Talk:Al Lulu Island

message: In this 2015 article in the National by Nick Leach, https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/lulu-island-an-uncultured-pearl-in-a-sea-of-development-1.25720, original plans by Oscar Neimeyer are outlined. “In the case of this beautiful and unique island, the important thing, in our view, is to create a comprehensive and unforgettable show” wrote the Brazilian master architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1981. Other failed attempts at creating an entertainment center at Lulu are also outlined. These include the 2003 project which opened on a much smaller scale in 2007- the only year Lulu was open to the public."By September 2003 however, Lulu Island was back on the agenda when the establishment of the General Corporation for Development and Investment of Lulu Island.
Funded by the Abu Dhabi government to the tune of Dh100 million, the purpose of the corporation was to “develop and invest in Lulu Island in Abu Dhabi and turn it into one of the city’s modern hallmarks,” said its royal decree.
The corporation’s plans for the island included a wildlife reserve, “fun parks”, hotels, restaurants, man-made lakes and even a museum, but when Lulu finally opened to the public in 2007 the facilities that had been created, which included two restaurants, four coffee shops, a track for camel and horse riding and two artificial lakes, felt underpowered to say the very least." 
Another such non-starter was the Lulu Road Project of 2006. "In 2006, President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan was presented with a new plan for the island by the master developer Sorouh Real Estate, which envisaged Lulu as “a new waterfront bustling with mixed use commercial, residential, cultural and recreational facilities” but architectural hubris appeared to have reached new levels when, four years later, the US architecture giant Skidmore Owings & Merrill presented plans for their 1,312-foot-high Lulu Tower, a 75-storey high-rise that would have been shaped like a giant clam."
The Lebanese artist, architect and sleuth uncovering urban legends, Rayanne Tabet researched the history of =the island in a performance piece. "In 2013 Tabet, who specialises in researching and retelling hidden histories, was commissioned to produce a performance as part of that year’s Abu Dhabi Art.
To unwary visitors looking for a free cruise around Lulu Island, Looking for Pearls seemed like an ordinary boat tour, but as the boat embarked it soon became clear that they were about to experience something quite different.
Looking for Pearls was actually Tabet’s investigation into the stories that had accumulated around Lulu Island’s fantastical past."
Tabet debunked the idea of mermaids inhabiting the island and found that it is indeed constructed in the shape of Abu Dhabi.
----Michelle Haag PhD.
sources:
The National July 9, 2015 https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/lulu-island-an-uncultured-pearl-in-a-sea-of-development-1.25720
Yatra undated https://www.yatra.com/international-tourism/attractions-in-abu-dhabi/al-lulu-island
Time Out Abu Dhabi Aug 2, 2018 https://www.timeoutabudhabi.com/aroundtown/features/70780-abu-dhabi-island-guide  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.231.96.183 (talk) 20:43, 24 February 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lulu Island as a non-starter of an entertainment center for Abu Dhabi