Sunday, December 11, 2011

Dubai Architecture

I am finally going to take the plunge and put up some of my pictures. I have wrapped up another course in my pursuit of a Masters in Photography at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. I am doing this as a distance program online. Don't underestimate online education - it is no joke if you are at a good school. This explains my blog hiatus.

I have many many images .. some not bad, some really bad. But, a girl has got to start somewhere. I have toyed with the idea of a proper website for this, but I am still not quite sure what the goal is, so for now I bring you a few architecture images from Dubai in my latest series.

It is only within the last 10 years that Dubai has become known for its larger than life architecture. This is amazing considering that before the discovery of oil and gas in the UAE building materials were rather primitive. Typical homes and buildings were made with mud blocks, fossilized coral bonded with sarooj (a mixture of Iranian red clay and manure), or a lime mixture derived from seashells, and plastered with chalk and water paste. In addition to availability, these materials also have very low thermal conductivity, so they were ideal for the intense heat of the region. My series presents some elements, or details of traditional architecture in Dubai. Some from the original structures, others are new structures made in the traditional style.

Sunlight was essential to make this happen because the traditional structures can be quite plain as a result of their function - first for climate control and secondly for privacy. There are many walls, so the beauty is in the detail, which is often very simple and minimalist. 

An old wind tower
A nice ray of light in the Bastikya area
A lantern in Bastikya

Jumeriah Mosque

More Bastikya


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iffatali said...
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