If you like weird and wonderful architecture, you’ve probably already seenthe super-thin Muraba Veil and the 4,000ft U-shaped ‘Big Bend’.
Designs for another strange structure costing some £431 million have now been released, and developers say it will be the tallest health resort in the world.
Therme Dubai is a cross between a spa and a botanical garden (technically, it is both), and looks like if the Eden Project was made into a tiered wedding cake with swimming pools and water slides.
The see-through blobby mountain will be 100m high and the size of 45 football fields, and is slated to open in 2028, with construction starting next year.
It will rise up from an artificial lake in Zabeel Park, a popular public space for picnics and sport.
Visitors will be able to peek in and see the three waterfalls inside, as well as over 200 plant species from around the world.
Each waterfall will be around 18m high, and to get to the top you won’t have to scale one of them, but will use a lift or staircase.
Although the project looks a bit like a multi-storey greenhouse, it is designed to remain a comfortable temperature even in the blistering Dubai summers.
Its glazed shell is designed to be well insulated from the heat while also allowing visibility for those who love sightseeing in the city-state.
In a press release about the project’s approval, Dubai’s government said the building was designed with sustainability in mind, as far as is possible with a project of this nature.
‘The resort will recycle 90% of the water used in its thermal pools, while 80% of the fresh air and cooling needs will be met through clean energy sources,’ it said.
The statement added that key attractions include a Michelin-star restaurant and ‘an exhilarating play area with 15 waterslides and experiential art installations designed to enrich the customer experience’.
It was desiged by US architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who described it as an ‘oasis in the sky’ which is ‘elevated high above the concerns of everyday urban life’.
Therme Group has already created wellness ‘oasis’ destinations elsewhere.
They recently announced the development of a new location in Erding, Germany, and already has locations in Germany and Romania.
Its first resort in the UK is planned to open in Manchester with a ‘year-round 33°C climate’, followed by a centre in Glasgow.
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