Nikken Sekkei Bridges Dubai's New Landmark With The World's Longest Cantilever

The recently constructed One Za’abeel mixed-used complex in the United Arab Emirates, crafted by Japanese design firm NIKKEN SEKKEI, features the world’s longest cantilever, spanning 66 meters above the city. The development consists of two elegant skyscrapers (the Tower and The Residences) connected by an enclosed horizontal bridge called The Link, enhancing the city’s architectural landscape. Situated at the gateway to Dubai’s central financial district, the project serves as a landmark for travelers arriving from Dubai International Airport and symbolizes ambition, innovation, and connectivity. Its prime location facilitates easy access to the downtown area, underscoring Dubai’s ongoing progress. One Za’abeel aims to foster a vibrant community catering to residents and global visitors, with a diverse offering of dining options, retail outlets, office spaces, and distinctive urban hotel experiences. The Link, suspended 100 meters in the air, features a 230-meter viewing platform that spans the east-to-west axis between the towers, offering visitors breathtaking panoramic views. ‘One Za’abeel is now the first building that greets visitors as they travel from the airport to the city centre, and will be the last sight as they leave. We wanted to create an elegant building that both represented the spirit of Dubai and provided a strong gateway for the city,’ describes Kokona Nakamura, Chief Architect of Nikken Sekkei Ltd.

Arising AS A Strong Gateway For The City

Constructed with a robust tubular steel member system arranged in a diamond grid pattern along four sides, The Link ensures structural stability while providing a spacious, column-free interior. The construction process involved lifting the first section of The Link, weighing around 8,500 tonnes, over a 12-day period, marking one of the region’s heaviest recorded lifts. The 900-tonne remaining cantilever tip was lifted and attached over a four-day period. Placed between the towers, The Link enhances safety and reduces wind-induced swaying, a frequent issue with tall buildings. One Za’abeel covers 530,000 square meters of mixed-use space, with 12,000 square meters of retail, 26,000 square meters of offices, and new luxury residential spaces. The towers are connected by the Al Mustaqbal Bridge, easing commuting as they drive directly into the downtown area. Creating a lateral new gateway to the city, One Za’abeel Tower reaches a height of 305m, while the second tower, One Za’abeel The Residences, reaches a height of 235 meters. The exteriors by NIKKEN SEKKEI feature Low-E glass with high transparency and high solar shielding performance, with glass fins providing visual interest and solar shielding. The Podium offers retail and dining options, surrounded by green spaces and walkways. Urban parks, a playground, and a garden pool enrich the entrance experience.

Project Information:

Name: One Za’abeel

Architects: Nikken Sekkei

Location: Dubai, UAE 🇦🇪

Contractor: ALEC Engineering and Contracting

Design Partners: WSP MIDDLE EAST (Resident Engineer, AoR, MEP, Structure, Specialties), INHABIT (Façade), LIMAH (Signage), MCTS (Kitchen Services), CRACKNELL (Landscape), BARR AND WRAY (Pool Equipment), RWDI (Wind Engineering), LPA (Façade, Interior Lighting), ESD (Signage), NORTECH (Aeronautical Survey), LW DESIGN GROUP and Associated Sub-Consultants, DENNISTON, ROCKWELL GROUP, DWP, HBA SOCIAL, STUFISH and Associated Sub-Consultants, DPA, WELLNESS, BRIMAXX, FARMBOY, CAPSULE ARTS, CROWD DYNAMICS, BRASH

— Photography: Hufton + Crow

What is different now?

Radio City Music Hall, “Showplace of the Nation”, opened in New York City on December 27, 1932.  

Toronto city council voted Thursday to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square and recommended a host of other landmarks be stripped of the Dundas name over connections to the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The move comes more than three years after council first received a petition raising concerns about the name at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in the United States. In a late council session Thursday night, councillors voted 19-2 to rename Yonge-Dundas Square. Coun. Jaye Robinson, who represents Ward 15, and Coun. Stephen Holyday, who represents Ward 2, voted against the move. 

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

The Knickerbocker Hotel (then used as an office building), on the SE corner of Broadway and 42nd Street, 1921.

Built by John Jacob Astor, it was once home to Enrico Caruso and George M. Cohan. Other residents and guests included Geraldine Farrar, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and D.W. Griffith. Tammany Hall politicians used to hold political meetings there. The popular hotel bar was called "The 42nd Street Country Club" and the restaurant was allegedly where the velvet rope line was invented.

The hotel opened in 1901 and flourished, but it was hit hard by Prohibition and was repurposed as an office building in 1920. It reopened as a hotel in 2015.

Photo: Bettmann Archive/NY Daily News

The Empire

i like crowpool as a narrative setpiece (less because of what it is and more because of what it sets up) and there's no issue if you are a fan, but i'm honestly confused by HOW many people are genuinely actively invested in it as a romance or make aus where it went well, because out of all the bland forbidden romances in warriors i think that is the one where they have the leeeast chemistry? and where the utter failure of it is the most interesting part?

Loki surveilling the skyline of New York from the top of Stark Tower and clocking that his favorite paired set of buildings are gone. sad

Statue of Liberty

Ansichtskarte / Vintage Postcard

HOTEL YORK, 7th Ave. at 36th Street, New York City

HOTEL YORK 7th Ave. at 36th Street, N.Y.C. 2 blocks from Penn R.R. Station Showrooms and Transient

Landmark Printing Corporation, 195 Chrystie St., N.Y.C.

Just give it to me.

Rockefeller Center declared a National Historic Landmark on September 26, 1988.

Chrysler Building taken from street level

ye olde classics