You may have seen it all over Instagram, the Raining Street of Dubai. A quaint European-style pedestrian road, lined with red and white polka dot awnings, where (unlike the rest of the UAE) it rains all year round.
The perennially drizzly street is now open to the public, in the Cote d’Azur Monaco hotel in the World Islands’ Heart of Europe by the Kleindienst Group.
The climate-controlled kilometre-long street maintains a constant temperature of 27°C, with humidity set to 60 per cent and winds of 5kph.
A representative for the hotel confirmed to The National that it will also snow on the street in the future.
There are two ways to access the Raining Street, either as a guest at the hotel or with a day-pass which costs Dh300 ($81). Passes can be organised by calling the hotel on 800 387 673.
The developers hope it "will bring the European ambience closer to the heart of Dubai, especially during the heated summer months".
“The technology ensures that as soon as the temperature goes above 27°C on the island, cold water in the form of rain will fall from the top of the buildings through concealed pipes,” Kleindienst Group chairman Josef Kleindienst said.
According to the group, measures have been taken to ensure the installation is in line with its sustainability goals. A Kleindienst Group representative told The National last year: "The Raining Street is solar-powered and developed in co-operation with the Fraunhofer Institute, one of Europe’s leading research organisations.
"The climate-control feature signals The Heart of Europe’s commitment in designing environmentally friendly structures as well as employing state-of-the-art technology to reduce energy consumption, all while reflecting the new challenges faced by responsible and forward-thinking developers."
Rain in the UAE
The Rain Room in Sharjah is another place people can visit for a fix of wet weather in the UAE.
The art project is on permanent display at the Sharjah Art Foundation. Unlike the Raining Street, the Rain Room has motion sensors that detect bodily movement, so that as you move through the site, the rain stops.
The installation is made by Random International, a studio set up by two Royal College of Arts graduates in 2005, Florian Ortkrass and Hannes Koch.
