Big money in small models
The UAE's booming real estate industry is bolstering the growth of the miniature model-making business, turning it into a multi-million-dirham entity in its own right. And as modelling experts and artists make a beeline for the Emirates, motivated by increased demand, some insiders are claiming that the country already accounts for 70 per cent of the world's model-making industry.
"When we started out in 1996 we were knocking on people's doors but now it's the other way round," says Dani Bterrani, CEO of Dubai-based 3dr Models, one of the oldest model-making companies in the UAE.
"Back then, we were lucky to get a villa or a five-storey building, but now if we get a job for two or three towers, then we consider this a small project."
With prices ranging from Dh1,500 ($408) for a single building to Dh3 million for a whole master plan, representatives of some of the 40-odd model-making companies in the country say the present scenario is just the tip of the iceberg.
According to Bterrani, plans are afoot to create the largest scale model in the Middle East at a cost of Dh300m – a one to 200 scale model of Dubai measuring 430 metres by 275m, which could take years to build.
"It would be housed indoors and have access underground so workers would be able to adapt the model to any new development," he explains. "There is a model in Holland called the MadouraDam where people can walk through it so this would be something similar."
The current boom, Bterrani says, is set to continue for the next 15 years as more and more projects are planned – and will be seen across all the emirates.
"Just two years ago, Abu Dhabi would take up one in every hundred jobs, now it is 50-50 with Dubai so there are markets opening up all over the UAE," he says.
In order to complete the intricate details that the exhibits require, model makers work closely alongside developers and architects.
At his workshop in Al Quoz, Bterrani has 70 full-time model makers who create an average of 30 models per month for clients both in the UAE and abroad. The company has eight warehouses to store models and has invested millions of dirhams in its 28 laser machines, which help cut and measure material for the exhibits.
Bterrani says his company, which also has a branch in Hong Kong, is currently working on a number of major "top secret" projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
A giant model of Dubai at a scale of one to 4,000 was completed last year by another Dubai-based company, Modelcraft, for developer Nakheel and showcased at Cityscape Dubai, the annual property exhibition.
Matthew Roche, the managing director of Modelcraft, says model making is becoming more sophisticated as an increasing number of clients demand model makers to come up with innovative ideas.
"Models now come with intricate electrical systems and screens so you can see 3D films and lights in buildings" he says. "When I first started here in 2005, having a model became a trend. Now clients are not doing it as blindly as they have been. You have to keep on your toes with the advances in the industry."
Growing competition in the model making industry, he says, is creating a competitive edge amongst players and could, in the future, lead to a more competitive market.
"If there is more competition the need for models becomes more and so they become more important," he says. "In Australia, when the market became like that we used duplicate models for overseas marketing in two places at the same time."
Modelcraft, which also has offices in Australia, had 18 models on display at last month's Cityscape Abu Dhabi. It also recently showcased Dubai Maritime City at a maritime exhibition in Greece, The Palm Jumeirah's Trump Tower in New York and work for Emaar in Karachi and Aldar at the Mipim World Property Show in Cannes. "International shipping of the models is becoming part of everyday life," adds Roche.
Nasser Aboulela, the head of design at developer Limitless, says models are an essential part of a project's development.
"In general we use models for all our projects as a way of testing the plan and not just as some pretty image to show people," says Aboulela whose company's many projects include the Arabian Canal and Downtown Jebel Ali. "We use them to study the buildings and to see whether things work. We live in a 3D environment so its not enough to see them on paper, we have to see the geometry.
"We develop a lot of study models that are made of very basic foam and soft wood and then we have a more presentable model, something more refined. This helps us achieve a vision and is an expression of the design. We want the models to reveal a trueness of the design."
Scale models are also a great way to market projects to potential investors and as a sight for the public. A model of Dubai Marina held centre stage for many months in Emirates Towers during 2005. A model of Sama Dubai's The Lagoons is on show there now.
Joseph Shaiju, the marketing manager at Euphoria Model Makers in Dubai, which was set up three-and-a-half years ago, says there is also work for model makers outside of the real estate sector.
"We have made models for heritage sites in Umm Al Quwain and hope to do more in the future," he says. "We do architectural scale model making and master plans including the towers designed by sport stars Michael Schumacher, Boris Becker and Nikki Lauda.
"When we first started off we had three projects a month and in the second year five per month. Now we are looking at seven or eight," he adds.
The model-making industry in the UAE, it seems, is fast becoming a mirror to the country's developments and according to its leading figures, appears to have no limits.
"They are building the impossible here so one day I might be asked to do a building floating in the air," says Bterrani.
The numbers
70%: The UAE accounts for more than half of the world model-making industry, according to insiders.
300m: The cost in dirhams of a scale model of Dubai that's coming soon.
1,500-3m: Price range in dirhams of models.