Dubai's suburban development is often criticized for its poor taste and gigantism. While the products of Dubai megadevelopment are often crude, the engineering feats achieved in producing them are astonishing.

Recent pictures of the progress of the Burj Dubai tower, the tallest skyscraper ever built, demonstrate this contradiction in a single frame. The tower itself, while monstrously tall, is nothing very interesting. It consists of speculatively-stacked concrete floors waiting for someone to do something on them. But take a look at what is happening on the ground.