Project: Pearl-Qatar Island
Developer: UDC
Geo: Qatar
Continuing the conversation about Arabian mega-structures, if last time I mentioned the city of Lusail, built specifically for the World Cup, this time I'll talk about The Pearl-Qatar: an artificial island covering 14 square kilometers for 15,000 homes.
Its whimsical shape resembles a piece of jewelry with three pearls, paying homage to the pearl diving industry that once flourished here. The concept was to create a technologically advanced and comfortable Riviera for living and working.
Usually, the desire to claim a piece of the sea for land is associated with a simple lack of territory (example - Japan). However, in the case of Qatar, the motivation was to create a so-called "paradise island." It may seem that rationalism is secondary, but that's not entirely true.
Considering that UDC launched the Pearl project into its active phase over 10 years ago, the island was supposed to become almost the only territory in Qatar where foreigners could officially purchase real estate. After all, no matter how much oil you have, developing the economy and attracting investments to a closed country is quite problematic. Overall, the World Cup also serves this purpose.
The scale and luxury of Arabian projects continue to systematically astonish people worldwide every year. It's important to note that they don't repeat the mistakes of their neighbors in Iran, when during a deep crisis, Shah Pahlavi hosted the grandest party of the 20th century, which ended his monarchy. So far, no one has managed to outdo that. In any case, based on my experience in visualization for this region, I can assert that the economic rationale of Arabian projects is a priority, no matter how epic they may appear.
Developer: UDC
Geo: Qatar
Continuing the conversation about Arabian mega-structures, if last time I mentioned the city of Lusail, built specifically for the World Cup, this time I'll talk about The Pearl-Qatar: an artificial island covering 14 square kilometers for 15,000 homes.
Its whimsical shape resembles a piece of jewelry with three pearls, paying homage to the pearl diving industry that once flourished here. The concept was to create a technologically advanced and comfortable Riviera for living and working.
Usually, the desire to claim a piece of the sea for land is associated with a simple lack of territory (example - Japan). However, in the case of Qatar, the motivation was to create a so-called "paradise island." It may seem that rationalism is secondary, but that's not entirely true.
Considering that UDC launched the Pearl project into its active phase over 10 years ago, the island was supposed to become almost the only territory in Qatar where foreigners could officially purchase real estate. After all, no matter how much oil you have, developing the economy and attracting investments to a closed country is quite problematic. Overall, the World Cup also serves this purpose.
The scale and luxury of Arabian projects continue to systematically astonish people worldwide every year. It's important to note that they don't repeat the mistakes of their neighbors in Iran, when during a deep crisis, Shah Pahlavi hosted the grandest party of the 20th century, which ended his monarchy. So far, no one has managed to outdo that. In any case, based on my experience in visualization for this region, I can assert that the economic rationale of Arabian projects is a priority, no matter how epic they may appear.