Trip to Dubai: Burj Khalifa

The architecture in Dubai is amazing and the fact it has the tallest building in the world just puts the icing on the cake.

The Burj Khalifa stands 828m/2,717ft tall and has the fastest elevators with a speed of 64km/h, or 18m/s. The elevator ride its self was an amazement, like something straight out of charlie and the chocolate factory. Then stepping out to the view of Dubai was truly mind blowing.

It was also interesting to learn the background behind the design of the Burj Khalifa. The whole building was designed with organic influences and actual shape of the building is based on a six leaf orchid flower. Like the arabesque patterns, the design of the Burj Khalifa has been drawn up using shape and pattern.

Trip to Dubai: Design Influences

I recently took a trip to Dubai not only was i blown away by the heat, but i was equally amazed by the architecture and design Dubai had to offer.

The malls themselves were full of beautiful features to look at. I'd often find myself walking around looking up to the ceilings and due to the vast size of the malls i seemed to find something new each time i went:

Although Dubai itself is quite a modern city i was very interested in the traditional Islamic art. In one of the malls i found a small museum which talked about the origins of Islamic art. I learn that the most distinguished type of Islamic art was called the Arabesque. It is a fusion of pure mathematics and the art of space to create a geometric art. The patterns are apparently designed to encourage deep thought and spiritual contemplation. I thought this linked nicely to the 23 project i had completed just before i went to Dubai. Although in a much more modern and a much less spiritual way.

Anyway here are some examples of arabesque being used which i found on my travels:

Pathway Project, Part 2: 23

For this project the brief read: 'Based on a simple number, produce a black and white image. Your number must be based on the concept - CRAFT & TECHNOLOGY

I wanted to incorporate the bottle top collection (final found an actual use for them). I chose 23 as it is one of my favorite numbers and therefore it would be a nice idea to include my favorite collection. So i began by simply playing around with the tops to form the number 23:

I liked this idea of playing with shape to form the number. I drew a grid and experimented with different shapes to make up 23. As i was doing this i wondered if i could use 23 squares to form the number 23, and after a few attempts i found it could be done.

from this i photographed the bottle tops, cut the printed paper into 5x5cm squares, and photographed the new arrangement to create the final image:

I'm really pleased with the final outcome, i like its quite a simple but clever idea. I also like that it looks almost like its been made digitally when in actual fact its just pieces of cut out paper.

Pathway Project, Part 1: Bottle Top Collection

For around just over a year now i have been collecting bottle tops. I first began collecting them with the intention to use them within my work, as time went on it became more of a habit/obsession. I'm quite a hoarder anyway so the collection grew and grew and now i have around 500. As the collection grew i had to keep changing the container i put the tops in. It began with a small make-up bag, then progressed to a wicker basket.

I now keep them in a sweet tin (which is almost full):

I think what i like about keeping the bottle tops is how different the designs can be. A lot of them have quite decorative typography and imagery on them which i find quite interesting. I like when i come a cross different design variations of the same drinks. Some Examples:

The tops often have colour variations to indicate types or flavours of the drink, but I think its interesting when there is a variation to the actual design. This could indicate a newer cap so new design.

Here's some other examples that i like the designs of:

I think some of these have really nice typography such as the 'Sam Miguel' and 'Sol' caps. I also really like the 'Corona Extra' because of the use for deep blue and green, the typography on that one is also quite nice.

I HATE it when the top has been bent when its been removed from the bottle. Or when the use by date is printed on the top.

I thought while i have been looking at collections and archives it would be interesting to split the bottle tops into different colour groups:

There's almost a weird nostalgia with collecting these tops. Certain ones remind me of different people. Its also interesting to see what was most popular and and when there's only a few of a certain bottle top that's clearly been an unpopular drink and so never bought again.