Funoon at Dubai Ladies Club hosts Architectural Students Exhibition from American University of Dubai

Funoon, the art & culture division of Dubai Ladies Club, which is a member of Dubai Women Establishment, is hosting a special exhibition called “The Future of Hotel” by Architectural Students from American University of Dubai(AUD). The exhibition was inaugurated yesterday by Dr. Lance de Masi, President of American University of Dubai; and its open till Wednesday, 22^nd February 2012; 9:00am until 9pm daily.

Curated by Dr. Chuloh Jung, architects and associate professor of Architecture at School of Architecture, Art and Design, AUD and the show comprises of 18 design projects from his design studio. The identity of Dubai as a city is the city of hospitality and the theme of this studio is “Boutique Hotel” for single tourists, which reflects the city’s identity and industry. The projects of students are not merely Boutique hotels but the hotel with futuristic visions and various interesting challenges.

On the occasion, Sarah Ayoub Agha, Funoon Supervisor, Dubai Ladies Club commented, “One of Funoon’s main objective is to provide emerging artists and students in the creative fields with a valuable platform to showcase their creations to the wider audience. In line with this, we are delighted to host this event for our members and ladies from the local art community.”

Students have worked on the projects presented in the exhibition all semester long. Now, after three months of hard work, their efforts have finally paid off. In early September 2011, they were given the project description, explaining what their designs should consist of. They were told to design a boutique hotel for single businessmen, located in the Al Barsha area, close to the Mall of the Emirates and Kempinski Hotel. The first challenge was in the location itself – how would they design a multi-story boutique hotel that would compete with the neighbouring Kempinski? Obviously, their design would have to be so unique as to stand out from all the other buildings in the area and attract visitors from all around the globe.

In the design of their individual boutique hotels, the students had to include an anchor facility that would draw in more visitors (guests and others) in order to better profit the hotel. Students came up with anchor facilities ranging from floating deserts, lazy rivers, viewing galleries, and mountain climbing, to running tracks, spas, art galleries, and shooting ranges. Creativity oozed out of the minds of the students as they further developed their concepts and turned ideas into reality.

Ayoub Agha added, “The exhibition represents these architectural students’ tireless efforts and really shows how much effort has gone into this project. It was no easy task, but one can safely state that each student has enhanced his/her skills dramatically during the project development process.”  

It is worth mentioning that this event is one of several new art initiatives launched by Funoon – the art division of Dubai Ladies Club. The newly reinvented art division was established to guide and solidify the role that arts and other cultural resources play in defining and enhancing the social fabric and quality of life of people living in the UAE. Inspired by the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE; Funoon will work with local, regional and international foundations to enhance the UAE’s reputation as a cultural destination through programs that educate and expose the public to a rich and diverse range of cultural expressions through a variety of initiatives.