Dubai's new scary skyscraper attraction: Akyon Dare glass-floor observation deck

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This was published 7 years ago

Dubai's new scary skyscraper attraction: Akyon Dare glass-floor observation deck

By Soo Kim
Updated
The glass-floored walkway, Akyon Dare, will be located on the 80th floor of the tallest skyscraper in Dubai's new Aykon City development.

The glass-floored walkway, Akyon Dare, will be located on the 80th floor of the tallest skyscraper in Dubai's new Aykon City development.Credit: damacproperties.com

Visitors will soon be able to enjoy panoramic views over Dubai from a vertigo-inducing glass-floored walkway on the 80th floor of the tallest skyscraper in the city's new Aykon City development.

Strapped into a harness and secured to a safety rail, daredevils begin their viewing experience on the 78th floor lounge and dining room where they then walk along an open-air ledge before ascending to the glass "viewing capsule" two floors above at nearly 235 metres (935 feet) above the ground.

On a clear day, visitors are said to be able to see as far as 60 kilometres (nearly 40 miles), along the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border, in addition to dramatic vistas over the Business Bay district, Sheikh Zayed Road and the Dubai Canal Project below.

Akyon Dare: Dubai's newest skyscraper attraction.

Akyon Dare: Dubai's newest skyscraper attraction.Credit: damacproperties.com

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Modelled after Toronto's EdgeWalk fof the CN Tower and Auckland's SkyWalk of the Sky Tower, Aykon Dare hopes to offer a "magnificent al fresco experience for the adventurous" and a "breathtaking adrenaline rush", Damac Properties, the developing company behind Akyon City, said in a statement.

The new attraction will form part of the six-tower Aykon City mini-city, which includes a five-star luxury hotel and a collection of luxury apartments, residences and an office tower, in the heart of the Golden Quadrant of Dubai, joining the likes of the emirate's renowned high-rises including the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, and the Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

An artist's impression of the Aykon City development.

An artist's impression of the Aykon City development.Credit: damacproperties.com

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The development, work on which is reported to begin this summer and be completed by 2021, will also feature a central "elevated plaza" offering various communal spaces and facilities including swimming pools, a children's playground, a running track, an outdoor yoga space, as well as cafes, lounges and luxury boutiques.

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The announcement of the Aykon Dare viewing platform follows the opening of Sky Slide in Los Angeles earlier this year, where visitors can travel down the outside of the city's tallest skyscraper via a vertiginous glass slide. Starting on the 70th floor, those brave enough to go on the slide, which is 45 feet long and 1000 feet above street level, arrive at a newly-fitted out observation platform at the end, with panoramic views of the city.

Earlier this month, Dubai announced plans to build a $US1 billion (£710 million) tower that will exceed the height of the 828m-high Burj Khalifa.

The tower, which will become the centrepiece of the Dubai Creek redevelopment project, will be "a notch taller" than the Burj Khalifa, Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar revealed at a press conference on Sunday.

Designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava Valls, known for futuristic structures such as the City of Arts and Sciences complex in Valencia, Spain, the new Dubai tower will feature a slender, streamlined structure with a needlepoint-like tip, and offer "garden" observation decks decorated with trees and other greenery.

The Telegraph, London

See also: Is the world's tallest building worth visiting?
See also: 20 reasons to visit Dubai

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