The line has been erased

Remember The Line? That major humongous project of 170 kms in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert? The one that flooded us with sci-fi imagery, a full city encased in reflective walls, where humans would not need cars because their needs would be met in a 5-minute walk? And a high-speed rail system would tie it from one end to the other? The one where all energy was renewable? The one that was 500 meters in height but only a width of 200? Yes, all that. Well, it seems that the project has been drastically scaled back. Scaled back to the tune of 2.4 kms by the end 2030, it would end up housing 300,000 people apparently instead of the promised 1.5 million by that time.

You can read what went wrong here. It follows the many projects which touted cities as lines, yes - the concept existed prior and no, it did not work out. You might enjoy this article in The Guardian (here) about the many predecessors to The Line and how they all ended up flat on their belly - no pun, because that's exactly what The Line is or to quote Edgar Chambless who himself dreamed of a linear city "the idea occurred to me to lay the modern skyscraper on its side".

Well, the positive in all this is that the "death trap" the city was to migrant birds is no more - not to mention the Howeitat tribe which will no longer be displaced from their lands (even if some of its members are already in jail for daring to disagree with the project). 

Still, when an architectural project hires people specialized in gaming imagery to release its concept, it does tell you how divorced it was from reality. Also, apparently the mastermind behind the project - Mohammed Bin Salman, the crown prince himself - kept changing his idea about the project which led to a rotating masthead all over the place.

So voila, seems the utopia was just that. And castles were built, not in Spain, but in the desert.

ecom48 - sustainable luxury for the well-to-do

For some odd reason I was targeted with an ad for ecom48. Perhaps they knew I was an environmentalist even before the word. Interesting considering I was speaking about the environment long before it became a trend to do so (my first conference dates back to 1995!). Still, ecom48 promises to be an ecosystem all to its own. Heck, it even promises a free 2023 electric Wolkswagen for every villa (that's 48 villas as the name implies and eco is for ecology and m for "mustaqbal" or future in Arabic - in case you want to dissect the name).

I think there is a mistake in the website - on the free VW section the title reads "this is the heading" which presumably should have been something else. The villas however offer the usual amalgam of eco options - composting cans, solar panels, biophilic design, solar water heaters, charging stations (yes, for the VW!), an organic garden, waste water recycling, ... Yet oddly it also offers a shooting range and a private pool for every villa? Which I believe are a bit against the concept.

Do note that the villas are not for your average "Dwell" magazine reader (which I am) - in case you do not know, Dwell is focused on all those microhousing, off-the-grid places or completely reusing materials kind of projects (turning a shed into a mixed housing or such projects for example).

 So who is the target audience for such villas? Well-to-do families wishing to invest their hoarded Dollars into a new real estate. The villas are located in Ouyoun Broumana and are supposed to be part of a gated community. Again, not your run-of-the-mill eco housing, but am sure it is targeted to a specific audience.

The Toyota Building in Dubai gets its namesake sign back

Image of the "Toyota building" dating back to 1981

The Toyota building in Dubai got its sign back.

Well, here's the story - the official name of the building is Nasser Rachid Lootah building, one of the first high rises to be built in 1974 (three years after the inception of the Emirates). On top of the 15 story building - which offers cheap rents to expats till this day - was a sign by Japanese carmaker Toyota. Of course, throughout, many incredibly tall buildings have mushroomed in Dubai.

But Toyota building remained there, both a landmark and a relic in the past. Cut to 2018 when the advertising contract for the sign expired and it was taken down. You can see a photo of the building without the Toyota sign here. But old habits are hard to change, the building was still called Toyota building (much like Lebanon's "Chevrolet" roundabout refers to a long defunct dealership, or Cola bridge in Beirut refers to a long shut-down Coca-Cola bottling company). 

Well, here's the good news - the building seems to have regained its Toyota ad. Alfuttaim which owns the Toyota dealership for the Emirates decided to Reinstate the landmark banner. 

So the Toyota building is the Toyota building again.

Seeing double in architecture: Benin vs Lebanon

In the words of architecture critic Alice Rawsthorn:
"For centuries, local communities across West Africa have found calm, comfort, joy and justice by congregating under the leaves and branches of a palaver tree. Each community chooses a tree which is large and leafy enough to provide shade throughout the year to fulfil the role of its palaver tree, typically a baobab, shea, kapok, cailcedrat or mango tree. People gather beneath it to discuss shared concerns, to resolve disputes, to celebrate weddings and for performances and storytelling. So important and beloved is this tradition, that the palaver tree is a symbol of mutual respect, decency, consensus and reconciliation..
What finer inspiration could there be for the design of a parliamentary building? That’s why the Burkinabé architect Francis Kéré chose the palaver tree as the model for the new national assembly building at Porto-Novo in the Republic of Benin. The new parliamentary building is to replace one that dates back to the colonial era, and is intended to reflect the importance of democratic values to Benin and its national identity.
Kéré’s design positions the building as if it were a palaver tree at the heart of a community. The assembly hall is located on the ground floor and is connected by a spiral staircase to the office on the higher floors. A roof terrace offers views across Porto-Novo to the lagoon. Much of the site is devoted to a public park where the trees and plants will be native to Benin. The park will border on to the national assembly building with a shaded area where people can gather just as they would under the chosen palaver tree of their village or neighborhood."

In the words of Dr. George Arbid:

"This crafts showroom in Ain el Mreisseh was a T-shaped glass box that ensured maximum transparency on all sides. In order to give the building a “character of Lebanese inspiration”, arched columns supported the flat roof. Each supporting point was made of four square steel columns that spread diagonally to meet their counterparts, thus virtually forming the skeleton of a cross vault. As an answer to a delicate program with a need for attention to representation, the commissioner (the CEGP), saw in this project “a clever evocation of tradition”. With a subtle suggestion of the familiar arch, the design resolved the paradox of compliance with the wishes of the CEGP (Conseil Exécutif des Grands Projets) to have a “Lebanese” building, yet allow for maximum transparency, lightness and polyvalence of exhibition space, all modernist attributes."

Pilcrow Architects offer a Beirut memorial design.

 Pilcrow Architects just came up with a concept for a memorial to the Beirut dead of the August 4 explosion with a design based on the now damaged silos which used to be a visible landmark of the port. The batons are opaque during the day and light up at night. The names of the victims are supposedly to be inscribed on the sides as well. A laudable effort for sure. Most likely not to be built or executed to be honest. Still, the thought is interesting. Even if we tend to sweep things under the rug.

Beirut explosion: The great socio-economic equalizer

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

The area in the port is divided socio-economically. First there are the low income neighborhoods, the old renters, the middle class or what remains of it, but also - and this much more recently - the uber wealthy living in gentrified neighborhoods. Gentrification of neighborhoods - Armenia Street, Mar Mikhael, the outskirts of Badawi has been going strong. Next to two or three-storied houses, dilapidated, old, crumbling recent luxury building and skyscrapers have been mushrooming. A celebrated Lebanese actress spoke how she went down, bloodied and barefoot, from her 22nd floor apartment (and had to hail a car to go to the hospital) while another comedian-actor is seen on the remains of his balcony overlooking the port.

Downtown Beirut, mostly a ghost town anyhow on any given day (splattered with empty, unsold buildings), had some of its very luxurious apartments inhabited by politicians, stars and extremely well to do people, is now literally a shell. Few people know that the currently upscale area of downtown Beirut which was rebuilt in faux rustic mood used to be an incredibly popular area and that women would avoid going there alone for fear of inappropriate touching.

Many stars posted videos of their downtown Beirut destroyed homes. Actually, even the tall buildings overlooking the sea on the corniche, also lost their glass facades and apartments there suffered significant damages. These buildings also cohabitate with smaller houses around them, remnants of a different social order.  

I have written extensively in the past about how income inequality was one of the triggers of war, most recently here. But the Beirut explosion has - excuse the bad choice of words as it might be read as a silly pun- leveled the field. Oh you might say, the rich do not care, they have other properties, the poor only have their destroyed homes. Not true, when you look at the images of these people's houses from what they put on Instagram or elsewhere, you realize that these places are also primary residences, better yet, their "homes". And by hitting these areas the explosion managed to touch everyone, from all socio-economic classes, the dead and wounded include people from all such classes.

As someone who escaped death that day - twice - please note am not gloating. News broke that cronies are already visiting people with destroyed houses convincing them to sell so that a new glitzy apartment buildings would replace them built by copy/paste developers. More gentrification am sure.

Yet again for all the images of Roche Bobois, Frau Poltrona, Fendi Casa furniture I saw in the Instagram stories - the result is the same. The explosion has Hurt people of all classes, and in weird, sarcastic, strange way, it became the great equalizer.

Lebanese banker Marwan Kheireddine, who bought Jennifer Lawrence penthouse gets backlash in NY.

 

Lebanese banker Marwan Kheireddine, who bought Jennifer Lawrence penthouse gets backlash in NY. The penthouse, at 9,9 Million Dollars comes at a time when Lebanese people are unable to retrieve their money from the bank. Already local faith in banks is at its lowest with people moving to cash rather than savings. Kheireddine's house is but another example as to why. "With the blood, sweat and tears of the Lebanese people" as the pinned flyer attests.