Contributing to a Green Environment - ap.hunterdouglas....

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Postcards from DubaiIn this issue, we are pleased to present the Dubai study trip reports of our winners from the NUS Department of Architecture –Hunter Douglas Award 2006 and Singapore Polytechnic – Hunter Douglas Award 2006 (Architecture Category).Looking at DubaiLiu Zhenghao – Winner of the BA (Arch)/BA (ID) CategoryWe have to makehistory and approachthe future with steadysteps, not wait for thefuture to come to us.“”- HH SheikhMohammed Bin RashidAl MaktoumMr. Liu and his mother, having agood time at a desert partyI began my stay in Dubai by exploring theCreek, Dubai’s main water channel, as wellas the surrounding areas of Deira (easternbank) and Bur Dubai (western bank). We tookan abra or water taxi, and plied the length ofthe river. The boat experience was a quaintand varied one, as the shoreline had littlevisual legibility and looked more like aBangkok waterway than an Arabian fantasyland - quite a different image of Dubai fromwhat I was expecting. Nevertheless theCreek’s vibrant souks, sprinkling ofpostmodern Arab-inspired buildings anddiverse people groups provided a humantouch and a hint of the rich mercantile historyof the area.On day 2, we hopped onto a sightseeing busto explore the new city.A major highlight was the Jumeirah Beachstretch, a highway of tourism running parallelto the Arabian Gulf. It was a truly aweinspiringexperience to see artificial wonderslike the World Islands, the Palm and as wellas the legendary Burj Al Arab one afteranother.The Burj itself had a rather tucked awayentrance and was located on a man-madeisland, accessible only via a narrow bridgeto enhance the feeling of exclusivity. Therewere many tourists taking pictures near theentrance to the bridge, as admission wasrestricted to only residents and those withmeal reservations there. When we finallymade a lunch reservation and visited the Burjmuch later, the building did not disappoint.The interiors done by KCA Internationalfeatured the 5 elements of water, air, fire,earth and wood in a kaleidoscopic, ultrasaturatedburst of colour, Arabic motifs andsheer opulence. The décor could seem toomuch for modernist-trained eyes, but I foundthe overtness to be appropriate for theoccasion - it could only happen at the Burj.Another highlight of the city tour was SheikhZayed Road, where Dubai’s business district lies.An armada of skyscrapers lines both sides ofthe road to create a strong visual axis; the scenelooked like a futuristic scene from Luc Besson’s“The Fifth Element”, perhaps inspiring the selfproclaimed slogan “City of the Future”.But do not be fooled into thinking this is allthere is: the majority of future Dubai is stilldesert land, and the city is set to grow by atleast 400% its original size by 2010 (andcounting). Already, an entire city is risingliterally from nothing further down the roadnear the Jebel Ali district. There are about250 skyscrapers being built currently in thearea alone, and 4000 buildings all underconstruction simultaneously in Dubai city.As a testament to this rapid ballooning, 24%or 30,000 of the world’s cranes are in Dubairight now. When most of this current batch ofconstruction is completed by 2010, Dubai willhave a new downtown complete with theworld’s tallest tower, Burj Dubai sitting in frontof the world’s largest man-made marina(carved right out of the desert), a new airportcity with 6 runways (Heathrow has 2), 3subsequently larger Palm Islands, the World,and a new Dubai Waterfront, the largest ofall the man-made island complexes. On thecards too are Dubailand and Bawadi, thelargest tourist and hospitality developmentson the planet. Bawadi alone will contain 31hotels and 29,200 rooms.14
In recent years, Prime Minister SheikhMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum hassought to rapidly diversify Dubai’s economythrough his wholly owned GLC Dubai Holding,by building a mini-city each for each ofthe identified growth sectors. Thesecompanies and industrial cities include:Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City,International Media Production Zone, DubaiInternet City, Dubai Outsource Zone, DubaiProperties, Dubai International Capital, DubaiEnergy, Dubai Knowledge Village, DubaiHealthcare City, Dubai Industrial City,Dubailand, the Jumeirah Group (whichowns Burj Al Arab and other hotels),and Dubiotech. Dubai and the UAE arepreparing in a big way for regional and globaldomination, even stating in Sheikhdombiography ‘Rashid’s Legacy’ its intentions ofbeing Capital of the World.The incredible speed at which architectureand cities, for that matter, are materialisedin Dubai deeply challenges thoughts andconventions about design and the process ofcreating. To be fair, most modern buildingsin the emirate are rather identical inconception; ‘iconic’ in their own way and partof an endless genealogy of permutatedelements: glass, steel, swooping curves,curtain walls, spires, in a relatively highquality nevertheless.The need for high speed and a high level ofinnovation necessarily puts pressure ondesigners to pull off the next technicalwonder. At an age when originality andconstructive mulling over a project seemsmost valued, there is paradoxically a greateranxiety for architectural confectionary - aphenomenon almost disconcerting.All in all, Dubai represents an ideal place towatch new realities take shape, both for thearchitectural profession and the ongoingglobal-city race. It is a shining metropolisdesigned to shake anyone who has seen it.Personally, Dubai speaks to me about theneed to think big and do things quickly in thispresent age, or risk perishing. Thisconnoisseur-city of the UAE seems to thriveon outdoing itself in audacity every now andthen, and constantly sets its sights on nothingbut the finest. Finally, to silence detractorsabout the perceived oil money that is keepingthe economy afloat, I would point to the factthat oil exports now account for only 6% ofthe current GDP. Oil money or not, it is vitalto recognise the need for the quality ofthought. Maybe we should all sit up, takeaway presupposed limitations and start todream?Dubai creek was the default centre of old Dubai, now largely occupied by working-class foreigners15
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Page 19 and 20: The Dubai Museum Wind TowerAl Fahid
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