Seeing double in Dubai

the-empire-state-bldg-dubai

Source: http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/1726246.html

New York continues to inspire with reports that an investment company in Abu Dhabi is looking for a 75% stake in one of the cities most iconic buildings the Chrysler Building. http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/06/12/chrysler-building-for-sale-to-abu-dhabi-investment-company/ While in Dubai the impression is of seeing double…..

When Japan finally opened up to foreigners in 1854 after being “impenetrable to the western world” the fascination with Japanese gardens immediately made itself felt within English high culture and by the beginning of the twentieth century Japanese garden styles were still setting trends for popular gardens as well as inspiring a reconsideration of the early Japanoiserie gardens as cultural heritage in Britian. http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/1681/

6 thoughts on “Seeing double in Dubai

  1. Pingback: Japan » Japanese Waste of the talent. | Mon Amour

  2. Tom Turner

    Abu Dhabi is said to be better than Dubai, as well as richer, but this photograph does a great job of making it look like a second rate American city. What happened to Arabia’s proud urban heritage?

    Reply
  3. Tom Turner

    Abu Dhabi is said to be better than Dubai, as well as richer, but this photograph does a great job of making it look like a second rate American city. What happened to Arabia’s proud urban heritage?

    PS thank you for a link to a good post on Japanese gardens – though it is much better on Japanese gardens in England than on Japanese gardens in Japan.

    Reply
  4. Christine

    Sorry to give that impression.

    In Dubai there are definitely some interesting eco-projects on the drawingboard/computer screen! which are creating for Dubai a reputation for being on the edge of green design.[http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/20-eco-structures-that-defy-conventions/]

    Perhaps one of the most inspiring contemporary projects in Abu Dhabi [http://www.gowealthy.com/gowealthy/wcms/en/home/real-estate/property-digest/october/New-realty-developments-in-Abu-1222934028466.html]is the Louvre Museum which is not only stunningly contemporary but also reflects Arabia’s cultural (rather than urban) heritage. [http://freshome.com/2009/06/02/nouvel%E2%80%99s-lighting-scheme-in-the-louvre-abu-dhabi/].

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  5. Tom Turner

    They are fabulous architectural projects – but I have the impression that the outdoor space in which they will be set both un-interesting, un-Arabian and un-environmental. We could call it unspace! And we could pronounce it either un-space or U-N-space (since the character is United Nations International).

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  6. Christine

    True. Wondering what the new ‘green’ landscape might be….Perhaps it will be blue/green – turquoise: ie with rising seas levels potentially there will be renewed interest in water gardens and the management of tides within landscape settings? [http://www.gardensbythebay.org.sg/?p=section&sub=article&articlegrppk=31&articlepk=100]

    Perhaps, each culture has something particular to contribute from its own cultural history?

    Reply

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