Landscape Architecture

Landscape

The Dubai Internet City is located about 26 kilometers to the south of the Downtown City of Dubai; it is a park created to operate and deal with information technology. The park was established by the Dubai government as an economic zone that is free, aimed at strategizing the base for firms and organizations which target young markets from different regions all over the world. The city provides many companies, both local and international, hence giving them a chance to establish themselves and venture or to move to other markets. Its location is adjacent to other related industries in the region, such as the Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai Media City. It is estimated that the city has occupied over 500,000 square feet only for commercial office space, involving more than 1,000 companies and 10,000 employees.

The Jumeirah Lakes Towers is a big structure located in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, comprising eighty towers that are currently constructed beside the edges of three manmade lakes. The lakes, Almas West, Almost East, and the JLT Lake, are parts of the landscape in the region; Lake Elucio was drained to create more dry land. The entire space in square feet is covered by the lakes, the landscape, and the waterways in the region total up to about 7,900,00 square feet. This is according to the projection after completion of the development, while the barbicans will comprise a total of 35 to 45 floors with the centerpiece taking at least a total of sixty-six floors. In the complete development, the tallest tower is the Almas Tower, which is located on its island between two lakes, Almas East, and the Almas West. The aim of the current paper is to provide a comprehensive comparison between The Jumeirah Lakes Towers with the Dubai Internet City. The paper is focused on the lake scene adopting various aspects to bring out the difference and the existing similarities.

Comparison and Contrast between the Dubai Internet City and the Jumeirah Lakes Towers

The Jumeirah Lake Towers established a fitness studio in 2009 and is referred to as ‘FitMyWay.’ The studio offers various fitness activities with the main aim of creating an atmosphere in the region that is friendly and exciting for visitors and employees within the area (Davidson 104). Among various activities that the gym offers are common gym workouts, yoga classes, aerobic classes, and also classes that teach its participants how to dance in a way to keep fit. The establishment started as a small set up but it currently serves more than 1,000 people in just one month. There is a similarity of this feature in the Dubai Internet City as the park provides fitness activities mostly around the lakes. The city also has a specified region besides the lake, where people can take classes in different fitness classes, like aerobics and dancing. This has enabled different individuals in the city, employees of various companies, as well as visitors, to participate in different fitness activities and live a healthy and fit life (Shannon and Smets 85). Both regions JLT, and the Dubai Internet City have jogging tracks around their lakes that are well furnished and leveled to enable people to jog around to keep fit. This is among the major features that define both regions, especially regarding the lakes. As people jog around, especially during the morning hours, they also get to have a great view of lakes, since the tracks are located just at the very end of the lakes.

Dubai Internet City is among the major developments in the United Arab Emirates and, therefore, the project involves many people, both from within the region and international people who are in the project for different business purposes. The state of Art Park has a large central lake that acts as the focal point of a landscape for the area, giving it a great view from afar. The lake has cascade walls around it and a lakeside promenade that connects different buildings and various sitting areas that are shaded, providing the cool climate for visitors and employees of different companies in the city. The areas are also linked with different formal piazzas, including features that are related and connected to water surfaces. In comparison with the Jumeirah Lake Towers, the two regions are similar in various ways, since the JLT has a combination of different lakes that are manmade and, therefore, are not very big. There are shades, where people can sit during their free time and enjoy their view of the lake, and the cool breeze brought from the lake (Davidson 106). The region also has various footpaths and waterways that are surrounded by tracks of water all around but within a significant distance from buildings. People can enjoy a beautiful view of the water as they walk around the park.

The structures of buildings are quite different from each other, though in very small aspects. The Dubai Internet City has buildings that are scattered all over the park, with one of the buildings having a sharp edge at the top. Constructions are also encircled by masses of water all over, with different phases having different water bodies, while at the Jumeirah Lakes Towers there are three lakes, which are positioned on one side of the region posting a view that is a little far from the towers. The three lakes are located in almost the same part but are divided by different structures. Around them are the walking tracks that overpass individual tracks of water, enabling the connection of lakes but in a minor track (Shannon and Smets 87). There exists a large space out front from the fourth lake that was drained to give more and ample parking space for people in and from outside of the towers. This provides a slight difference between the two regions since the Dubai Internet City does not have huge lakes but small water ponds and tracks with some of them harboring small types of fish that provide a beautiful view to the visitors. The main difference is that the water bodies in the JLT are located further from the building structures, while the water bodies at the Dubai Internet City are located within the closeness of the buildings and beside walking tracks all the way and around the buildings.

Both centers have green vegetation covered with grass and flowers all over the parks. This provides places, where people can rest but only in specific sections. The flowers and grass are evergreens to the availability of water that is sprinkled at specific periods of time during the day and night. The sprinklers in both regions are automated and, therefore, go on at the scheduled times, regardless of the presence or absence of people. The sections are divided skillfully to enable the flowers to grow in certain regions, while the rest of the coverage is grass only. The grass is always cut short, as it is always trimmed and cleaned by employees in the areas to provide a beautiful sight for visitors. Along with the vegetation, both regions have neat footpaths that individuals can follow, while walking around and others provide shorter distances from certain buildings to others, rather than following the main track along with the buildings (Davidson 109). Within these footpaths, there are locations provided with shades, while others are left uncovered since the structures already provide enough shades to the tracks. All of the pathways are well maintained, and there is no single crack or dirt on the floor since the caretakers and managers take good care of it all.

The Dubai Internet City differs from the Jumeirah Lakes Towers in the aspect of available sitting areas outside of the structures. The sitting areas in the Dubai Internet City are scattered all around the region mostly beside the water body masses. They are built of different structures, as others are concrete, while others are made of wood. The chairs are well maintained and provide the capacity for a big number of people. They are also made of different shapes and sizes, depending on the sections they are located in. On the one hand, the concrete ones are mainly found near water bodies and where there are no shades around. The ones made of wood, on the other hand, are mostly located in regions where water bodies are not near and where trees and where there are other shades nearby. This enables the durability of woods (Shannon and Smets 89). The JLT, however, has chairs on most of the parts, where the lakes are located and are secluded in one region. The other areas are left free for people to sit on the natural stones and high places, as they enjoy the view of lakes. Other resting places are located beside the structures but are limited, as they are made of plastic and can be moved around from one location to the other.

The Dubai Internet City and the JLT both have various supplies of water for drinking and watering all the plants in the region. Both regions have mounted taps and specific areas where people can have access to clean drinking water. Coffee shop places are also located in both regions, most of them being next to the offices in the parks. This enables the employees and clients to visit the regions to have quick access to coffee shops whenever they want to, especially in the morning and in the evening. Regarding the fountains in the lakes, the JLT has various fountains in three lakes located on the shores of lakes, while in the Dubai Internet City, only one fountain is available at the entrance and the lakes have no fountains (Davidson 111). Both regions have different types of trees all around; the trees have a function to provide shade during the sunny times of the day. The trees are spaced far enough to allow the free space on the ground, while their tops have a connection providing a complete cover to the ground from direct sunlight.

Conclusion

Both the JLT and the Dubai Internet City are different in many aspects, but, at the same time, they possess various attributes that relate to their similarities. The regions have a direct impact on the society in the United Arab Emirates, as people around and from other regions gather in for various reasons to different companies existing in the regions, while others may come to enjoy the view of lakes. The existence of the different fitness clubs in both regions provides for the visitors and locals to participate in various activities of keeping themselves fit. As it can be seen from the paper, the regions are highly regarded as historical and most valued in the United Arab Emirate, thereby various improvements and constant changes are being made to improve the regions even more.