Dubai unveils ‘world’s largest picture frame’

Dubai’s futuristic skyline—from the world’s largest tower to its tallest residential building, 3D-printed offices, and beyond—can now get the artistic appreciation they deserve. Because merely existing wasn’t enough, the buildings are now underscored by the world’s largest picture frame.

The $43.5 million Dubai Frame measures nearly 500 feet tall and 300 feet wide. It features a viewing platform at the top and at the base, a museum outfitted with AR technology to tell the story of the city’s transformation from a fishing village to a thriving metropolis. The building’s exterior design was inspired by the logo of Expo 2020, which will be hosted in Dubai.

Built in the city’s Zabeel Park, Dubai Frame is expected to draw some two million tourists each year, with tickets priced at 50 dirhams ($14).

Almost a decade in the making, the construction of the building hasn’t been without controversy. As the New York Times details in a report last year, Mexico-born architect Fernando Donis claims the city lifted his competition-winning design without proper compensation and acknowledgement and has filed an intellectual property lawsuit.

“The Frame is mine, and they don’t want to grant that it is mine,” Donis told the New York Times. “The infringement doesn’t just victimize me. They have taken something from all architects—the protection of our ideas.”

Via: Inhabitat, New York Times