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From above, Dubai’s man-made Palm Jumeirah islands resemble a palm tree encased in a circle, surrounded by the glistening turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf.
The sight can be seen by freefalling from a plane, out of a helicopter window, from the International Space Station or, soon, from the edge of one of highest rooftop infinity pools in the world.
Dubai developer Nakheel is nearing the completion of a 775 square meter, 930,000 liter pool – 210 meters (689 feet) above the ground.
The travel attraction will offer 360 degree views from the 50th floor of The Palm Tower, a 52-story luxury hotel and residential complex that is currently under construction and will cost AED 1.2 billion ($327 million) to build.
Above the pool, a restaurant is being built on the 51st floor and a public viewing deck is the uppermost feature on level 52. Together they form “The View at The Palm.”
Ambitious project
According to Omar Khoory, managing director of Nakheel Malls, The View at the Palm will be “a magnet for residents and tourists,” but it has not been easy to construct.
The windy conditions of the seafront location brought challenges when lifting materials, says the developer. The View required 300-meter-tall tower cranes to lift 2,000 tons of glass and 1,200 tons of steel.
The developer says the pool itself was designed to minimize the effect of sea breezes.
Structural work of the rooftop pool is complete, and the glass façade work is 60 percent finished, according to Nakheel, with the tower and pool due to be complete at the end of the year.
The infinity pool will be among the world’s highest, although much lower than the one on the 118th floor of the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong, 484 meters above the street.
More than a pool
The top two floors of The Palm, featuring the observatory and restaurant, are made of a floating steel structure. The observatory will be accessible by a roof plaza on the neighboring mall which has 350 shops and its own monorail station, part of a route which runs from the bottom of the island to the top.
The 240-meter-high deck includes an interactive museum and gallery about the creation of the Palm Jumeirah.
“The View at the Palm will combine awe-inspiring, breathtaking views with an interactive, educational experience,” said Khoory.