Blue Crystal Floating Iceberg in Dubai

It sounds proposterous, but inhabitat is reporting about a new project for Dubai - a sustainable blue crystal floating iceberg lodge. It is not clear whether this is a hotel but Blue Crystal will have luxurious restaurants, an underwater lounge and a ballroom on 5 levels. It's being billed as sustainable architecture - but with the amount of solar power needed to keep this thing alive, I'm not sure that is the best use of power:

Dubai’s arid desert climate doesn’t easily lend it to ice sculptures–especially not ones with 6 stories of luxury entertainment including an underwater lounge and ballroom. The German design duo Frank and Sven Sauer claim that Blue Crystal will harness the world’s natural energy sources, keeping it self-sufficient. It will supposedly be powered by solar cells embedded in the icy facade and employ an ‘energy recycling system.’




So far it isn’t clear how much energy the structure will be able to produce and how that will be distributed amongst lounges, cafes and the most massive task of keep the ice frozen. Even if it does manage to stay off the grid I’m not convinced that a refrigerated iceberg in the middle of the desert counts as sustainable architecture.

Blue Crystal by Day


Blue Crystal by Night


Blue Crystal from the inside



Is this a crazy idea to push the imagination - or is this simply fiction? Who has this kind of money to spend in this climate - and how long will it take to make a return?


Blue Crystal Profile




Blue Crystal: A Sustainable Iceberg Lodge in Dubai?
Blue Crystal