As the world slowly tries to adapt and imagine a new post pandemic reality, the theme of the 17th edition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture is a stirring call to arms: How Will We Live Together.
With heightened sanitary precautions, social distancing, temperature-taking and quarantine for many participants, the biennale miraculously opens its doors to an expectant general public on Saturday, May 22, one of the first genuine global cultural events to return to real-life.
The UAE’s innovative Wetland exhibition takes its place alongside the 64 nations that will be present in the Serenissima’s historic Giardini and Arsenale venues for the next six months up until November 21.
To mark the occasion, the inauguration of Wetland was made in person outside the pavilion by UAE Minister of Culture and Youth Noura Al Kaabi to a cosmopolitan audience that included Roberto Cicutto, the new President of La Biennale. During a stirring ceremony, she said, "the National Pavilion UAE is a bridge from the UAE to the world".
"Participation is an honour, and a rare opportunity to present stories and ideas that define the UAE. This culture of bridge-building and multinational exchange is fundamental to who we are as a nation," she said, also mentioning that this year marked the UAE's tenth participation in the Venice Biennale.
"The UAE is also approaching its golden jubilee, marking 50 years since our founding," Al Kaabi said. "The 2021 exhibition Wetland presents a truly insightful idea, and a fresh perspective on the global issue of climate change. Developing new and more sustainable ways of balancing the needs of the modern world with the need to protect our environment is absolutely critical, and very high on the UAE's national strategic agenda, so this project is outstandingly timely."
Before the minister arrived, Wael Al Awar, who curated Wetland along with Kenichi Teramoto, proudly stood beside his incredible prototype structure built from an innovative, environmental-friendly cement made from recycled brine waste.
The module is inspired by the UAE’s traditional coral houses, but the ground-breaking cement, made from brine extracted during industrial desalination, has the strength and durability to be used in modern architecture in standard brick shape.
“Even before the Biennale’s curator, Hashim Sarkis, announced the theme for 2021, we were already working on the issue of utilising desalination waste that became our Wetland project," Al Awar said. "We began three years ago, when it was already evident that architects have to accept a responsibility to act to address the effects of global warming. So his call for the world of architecture to address this crucial question of how we will all live together corresponded perfectly with the ideals behind Wetland.”
The UAE pavilion audaciously challenges the most basic element of the construction industry: cement.
"For today's generation of architects," Al Awar said, "cement has always been there, an essential product but one that is incredibly unsustainable, with one tonne of cement generating one tonen of CO2. It is quite simply the dumbest material imaginable." Generations before, countries created their own vernacular architecture relying on local resources, such as coral in the UAE, while in other countries it would have been stone, mud, bamboo, wood.
"Obviously coral could not last in the UAE where the population transformed from 10,000 nomadic people to 10 million, but we hope we are now finding an alternative to concrete for future construction projects," Al Awar said.
"And we found that inspiration right here in the UAE's salt flats, the sabkha. As the salt dries we could see that it created natural blocks, and then realised that these had already been used in ancient constructions in Siwa on the Egyptian border with Libya and Tunisia's Chott el Jurd, whose traditional architecture reached a global audience when they were used as a key location for the film Star Wars."
There is ongoing, crucial scientific input to this project, with the curators collaborating with NYU Abu Dhabi, the American University of Sharjah and the University of Tokyo, who are working towards a patent to transform the industrial waste generated by desalination into the magical ingredient to create building bricks.
The Wetland installation is complemented by an emotive series of photographs of the sabkha by renowned Emirati artist, Farah Al Qasimi.
There is no question of using the timeless salt blocks created on the sabkha, Al Awar said.
"This unique region must be preserved and protected at all costs because it acts as the lungs of the UAE, purifying the air by absorbing CO2 just as the trees of Brazil's rainforest.
"This Future Vernacular architecture, which combines local resources with modern technology, may be adapted for other countries outside the UAE that generate desalination waste."
But, he said, it is not a product that should be exported, shipped around the world to build the cities of the future.
"That is simply against nature, defeating the whole ambition of this project. Local produce for local use, a viable alternative to cement’s global carbon footprint," he said.
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All Black 39-12 British & Irish Lions
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
New schools in Dubai
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More coverage from the Future Forum
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
RESULTS
5pm: Rated Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: AF Alajaj, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Abubakar Daud
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Tair, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
Winner: Wakeel W’Rsan, Richard Mullen, Jaci Wickham
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner: Son Of Normandy, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash