With Sydney grappling with the Barangaroo development and Darling Harbour redevelopment, large scale ( by Sydney or normal standards ) city projects, still fresh in memory, landing in Dubai and sister emirate Abu Dhabi , with it’s total recasting of city scape completely distorts mine, and I would dare say, everyone’s perception of scale. A scale you have to immerse yourself in the understand.
A few practice visits reinforces that perception. Shaun Killa of ATKINS tour de force of the redesign of the Middle East and Asia is heady stuff. Like a boxer on the architectural ropes, he hits us with a mega tower and follows up with New City upper cut. Then repeats the combination for an hour at least never stopping for self reflection. here is a man at the top of his game but also lost in the game played in this town.
The discussion of scale could be fleshed out PhD style, but not for a blog. I personally am still struggling with the scale and how it fits into my understanding, and what the next or remedial phase will be. Roads then buildings with no street life is not a way to make city. But that’s what has been done.
It’s extraordinary that building on this scale can be almost devoid of a considered urban plan. The street is only a surface for conveyance between islands they call buildings. Here one suspects the way the place is developing is a reflection of the Emirates’. Yes it can get bloody hot and humid, but is that any reason to disregard the street? A Souk Market long ago setup the idea, the model of what an urban environment could be, but it is disregarded as urban model in the quest to completely and totally project an image of Dubai and to a slightly lesser extent Abu Dhabi, to the world.
Which poses the question: Because you can should you? The answer one suspects is yet to be defined. It’s an experiment that has a lot riding on it. If the oil runs out, Dubai and Abu Dhabi will rely on whatever they have built to survive.
Being an optimist, I think there is a next phase after all this mega scale madness. It’s making sense of what they have done. It will require an intervention on a scale that Haussmann could only dream of, but this scale is not foreign to this area.
Wrapping up, for me there is a special mention for Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. This is a utopian city idea that is actually being built, or as my 7 year old daughter would say, in real life. Here Norman Foster rejects gimmickry for substance and while lost in a built utopian reality, designs the best urban scheme seen in the UAE. Unfortunately it sits atop of a carpark and has a big brother, 1984 type automatic driverless car that takes you where you should be, but perhaps not she you want to be. Foster’s student housing is outstanding. Screened balconies interpret the local vernacular, and curvilinear form that sits atop one another but out of phase to form a beautiful rolling facade. This atop a collanade and close packed with adjacent buildings forming a cool shadow space perfect for street activity in a hot climate. Apparently Zaha Hadid beat this project for an internationally prestigious award, which surprises me. Awards are always subjective, but it would have to be socially inclusive and outstanding to knock
this one off, which I am yet to see from Hadid.
If there is a runners up prize, this also goes to Foster for Souk , Central market, Abu Dhabi…..noir shopping in dim light with rich timber screens and tall narrow voids. Clearly Foster’s crew had done their homework, and designed a contemporary version of a Souk that is a worthy addition to this place that desperately needs it.