Mercato - Italian For Market

In my series on malls of Dubai, this post is about the Mercato Mall.

The Jumeirah road is one of the most upscale streets of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is part of one of the fastest growing and probably the most prestigious residential and retail districts which houses several hotels resort and private residential properties. On one end of the road is “Souk Madinat Jumeirah” which I have described in my earlier post. That one is based on the traditional Arab Islamic souk concept. The Mercato on the other hand is with Italian, French and Spanish flavors and the literal translation of this Italian word (Mercato) is “Market”. Looking back at history we see centuries ago, peasants would bring their produce and goods for trade to the Mercato. As time passed and the concept grew popularity the shops became permanent features. The place started to gain social importance in the sense of community living. People used to meet for coffee and chatted for hours while all the shops started to face inwards to attract customers and get maximum visibility. At sunset this square would turn into a venue for events, festivities and concerts.

Famous Italian architect, Daniele Morelli, adopted the concept of several squares of a traditional Mediterranean market place usually the focal point of any community to design the interior of the Mercato Mall. This is a venue of Venetian costume parade and other similar activities by Italian and other European performers specially flown in to Dubai for the occasion. Otherwise this is just another mall with all the big name brands like all other malls of Dubai.

My particular favorite in this mall the meeting place at the centre with a beautiful skylight on the top. This is the place where tourists and visitors meet for coffee and a quick snack with loads of catching up with friends. A symbol of Good life and good Living!

Souq Madinat Jumeirah - A mall with a difference

As friends of ours let us know that they are planning to visit Dubai. The question that first comes to my mind is what are the places we shall take them for sightseeing and going around. The answer invariably are the shopping malls! We ourselves have admired the shopping malls and the experience more than anything else.

Dubai by the virtue of being so well placed in the tourism map of the world is a hot favorite of tourists from all around the globe. It caters to both budget & luxury sectors with plenty of variety for each category and also providing enough choices for the Ultra Luxury sectors. Be a Nouveau riche or a classy one you will never run out of options when it comes to shopping. To live up to the reputation there are shopping malls dotting the entire cityscape. The architecture and construction is already the buzzword here and to exceed the tourist’s expectation Dubai have created the biggest, the largest, the highest, tallest and the classiest and best in every category.
I shall attempt to do a series on the malls of Dubai. The first one has to be the Souq Madinat Jumeirah.

The big question that crosses one’s mind is who created this ambience. The answer is probably the Architects with inputs from both the Landscape designer and the Interior designer.
There are two very distinct environments that encompass this mall. Once you are inside the mall you are transported into a world of Arabian delight. It is like shopping in a traditional souq (market place). The lighting is dim but adequate which adds up to the overall experience. Even most of the shops seem to be handpicked to go with the theme.

The interior mingles with the architecture very well and steps out to seduce the outside world in a particularly impressive way in at least 3 locations. Once at the ceremonial entrance and once in a courtyard, while the imposing one is the amphitheatre. The giant steps serve as the overflow of the F&B outlets when no concert is in progress. There is quite an interesting feature in the Basement. A tromp o el and a decorative bench in the shape of a deck chair has been used to convert a negative space into a positive space.

Once outside the building structure one cannot help being overtaken by the free form of the smooth flow of the water body. The dhows (traditional boats), rocks, plantation and fish and the intricately manicured landscape takes you to a land far away from the sandy Arabian desert and gives a sense of tranquility and peace with seats placed thoughtfully where you can sit and reflect. But you can never miss the ever impressing figure of the famous Burj Al Arab, the very building that symbolizes Dubai.

(Please click on the picture for a larger image)