al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai
image courtesy visiondivision

the thyssenkrupp elevator award was a competition which asked architects to develop
an iconic tall emblem structure for zaabeel park in dubai.

for their proposal visiondivision designed a statue based around al hakawati - a storyteller,
whose profession that goes way back in ancient arabic times and still is performed in the
arabic world today. the statue will be a home of stories; a children’s library in its base
and various spaces for performance and reading inside of the statue.

in every part of the park, small speakers will be set up so people can gather around them
and listen to the statue when he recites stories; perhaps great legends from one thousand
and one night, historical anecdotes from the city itself and future speculations, all this
performed with an animated body language.


al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai
image courtesy visiondivision


al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai
image courtesy visiondivision


al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai
image courtesy visiondivision

the statue
the walls in the base are stairs on the outside which leads to the platform where the
storyteller begins to rise. windows punctuates various stairs for a bright indoor environment
without any direct sunlight. the statue also has big rooms inside of it for reading,relaxing
and other social activities. each big room has its own theme, be it a gold room, a crystal
cavern, a green room or a room full of fish tanks, or the night views of dubai.



al hakawati (the storyteller) - diagram of elevator sections
image courtesy visiondivision

technical aspects
the statue can move its arms and head; this demands an articulate joint between the elevators
and the floors on these critical points. the joints are similar in function to those seen in joint
buses, and will guarantee an uninterrupted movement inside of the statue, even if he slightly
tilts his head.
the arms and head movement is controlled by computers and can mimic a prerecording of
an actor for example. the rigid parts of the statue are made out of a steel frame structure with
a cover of sheets of steel. the movable parts must be flexible, thus a material like rubber
or silicon with a coating that mimic the glossiness of the steel is preferable.



al hakawati (the storyteller) - library floor plan
image courtesy visiondivision



al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai
image courtesy visiondivision


al hakawati (the storyteller) zaabeel park, dubai
image courtesy visiondivision


gold theme room in the eyeball of al hakawati (the storyteller)
image courtesy visiondivision