Bluwaters, Dubai

Bluewaters Island, now open, stands opposite Dubai Marina. The island was brought forth from the sea with impressive draining and the contribution of millions of cubic metres of soil. Bluewaters offers entertainment, shopping and hotels, such as Caesars Palace of Las Vegas, as well as luxury residential buildings. Dubai Eye, a large Ferris wheel, is the cornerstone of Bluewaters Island’s ambitious development. Standing at 210 metres, it will be the tallest wheel in the world and is expected to attract 3 million visitors every year.

To light the streets of Bluewaters, Neolight Global asked Neri for a modern steel lamp post that integrated well with an architecture that favours steel, glass and stone. However, they requested a decorative element to enhance it, a wooden surface covering the front and back of the lamp post.

The island can be divided into three main areas: The residential buildings look onto the central avenue where the entrance to the big wheel, with shops and restaurants is. The street is not designed for large numbers of cars, instead it has wide pavements. For this reason, the lamp post has two sources of light positioned at different heights.

The second area and its restaurants lie along the sea, across from the Dubai Marina connected to Bluewaters by an elegant pedestrian bridge.

The third area is residential, more internal and peaceful. It looks out over the Persian Gulf, with footpaths rich in vegetation connecting the different residential buildings.

Cars reach the island using a long bridge and enter Bluewaters by descending directly into the large underground car parks connected to the different areas.