By IANS,
Dubai : The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest malls being developed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based real estate major Emaar Properties, has unveiled what it calls the most sophisticated multimedia systems to be ever installed in a shopping mall.
The new feature will take visitors on a visual journey as a combination of dynamic and static images are displayed throughout the mall in a colourful array of shapes, sizes and formats, according to a statement issued by Emaar’s retail subsidiary Emaar Malls.
The new mall is set to open Oct 30 this year.
“The exclusive multimedia display systems enhance the existing leisure attractions by capturing ‘wow’ moments and projecting them across the entire network for all visitors to experience,” Jim Badour, chief executive of Emaar Malls, said in the statement.
“Our focus was to integrate the multimedia capabilities into the larger entertainment offerings of the mall.”
The mall expects over 30 million visitors from around the world in the first year of opening.
Giving an idea of the new multimedia systems, the Emaar statement said one of the key features is the ability to capture ‘moments of exclusivity’ – a single image projected across the entire mall that will ensure total visitor attention.
These moments could include displays of live shark feeds to brand launches telecast across the entire network to provide mall-wide entertainment to visitors simultaneously.
Among the displays that will be most notable for their size and visual impact are a full 20m x 10m high-definition light-emitting diode (LED) display overlooking the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink, a fully retractable LED-clad catwalk in the mall’s Fashion Avenue facility and a 22m wide Treasury Dome in the world’s largest indoor gold souk capable of projecting images similar to a planetarium format.
Another notable feature will be the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink’s 20m x 10m display, which will double up as a scoreboard for sporting matches, or a display for live events.
“The integrated multimedia network at the Dubai Mall will be an audio-visual spectacle that will keep visitors constantly entertained and stimulated,” Yousif Al Ali, the mall’s general manager, said.
“It will be unlike anything ever seen or experienced in a shopping mall.”
In all, the mall will feature over 400 high-definition LED displays and over 300 advertising panels.
Being seen as one of the largest mall openings in the region, Emaar Malls’ flagship project will cover 12 million sq ft of space. With a total internal floor area of 5.9 million sq ft, it will have 3.77 million sq ft of gross leasable space.
The new facility will house 1,200 retail outlets, two anchor department stores and over 120 food and beverage outlets, an aquarium featuring 33,000 aquatic animals, representing over 85 different marine species, apart from the world’s largest indoor gold souk and the ice rink.
There will also be a number of other leisure facilities catering to various age groups and a 22-screen cineplex.
Adjoining the mall is The Address, a five-star hotel with 250 rooms and 450 service apartments.
The new mall will have parking facilities for 14,000 cars and there will be a dedicated bridge from Dubai’s arterial highway Sheikh Zayed Road giving access to the mall.
The new Dubai Mall is part of Emaar’s flagship mega-project, the 73-billion dirham ($20 billion) downtown Burj Dubai, billed as the world’s most prestigious square kilometre, the centrepiece of which is the Burj Dubai tower, set to become officially the world’s tallest building when it opens Sep 2009.