Jumeirah Beach Residence, short JBR, covers 2km2 prime area of Dubai Marina and stretches 1.7km along the beach of the gulf. The 40 towers, 5 of them are hotels the rest residential, are home to estimated 15,000 people. Dubai Properties, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, was the developer that completed the project in 2005/2006.
The podium contains a lively, commercial stretch with a Riviera feel to it. It has recently been expanded by a low-rise development comprising of retail and restaurants called The Beach. With its human scale and the engaging design the new development shows how much architecture can facilitate human interaction.
Jumeirah Beach Residence itself has been optimized in regards of the return-on-invest: the density of the towers pushes the boundaries and the architecture embraces the rationality of the Plattenbau typology. This in combination with the prime location brings an interesting, social situation: apartments with a panoramic sea view cater to a different clientele than flats facing directly onto the next building. How long and how much such social gap can be sustained – in particular considering that they can happen on the same floor – will only tell the future.
JBR was meant to be the front line development along the beach when offered to investors initially. We now see JBR being pushed into second row as new developments come up closer to the water and on reclaimed lands off-shore. This adds not only pressure to the already constraint infrastructure but also unveils the peculiar dynamics of this market.