Bluewaters, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Architecture in Dubai is mostly anything but ordinary. This is also the case with the artificial island of Bluewaters, which is located very close to the Dubai Marina district and the Jumeirah Beach Residence. Exclusive residences, a private beach, a 5-star hotel and the Ferris wheel Ain Dubai – of course the largest Ferris wheel in the world – can be found here on a good 32 hectares. And this is always a necessity in Dubai: a shopping street with numerous shopping opportunities, restaurants and cafés.
Design variety on the facade: the RECKLI SELECT series
Architect Juan Marenco from the architecture firm Woods Bagot was responsible for the concept for this shopping street. In addition to the actual buildings, the striking white sunshades and the design for the island’s transport hub were also designed. The architect also designed the look of the facades. Four textured formliners from the RECKLI SELECT series were used for this – 2/169 Columbia, 2/175 Friesland, 2/163 Fraser and 2/174 Breisgau – which can be seen on the buildings along the shopping street.
For an attractive shopping district
With 2/169 Columbia and 2/175 Friesland, the choice fell on two wavy designs whose structure reflects the proximity to the sea on the one hand, but whose optics also live from the interplay of light and shadow on the other. Almost ideal for a sunny location like Dubai. With our formliner 2/163 Fraser, a horizontal wooden structure was also used, the elements of which enliven the facade and give it a natural look. Our design 2/174 Breisgau stands in direct contrast to this – a linear structure whose appearance is based on stamped sheet metal and whose angular rhombuses make the concrete appear steely and clear. Only 30 m2 of formliners had to be made for the total of 2000 m2 designed with our structures. The concrete elements were cast at Alec Precast’s precast plant using GRC concrete. In the end, an attractive shopping district was created that not only offers numerous shopping opportunities, but also something for the visitors to see.
