Module 7 - an Exhibition by KASA at the Avenues Mall...

The Kuwait Architectural Students Association (KASA) will be exhibiting at the Avenues Mall in Kuwait from the 4th to the 8th of April, 2010. These events are always worth a visit as, particularly the student work by the various 'creative' faculties at KU, have always something interesting and catalytic to offer...

The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 4, at 7 pm, and is presented under the patronage of Sheikh Talal Al-Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah...

Traffic Signs for (the Protection of) Turtles...

Whilst backing up and reviewing some of my older data files I came across some material made during our initial, 2000-01, stay in Kuwait. The included images were, if I remember correctly, designed for the Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project (KWCP) and were intended to be function as warning 'Traffic Signs' regarding various turtle and their habitat related concerns. Not sure if they were ever used in any capacity (we moved back to London soon after completing these) but I remember they were quite fun to do and reseach, and it is a very worthy cause which kind Kuwait would benefit from having more of...

The Former Finnish 50 Markka/ Mark Bill...

The former Finnish 50 Markka (Mark) bill, showing the profile (front) and a design by (back) the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto...

Before Finland joined the Euro, we had the Finnish 'Markka' ('Mark' in Swedish, Finland's second official language). On its various denominations it, instead of Kings, Queens or rulers, depicted various (self made) cultural figures such as a poet, a philosopher, a writer, a composer, an athlete or, as above, an architect... There's something strangely comforting (in a democratic kind of way) about the idea of honouring individuals based on their congenial achievements rather than their place/ context of birth, military, political or piety based positions...

In the Gulf and Middle-East, who would be the comparable individuals to those depicted on the former Finnish currency..? A question that, in the context of the GCC's not too distant plans for a common currency, isn't too abstract or far fetched. Which individuals or what elements (landscapes, buildings, objects, events) would be simultaneously specific and generic enough to represent the region as a whole..? How should such depictions be distributed amongst the nations - a bill for each GCC member country, or should the bills & coins aim to show something that is common to all the participating nations? Should the currency deal with historical or more current interests (pearl fishing vs. skyscrapers)..?

It's an interesting dilemma as it summarizes many of the issues which the Gulf, as a collective of individual nations, is currently struggling with...

Mud Brickin' it in Oman...

A short note to bring to your attention an ongoing project outlined on this blog's sister-blog smArchitecture discussing how to both make as well as (eventually) develop traditional (Omani) mud-bricks... The two related posts can be accessed by clicking here & here...

A Different Side of Me...

I took the portrait above yesterday at a small local photo-studio. The interesting thing was that I walked in wearing my tattered old 'Camden Market' t-shirt and a pair of worn weekend jeans, and walked out with a picture of me in my Omani best. No change of clothing was involved, as the outfit change was all achieved through the 'magic of Photoshop'... Obviously, technology wise, there's really not much novel about this picture or process. All it requires is a few stored outfits as layers in the aforementioned software and, voila, Bob's your uncle..! However, personally I haven't come across this particular rendition of use of photo manipulation, where the outfit is adjusted to befit a particular cultural norm (these photos are usually used in passports by the locals). This technique works particularly well with the Omani muzzar and dishdasha, as these can be placed in front of the subject. How this would work with a keffiyeh, which also occupies space behind the subject, would require a slightly more laborious process. There's something charming in the applications simplicity and benign deception. It would would be easy (and it's probably already done) to apply the same process to this season couture catwalk collection or Saville Row sartorial contraptions. It probably would, however, to retain the conceptually ascetic spirit of the above photo, require the image to retain the modest frame and context of a passport photo or, at most, a torso shot, as otherwise the deception becomes too apparent. It should be an image that involves a glance rather than proper scrutiny - a picture that captures a quality, a somatic ambiance, rather than performing as an accurate depiction... But, as it stands, for me as a non-Omani the image retains an aspect of novelty and has by contextual default become something closer to a souvenir rather than something practical or useful. Something that's a perfectly acceptable outcome in its own right, as it performs as a mnemonic node that will henceforth represent and remind me of a hot Spring weekend in Nizwa, March 2010...

First Impressions of the Dubai Metro...

View from my hotel room, showing the Dubai Metro station by the Financial Centre in the foreground...

During a brief visit to Dubai this weekend I had a chance to visit and ride the Dubai Metro for the first time. Why exactly it's referred to as a 'metro' I'm not too sure, as at least on the stretch which I rode, it didn't once go underground. As a matter of fact most of the 'tripping' happened about ten meters above the street level along a monorail laid adjacent to the Sheikh Zayed Road which cuts through and defines the centre of the city. The metro stations in Dubai must be amongst the cleanest stations, of any sort, I've come across, and seem closer perhaps to a amalgamation between a contemporary train station and a hotel reception. It even seemed to have a, call him, 'train-concierege' who came to my aid whilst standing, granted somewhat baffled, in front of the metro map (only a number of the indicated metro-stations are currently in use) and kindly explained the 'what's what' of the Dubai Metro. With his helpful aid I decided to go for the 'bling-bling' option of the Gold class card, which allows one to enter the foremost carriage of a train, simply because I've never before come across 'first class' travel in a metro system. The carriages themselves are somewhat 'experience neutral', with vanilla blue leather seating, accompanied by the soft buzz of the AC system and its own rendition of electronic background muzak... The ride was smooth, and uneventful - easy - just the way a trip on public trasport should be...

How this first proper and more recent regional intervention of public transport pans out remains to be seen. But Dubai has to be applauded for having the foresight to commit to this scale of a collectively beneficial venture which I suspect will eventually 'trickle up' to the more general and higher echelons of society and become a viable (and quicker) means of transport for everyone. How Dubai now deals with the supporting infrastructure, i.e. how to intergrate the other means of transport (busses, taxis, pedestrian traffic) is going to play a key part in determining its ensuing success, but the main task and commitment has already been achieved by this key urban intervention. Dubai's neighbours have a lot of catching up to do...

Above and below - The station by the Financial Centre...

The 'Gold Card' train pass...

The lower, street level, lobby of a station...

View from the 'cockpit' of the front (driverless) carriage...

The interior of the 'Gold Class' carriage - soft leather seating accompanied by the soft buzz of the AC and soothing electronic muzak...