It seems that UAE is literally nothing but high rises or skyscrapers (basically the same with Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia or Qatar) while Oman has none of that (since most of the infrastructure is marble white or using bright colors contrasting the sun), though they’re on an even playing field when speaking about their wealth. Is it because Oman has a different approach on how they spend their money or retain cultural heritage?
Too much money at once with no sustainability thinking. The purpose of building in UAE is 1. Showing off, 2. Creating a popular destination for visitors.
Glass skyscrapers are about the worst type of construction you can do in a desert. But that’s what was popular in the moment when the money came. And it’s easy to capture in photos, and make it look even more impressive.
Money compensates for shortcomings of the architecture. Massive amounts of power are needed to make those buildings livable.
When the Burj Khalifa was first constructed there’s a flaw, they didn’t install a proper sewer system. So what happened was that “poop” trucks showed up to collect waste in which is taken to a sewage plant. That only ceased when people demanded for a pipe to be installed connecting the building to the main sewer system.