Dubai’s string of glass-fronted, out-of-town business parks is becoming too outdated for the digital age, a new report from the property broker Savills warns.
If it wants to attract the next big global economic driving force – a new generation of global technology companies – the city needs to change the way that it zones its property developments and create more pedestrian-friendly, “human-scale workplaces” such as can be found in London’s Shoreditch or New York’s Union Square.
Last year, Dubai’s office supply increased 13 per cent, as a number of projects that were stalled during the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 were finally completed.
“Modern Dubai is a late 20th- century zoned automobile city,” said Yolande Barnes, the director of world research at Savills.
“In an industry where chance meetings and collaborations can add so much value, many of the more creative tech occupiers are moving away from the single-use environment and towards high-quality urban environments. This is at odds with the single-use, out-of-town approach of the free trade zones of Dubai.”
David Godchaux, the chief executive of Savills’ Dubai operation, aid some developers were moving away from “mega- structures in which cars are essential, to more pedestrianised, urban communities which align with a high-end European lifestyle”.
To that end, the Tecom Group in Dubai has been trying to create areas in the Dubai Design District (D3) to attract creative start-ups.
The 21 million square feet D3 campus houses office space, small boutiques, galleries, workshops and artists’ studios.
Tecom’s Internet City and Media City follow similar principles.
On Tuesday, the property broker JLL reported that 283,000 sq metres of office space came on stream in the market during the three months to the end of last month, bringing Dubai’s total supply to 8.2 million sq metres.
“Office demand has been focused on the higher quality offices of the central business districts,” said Craig Plumb, the head of research at JLL’s Dubai office.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Oppenheimer
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THE%20SPECS
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Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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SPECS
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The%20specs
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The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
Results
57kg quarter-finals
Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Hamed Al Matari (YEM) by points 3-0.
60kg quarter-finals
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) RSC round 2.
63.5kg quarter-finals
Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Shamlan A Othman (KUW) by points 3-0.
67kg quarter-finals
Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Ahmad Ondash (LBN) by points 2-1.
71kg quarter-finals
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) defeated Lalthasanga Lelhchhun (IND) by points 3-0.
Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Seyed Kaveh Safakhaneh (IRI) by points 3-0.
81kg quarter-finals
Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Ahmad Hilal (PLE) by points 3-0
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
