GEORGE KATODRYTIS / STUDIONOVA ARCHITECTS :: article :: PROJECTS :: Texts on the CITY :: Dubai’s Manhattanism

Dubai’s Manhattanism

In 1852, Otis invented the elevator, which led to the development and construction of skyscrapers in Chicago and New York at the beginning of the 20th Century. Since then the typology of the high-rise remained banal and mediocre.

(image above: Futurama)

(image above: Dell ad)

Now the focus has turned to Dubai
During the last five years there has been an abundance of new concepts and techniques triggered partly by some of the proposals of Ground Zero in New York and the recent explosion of high-rise construction in China. Now the focus has turned to Dubai. The current ambition of Dubai is to build its own monumental skyline: a new high-rise hysteria. This corresponds to the photogenic (camera-friendly) and telegenic (satellite-friendly) images of the city’s mega-projects. The contemporary metro-global city creates its spectacle with buildings that relate more to the sky than to the ground, reminiscent of surrealism: a mirage and a new form of Orientalism.

(image above: Dubai Marina, 2006)

Parametric and algorithmic design
The current trend is also sparked off by digital technology in terms of parametric and algorithmic design. If the 20th century had been characterized by the art of technology, the 21st century began with the technology of art. Technology is inextricably linked to the contemporary condition – that of media and mediation. Space is never universal, but subjective. What the new digital spatiality has re-discovered is the unconscious of urban space. The high-rise as a building type is not new but rather the last exponent of 20th century polemical urbanism, both desolated and theatrical.
High-rise building form can be generated by parametric and algorithmic design process of complex geometries. Parametric design consists of a set of variables and a series of relations that define a form. This form can be manipulated by altering specific parameters that are able to automatically adjust building data. In a parallel universe, which is both algorithmic and metaphysical, the modeling machine creates a new abstraction. The emphasis of the exploration is on morphological complexity. Nevertheless, the generation of high-rise concepts and forms still remains an intuitive process.

FormZ manual: deformations

FormZ manual: deformations

George Katodrytis and M3 Architects, Dubai

George Katodrytis and M3 Architects, Dubai

George Katodrytis / STUDIONOVA ARCHITECTS

George Katodrytis / STUDIONOVA ARCHITECTS

George Katodrytis assisted by Tamer and Kerem

George Katodrytis / STUDIONOVA ARCHITECTS

George Katodrytis and M3 Architects, Dubai

Filed under: PROJECTS+ Texts-CITY