This is the 3rd post ,continuation of the trip to the Emirates which started on March 6/2022, (here)
The official plan for this 3rd day was to only eye-ball the exteriors of :
the architectural landmark Al Kifaf - "Frame" structure, the "Sheikh Palace" which sprouted from the sand dunes in the 60th, the famous "Opus"structure designed by the architect Zaha Hadid, a visit to an Art Gallery (which was aborted) and last, the much coveted "Expo 2022" a special highlight of the visit in Dubai
Man plans an then the almighty intervenes.....
Before the group managed to fully view the beauty of the Frame structure, a change in directives, summon the entire group for a PCR corona test, being now a required condition, prior to entering
Abu - Dhabi , the next day's destination.
Thus the "Frame" was all we saw on view without the Art Gallery.. given up for the PCR test time.
The Frame
Erected in in Zabeel Park, part of an affluent urban neighborhood by the same Zabeel name.
The Dubai Frame -comprised of a pair of 150-metre-tall towers linked by a 93-metre-wide bridge, was conceived by Fernando Donis , and holds the record for the largest Frame in the world, It is also, an alleged intellectual property stolen, created out of glass, steel, and aluminum, with reinforced concrete.
A designs logo of Expo 2020 is embedded on its the outer facade.
A 25-square-metre glass panel in the floor of the bridge at the observation deck, which we didn't visit, spans the top of the frame, and gives visitors views down over the the city, while the lower part contains a museum showcasing the history of the city, Tickets to visit
Za'abbeel Neighborhood
The bus dropped the group members, two at a time, at a small dinky Corona Test
station, where an uber-zealous staff tester, out of the servicing two, insisted on a deep into the nostrils penetration, that raised a wave of protest, from a few who were tested first
Efficiency and speed in testing or in charging, were not, at all, of the testers priority,
Thus it took about two hours to complete testing, all 30 of us, including the guides.
This loss of morning time, changed the itinerary plans for the rest of the day.
Still, touring the city by bus, having short stops for photo taking, and getting a thorough
conceptual refreshing course, by Ran - our expert architect guide, on the historical evolvement of architectural styles, filled up my curiosity and sensibilities to the brim..
Highlighting notions like : Classicism , Neo-Classicism , Modernism, Post Modernism as well as functional structuralism, communicated symbolism, and deconstructionism, were used to describe the architectural delights observed that day.
Ran -the guide also mentioned the names of "Star" jet-setter architects who paved the way to the new architectural trends, who coined some of the newest architectural terminology. and also left their architectural legacy in Duba.
Among those Star architects mentioned are:
From the 1960 the American Robert Venturi, - Post modernism -dictum "Less is more"
Reactionary British architect Terry Ferrell and contextual urban designer. from the 1980 best known for his exuberant works of postmodernism.
Hassan Fathy - a cosmopolitan tri-lingual professor-engineer-architect, amateur musician, dramatist, and inventor, who in the 1980 designed many functional buildings, and pioneered appropriate technology to reestablish authentic traditional style using adobe traditional mud construction and using also Neo-Mamluk style, as opposed to westernbuilding designs, material configurations, and lay-outs.
Zaha Hadid the British-Iraqi artist/ designer/architect of the late 20th and early 21st c
who adopted painting as a design tool and abstraction as an investigative principle to "reinvestigate the aborted and untested experiments of Modernism. The "Queen of the curve"
Frank Gehry,(Goldberg) a Canadian-born American architect and designer, is considered among the most important of contemporary architecture in the 2010, Known to "defy categorisation", reflects a spirit of experimentation with at least some element of deconstructivism.
Daniel Libeskind - a Polish-American architect, artist, professor and set designer another deconstructionist of jagged edges, sharp angles and tortured geometries
Santiago Calatrava - a Spanish architect and a structural engineer, sculptor and painter, whose known designed bridges (supported by single leaning pylons) his railway stations, stadiums, and museums, are beyond post modernism, with cost overruns and beyond functional concerns, a product of an affluent society. Sites on View
Sheikh Palace - Zabeel Palace
The residence and administrative headquarters of the Ruling Royal family of Dubai
The majestic palace of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum - UAE's former prime minister. is situated in the Zabeel area, only 6 km from Dubai Frame and is one of the popular Dubai Landmarks to visit.
Middle Eastern Islamic architecture fused with a flair of European neo classical elements.
It was designed by the Austrian architect- Otto Bulart who also designed the
Clock Tower in Dubai and Dubai Zoo
Zabeel area, which was formerly just bare land covered with sand is surrounded by all the glitzy buildings that make up the skyline of Dubai.
An older Zabeel Palace which cropped up in the vicinity, was constructed sometime in the 1960s and was used as a residence till the 90s and the newer more lavish was constructed.
And yes the horses on the main gate's top - an imitation from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate
It is one of the most secured palaces in the world, which is protected by sophisticated electronic devices. The palace is surrounded by well-maintained lush gardens.
The garden has tight security. One can only move up to a point and can't get close to the palace beyond a point.
The "Business Bay" Center
This high rise center, located in an area where Dubai Creek has been dredged and extended, started in 2008 , a huge project in progress, which will features 240 stunning buildings, and is comprised of commercial and residential developments.
Many of the structures are in a non-functional deconstructionism.
Opus Hotel designed by Zaha Hadid in a deconstructionism style
The Opus by Omniyat - Al A'amal St - Business Bay
The 2007 glass structure spanning in 84,300 SQM was designed as 2 separate towers that coalesce into a singular whole, lacking the form of a cube. The cube has been eroded into the structure's center, creating a free-form void.
The building maintains balanced between solid and void opaque and transparent and interior and exterior
A mixed-use of 20 stories, the Opus provide unique residencies, exclusive offices, fine dining and the most long-awaited hotel in the region.
The shocking pink Ferrari, parked right at the Opus" entrance, was a big turist attraction, adding some color to the cold glass/ metal look of the buildings architectural wonder
The Golden Horses at "Al Qasar " -Medinat Jumeirah Resort Hotel
Homage to the tradition of horses loving, golden horses - a folly attraction- are placed at this exceptionally luxurious Hotel
Situated on Dubai’s famous The Walk on Jumeirah Beach Residence ,lined up on the entrance are 18 larger then life bronze Arabian horse sculptors both stallions and mares all in dramatic poses created by the contemporary South African sculptor Danie de Jager, who also designed the horses of the Strijdom Square in Pretoria
Also at the hotel’s fron is an elaborate fountain with eight double life-sized bronze abstract horse torsos.
Inspired by the design style of a sheikh’s summer residence, Jumeirah Al Qasr offers palatial rooms decorated in traditional Arabian style with stunning views of the sea and the resort's opulent surrounding. Shuk Medinat Jumeirah
This Arabian newly designed market meant to give a flavor of local culture, thus is contracted as an alleged authentic oriental bazaar, and contains a maze of tiny alleys and wood-framed walkways .
It is a shopping and dining destination for tourists offering a mix of local trinket stalls, souvenirs, kinds of clothing or jewellery and of bars, restaurants and coffee shops, that run alongside the palm-fringed canals. and next to the iconic Burj Al Arab,
The Wind Tower accents and Moorish design are a homage to the heritage of an old Arabian market.
The entire popular complex was constructed in 2000 by Mirage Leisure and development
Yazan Baradan a Jordanian architect inspired the traditional Jumeirah neighborhood's looks like an ancient city using Arabian traditional mud bricks architecture,
Books of
The Emirate's founder Sheikh Rashid ibn Saeed Al Maktoum are on display everywhere
Getting back to the future....
World's first air-conditioned Bus Shelters to cool off from desert heat as well as Arabian imagination...
According to RTA (Road Transit Authority) there are 2700 bus stops across Dubai,,of which 6363 are air-conditioned. These bus shelters are equipped with ATMs , snack and soft drink vending machines and free Wi-Fi The prototype of the world's first air-conditioned bus shelter - futuristically-designed, crescent shaped shelters with modern metallic finish and sliding doors were launched already in in 2006
A guy of an Indian origin who stood by the bus stop, angered me since he kept pestering the passing by tourists in trying to sell a used cell phone, most probably stolen from other incidental visitors.
Museum of the Future
Another futuristic design, was encountered on the way to the Expo .
,An exhibition space for innovative and futuristic ideologies, services, and products.
the goal of this museum is to promote technological development and innovation, especially in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence.
This modern elliptic Museum of the Future, just opened, with hardly any notice on 02/22/2022, a palindrome date. but tickets for our group to visit its interior, were not available.
Located in the Financial District the Museum of the Future has 3 main elements: green hill where the exhibits are displayed,, building, and void.
The structure's exterior facade is decorated with calligraphy Arabesque engraved windows made up of 3 Arabic sentences from poems written by Dubai's ruler about the emirate’s future.
· We won't live for hundreds of years, but we can create something that will last for hundreds of years.
· The future will be for those who will be able to imagine, design and build it, the future does not wait, the future can be designed and built today.
· The secret of the renewal of life, the development of civilization and the progress of humanity is in one word: innovation.
One of the world’s most complex structures, the museum was designed by Killa Design architecture studio and engineered by Buro Happold.[22][5] The building aims for a LEED Platinum rating in terms of its green rating. ++++++++++++++++++++++ EXPO 2020 Transforming the Future 1 October 2021 – 31 March 2022
Expo 2020's mission was to offer a global platform for “cross-pollination” between the
192 countries and cultures which participated.
The excited group arrived at the Expo Site at Madinat al Mataar, by Metro, getting off at the newest most modern shiny Expo station, in the afternoon and left the site at 10:00pm - closing time, While being guided by Ran, who made sure the group spent its limited visit time efficiently, the most essentials, not to be missed highlights were frequented.
EXPO Arrival Al Wasl Gate
Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. yet, a record of more than 24 million visited the 1083 acres in Madinat-al-Mataar , Dubai's southern border near Abu Dhabi, in its six months.
The master plan, designed by the American firm HOK, was organized around Al Wasl, central plaza, enclosed by three large thematic districts, each one is dedicated to one of the sub-themes of Expo 2020 – Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability.
Al Wasl central Dome Plaza
The 150-meter diameter Al Wasl Plaza was designed as a central hub.
"Al Wasl" is the historical name for Dubai but also means “connection” in Arabic, reflecting both Dubai’s goal of bringing people together at the Expo and the plaza’s physical location at the heart of the site.
Countries' Pavilions
For the first time in World Expo history, every participating country had its own pavilion.
The pavilions which its exterior we viewed, and some we walked into, to name a few were:
UK, Morocco, Japan, Pakistan, Bahrain Saudi Iraq China, Austria, Italia, Slovenia, Tonga, Emirates and Israel
< "G-d of Tomorrow" - calligraphy installation.
Israeli artist Liron Lavi created Aravrit, a unique font merging Arabic and Hebrew – Ivrit
Emirates Pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava
Reservation were required for the Emirates (and the Japan׳s) pavilion, which for some strange unknown reason, was not reserved by the group organizers. Thus entry to the group was denied when we arrived at the mobbed Pavilion. Long lines indicated no chance of getting in.
Yet, insisting I am on my own, (without the group) and being a Senior Citizen, exempted me, magically off waiting on the long lines, I was luckily let in, and tremendously enjoyed the amazing structure, the Reddish Sand Dunes, piled at the entrance, and the miraculous Emirate's advancements, which sprung out from the wastelands, and which were projected into a screen, covered by a huge spectacular tall dome.
Most advanced electronic driverer -less car was on display at the building's second floor.
UK Pavilion
Morocco Pavilion
Bahrain Pavilion
Pakistan Pavilion
Austria Building
China Japan Iraq
Saudi Swiss
Ran- The Guide
The fame of the Ice -Cream by the Saudi Pavilion became also known to our group via our guide-Ran.
The long lines encountered, when coming out of the remarkable pavilion, of many women, completely covered in black burkas, standing orderly and patiently in line, next to their husbands, was admirable.
But then appeared, rushing up few of the “ugly Israelis” from our group who tried, shamelessly, to cut in line. Once the ice-cream servers noticed the line-cutters, justly they refused to serve them, and directed them to the end of the line.
Yet, those boorish Israelis tried another cutting in- line tactic, by joining some of the other group members, who properly joined the line from start.
At that point my anger at this crude creatures and my blood pressure was boiling up, and only the two cones of this delicious ice-cream, I was served, managed to cool my heated temper off..
Lebanon Italia Slovenia
Baden-Wurttenberg House Pavilion
Technology
Sustainability Expo instructing Robot Solar energy
Lighten up Artifacts at the Expo
Tonga Pavilion
Israel Pavillion - the Sand Hill Climb
The visit at the Expo was a well worth exciting experience and a great lesson on how very different nations and countries, from variety of geographical zones, cultures, values, and aspirations, can come together and unite around a common advanced creation, for the benefit of all humanity.
Water Fountain
The last visiting stop at the Expo was the humongous Water Fountain to where people gladly jumped in to cool off and refresh..
# More fantastic Photos taken by Yuval Zaliouk can be found here
To be continued...
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