Steffen Wippel, Katrin Bromber,
Christian Steiner, Birgit Krawietz (Ed.)
Under
Construction: Logics of Urbanism in the Gulf Region
Ashgate, Farnham/Burlington,
2014, 332 S. (inkl. 16 Farbseiten).
Advancements of urban development in the Arab Gulf States are widely
celebrated and broadcast by the international media. Over recent years, the
global public has followed this free-wheeling, accelerated hypermodernity with
a great deal of bewilderment. The construction of artificial islands, theme
parks and prestige sport facilities has attracted considerable attention.
However, there is still a shortage of academic literature which aims at looking
behind the curtain of such dynamic developments.
This edited volume opens up new perspectives on what is happening in the
region beyond matter–of–fact descriptions and popular praise by attempting to
understand the internal logic of those developments. Interdisciplinary in
approach, it explores and deciphers the symbolic value and iconicity of the
built environment in the Arab Gulf Region, its aesthetics, language and performative characteristics. Bringing together a range of
studies by artists, curators and scholars, it demonstrates how Dubai appeared –
at least until the financial crisis – to be leading the construction race and
has already completed a large number of its landmark architecture and strategic
facilities. In contrast, cities like the Qatari capital Doha still appear to be
heavily ‘under construction’ and in countries like the Sultanate of Oman,
ultra-luxury tourism projects were started only recently.
While the construction of artificial islands, theme parks and prestige
sport facilities has attracted considerable attention, much less is known about
the region’s widespread implementation of innovative infrastructure such as
global container ports, free zones, inter-island causeways and metro lines.
This volume argues that these endeavours are not simply part of a strategy to
prepare for the post-oil era for future economic survival and prosperity in the
Lower Gulf region, but that they are also aiming to strengthen identitarian patterns and specific national brands. In
doing so, they exhibit similar, yet remarkably diverse modes of engaging with
certain global trends and present – questionably – distinct ideas for putting
themselves on the global map. Each country aims to grab attention with regard
to the worldwide flow of goods and capital and thus provide its own citizens
with a socially acceptable trajectory for the future. By doing that, the
countries in the Gulf are articulating a new semiotic and paradigm of urban
development.
For the first time, this volume maps these trends in their relation to
architecture and infrastructure, in particular by treating them as semiotics in
their own right. It suggests that recent developments in this region of the
world not only represent a showcase of extraordinary initiatives by which these
desert states have transformed, but also that the commodification of local
‘traditions’ acts as an essential element in the countries’ effort to design an
Arab version of (hyper-)modernity and to position
themselves as a regional and global archetype, which has frequently been
adopted elsewhere.
Contents
Notes on the Contributors xv
Foreword xxi
Ulrike Freitag
Acknowledgements xxiii
1 The Arab(ian)
Gulf: Urban Development in the Making 1
Katrin Bromber,
Birgit Krawietz, Christian Steiner and Steffen Wippel
Part I The Politics and Economy of
Infrastructure and Architecture
2 Iconic Spaces, Symbolic Capital and
the Political Economy of Urban Development in the Arab Gulf 17
Christian Steiner
3 The Role of ‘Lavish Construction
Schemes’ in ‘Late–Late–Late’ Developing Societies: The Case of the Arab Gulf
States 31
Martin Hvidt
4 Masdar
City: A Critical Retrospection 45
Boris Brorman Jensen
5 Tourism and Urbanization in Oman:
Sustainable and Socially Inclusive? 55
Sonja Nebel
6 Off and Running: Qatar Brands for
FIFA World Cup, and Life Beyond 71
Nadine Scharfenort
Part II Images and Iconic Brands:
Constructing Markets and Identity
7 Promise and Reality in Dubai’s
Architectural Design 91
Felix Sommerlad
8 Port and Tourism Development in
Oman: Between Economic Diversification and Global Branding 101
Steffen Wippel
9 The Sporting Way: Sport as
Branding Strategy in the Gulf States 119
Katrin Bromber
10 Falconry as a Cultural Icon of
the Arab Gulf Region 131
Birgit Krawietz
11 ‘1,001 Places to See Before You
Die’: Constructing Oriental Holiday Worlds in European Guide Books – The
Example of Dubai 147
Nicolai Scherle and Mikael Jonasson
Part III Art Production and Exhibitions: A
Critical Engagement with Urban Developments
12 Dubai: Telegenic Fantasies 161
George Katodrytis
12a Model Toy City 169
George Katodrytis
13 The Cultural Imperative: Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi between Public
Policy and Architectural Gesture 171
Brigitte Dumortier
14 The Louvre Abu Dhabi: Utopia as
Reality 191
Bruno Maquart
15 A Vision Becomes an Institution:
The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha, Qatar
199
Joachim Gierlichs
16 Universalism in Art and the Art
of Universalism: Thoughts on the ‘Globalization’ of the Art System, Taking the
United Arab Emirates as Example 211
Original text by
Alice Creischer and Andreas Siekmann;
edited, revised and supplemented for publication by Katrin
Bromber, Birgit Krawietz,
Christian Steiner and Steffen Wippel
16a Alice Creischer
and Andreas Siekmann: Artwork Dubai I and Dubai
II 221
Original text by
Alice Creischer und Andreas Siekmann;
edited, revised and supplemented for publication by Katrin
Bromber, Birgit Krawietz,
Christian Steiner and Steffen Wippel
17 Stefan Zirwes:
How Real is Reality? 227
Katrin Bromber,
Birgit Krawietz, Christian Steiner and Steffen Wippel
Part IV Dubai-Style Elsewhere:
Plagiarizing or Transforming the Gulf Model
18 Modes of Urban Diffusion:
Culture, Politics and the Impact of the Recent Urban Developments in the
Arabian Gulf Cities on Cairo’s Vision 2050
233
Khaled Adham
19 Global Waterfronts in the
Maghreb: A Mere Replication of Dubai? Case Studies from Morocco and
Tunisia 247
Pierre-Arnaud Barthel
20 Dubai on Barada?
The Making of
‘Globalized Damascus’ in Times of Urban Crisis
259
Leïla Vignal
21 Seeing Dubai in Khartoum and
Nouakchott: ‘Gulfication’ on the Margins of the Arab
World 271
Armelle Choplin and Alice Franck
Index 285
Plates Section
1 The Palm Jumeirah
vs. the American Suburb
2 Oman Tourism Campaigns
3 Oman – A Seafaring Nation
4 Dubai Toy City – The Urbanism of
Aerial Views
George Katodrytis
5 Atlas (Spaces in Subjunctive),
Dubai Folio
Alice Creischer and Andreas Siekmann
6 How Real is Reality in Dubai?
Stefan Zirwes
7 Selection of Proposed Stadiums for
FIFA World Cup (Qatar 2022)
8 The Islamic Quarter of ‘Sukuk’, Nouakchott under
Construction
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Contents List: https://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Under-Construction-Logics-of-Urbanism-in-the-Gulf-Region-Cont.pdf
Full Index: https://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Under-Construction-Logics-of-Urbanism-in-the-Gulf-Region-Index.pdf