UAEDRL day 4

project site: Ras' al-Khaimah



DAY 4 we travelled up the coast to Ras' al-Khaimah, the northermost emirate of the UAE, where we are situating our design proposals. The city is very small, as compared with Dubai, with currently only 250,000 people - however, the population is expected to triple to 750,000 in the next 10 years - yikes!

The city itself however is relatively uninspiring. Large expanses of nothing with scattered amounts of tattered dusty low buildings. The most impressive thing about the city is the diverse landscape, as it stretches from coastal beaches on the Persian Gulf (very clear clean water) through an inland estuary or lagoon of sea-water with a curious amount of vegetated land within, across a sandy desert with a string of date-palms, to the abrupt rise of rocky hills and mountains to the north east. Ras' al-Khaimah (also referred to as RAK) is the only emirate with these mountains and they are somewhat its identity. Hoping to bring in tourism associated with these mountains, the city lies aproximately 4 kilometers from their base. Across the mountains is Oman, and the Indian Ocean. Together with Iran (across the Gulf) this small tip of peninsula land of the UAE and Oman share the entry and exit point to the Persian Gulf, making RAK (known as Julfar) one of the most important Pirate ports back in the day! Arrrrgh.

RAK is also known amongst the UAE as having retained some of its heritage, and still possessing a visable connection with its history and culture. However, we were surprised to find very little in terms of built or preserved structures beyond that of a very small museum. Now, unfortunately the city center of life seems to be that of a very ugly shopping mall, perched on the edge of the estuary. Inside its air-conditioned food courts seems the only place to find people in mass.

However, the city is sitting duck for massive development, and i fear in the grotesque way of Dubai. The immense amount of unused coastal and lagoon-side land surely makes hotel developers drool, and the new Free Trade Zone with much cheaper rates than Dubai will surely bring in multinational companies to settle there. The mountains will indeed form a beautiful backdrop for an emerging city, atleast when the sand in the air doesn't haze-out their view.

The three teams in our studio each select their own sites to work on within RAK, and we are all expected to address the topics of tourism, commerce, and housing over a 20 year span, while focusing on our own particular areas of interest. For my team specifically, the issues to deal with are related with identity and how to deal with design for both a globalized future and locally specific place. Creating space for public life and central activity is also important in the sprawling town while addressing the extreme difference in landscape conditions.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lindsaycarol/UAE4