Looking Beyond The Facade

 

09.09.09 has been a Red Letter day in the history of UAE and particularly for the people of Dubai, the day when Dubai metro was officially inaugurated and it was formally opened to the public the next day. The media and the citizens of Dubai gave a double thumps up by flocking to have a ride on the brand new mode of transport. This also provided an apt opportunity for the authorities to prove ... if we promise we deliver! After all actions speaks louder than words! The date was well in advance and while the residents debated and argued about the feasibility of this milestone, RTA saw to it that no stone remained unturned to achieve this feat. The commitment has been honored, at least to a good great extent and we shall wait for 10.10.10 to see the metro fully operational in all directions and stopping at all stations.

When the Dubai metro was conceptualized, the economic situation on ground was much different than what we see now. The current economic downturn, rightly termed as Economic Tsunami, had taken its toll the construction industry as well as the tourism industry globally. There is no denying of the fact that Dubai like anywhere else has been affected and we could perceive it to this degree because Dubai was at its peak enjoying everything king-size at the time of the downturn.
I personally used the metro twice and on both the occasions it was on the weekend. First time it was after I had put my car for service and the next one was a joyride as my wife and daughter were left out of the metro experience, when we parked at the Rashidiya station car park and went up Khaleed bin waleed station and back.
There is no doubt that the tourists and the shoppers from world over will start flocking back to Dubai sooner than later. This time they will have the opportunity to view Dubai from a elevated level. I have an observation which might be worth having a look at. All this days as we have been driving through the Dubai roads we have been ever impressed by the neatness and the beauty of this city. Every inch of the city is neat, clean and well organized and soothing to our eyes. The pavement is worked out to the minutest details and the islands between the roads are beautified with manicured plantation of seasonal flowers and occasional date palms. As we have started to travel on the metro, our view of the city have received another dimension. We have now been exposed to a view which is beyond the beautiful facade. We could see the warehouses with their mess, we could see the rooftops cluttered with the equipment and we see more than that. It is definitely not anything comparable to the mess and clogged slums that we notice in some other city in Asia or the subcontinent.

But we are discussing Dubai, one of the best kept cities of our times and why should there be any eyesore which can be done without. Why should it settle for less if it could help? I suggest that citizens of Dubai comes up with ideas which is cost effective as well as sustainable and earth friendly to bring the view from the top to the same degree of finesse as it is from the road level.

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.

The Air traffic control tower and the new airport building

 Metro station

It uses material from the Wikipedia articles

A Few Masterpieces & some Living Statues

If I was to name one “not be missed place” on a visit to Madrid, I would have no hesitation in selecting the “Prado National Museum”. The Prado Museum is renowned as being the largest art gallery in the world housing more than 8,600 paintings. But for space limitation they exhibits less than 2,000 paintings but for me I was very lucky as there were a collection of Picasso on display as part of an exchange program. In addition to painting s, it also exhibits sculptures, drawings, coins and other works of arts.

The rich life story of El Prado started during the reign of Charles III, when he had the vision to create a single art collection. But it was on 19th November 1819, during the reign of Fernando VII, the Royal Museum of Painting and Sculpture was created. With the abolition of monarchy in Spain the museum became a national property and came to be known as the Prado National Museum.

The works of art have survived several challenges since the inception and were transferred to many locations during the Spanish Civil War and finally ended up in the Swiss city of Geneva. They were later returned to Madrid during the Second World War. This is quite in contrast to the artifacts that were stolen from India and were never returned back. We too never got to get those back with our non violent approach to life!

In addition to the work of arts available within the Museum, there are plenty of “Living Statues” visible around the cityscape. Those are the men and women who pose for and freeze their gesture to imitate a statue. Some look at this as a livelihood or an easy way of getting some money. But they are slowly getting the recognition of an art form. I have learnt that it is never easy to stay in a particular position and not even moving their eyeball!

It is definitely a hard day’s work! And at the end of the day what they get might not be enough!

Al Hambra - As I saw it

Sometimes is it is hype and at times it is hoopla. But we the lesser mortals always end up having a preconceived image of everything that we are about to read or see or visit much before the event actually takes place.

The Taj Mahal visit is one such event of my life which had happened while I was still studying in college. We went up with lot of enthusiasm and were extremely excited to take the final turn and face the Taj (one actually enters the premises and continue to move forward and then comes a point where we turn and face the Taj), the famous symbol of Love! I won’t say that I was disappointed but it definitely did not provide the ecstatic experience that I had expected... Well not at the first sight! But as we walked into the mausoleum it was definitely a great and incomparable experience.

On the same tour we got the opportunity to visit the Lotus Temple (Baha’i) in New Delhi for the very first time. I went there with little or no prior knowledge or study done. It did not have associated hype but I thought it was a great expression of art and it did sweep me off my foot.

Many a years after visiting those two places I happened to visit Al Hambra. I was excited to be able to stand in front of one of the greatest symbols of Andalusian Architecture and devour it through my eyes. My expectation was moderate though the excitement was immeasurable. Once inside I was totally "WOW-ed” by the intricacies, details and the ambience of this place. Though I won't compare this with any other monument or try and judge which is better but this is definitely one of the finest structures and inspired art around the globe.

The start was not very smooth. The entry ticket, which I found quite expensive, to begin with, had a time printed on it. We did not realize that one was permitted to enter the palace only within that window of time. We strolled leisurely enjoying the view of the other structures around and finally when we reached the entrance, we were denied entry. No amount of pleading from us as well as our native compatriot could change their mind. We had to return all the way back to the ticket counter and buy new tickets. After all we had re-routed our trip through Granada only to be able to see Al Hambra. I wish they had explained to us this verbally as not everyone is used to read all the details printed in a ticket.

But once inside the palace it was worth every bit of the trouble.

The literal meaning of Al Hambra in Arabic is "the Red one". It was part of the fortress complex of the Muslims rulers of Granada and also housed their courts. The palace has a series of courts and halls in a spatial order as the one move through public to more private spaces. The most famous court is the court of the lions. Today this is one of Spain's major tourist attractions. This is the confluence of Islamic and Christian Architecture and Culture in the European main lands.

This is a monument to experienced! I know this will continue to inspire Architects, Designers and Artist from around the world and influnece their works.

The Wikipedia is a good source for information on Al Hambra. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

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)