series called Strip the City, where computer-generated imagery (CGI) is heavily used to uncover the inner workings of metropolises built in extreme conditions, series producer Dr Robert Hartel said.
“The idea is to look at how cities are built, in particular cities in interesting and extreme locations. (In) Dubai, the question people will ask is how can a...thriving metropolis be built...in a climate like that?”
Hartel said the country’s winds, sandstorms, heat and lack of water meant it was a real challenge to create a hospitable environment — let alone one that featured some of the tallest and most unusual buildings in the world.Dubai was “one of the most modern cities in the planet,” and was the city which was the inspiration for the entire series, he said.
“It’s not just about building a tall building, it’s about building a tall building that can stand up in the sand, it’s about building a tall building that can withstand the desert winds...in that sense it has to be more sophisticated (than other cities) in terms of its engineering, simply because it has to survive in such an extreme place.”
Hartel was reticent about his favourite city in the series — which included the ‘Earthquake City’, San Francisco; ‘Harbour City’, Sydney; ‘Underground City’, London; ‘Ice City’, Toronto; and ‘Ancient City’, Rome — but said the feat he thought most impressive in the series was the shifting of the coral reef by developers Nakheel, to protect it during the development of The World islands.
“They basically carved up the rock and had to move this block of rocks without killing the coral, through the ocean. It shows you to what lengths you will go to in Dubai to make things work, it’s almost as though nothing is impossible — you could say that’s the motto of Dubai.”
The series had a team of 20 working on the main production, with dozens more graphic technicians working on various aspects of the show, which peels back the likes of Shaikh Zayed Road and the Burj Khalifa to demonstrate the “concrete jungle” behind the facade — with almost half of each episode using CGI.
Hartel said the new style documentary had been creating a “buzz” in television scenes, with many other projects announcing a similar style of visual presentation since, he said.
“It looks like something that comes as a reaction to what we’ve done, most people have been thinking along these lines.”
Managing director of Emaar Properties, which developed the Burj Khalifa, Ahmad Al Matrooshi said Dubai landmarks were a “referral point” for architects, engineers and developers worldwide.
“Viewers (will) gain an understanding of the fascinating scientific and technological breakthroughs that have helped the city in achieving its towering ambitions.
The episode will air on Sunday at 22.55pm on the Discovery Channel across the Middle East.
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