Building on Sand

Available for over a year

Dubai is a phenomenon. It's like no other city on earth. In terms of architecture, it has been reaching for the stars with the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. It stands as a symbol for the way power, money and influence appear to have moved away from the west to newly-confident countries in the east. But what is it all built upon? In this two-part documentary, Jonathan Glancey looks at whether Dubai has a sustainable policy towards building in one of the harshest environments on earth.