2006

Palm Islands

Mark Twain famously quipped, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.” But since he said this, engineers have proven him wrong. Large portions of San Francisco Bay wetlands have been filled to create new land for a growing city. Battery Park City in New York is 92 acres of new land formed when they dug the foundations for the World Trade Center towers. A third of Holland is made of land reclaimed from the sea.

The Palm Islands in Dubai represent one the most ambitious engineering projects of this kind. Here engineers built new islands for thousands of residents and tourists in the Arabian Sea—the first opened in 2006.

It would be one thing if the Palm Islands were simply big round mounds of rocks and sand. They are nothing like that. In order to maximize waterfront real estate, they are instead shaped like palm fronds—long, thin leaves branch off of a central stalk. Then the entire island is surrounded by a separate breakwater island to provide protection from storms. In the process, engineers created hundreds of kilometers of shoreline property that sells for maximal prices.

The process starts by laying seven meters of sand on the ocean floor, a process started in 2001 by Belgian civil engineering firm Jan De Nul and a Dutch company, Van Oord. On top of this is a second layer of rubble about the same height. Protecting the rubble is a layer of boulders. Then sand was sprayed over the top. This created long, narrow strips of new beachfront property.

Engineers also had to solve a number of other concerns. How to avoid water stagnating inside the breakwater? Deep channels make sure that water can circulate without diminishing the protection. How to make sure automobile traffic flows smoothly? Tunnels, bridges, and a broad highway up the spine provide plenty of capacity. How to keep wave action from eroding the islands into oblivion? Continual beach nourishment programs will likely be required, as on many other beaches around the world.

As the world population rises, is more new land an engineered option? It is definitely a possibility, as Holland proves. Floating cities that can move out of harm’s way when storms are approaching are another possibility.

SEE ALSO World Trade Center (1973), Kansai International Airport (1994).

Jumeirah Palm Island development in Dubai.