Surreal Estate

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n a land where they build hotels under water and towers that reach into clouds, how do you stand out in an exhibition that brings together the world's leading architects and investors in the real-estate industry? That was the skyscraper-size problem Abyaar Real Estate Development Co. faced at the Cityscape Dubai show in the Middle Eastern emirate.

The Safat, Kuwait-based Abyaar wanted its booth to reflect the extravagant architecture of its projects in Dubai, including a tower inspired by Arctic icebergs and an avant-garde arts center. After shelving concepts such as a surreal booth based on M.C. Escher's dreamlike imagery, the company chose a design that resembled a 1930s Fred Astaire movie set conceived by Salvador Dali. Visitors entered the 46-by-49-foot, double-deck exhibit on a glass floor which had a pattern of coiling flowers imprinted on back. A chandelier suspended from a truss 10 feet off the floor featured 600 frosted-acrylic, fluttering leaf-like shapes. Customers could peruse framed pictures of the company's past real-estate projects that dotted the booth. They could also study the developments on any of five snow-colored computer kiosks shaped like frozen waves, or inspect an 8-by-10-foot model. Made of synthetic marble, the model displayed Abyaar's seaside projects with what appeared to be waves lapping the shoreline, an illusion created by a projector hidden underneath that flashed images onto the model's surface.

When it was time to conduct business, Abyaar escorted customers past two 6-foot-high abstract sculptures and up a winding black-and-white art deco staircase to the carpeted upper deck, where visitors talked shop between walls lined with gold-colored thread. By mirroring its lavish developments with an equally lavish booth, Abyaar sold 100 percent of the remaining commercial space in two of its real-estate projects, proving that going over the top can help fill in the bottom line.e




	Architectural Oasis Abyaar Real Estate Development Co. impressed attendees with an exhibit that was equal parts Hollywood movie set and Alice's Wonderland. Under a chandelier of 600 acrylic "leaves" fluttering in the air above them, booth visitors strolled on a glass floor imprinted with a floral design whose coils and curves were as black as a magician's cloak.

Client: Abyaar Real Estate Development Co., Safat, Kuwait
Design/Fabrication: Top Gear Promotions LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Size: 46-by-49-feet (2,254 square feet)
Estimated Cost: $571,000
Estimated Cost/Square Foot: $253