The Sand Castle

Last night I watched Wide Angle, "the only program exclusively dedicated to international current affairs documentaries," after flipping to PBS and seeing images of what looked like a documentary on Dubai. But The Sand Castle episode, it turns out, focuses on Ras-al-Khaimah, Dubai's sister-state in the United Arab Emirates, though really it's about Norwegian architecture office Snøhetta's experience in the desert.



Those keeping up with architectural and urban developments in Persian Gulf probably know that OMA is working on the masterplan for Ras-al-Khaimah, aka RAK Gateway, so the end of the first part of the documentary, in which the Norwegians are pitted against the Dutchman Koolhaas to determine who will work on the masterplan commission, won't come as a surprise. And neither will Snøhetta's design for the new town's mixed-use exhibition/convention/hotel project be a shock. In the case of this show, it's all about the ride.

We see the creative process, such as a member of Snøhetta playing with sand during a visit to the location of the future city (above). We see trips from UAE to Norway and back again as the architects generate a design much different than OMA's dense square. We see the client tell Snøhetta the bad news and invite them to design the mixed-use project. We see the client's dislike of their first scheme. We see Snøhetta redesign and redesign. And so forth. It's a fascinating glimpse into architecture and its creation, something I was surprised to see on television, something my wife thought paints architects in a good light, unlike other things.