Dubai: Dubai Frame will open in November with a paperless ticketing system, a top official said on Sunday.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, director general of Dubai Municipality announced this after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with At the Top, Emaar, for the operations of the iconic twin tower project with a glass bridge that will offer 360 degree view of the new and the old Dubai’s skylines on either side of it.
“The Frame is almost complete. In November, the project will be opened officially,” Lootah said. In reply to a question by Gulf News, he said Dubai Frame will have a smart ticketing system and will not use paper tickets.
“Your mobile will be your ticket,” he said.
Another senior official explained that there will be online platforms to book tickets on the website and a mobile app.
When asked how those not having smart phones can buy the tickets, Lootah said: “Who doesn’t have smartphones now? If they are workers, they can come through their companies. The companies should help them buy the ticket.”
He said the purpose of the MoU is to enable At The Top to operate Dubai Frame as Emaar has good experience in running the observation decks at Burj Khalifa.
“The entire management of the facility including technical and administrative sections will be handled by Emaar. They will add value to the Frame,” said Lootah.
Ahmad Thani Al Matrooshi, managing director of Emaar Properties, signed the agreement.
According to the agreement, Emaar will link visitors’ trips to the Burj Khalifa’s “At the Top” with Dubai Frame and offer the appropriate customer tour of the place to provide the best experience of Dubai Frame, the municipality said.
“It will also make recommendations regarding a retail store at the site as well as advise its operational strategy, and selection of goods. Emaar will also give proposals for marketing and promotion activities, type and price of tickets, technical equipment and software as well as photography at the landmark.”
The 150 metre-high, 193 metre-long featuring a glass bridge clad in golden stainless steel in Zabeel Park, Dubai Frame has been in the making since 2013.
Lootah said the delay was caused mainly due to the changes they had to make in the materials used for the cladding.
“We wanted to use stainless steel but mostly it is coming in silver colour and it doesn’t give the special aesthetic appeal we wanted to give to the project. So, we decided to use, for the first time, stainless steel in golden colour.
Past, Present and Future of Dubai
Dubai: Apart from the panoramic views of the new and old Dubai skylines, visitors to Dubai Frame will see how the emirate will look after 50 years as the project will feature a Future Dubai Gallery.
“The concept of this gallery is to depict Dubai 50 years from now into the future by creating a virtual metropolis through interactive projections and virtual reality technology,” the civic body said.
The visitors will exit the elevator onto the mezzanine floor to pass through a vortex tunnel with special lights and sound effects. The idea is to create an illusion of time travel through a warp vortex and arriving into the city 50 years ahead.
An immersive ‘Virtual Metropolis’ experience is created on the walls by means of interactive projections, light and sound to create the city of the future. The scenes would depict the city’s evolution after 50 years, new projects, how people would travel, live etc.
The concept takes visitors on a journey through time, starting at the mezzanine level, where visitors enter into an immersive experience representing the history of the city.
Projections, mist effects, fragrances, and motion effects create the immersive mood setting of the space.
The Old Dubai Gallery embodies the idea of the project and tells the story of the evolution of the city and its past, and shows the old city using the most modern and updated means of presentation that contributes to the creation of a favourable environment that suits the comprehensive boom witnessed by the city of Dubai.
After that, the visitors are directed to the second experience on the Sky Deck level that represents the Present Dubai.
The visitors will be experiencing uninterrupted views of Dubai from all sides, Old Dubai to the north, and New Dubai to the south.
This is supported by interactive applications such as augmented reality activated screens, whereby the visitor can identify different buildings and landmarks, by exploring interesting facts or observing buildings and landmarks in third dimension. Modern technologies are used to represent different aspects of the present Dubai, its architecture, economy and infrastructure.
The next experience is on the other side of the mezzanine level, where the visitors can see the Future Dubai Gallery.
