A top architect has claimed that Dubai will lead the world with the designs of its high-rise buildings in the next few years.
George Katodrytis, associate professor of architecture at the American University of Sharjah, said the city will soon reap the benefits of attracting world-class designers.
"Here you have an amazing provision of possibilities and new types and ways of designing buildings," he said.
"The quality is getting better and we will be seeing some really interesting designs over the next five years."
He said that some of the high-rises in Dubai had generic designs. And that following the huge successes of the Emirates Towers and the Burj Al Arab which have become synonymous with Dubai things had gone a bit flat with regard to super-structures.
Katodrytis said Dubai had managed to gain a high profile and provided architecture that appealed to residents as well as tourists.
However, he noted that there were drawbacks to Dubai's meteoric rise.
"There is no sense of space. It's like matchboxes being placed in certain areas with no sense of community.
Buildings are becoming very generic, like Photoshop urbanism, where you make your changes to the designs, then copy and paste." he added.
However, he believes this will all change as the latest developments begin to take shape. With buildings such as the Burj Dubai and renowned architect Zaha Hadid's Dancing Towers and Dubai Opera House in the pipeline, the future looks bright.
"The reason for this change is that more big international firms that are well known for their experimentation, like Zaha Hadid, are working on projects in Dubai," Katodrytis said.
"These people are more design-oriented rather than commercial." Katodrytis himself has drawn up a series of designs for buildings in Dubai, including a mosque for the Jumeirah Palm Islands and a cultural centre for Shiekh Zayed Road.
"I was trying to design a culture centre or a cultural hub that still had the characteristics of a shopping mall, so people would be attracted to use it," he said.
"You will not be able to buy your Prada there, but you can attend lectures," he added.
Katodrytis is currently working on high-rise buildings in Business Bay along with M3AR Architects, a partnership that he hoped would bring great success.
He added that interest in Dubai was phenomenal.
"I was in Isfahan, Iran, recently and a lot of Iranian architects are amazed with the way things are going in Dubai the organization and vision," he said. "We have students travel from the Architects Association in the United Kingdom, and Colombia and Harvard universities in United States.They come with a great deal of curiosity and are so excited about Dubai."
Katodrytis, who studied at the Architects Association in London, has more than 20 years' experience in architecture and is a member of the International Design Initiative's Design Advisory Board.
"The purpose of the board is to improve the quality of design in the Arab World, and Dubai to a certain extent, and promote it around the world," he said.
The board consists of top architects, including two UAE nationals Khalid Al Malik and Khalid Al Najja as well as revered ones such as Rem Koolhaas and Hadid.
Dubai will host the first Global Design Forum in the region from February 3 to 5, 2007, which will attract architects and urban planners from around the world.e
By Andrian Murphy
© Emirates Today 2006
