Ultimate property development

The future is near, especially when it comes to property development. Across the world weird structures are sprouting up and you don’t have to travel far to see them. In London we already have ‘The Gherkin’ and the soon to be opened ‘Cheese Grater’ leading Prince Charles to criticise further plans to ‘vandalise’ the capital’s skyline and cultural heritage. It seems, however, that the City of London is being rather conservative in comparison to a few other incredible city developments, and buildings across the world are taking shape like nothing we’ve seen before. The postmodern architecture might not be to everyone’s taste, but we’re on the verge of entering an age inspired by science fiction sets. Here’s some of the most impressive scheduled developments.

Chicago, USA

Home to the Sears Tower, which was the tallest building for twenty five years up until 1998, Chicago has something of a tradition for ground breaking modern architecture. Two particularly developments are Aqua, and the Chicago Spire, both of which have been given the go-ahead and are scheduled for completion in the next two years. The first of these is an 80 story tower that will seem quite traditional from afar, yet up close it will have a distinctive ripple effect caused by variously sized balconies – hence the Aqua name. The Chicago Spire, meanwhile, looks set to be even more distinctive, and potentially more of an eyesore. It will be a huge 600 metre spike sticking out of the Chicago skyline, and the tallest residential building in the world. Looking at the designs, it’s like an elongated of The Gherkin, but up close it will look more like a huge drill bit due to the spirals of its exterior.

Beijing, China

While Beijing is not currently the most picturesque city in the world thanks to serious air pollution, it is home to two incredible new buildings in time for the 2008 Olympic Games. The Beijing National Stadium has frequently been referred to as a ‘Bird’s Nest’ due to the crisscross pattern of girders on its exterior, and it will house some 95,000 spectators for the athletic events of the Summer Olympics. Also in preparation for the Olympics is the CCTV Headquarters which might sound like something out of George Orwell’s 1984, but it will also house hotels and television studios. This is being touted as a two adjoining crisscrossed Z shapes, with floors 230 metres up appearing to be unsupported.

Arabian Peninsula, Middle East

Surely the craziest place for property development anywhere in the world, the smaller oil rich kingdoms of the Middle East are realising that they will soon run out of black gold, so they’re investing in the future by planning tourist attractions in the shape of huge property developments. The first of these is the Burj Dubai, one of several amazing developments in Dubai, UAE. When it’s completed at the end of the year, this super tall skyscraper will stand at 818 metres tall, and it is already the tallest manmade structure in the world. However, this is in direct competition with other Middle Eastern projects, some of which are set to break the 1km mark, such as the proposed Burj Mubarak al-Kabir to be erected in Kuwait. However, this could take up to twenty five years to complete. If you fancy staying in the Burj Dubai when it opens, take a look at Travelzoo for some cheap flights to Dubai.