EXPLORATION OF SYNTHETIC ENVIRONMENTS: UNDERSTANDING THE ‘AUTHENTIC FAKE’ IN DUBAI By NEHA RENGARAJAN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERIOR DESIGN WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Interior Design MAY 2012 To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the thesis of NEHA RENGARAJAN, find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ________________________________________ Nancy Blossom, Chair ________________________________________ Linda Nelson Johnson ________________________________________ David Wang, Ph.D. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT vii GLOSSARY ix ABSTRACT x INTRODUCTION 1 LITERATURE REVIEW Emergence of Synthetic Environments 7 Hyper-Real Nature of Synthetic Environments 9 Ambiguous “Authentic” Nature of Synthetic Environments 10 Cultural Authenticity in Synthetic Environments 14 Context of Dubai 16 Growth of Dubai 16 Demographics 17 Culture of Dubai 19 Vernacular Vocabulary 19 Interior Details 22 Social Attributes 23 The Shift-Current Condition of Dubai 25 Case Studies of Dubai Old Town – “Reflections of Authenticity” 27 Madinat Jumeirah – “Masking Authenticity” 30 iii Ibn Battuta Mall – “Absence of Authenticity” 35 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE 40 METHODS Research Design and Rationale 42 Data Collection Strategies 43 Data Analysis 47 Findings 49 Future Implications 54 Importance of Study 55 CONCLUSION 57 ILLUSTRATIONS 58 APPENDIX A: PILOT STUDY AND MATERIALS 62 APPENDIX B: PILOT STUDY NOTES 64 ENDNOTES 70 BIBLIOGRAPHY 78 iv LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1.Picture representation of the culture of Dubai 59 Table 2. Authenticity of spatial elements 61 v ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Page Figure 1. left to right, Venetian in Las Vegas; Dubai festival City in Dubai 2 Figure 2. above left Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas; below right, Wafi Mall in Dubai 2 Figure 3. Rapid development in Dubai within the last 20 years 17 Figure 4. left to right, Burj Al Arab resort; Golf creek club 19 Figure 5. Traditional Interiors of Al Fahidi Fort 20 Figure 6. Traditional Interiors of Al Fahidi Fort 21 Figure 7. Early depicted painting showing materiality of traditional houses 21 Figure 8. Symbolic patterns and symbols seen in traditional architecture 22 Figure 9. Traditional Interiors of Al Fahidi Fort 24 Figure 10. Palm, Jebel Ali, Artificial islands created in Dubai in the last five years 26 Figure 11. Far left, Artificial Ski slope in Dubai Mall; Right, Themes based on prominent cultural spaces in the world 26 Figure 12. Interior Details in Old town rooms 28 Figure 13. left, Traditional homes in old Arabia; right, Colonnade blocking the second ornamented gate 28 Figure 14. Above, Traditional Interiors taken from Sheikh Saeed’s House; Near right, Similar layouts yet provisions for more sociability 30 Figure 15. left, exterior view of Old town; right, Interior shaded Walkways 30 Figure 16. Madinat Jumeirah Resort in Dubai, replicating a Traditional Citadel 31 Figure 17. Above left, summer houses in Madinat; vi right, Arish -Traditional summer houses; below left, Courtyards in Madinat Jumeirah; right, Interior Details in the courtyards 33 Figure 18. Above left, other cultural influences in Madinat Jumeirah; right, Mashrabiya latticed screening; below left, interior details in a traditional Majlis right, interior details in the rooms of Madinat Jumeirah 34 Figure 19. Mockup of Madinat Jumeirah Resort showing hierarchies in levels 34 Figure 20. Traditional souk against the souk of Madinat, similar wooden details 35 Figure 21. China court in Ibn Battuta Mall 37 Figure 22. left, Andalusia Court with replicated sky ceiling; right, Indian court showcasing Mughal Architecture 37 Figure 23. above left to right, Indian Court; below left to right, Mosaic tiles in Persian Court 39 Figure 24. above left to right, Egyptian Court in Ibn Battuta Mall; below left to right, Tunisian Court in Ibn Battuta Mall 39 Figure A. left to right, Madinat Jumeirah courtyard; Madinat Jumeirah Palace 58 Figure B. left to right, Madinat Jumeirah exterior; Madinat Jumeirah courtyards and Fountains 58 Figure C. left to right, Old Bastakiya district origins; exterior; Bastakiya district today 58 Tables Figure 25. Comparative analysis of findings against the literary sources 50 Figure 26. Bar Graph representing survey responses 51 Figure D. Less Aesthetic Appeal among the three groups 60 Figure E. Survey used in Pilot study 63 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank everyone who helped me to put this thesis together--my committee members for providing the guidance required, Professor Elsheshtawy and the officers from Dubai Municipality for providing valuable sources and lastly my family and friends in Dubai for their immense support and valuable time to be involved throughout this study. viii GLOSSARY Abra. The generic name of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Al Qasr. means “palace” in Arabic. Arish. During the summer season, the Bedouins used to live in shelters called Al Arish which were made of palm tree leaves. Al Arish was made of two parts; the main area, 2x4 meters, used for sitting and sleeping; and a small area, 2x2 meters, used for cooking and storage. Barjeel. A tall structure with vertical openings in all directions, with internal walls arranged diagonally so that any breeze is forced downwards and up again before it can escape. This creates a circulation of air in rooms used in summer. Rooms used in winter were not provided with wind-towers. Gahwah. Arabian coffee, widely drunk in Bahrain and other Middle-East countries. Iwan. A rectangular hall or seating space, vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. Mashrabiya. The Arabic term given to a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the second story of a building or higher, often lined with stained glass. Madinat. City. Majaz. The main doorway, designed to open into a blank wall to obstruct views into the inside from outside. Qa'ah. An enclosed space with a high ceiling covered by a shukhshakhah (wooden lantern on the top) and two iwans (sitting areas) at a higher level on both the north and south sides. Saruj. Clay plastering that originated in Iran. Souk. An open-air marketplace or commercial quarter in an Arab, Berber, and increasingly European city. A souk entails the concept of a free market where vendors can command the going market price for their products. Waresh. Arabic term for a parapet. ix EXPLORATION OF SYNTHETIC ENVIRONMENTS: UNDERSTANDING THE ‘AUTHENTIC FAKE’ IN DUBAI Abstract By Neha Rengarajan, M.A. Washington State University May 2012 Chair: Nancy Blossom The purpose of this paper is to define the term and nature of “synthetic” environments in Dubai with regard to authenticity. Such environments tend to borrow off from other ideas, place attachment, and sense of place within or outside the cultural context. Through the medium of a survey, this study takes the literature of authenticity by different authors and samples it against three representative case studies. The first is an example of an absence of authenticity; it can be seen as a synthetic reproduction of mythical images with regard to the cultural context of a place. The second example is that of masking authenticity; it rejects certain parts of history to provide an appealing image during unappealing times. It is a combination of historical references created in a simulated fashion. The third example brings out reflections of authenticity; it is a combination of real historical references without a simulated fashion. Unlike previous literature, in which most studies looked at authenticity through the lens of tourist experiences, this study’s results are intended to bring out the characteristics of authenticity through the responses received from resident groups. Given the limited literature and knowledge about Dubai, this study is particularly important to understand authenticity in Dubai’s x complex framework, where the environments are highly synthesized and there is a constant cultural commingling between the global and the local. xi INTRODUCTION We are currently a part of a global environment that does not differentiate among cultures. A one-world one-culture phase is in motion where different cultures connect and fuse.1 A representative city is Dubai. It started out as a small town port on the trade route from Iraq to Oman. Gradually it developed into a busy commercial market where people of different cultures and traditions have settled in, leading to today’s multi-cultural society. Dubai is one the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is located south of the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf borders the western coast of the emirate and it is surrounded on three sides by Oman. Dubai is often known for its much-amassed wealth due to oil and world- renowned architectural and interior masterpieces. Dubai strives to outdo other cities in the world and put itself on the map by creating extreme environments and buildings. Projects in this vein include the world’s largest mall, the world’s tallest building, the largest indoor-ski place, the tallest fountains, and so forth Dubai is constantly pushing the boundaries. However, with the sudden development jump in the last 10 years, we are beginning to see projects that have a copy- paste phenomenon attached to them. They adopt historic or fantasy themes, just like the spaces seen in Las Vegas. The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas (see fig. 1) is replicated in a mall in Dubai, including the entire canal system, and the Luxor, which is an Egyptian-themed hotel, is incorporated in a resort in Dubai (see fig.2). There are many more examples taken not only from Vegas, but also from other parts of the world. Developments such as these utilize popular imagery from different cultures. The idea behind theming a space is to try to recreate experiences of the past or to create experiences that haven’t been realized individually or culturally.2 1 Figure 1.