dxb:729

Congratulation to CENTIMETERCUBE. They have been assigned by LIMITLESS to design an interesting Residential building. Big THANK YOU to my team. More info to be released soon.

I’m very excited to see Umm3 finally light up and runing for business. (Jumairah, Umm Sequiemm #1. Before Central Perk Cafe) This was one of my first projects that we (Farshid & myself) worked on while we were studying (2003/04). It was such an interesting project and location that we really wanted this UMM3 to stand out from the rest. It has a simple plane with a 22m pool running all the way thru each villa/shop. Our second tenant has opened his new selected furniture gallery by combining two villas. OBEGI [BETTER HOME] has a line of products, and my fav is Giorgetti. Earlier on this year, IF-Boutique moved in with branches from NY & Beirut. Wish them both a successful and healthy business. 1000 Mabrouk…

Technorati Tags: IF Boutique, OBEGI

By Ryan Mahoney, Special to Gulf News
Published: October 25, 2007, 23:36

“In Dubai, when it comes to building styles and architecture, it would appear that variety is most definitely the spice of life. Often criticised for having a lack of co-ordination and random designs, Dubai has a lot more to offer than initially meets the eye. In the land of sky-scrapers and shiny towers, there are signs of a resurgence of more traditional Arabic-style buildings.

Primarily, the wide mix of architectural styles that we see under construction here stems from the massive diversity in cultures. Having people from different nationalities living here has brought with it extreme variances in tastes.

While every country has a mixture of cultures, that mix is often to a less extent than experienced in Dubai, which has a huge expatriate community. Another factor here is the lack of a historical baseline, seriously limiting historical and traditional areas.

In other cities such as Paris, New York and London, there are historical spaces with buildings that help to create an underlying scene for that city. More often than not, such spaces and buildings have a protected status and thus the city is developed around them rather than on top of them.

Restraints

In Dubai, there are no or at least very few limitations on what can and cannot be developed. This is why we are see such an abundance of different building styles. Personally, I have always felt that there should be large sections of the city reserved for buildings that are developed in traditional Arabic style. This would be wonderful for the city, giving it a vibrant and rich personality. Such authenticity is what tourists look for and come to expect when they visit.

Traditional-style buildings are experiencing something of a renaissance, with developers recognising a demand and catering to the needs of western investors who love that style, as do the younger locals. A good example of this is Old Town, a development extremely popular right now with both local and international buyers, as well as people here on holiday, with almost 100 per cent occupancy being achieved in the short-term rentals market. Old Town encapsulates the beauty of a traditional Arabic village which is exactly what people are looking for.

Dubai is a beautiful city with so much to offer. To continue to attract people, it is necessary to offer more than just the skyscrapers that can be seen in almost every city in the world. Dubai is a new city that offers all aspects of modern living you could ever hope for. But it is also important to hold on to its roots by paying tribute to traditional architecture through the development of more barasti style properties.

We live in a city that plays home to the world’s tallest building and highest hotel, not to mention the unique constructions like the iPad building and Rotating Tower. With the announcement of some more interesting buildings at Cityscape, it’s fair to say there is something out here to suit all tastes. This is good for investors but at the same time we need to ensure the city’s identity is not lost.

The writer is managing director of Better Homes.

[EmiratesMac.com]Another iStyle Mac store inDubai after Ibn Battuta Mall and Abu Dhabi mall. The next Apple store will be in Dubai Mall. Looking forward to see that late 08. Elyas, Hani and iStyle gang, great job guys.

Dubai Air-ShowDoes any one want a free pass, I got a limit tickets.

UAE.DCPlaning to join in for some action, not driving but photo shot. Insh’Alla get perfect shot.

Gulfnews

Dubai: The concept of green building gained momentum at the Cityscape Property show this week, but concerns over operating costs persist. The number of seminars, presentations and companies focusing on sustainable design all grew, with “sustainable” an oft-heard phrase among delegates and exhibitors. But while end-users and building managers may desire energy efficient options, they are often left to the mercy of developers and their desire to minimise costs.”When builders build buildings, they don’t look at the operating costs,” said Philip Barnett, the engineer and property manager at Grand Hyatt Dubai. “They go for the cheaper way.”Until recently, the Grand Hyatt’s heated water came from three large oil-powered boilers. A gas-fired boiler would have because gas is cheaper and burns cleaner, but the developer put in an oil-powered system because it was cheaper, he said. But with a Dh65,000 a month energy bill, Barnett chose to install a solar-powered water heating system. It is so energy efficient it will pay for itself in three to four years, he said.As an engineer with a focus on sustainable design, Heath Andersen often faces an uphill task convincing clients to go green. “Engineers are trained to design buildings for efficiency. But for a long time, it has been about the lowest cost. We get pushed down to the cheapest option,” said Andersen, associate director at engineering firm Whitby & Bird.Andersen, who will travel to the US this month to get accreditation by the US Green Building Council, said this has changed.”Like many things in the UAE, this been moving very fast,” he said. “Six months ago it was hard to get clients to talk about sustainability. Now three out of the four questions at Cityscape are about sustainability.”At a seminar yesterday on green buildings, Mario Seneviratne, director of Green Technologies Company and a founding member of the Emirates Green Building Council, said the costs of constructing green buildings are misunderstood. Any materials that cost more eventually pay for themselves over time, he said.Sean Lenehan, senior manager of Nakheel environment department, said buyers are beginning to appreciate these longer-term benefits.”Customers are realising the price of energy will rise, and developers have to respond to where the market is heading,” he said.

Visited CityScape today in Dubai, and I was really impressed with some projects. I have to go back as I have a very limited time today.You have to see this, It is with Nakheel. Amazing video/animation on a huge Dubai city model from 1973 to 2020. Great graphics with very inspiring words from the Nakheel people. Nice workSimple physical model, which is coated with white spray. I like.Typical huge models. This is one of the good site model. I have to be fair, some project were also awful. And this was the silly’est. It is some Golden Gate city. and it looks like from Ali Baba Cartoon. Who is going to pay Millions of $$$ for something that is so fake. Ah!

People’s Choice Award VideosHayahFilms have chosen me to be one of the three judges for the iPod movie competition. It was fun & hard at the same time to go thru the submitted videos, some were amazing, others were not so entertaining. Above, were the selected videos from us, now it is your turn to vote! Enjoy

Albayan News

The message states ( Say “la” no to seduction in Emirates) I can see the tip of that rabbit ears. Good message. adblog