The Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago in the shape of a palm tree within a circle in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The archipelago consists of four sections as the trunk, spine, fronds, and crescend. The trunk serving as the entrance is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Another bridge connects the trunk to the spine from which 17 fronds come out. Divided into three sections, the crescent functions as a breakwater that is connected to the spine through a tunnel. Additionally, a 4.8 km-long transit monorail runs from the mainland to the crescent, passing through the trunk and the spine.
The construction works of the archipelago started in 2001 with the initiation of a real estate company called Nakheel. Following the completion of the basic infrastructure work in 2004 and the construction of the first buildings in 2006, Palm Jumeirah’s residents started to arrive in 2007. The crescent part mostly holds the hotels and resorts such as Atlantis while the fronds carry lines of villas. The Dubai government also started the construction of two similar but much larger archipelagos. However, the constructions of Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira had to pause due to economic reasons.
Spanning 406,000 square metres, Atlantis The Royal is 500 metres long and extends 43 storeys and 178 metres upwards. Its distinctive form consists of six towers shaped like a stack of individual blocks, connected from above by a 90-metre by 33-metre sky bridge. It is home to 795 rooms and suites, countless hospitality venues and no fewer than 90 swimming pools.
