Out of the box

“Cityscape 2021” .. the exhibition site has changed and creativity has disappeared

Ismail Al Hammadi

November 23, 2021

As usual, I did not miss the opportunity to move between the pavilions of the "Cityscape Global Exhibition" in its latest edition, which took place at the site of "Expo 2020 Dubai". Both.

I stopped at almost every platform to see the products offered, real estate services available, and what is new in the quality of projects offered for direct sale through the exhibition.

I do not want to be negative, and I do not mean a specific party in what I will discuss with you today, but I only want to convey my observations as one of those interested in the real estate sector, looking to achieve continuous development, and maintain the element of attraction that has long characterized the sector.

Except for the change in the exhibition space, the viewing angles, and the location of the exhibition, there is almost no other change in the real estate companies’ supply across the platforms.. Familiar and ordinary real estate projects, lacking creativity and innovation, which has become a slogan that Dubai leads at the level of all its achievements in its various economic sectors, to make a distinguished path And uniquely towards the future, and without this road, Dubai would not have moved so quickly on the global ladder.

Most of the seniors who were leading the sector at one time were absent from the exhibition, with all due respect to all the development companies that are active locally, I did not see an overwhelming creativity in the real estate projects that are being developed, contrary to what we hear and read about the details of the projects when they are launched and promoted, with the exception of a very small group. Longer on the fingers.

I remember that the first “Cityscape” exhibition in Dubai was held in 2002, with the beginning of the Dubai real estate renaissance, and since that year, the event has continued to grow, becoming one of the largest real estate exhibitions in the region for nearly 12 years.

At that time, the quality of the real estate projects offered played a role in promoting this growth, by expanding the circle of attracting investors from international markets, until approximately the 2015 edition. It can be said that the following editions of that year of the exhibition were repeated in terms of the quality of the product offered by the companies.

Yes, the space has grown, and the display companies have increased, but the common feature that they have gathered is the similarity of the product, and the convergence of the idea of ​​development, in the absence of the spirit of creativity and innovation that should have dominated the presented projects, in order to befit the position of Dubai International today.

It is unfortunate that a visitor to the Expo compares the degree of creativity adopted in the design of the site and its pavilions, foremost of which is the UAE pavilion, and then sees a lower level of creativity on the real estate exhibition platforms.

Based on this experience, it is time for us all to realize that the scale of attraction in the real estate sector today has changed, as it is no longer the large number of projects or their enormity that is the criterion, but the degree of creativity and innovation in the proposal and excellence in designs, and this is what must be focused on during thinking about the proposal of any New real estate project on the market.

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