design

The SHAPE of an image

This is the situation that we are facing every day, images selling products that try to make your life better, the idea of comfort and luxury surrounding every environment that you step in. This is the concept of a new life, a so called modern life style where luxury is all around you, but who really has access to this fantasy? Could it be the sponsors or only the buyers who are willing to spend huge amounts of money in buying this lifestyle?

The best example for this phenomenon is Dubai, the capital of the frenetic development, where everything is possible, from the biggest entertainment center of the Middle East to the tallest skyscraper in the world currently under construction. This center is also a world business hub situated between London and Singapore. ‘The government’s decision to diversify from a trade-based, but oil-reliant, economy to one that is service and tourism-oriented has made real estate more valuable, resulting in the property appreciation from 2004-2006. Large scale real estate development projects have led to the construction of some of the tallest skyscrapers and largest projects in the world Dubai’s economy was built on the back of the oil industry. Revenues from oil and natural gas currently account for less than 6% of the emirate’s revenues. Real Estate and Construction (22.6%), Trade (16%), trading post of merchandise (15%) and financial services (11%) are the largest contributors to Dubai’s economy.’ (1) With this exponential growth Dubai has become a magnet for architects and developers.

This Real Estate phenomenon has been seen already in some other cities like Las Vegas, Hong Kong, etc; and the result is always the same, an artificial environment ready to house artificial lives while another hot spot is being generated in some other place on earth. My concern is as a designer; I see this and can only wonder:

What is happening to the city and which is the line being followed by architects and developers?

My personal opinion is that none of this really exists, the projects are being held by individuals, the concept of the city is complex if not lost. Everyone wants their own bit of acknowledgment, but no one concerns themselves with the whole package. Evidently disappointing, some of these so called new developers do not sell real architecture, they are selling images to fill up empty spaces where the lack of urban planning and public space is evident. Have you heard about Dubai land? , the biggest entertainment center in the world, where everything is of course artificially created, but how else could it be if we are in the middle of the desert.

On the other hand we have the powerful construction enterprises which always have the biggest contracts no matter if the project is good or not, these are the ones who have the power to develop projects which small offices can only be dreaming of, and this chain of events are the ones hitting us at the end, the endless list of small offices that cannot afford to hire you, but have really nice ideas in which you can apply these new technologies learned or these new idea that came to your mind while doing a master program, seem to be far from your reach because only big offices are managing to keep on going. Frustration rises, due to the lack of response and opportunities closing in front of you, and trying to start up an office becomes more difficult than ever, mainly moved by fear of investors due to the present economic situation.

I do not mean to sound fatalistic but it is true that the present situation worldwide makes it hard to go out and find a job, even if you are better prepared than a lot of people around you. But this is only the last part of a large chain of events which has been growing without constraints for the last 20 years. The real question is, are we ready to be part of it?

References

• (1) Wikipedia

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