Back in my late teens I became fascinated by the new world that was being foreseen in the largest newspapers: rotating high-tech skyscrapers that would produce enough energy to power themselves. This is how society got me into the world of architecture, but ever since I discovered that interest, my goals and aspirations have shifted drastically. These images could be dystopian scenes from Blade Runner, but this is the world that we are building today: the most futuristic cities being built from scratch in some of the harshest environments that exist on Earth. And I wonder, at what cost? This is Dubai: a city that experienced rapid development since the 1960s after the discovery of offshore oil, transforming a small fishing village into a major international trade hub that relies on revenues from tourism and luxury, real estate and financial services.