So, I'm gearing up to attend the 14th annual DUBAI ENTERTAINMENT, ARTS & LEISURE EXPO (DEAL) at the dubai world trade center in April. And I've been doing some research on all the crazy things being planned for this thematic urban brandscape of the future. New to the list is the world's largest arch bridge, 6th crossing, which will span a mile over Dubai Creek when it is completed in 2012. Read more about it where I did, at Kitsune Noir. My favorite part of the post is where he calls Dubai "a grown up Disneyland on crack," and it's certainly not the first time the comparison has been made. However, if I were to suggest to an architect, or an interior designer, or even a graphic designer that these are two examples of the same phenomenon, thematic design, I might get some funny looks. One is Mickey Mouse and one is all high-gloss, right? I don't think it's that simple, frankly. There is a connection, a lineage, between Disneyland and Dubai, and you can trace it through Orlando and Las Vegas, through Jon Jerde and Gensler. It's a story of illusion and simulation, of placemaking and entertainment, of nostalgia and postmodernism.
It's a story that's an underrated part of twentieth century design history. And fleshing it out, tracing the steps, noting the growth and mutations of the format and the subtle variations across the globe; this is in large measure what Themerica is all about.