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The Abu Dhabi Effect
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by innes | January 15, 2008 at 02:14 pm
930 views | 17 Recommendations | 6 comments
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James Westcott writes on Abu Dhabi's efforts to replace their oil economy with culture:
In a corner of a wing, just off an atrium, of the enormous and oppressively luxurious Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, there’s an exhibition about what will sustain the United Arab Emirates after oil: culture. Saadiyat, an uninhabited island off Abu Dhabi about half the size of Manhattan, is where culture will happen.
Abu Dhabi is making a $27 billion bet on it, building a Guggenheim by Frank
Gehry, a maritime musuem by Tadao Ando and a National Museum by Norman Foster,
dedicated to the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. There'll also
be a Biennale Park with 17 pavilions, by younger architects like Greg
Lynn and David Adjaye, and each of them are expected to be
mini-masterpieces themselves. The island will have housing, hotels, and
golf courses.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 14:18 on January 15th, 2008
Thanks for this, innes. It seems that only in oil-rich nations can we expect $27 billion to be invested in culture!
at 15:13 on January 15th, 2008
innes, I like this story. It's good stuff.
In the end, tourism and culture is all you can really bank on after [insert your local resource here] is gone. Will be interesting to see the direction Abu Dhabi takes.
at 06:36 on January 16th, 2008
The Emirates Palace at night, taken from within the hotel grounds! (accross the bay) This is the sea side of the hotel and shows the central Palace with it's long East and West wings. It is claimed that this hotel may have cost $2billion USDollars, however this cannot be confirmed.
Sporty Morty has contributed a photo to this story.
at 08:13 on January 16th, 2008
A view of the Corniche from the Heritage Centre. As you can see, building work is continuing, but you will need to look for it as it isn't as blantant as some of the other countries within the UAE. Abu Dhabi is one of the most polite and clean destinations I have visited. I am even contemplated looking to resettle my and I to teaching posts in Abu Dhabi.
stefen@btinternet.com has contributed a photo to this story.
at 11:57 on January 20th, 2008
Hilton's beach in Abu Dhabi.
In front of me, amazing sea...
mister_lubo has contributed a photo to this story.
at 07:05 on January 21st, 2008
innes, I like this story. It's good stuff.