Dubai: dynamics of bingo urbanism

Boris Brorman Jensen’s essay on the conceivable logic of urban development in Dubai.

‘Boris Brorman Jensen was the first architect I knew who started to research the new world arising in Dubai. China was hot, but what happened in the desert found no audience. It was in 2001 that he showed me the Palm resorts on internet. At that time it was just outrageous paper plans, including a hypnotizing internet video. For me the Palm showcased an amazing example of what the middle-class paradise represents. A daydream – a paradise of leisure not knowing what to do– a world of fascinating gadgets, advanced consumption and puzzling clichés, a world without the unknown knocking at the door. A world better than the Truman Show could imagine; where citizens choose to be a tourist without the need or wish to vote except through their shopping behavior as clients of Dubai incorporated. At the time nobody was interested in Dubai, people laughed about it, they didn’t take it seriously, they didn’t notice that this situation wasn’t only about Dubai but concerns the fantasies of the ever increasing middle-class population worldwide.’

– Roemer van Toorn

Download full-text pdf of the publication.