Class in a Capitalist Society: 2010

In collaboration with the worlds most renowned fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld and KOR Hotel Group, Isla Moda is a resort complex that comprises 3 hotels, and 150 residential units on a manmade island 20km off the coast of Dubai. Inspired by the floating palaces of India, and the modern day equivalent the cruise ship, Isla moda distinguishes itself from other thematic reincarnations in The World by celebrating the notion of manmade and the attempts authenticity within this simulacra of the real world. Utilizing ship building techniques, the fabricated island evolves from an intrinsic understanding of the nuances of style and fashion, and their inextricable link to the possibilities of how life can and should experienced. When woven into the lived environment, it reaches an apogee through a symphonic balance between architecture and an elevated natural environment. A monolithic volume 1050ft x 705 ft x 60 ft the physical embodiment of the Golden Rule, is intricately carved to establish maximum diversity of experience and typology.

http://www.archiscene.net/oppenheim/isla-moda-oppenheim/