The Dubai Mall, completed in 2008, is currently the world’s largest mall and one of the largest structures in the world. Sand to Spectacle - The Dubai Mall – DP Architects documents the design process of Singapore-based DP Architects as it realized a building the size of a city in just over four years from sketch to construction. The authors perform an in-depth analysis of the historical, architectural, cultural, and physical forces at play in the building’s design, and supplement the text with a unique comparative study of Dubai and Singapore to describe The Dubai Mall as a product of both local and global influences.

• Written by Nartano Lim & Widari Bahrin
• Preface by Francis Lee
• Contributions by Brian Lonsway

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Contributors Biographies

Nartano Lim is a senior associate with DP Architects. Since joining DP in 2008, Nartano has worked on Universal Studios Singapore at Resorts World Sentosa, a number of design competitions including the Capitol Theatre development together with Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and is currently involved with the new Mediacorp media complex in collaboration with Fumihiko Maki & Associates. Prior to joining DP in Singapore, he worked in New York City with Robert A.M. Stern and Arakawa + Gins. In addition to practice, he was an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Syracuse University School of Architecture and an invited critic at Yale University. His work has been published in both IKEAgrams: Project on the Waterfront by Benjamin Pell and T. L. Brown and a forthcoming book entitled 0 by Mark Linder.

Widari Bahrin is an architectural executive with DP Architects. Since joining the practice in 2010, she has worked on the winning proposal for the Sun City master plan in Hanoi, Vietnam and a number of local and regional projects including the New Sunray Woodcraft Headquarters in Singapore. Since graduating from the Architectural Association, London in 2009, Widari’s academic work has been presented at a number of international symposiums and published in the IAARA Urban Space Journal. She is working towards publishing her research on transitory architecture in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Francis Lee
has served as the chief executive officer of DP Architects since 2004, overseeing the company’s strategic direction and growth, particularly guiding its foray into the Middle East. He is actively involved in the quest to transform the office by promoting service excellence, continuous learning, and personal development within the company. Lee is a registered architect with the Board of Architects, Singapore, and a member of the Singapore Institute of Architects. In 2005 he helped form the Singapore Business & Infrastructure Consortium, a partnership for the pursuit of development opportunities in the Middle East, which he chaired from 2005-2007. Lee’s work specializes in large-scale projects, and he has completed a number of developments in Singapore including Suntec City. His overseas work includes The Dubai Mall, Doha Festival City Mall, and other major projects in Dubai, Jordan, and Qatar. Lee also manages DP Consultants, which has been engaged in the project management of Resorts World Sentosa.

Brian Lonsway is currently an associate professor at the Syracuse University School of Architecture. An architectural theorist and technology researcher, Professor Lonsway’s work is invested in the evolving relationships between design technologies and spatial thought. He has lectured and written on issues concerning the spatiality of computing, the architectural theory of data, and the post-structuralist semiotics of contemporary design practices. His first book, Making Leisure Work: Architecture and the Entertainment Economy appeared in 2009 on Routledge Press. He is currently at work on a second book examining the various impacts of American law on the architectural landscape.