A Slice of Art & Design: A quest for the symbol

A few days back I took the metro to go to the bank and once inside the NRI (Non Resident Indian) section I was quite astonished to see a brand new advertisement on display. It has used a metro station as the symbol of Dubai while the Taj Mahal remained the emblem of India. This actually opens up an interesting topic of finding a permanent symbol for a city which is changing so fast and so much.

I have observed quite a few symbols that signified Dubai over the past few years. The two most popular of all has been the Dubai Creek Golf Club and the Burj Al Arab. While the golf club found its place in the twenty (20) Dirham currency bill, the Burj Al Arab could be noticed in the car license plates. But soon new contenders to take the pride of symbolizing Dubai started to appear in the fast changing horizons of the Dubai sky while the earlier ones struggled to retain their positions with their share of diehard admirers. There are plenty of iconic structures, but the most famous ones which may rightfully lay their claim for the exclusive right to symbolize the city are as follows: The Dubai Creek Golf Club; The Burj Al Arab; The Emirates towers; The Burj Dubai; The Air traffic control tower; the new airport building; the metro stations.

Can you think of anything else? Probably you can!

The clubhouse of the Dubai Creek Golf Club is the first structure which almost singlehandedly brought Dubai to the International map of iconic structures. Architect Brain Johnson founded a Firm GAJ (Godwin, Austen and Johnson) in the late Eighties and is responsible for the design of this club house building. He has ushered in an era of iconic building where designers from around the world fought to come up with a representation of traditional Arabic style transformed into modern structures... Old - meets - new technique.

The Burj Al Arab, whose literal meaning in Arabic is Tower of the Arabs is a luxury hotel located on an artificial island out from Jumeirah beach, and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. Standing at 321 m (1,050 ft) it happens to be one of the tallest hotel buildings in the world. This Building shaped like a sail boat is the forerunner of all the iconic structures that followed.

Burj Dubai, which literally means Dubai Tower in Arabic, is a mighty skyscraper under construction on the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Presently it is the tallest man-made structure ever built (818 m/ 2,684 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004.The tower is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.

The Emirates towers which are located on the Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai are my personal favorites. This complex contains the Emirates Office Tower and Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. These two towers which rise to 355 meters (1,163 ft) and 309 meters (1,014 ft), respectively are considered among the tallest skyscrapers of the world.