Italian luxury goods maker Salvatore Ferragamo, which has plans for a market listing, is to design the interior of penthouses in Dubai as part of an agreement with Trident International Holdings, a United Arab Emirates-based company operating in the high-end real estate sector.

The Florence-based company said on Tuesday it would design a set of luxury penthouses in the ‘Pentominium’ tower, to be completed in 2012. At 516 meters, and boasting 120 floors and 120 penthouses, the Pentominium is expected to be the highest residential building in the world.

Each penthouse unit boasts at least a floor space of 6,470 square feet (600 square meters) with ocean views. In addition, amenities in the Pentominium include an indoor pool and a Sky Lounge for business functions which directly overlooks the Palm Jumeirah.

“Ferragamo’s entry into the world of high-end residential luxury is an important step in the brand extension process and opens the road to other development opportunities,” Chief Executive Michele Norsa said in a statement.

While standard units are expected to command around US$5.3 million, there is no word on pricing for the Ferragamo-designed penthouses. The official launch of the Pentominium project will take place in Dubai on October 6 with a spectacular fashion show and a charity event. (Source : Press release)

Sol Kerzner, the flamboyant hotelier, is to launch his new Dubai resort with a party so extravagant that organisers claim it will be seen from space.

The event, for the grand opening of the $1.5 billion Atlantis, The Palm, will have 2,000 VIP guests. Kylie Minogue will perform - her first concert in the Middle East - and the final bill for the four-day beachside celebrations is estimated to exceed $30 million, the London Telegraph reports.

The 1,500 room resort, located on the world’s largest manmade island, the Palm Jumeirah ( which has been built to resemble a palm tree when seen from above) features 16 restaurants including a branch of Nobu, and is partially bankrolled by the Dubai Royal Family.

Dubai is building another masterpiece structure shaped like a pyramid and like the pyramids of the Mayans and Egyptians, this new structure in Dubai is a giant : it will cover 2.3 square kilometers (0.88 square miles).

The structure called Ziggurat will house nearly one million people and will be self-sustainable with all natural-energy sources. It is named after the temple towers of the ancient Mesopotamian valley, a terraced pyramid structure with successively receding stories.

The main purpose of the Ziggurat is to ensure a better quality of life with almost zero-carbon emissions ; the structure will be powered by solar, wind and natural sources and capable of running completely off the grid, according to Timelinks, Dubai-based environmental design firm who is in charge of the project.

Also, there will be no cars thanks to the complex transportation system that runs both horizontally and vertically. Biometrics would provide security with facial recognition technology.

Timelinks has already patented the design and technology incorporated into the project and has applied to the European Union for a grant for technical projects. The intriguing mixed use concept will be unveiled at Cityscape Dubai which takes place at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from 6-9 October 2008

Pininfarina, the Italian car design firm, is best known for their luxury car projects like Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati GranTurismo but they have recently extended their design expertise to produce a top-of-the-line office chair, the Aresline Xten.

The world’s most expensive office chair costs $1.5 million and has been created for the uber rich CEO’s for the Middle East luxury market.

The exorbitant price is due to expensive material used for cushioning called Technogel which conforms to the body’s contour which reduces seating pressure and fatigue by 60%. Also, Dynatec, a fabric well-liked by Olympic athletes for making you sweat free, covers the chair.

The chair is available in a variety of shades.

The Saudi government is planning four new cities, in its bid to diversify the economy and increase employment opportunities, has encouraged growth in the non-oil industrial sector.

The mega project was revealed in 2005 by Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia. As designed, the cities will have a total of four times the geographic area of Hong Kong, three times the population of Dubai, and an economic output equal to Singapore’s.

The coastal King Abdullah Economy City (abbreviated as KAEC; pronounced CAKE - Arabic: مدينة الملك عبدالله اللإقتصادية‎) is designed to house two million in an area twice the size of Hong Kong.

Entirely funded by domestic and foreign private investors, this is the only one of the four planned cities that is currently under construction.
With a total development area of 173 km² (66.8 sq mi), the city is located along the coast of the Red Sea, around 100 km north of Jeddah, the commercial hub of the kingdom.

The city will be the largest transportation and logistics hub in the Middle East and will be approximately an hour away from the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina by car and an hour away of the 12 Middle Eastern capital cities by plane.

The city will be divided into six main components: Industrial Zone, Sea Port, Residential Areas, Sea Resort, Educational Zone, and a Central Business District (Find out more details on Wikipedia).

The total cost of the city is $26.6 billion. The first stage of the city is planned to be completed in 2010, while the whole city is going to be fully completed by 2020.

The city will help diversify the oil-based economy of the kingdom by bringing direct foreign and domestic investments. Based on initial forecasts, the project and its several components will create up to 500,000 employment opportunities for the youthful population of the country, where 60% of the population is under 15. (Source CNN)

Super rich and nowhere to go? The Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi has released the world’s most expensive holiday package, “The National” reports. For just $1 million (Dh3.67 million) a week, guests can enjoy a week long ultra luxurious holiday in ultra luxurious surroundings.

The $145,000-a-day package includes the hotel’s finest suite, first-class air tickets, a full-time Maybach luxury saloon with driver, daily spa treatments, day trips by private jet to Iran to witness the creation of a unique Persian carpet, to Jordan for a spa treatment with Dead Sea mud and to Bahrain for a deep-sea pearl dive. The pearl will be set in a custom-made piece of jewellery.

“The important thing to remember is that the trip is adaptable. If a person doesn’t want to go to Bahrain, or would rather ski for example, we’ll arrange a trip to Beirut or Iran,” Sehry Fassy, the director of marketing at the Emirates Palace said.

The guests will receive gifts worth more than $100,000 – including a pearl necklace for her and a gun from the English gunsmith Holland & Holland for him. But “No one has bought it yet. We’re waiting for the lucky winner,” he said

Gavin Samson, the director of Tri-Hospitality consulting, a company based in London and Dubai, said the super package would probably find a buyer.

“Nothing surprises me any more at all in this market,” he said. “I’m surprised that this is in Abu Dhabi and not in Dubai. That’s where the publicity and the headlines are hit with these ridiculous announcements.”

“It seems ridiculously expensive. Anyone who would do it would be doing it for the publicity,” he said, adding that the quest to be bigger, better and more expensive could get ridiculous. “But knowing the Gulf, the money is there and there’s someone who will want to do it.”

The offer is being made as an attempt to earn the hotel a slot in the Guinness Book of World Records, and part of the proceeds will be donated to charities in the U.A.E., the paper reports