Architect Shawn Basler isn't put-off by a bit of hustle and bustle. His office is based on Fifth Avenue, New York - the beating heart of the city that fancies itself as the capital of the world.
But Basler, who has been travelling to Dubai since the late 1990s, admits that by 2008 - just before everything began to head south - stepping on a flight from JFK to DXB filled him with dread.
"Dubai was a real estate experiment on steroids," he says of the city where his firm, Perkins Eastman, has a base in the Al Wasl Building.
"I hated it. It was a rat race. 'How fast can you make it? Who cares if it works?'" It was, he says, simply a case of "first, biggest, fastest". And make it as distinct - or "crazy" - as possible while you're at it. We all know what happened next.
But don't think the American architect doesn't like Dubai - far from it. He is happy that today he sees "a more measured approach" from developers. Mind you, 7DAYS did speak to him before Tuesday's announcement the emirate is soon to boast its own version of the Taj Mahal...
Today, Dubai feels like a proper city rather than a caricature of a 'who-can-shoot-the-highest' competition he told delegates at the Future Cities architecture summit being held at this year's Cityscape Global event.
"Dubai's still a great city - I've been coming here for years remember - it's still growing into itself but there's greater social responsibility and urban planning." But were the "crazy buildings" worth it?
"Of course," he says. "It made noise and it put Dubai on the map." The Burj Khalifa isn't just the world's tallest building, he explains, it also can lay claim to a host of other important architectural firsts.
"The whole Old Town is well thought out, it's just that there are other places - like JBR - where it's just too dense, there's too many things in one place," he says.
Asked whether the emirate will ever return to the days of crazy buildings, Basler smiles and says: "Of course, Dubai is Dubai. But it's got to go back to its heritage projects - creating communities.
"And I do see that. Whereas before I think they built with 'Western-minded' expats in mind - I now see more 'regional expat' thinking." However, Peter Di Sabatino, dean at the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah, says "the most exuberant days" were both "brief"and served an important purpose.
"Rather than 'crazy' it was thought 'we must be distinct' - and that was a quick way to get to distinction."
© 7Days 2012
