Never imagined the built environment of the Strip as having neuroses and bad psychological tics -- like denial, insecurity and overcompensation -- but this piece in Illume magazine, a discussion of the architecture of denial in Dubai, also lassos in Vegas for a little scolding.
Modernity in the architecture of Dubai is evident but highly questionable. As an artifact of use, architecture responds to culture and geography, and when culture enters transitional states, architecture does the same. Yet, if culture is superficial, that translates to its artifacts. Climate, on the other hand, is a natural factor. It becomes the progenitor of form. In Dubai, as in Las Vegas, form appears to be the antithesis of climatic response. It is driven more by fiscal ideology aided by expensive technology rather than regional expression that defines a sense of place.
