And as it is now:
I've begun to notice that criticism of the megacity's sudden development tends to glaze the topic in an apocalyptic or even vaguely propagandist light, as if there is something implicitly terrifying or even morally wrong about a (completely unsustainable) metropolis springing up (over a weekend, literally built on sand). Ok, there is something scary about it, but what, exactly, is it that frightens us? I think it's common that we look at Dubai's skyline and the buildings proposed to be added to it and feel a reeling sensation. What do we feel? Too much too young. Icarus! Too big for their britches. They're going to fall down! Etc.
Ask any American (and most Brits) and they'll eventually verbalize the elephant in the room: that the tallest of the skyscrapers are a clear invitation to devastating terrorist attack. Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has officially warned citizens that travel to the UAE puts one at high risk for being involved in a terrorist act. Is an architectural climate of fear brewing, emanating from the tacit, shared feeling that rapid development is an boon to terror activity? If we put ecological issues aside, is there anything implicitly dangerous about rapid development? Are tall, ambitious buildings "asking for it?"
Also: is the fear-mongering regionalist or even racist (i.e. "I can't believe they're building those buildings OVER THERE")? If the fear is based solely on the fact that the UAE is situated in the Persian Gulf, is it justified or not?
Whether you believe the highrises are headed for a crash or not, you should look at these vertigo-inducing photos of Dubai from The Boston Globe here and check out this photo taken from above the clouds, atop the Burj.
2 comments:
Could it not also be a fear of extending the human artifice beyond the capacity of the human to understand it? Your blog emphasizes the dimension of architecture that surpasses the merely political/social and finds meaning in the very act of comprehending the spatial-liminal world of buildings. A city becomes organic, living, as it "grows"; it is filled with life and communicates abstractly through design and relationship to its inhabitants. The point at which these designs, particularly in their nascence (as you describe), outrun the world's ability to totalize the achievement is the point at which fear emerges. Perhaps. Even the Creator can be astonished by his/her own ability to mythologize, to generate vast creative signification...
This, of course, could all be a response secondary to that of the economic or political knee-jerk, but my instinct is that the fundamental reaction is aesthetic, moved, awed.
Thank you for the comment!
The point at which these designs, particularly in their nascence (as you describe), outrun the world's ability to totalize the achievement is the point at which fear emerges.
This is interesting, and I think I agree, but I'm not sure how you mean "totalize" in this context: "realize"?
Perhaps it is important to examine the viewpoints of Dubaians in re: the growth rate of their own city. Are they as afraid/shocked as Westerners are? Perhaps they take the (staggering, to me) architectural reach in stride, as it suits the atmosphere and life of their city.
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