Adil Najam
For all of those, me included, who wondered what a 7-star hotel looks like; this is it.
To find out what it feels like, you will have to wait an indefinite amount of time until this surreal StarTrek-like structure actually comes about in Islamabad. Will it? And if it does will it really look like this!
This would have made a great photo-quiz had written about the hotel a few days ago, had Asma not already posted the URLs to these pictures as a comment on that post, and had these pictures not been flying around in all sorts of emails from Pakistan. Despite all of the above, I thought they would still make a great post; maybe some of the koolness will rub off on the site. And I am sure the builders could do with some more free publicity.
Plus, as regular readers know, I have a thing for pictures with tullas (cops) in them (see here, here and here). And this one – even though imaginary – has that traffic cop perched right in the foreground. By the way, don’t miss the helicopter hovering above (near the helipad) either!
From my earlier posts, you guys know that I’m not against this building. However, I think they could have done a much better job of building something that is more representative of the surrounding environment. There are some pretty good examples of construction projects which have nicely made use of Mughal and other designs.
This building obviously looks like it would fit more in Dubai.
And how much would it cost to breathe within the vicinity of this 7 star Hotel?
Comparing this monstrosity with Burj al-Arab,Dubai is not fair. The Burj is situated in the water and is designed to look like the billowed sail of a dhow (the traditional Arab boat). And it unmistakably does. There is a softness to its structure. And the designers have tried to root the Burj’s design into Dubai’s seafaring traditions.
On the other hand the Isloo’s “7-star” is neither here nor there. In the backdrop of the Margalla hills it looks out of place. It looks novel but harsh and not handsome.
I think its a cool and modern looking architecture. We need more of these in Pakistan – I say bring it on. Dubai has been stealing the show for the world’s most magnificent and wonderful buildings. I think Pakistan can do better – this can be one of them.
To me the three side buildings are eye candy as they are symmetrical. The main hotel building seems like a plagiarized version of famous ‘burj’ hotel of Dubai where curved architecture has been eased out to straight lines giving it a triangular shape. An eye sore in my opinion. I am a fan of old fashioned architecture where geometry is kept simple.