Chris Saul's Blog

Monday June 22, 2009

Surrounded

It's a fact of life for most areas of Dubai that if you have a nice view from your balcony or front window, something will be built nearby to alter it in some way after not too long.

We've been lucky in the 'Old Town' for a while now - everything you see around you was built by the same developer and it all fits together well. Naturally, that wasn't going to last much longer.

We've now got towers coming up that we can see from the living room and bedroom, or when walking up to the front door of the apartment block. Each of these new buildings will probably look striking on its own, but as often seems to be the case here, won't really match with the general surroundings.

One tower in particular seems to be going up right next to a newly completed Emaar built block, so close to its neighbour that you'll be able to lean over from one balcony to the next to borrow a cup of sugar.

We'll have to wait to see the finished articles, but it does feel like the open vista from our apartment windows, as well as the open feel of the area, is being encroached upon. I also wonder how the roads are going to manage even more people in such a small space.

It's a shame really - there are lots of good buildings that look fine in themselves, but which don't match what's next door, or nicely designed developments that have 'third party' buildings popping up amongst them, rather like shiny weeds in an otherwise well planned garden. I presume that there's when planning permission is granted, the aesthetics of an area aren't really taken into account.