Define Dubai's Skyline. A Sign Of Vitality Or Is It Just Crass?

I've come across a couple of articles in magazines and newspapers in which each writer berates the other's accounts and opinions of Dubai and the emirates' continued redefinition of revitalization and building construction technology. In her Feb 9th article in the guardian, Germaine Greer describes her recent visit to Dubai as "disappointing" and goes on to say, "from its artificial islands to its boring new skyscraper, Dubai's architecture is beyond crass." Wow! Meanwhile, Siobhan Campbell in her response article on the 18th in the same paper, describes Greer's remarks as, "lacking insight, and panders to the media pastime of rejoicing in the supposedly burst bubble of Dubai's prosperity. So...is there a middle ground here?

First of all, both Greer and Campbell are 6-8 months behind times and don't seem to really know the real state of affairs in Dubai where all building construction has come to a screeching halt. I've outlined this before in past articles, most recently in my Jan 24th write up. The financial loses to Dubai are just as bad as those in the US, UK and the world over. The cost of food that has to be imported has sky rocketed. The real estate and property values have fallen by 50%, and it is only a matter of time, before the building construction industry there completely collapses.

Still, let's analyze both their respective comments on this issue. Greer, who called the Burg Dubai, "the needle stuck in the buttock of the Almighty" shows that the outrageous prices for space in the tower has made it an eerie, empty nest. The Amani residences which go for a minimum of 3,500 USD are also equally empty and have aided the the developer, Emaar lose 75% of the tower's total value. So has all this construction been for naught? It might as well have been if hardly anyone lives there especially on the "man made" islands. And these Greer has pointed out as the "crassest of all." Palm Jumeira remains underdeveloped as "the water between the branches is stagnating and algae is forming along the man-made beachfront. How this will affect the dolphins that are shipped from the South Pacific to amuse the guests at the Hotel Atlantis, who pay $75 to swim with them, is any body's guess." So altogether, Germaine Greer does not have much of a high opinion of Dubai and I really can't say that anyone should blame her much.

Now Siobhan Campbell, as a resident of Dubai, is not at all impressed with all the issues outlined by Greer. According to Campbell, only 6% of Dubai's revenue comes from oil so the need to create a tourist industry to supplement the market is not only a necessary thing but a very innovative move which has attracted "investment and tourists: with both of these come jobs." Jobs? Is she really counting the cheap labor of the migrant population of Indians and Philippinos, who can no longer survive on their meager existence and are leaving en mass, as jobs created? Or is she speaking of the expatriates who have also left in fustration? And how many of the actual indigens of Dubai were employed during this time? Not very many if any at all. Still, I do agree with Campbell that Greer really just had a bus tour of the city during a lay-over and can't really sum up the dynamism and culture of the entire area in just four hours.

The issue of Dubai's architecture is probably one of the most controversial of our time with everyone coming in with hotly contested opinions and never really seeing eye-to-eye. But one thing I think that we can all just come out and agree upon is that the building frenzy in Dubai has been a Little over the top and the recent crash in the market has not helped. The focus on large scale mixed use towers has taken precedence over much needed projects such as better infrastructure to address the horrible traffic and sewage problems and this even residents can agree upon. Though done in excess, Dubai has been broken the barrier in forward thinking architectural design but unfortunately, this has come to the detriment of much of their ecosystem. Still, I think I've done enough pieces on Dubai, though I couldn't resist the urge to rant about it once more here. It is what it is so let's leave it alone and move on.



Image obtained from: www.guardian.co.uk
For more information, check: www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/18/dubai-architecture and www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/feb/09/dubai-architecture-greer