Saturday, March 24, 2007
Dreams & illusions in the desert by Matthew Collings from Dubai
The image above is architect Zaha Hadid’s design for a new performing arts building in Abu Dhabi, UAE
For a while now, I’ve been working on the idea of an artfuture theme park (i.e. the world’s first resort devoted to art and technology). For the most part, it seemed like a fantasy as it would be hard to find others interested in something on that scale. Then I kept watching what was happening in the giant malls of China and the plans for Dubai. The scale and over-the-top construction is just amazing to watch. Hopefully it will end up being something that benefits everyone. I’ll definitely plan a trip to check it out.
This article by Matthew Collings from the Telegraph.co.uk is a good perspective.
The new museum [a branch of the Louvre] will be housed on an island, named Saadiyat, or “Paradise”. As well as the Louvre, there will be a new branch of New York’s Guggenheim Museum, a performing arts museum, a maritime museum - plus an art biennale, wildlife reserves, luxury hotels, shopping malls and restaurants. The purpose of the development, costing many millions of dollars (the island’s infrastructure alone will cost $1 billion), is to reinforce perceptions of the capital city as a regional and international business and tourism hub.
I was taken round a scale model of the art district by one of the directors of the development. The new Guggenheim is designed by Frank Gehry, the new Louvre by Jean Nouvel, who modernised the Louvre in Paris, and the performing arts museum by Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid.