The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is a beautiful architecture but it has two big problems: it is the tallest in the world and it is built in the UAE. These two features, through the eyes of the snob glossy magazine critics always ready to rattle off negative numbers in relation to ecological problems, maintenance costs, etc. have made it ugly, unpleasant, rude and arrogant. If the Khalifa had been built in London, Paris or New York and paid by any Foundation, things would have probably turned out differently, we would have hailed as a masterpiece both from an engineering and urban and linguistic standpoint. Instead it was built in Dubai by sheiks that are well known to go around in diamonds-studded Rolls and in 660 ft-long yachts and therefore anything they do has to be meant as vulgar. When I arrived in Dubai last week, I was very biased towards what I would have seen a little later. I was expecting a monster building. I had seen photos, projects and even some videos but it is useless: as the great natural spectacles, also architectures must be seen in person. And so, when I stood in front of the Khalifa, I cannot deny that I was excited. It is 2,722 ft high. As a matter of fact it is twice the Empire State Building and almost three times the Eiffel Tower. The architecture, which was not carried out by a provincial study, but one of the most important studies in the world, Skidmore Owings and Merrill (www.som.com) made an excellent job. The Y-shaped plan was inspired by a flower, the Hymenocallis, typical of the area. At its base the adjacent buildings, lakes and paths do not make it a pretentious building at all. On the contrary, walking around it you do not realize to be at the bottom of a half-mile tall tower. Then looking at the building that rises to the sky with its shapes, decreasing gradually and turning into terraces, make it well proportioned and light. It is a large rocket that ends in a 230 ft spire with a diameter of only 4,9 ft. Needless to mention records: it overreached them all. The elevators run at a speed of 10 m/s, it has 168 floors, and for its construction it has been used an abnormal amount of steel and concrete (otherwise it would not be the highest in the world). Every day hundreds of thousands of tourists gather around the Khalifa watching the fountains show and sitting at restaurants by the artificial lake. And thanks to government commitment this city hosts annually more than one hundred million visitors (Dubai has only 2 million residents). The skyscraper (Burj in Arabic) was supposed to be called Burj Dubai but, as during construction the financial crisis had overtaken, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zahied to Nahayan came forth and paid off the debts with a few billion dollars. Dedicate the skyscraper to him was the least thing to do. Also in this case it was cried foul. It is not clear why. If it had been supported by Morgan Stanley or by Barclay's, would it be more elegant? Apart from this, Dubai is a city worth visiting. One day, two at most. That's all it can offer. But success and commitment are tangible. In 2020 Dubai hosts the Expo (after Milan ...) and we'll see what happens. It remains to understand something. Arabs are doing anything to invest the proceeds derived from their underground assets (oil) in the best possible way, sometimes acting wrong, but results are there for everyone to see. We Italians, with our black gold in surface (Italy owns more than 70 per cent of the world’s recognized artistic heritage), live in a country on the verge of collapse and we have no direction but to criticize others. In that we are certainly the best. PF
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