The season not only brings economic benefits but also demands meticulous preparation, as fishermen repair gear and assemble equipment to ensure a successful harvest. According to Hani bin Salem Batmira, a young fisherman, sardines are vital to the livelihood of Dhofar’s fishing communities, despite challenges such as high waves following the autumn season.
The catch, including a unique variety called “Eid Al-Ula,” is transported to local markets, exported, or dried for use as animal feed or organic fertilizer. Sardine production in Dhofar saw a 133% increase in 2023, reaching 49,651 tons compared to 21,290 tons the previous year, according to the General Directorate of Agricultural Wealth, Fisheries, and Water Resources.

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Well-known architect and Doctoral Candidate at Wisconsin-Madison University in the United States said that we should not forget the fact that since December 2020 we are living in a world where water is traded as a commodity.

He was delivering the keynote address at the Beyond Square Feet lecture series organised by Asset Homes on the occasion of World Water Day at SCMS Seminar Hall in Kochi on ‘Valuing Water: Global Inequalities in the Built Environment’. He also said futures and options trading is happening on water like gold and oil and other commodities since then in Wall Street highlighting worries that the life-sustaining natural resource may become scarce across the world.

Climate change, droughts, population growth, and pollution are likely to make water more scarce keeping its pricing a hot topic for years to come, he warned. Sunil Kumar V., Managing Director, Asset Homes and Pramod P Thevannoor, Group Vice Chairman, SCMS group also spoke on the occasion.

Asset Homes has been organising Beyond Square Feet lecture series thrice every year on world environment, water and habitat days.

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Once a bustling maritime town on the west coast, and now a global houseboat tourism hub, Alappuzha in Kerala will be home to India’s first Labour Movement Museum. It will showcase the fascinating history of the world labour movement that also left a deep imprint on the state’s grim struggle of the workers for their rights.

The trend-setting museum will display a huge repository of documents and exhibits that shaped the labour movements across the continents and impacted Alappuzha, the cradle of the labour movement in the country, in particular and Kerala in general.

Located alongside the Port and Coir museums displaying the town’s rich maritime heritage, the Labour Movement Museum, the first such window in the country on the class struggle and spirited fight of workers, is part of a larger project that will also be of touristy appeal.

Packed with history predating the advent of the Western colonialism, Alappuzha had a virtual monopoly over the production and shipping of coir made of coconut husk, a product that had immense global demand.

The town, famed as the ‘Venice of the East’ given its network of canals and inlets that allowed feeder vessels to sail through the Vembanad Lake to move consignments to larger ships, later became the country’s crucible of labour movement as workers engaged by the coir units and allied activities got organised to press for better wages and benefits.

The makeover of the interconnected Port, Coir and Labour museums forms part of the Alappuzha Heritage Tourism Project to present the region’s social and cultural history before tourists, who mostly come to the waterfront town to spend time in houseboats gliding past the panoramic settings and relish the spice-rich local cuisines.

“Besides its unsurpassed natural beauty, Alappuzha has a rich commercial and maritime heritage dating back to the ancient times and connected to distant lands. The Alappuzha Heritage Tourism project is conceived to bring this legacy before tourists, in which these museums are important components. They will also serve scholars specializing in the commercial and labour- related topics,” Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said.

“The renovation of two coir museums—The Yarn Museum and the Living Coir Museum—is in its final stages, under a project that strings together the coir industry, port and heritage of Alappuzha,” Tourism Principal Secretary Rani George said. “Together with the initiation of the Travancore, the Thalassery and the Muziris Heritage Projects, Kerala is well on its way to showcasing its rich heritage and glorious history to the visitors of this beautiful land, making it a complete experience,” she said.

The city is also getting its past glory restored through the renovation of centuries-old buildings situated west of the Circular Canal and the Commercial Canal, Tourism Director P. Balakiran said.

The project is being executed by Muziris Project Limited. The Museums will open as soon as the restoration of heritage structures is complete.
The Yarn Museum is getting ready at the Darragh Ismail Factory, where the Coir Federation factory now runs.The Yarn Museum will display the production of yarn, besides the processes such as the making of twine and spinning of twine into spools and spindles.

The exhibits portray how coir yarn is spun from coconut husk fibre by hand as well as with the help of traditional ratts and, following mechanization in more recent times, through automatic spinning machines.

A visual presentation on the lives of coir workers, besides a special gallery about the coconut tree and installations using coir, are highlights of the museum. About 90 per cent of the work on the Rs 5.42-crore Yarn Museum is already over.
The New Model Cooperative Society Limited, previously run by the Bombay Company, has been converted into the Labour Movement Museum. It will portray, through pictures, documents and other exhibits, the growth of the world labour movement and the history of Kerala’s labour movement. Kerala State Coir Corporation Ltd building, formerly run by the Volkart Brothers, will become the Museum of Coir History. With an outlay of Rs 9. 95 crores, 97 per cent of renovation works in this museum is complete.

The Port Museum gives a vivid idea of Alappuzha’s commercial links with the world outside through the sea. The conservation of the old Port Office and the adjacent godowns is in progress.

The museums are coming up in the ten-acre stretch of land adjoining the Port Office. The various galleries are being set up in seven blocks. Among the exhibits are models of galleons, pathemaris (sail-set vessels) and ships of various types and sizes.About 90 per cent of the works of Rs 4.63 crore Port Office refurbishment is complete.

Nurturing of the Miyawaki forest, pier restoration, Naval Signal Museum and the improvement of the canals, Gandhi Museum, Leo XIII School, Saukar Masjid, Gujarati Heritage Centre, Makham Masjid renovation are also progressing as part of the heritage project.

The places of worship in the town, factories and historical buildings will be part of the project. Noted conservation architect Dr. Benny Kuriakose is leading the restoration works.

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Asset Homes also retained DA2+, the highest CRISIL rating ever-received by a Kerala builder. Binaifer Jehani, Business Head, SME Solutions Head, CRISIL, said CRISIL’s DA2+ rating indicates the developer’s ability to execute real estate projects as per the specified quality level within the stipulated time schedule and to transfer a clean title with 100% legal ownership. The agency has also considered the strong experience of the promoter, the company’s strong marketing and development strategies, standardised work flow processes and systems, and good second-line management team and advisory board.

Speaking on 2021 plans, Sunil Kumar said the company will complete four more projects in the New Year in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Thrissur. In addition to these, 12 new projects will also be launched in 2021.

He also said Asset Homes is entering into three new verticals in the New Year, including student living, senior living and affordable housing. The company’s first affordable housing project named Down to Earth will be in Kakkanad, Kochi. Its project for senior citizens will be in association with Season Two Living, a company in which Sajan Pillai, founder of IT major UST and Managing Partner of a US$100 million venture capital fund, has investments. The project, Young at Heart, with 350 apartments, including specialised facilities for senior citizens, will be coming up near Rajagiri Hospital in Aluva. Asset Homes’ student living project, Asset Identity, on the other hand, will be built as part of Taurus Downtown, which is being set up by the Boston-based Taurus Developers in the phase III of Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram.

Considering the growth prospects of the company, C.V. Rappai, a Qatar-based NRI businessman, has taken equity in the company and has joined the board of directors. Director and CEO of Doha’s Ahmed Bin Saif Al Thani & Partners Group, Mr. Rappai is also a director of INKEL and a member of NORKA Roots and Loka Kerala Sabha.

Speaking via Zoom, Sajan Pillai, investor in Season Two Living, Asset Homes’ partner in the senior living project, said Young at Heart coming up in Aluva will be the first of its kind project in India with primary healthcare facilities, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, ayurveda clinic, walk way, yoga centre, fitness centre and recreation facilities aimed at senior citizens.

Ajay Prasad, Country Manager – India, Taurus Investment Holding, said, Taurus Downtown will be the largest of its kind integrated IT park facility in the state with residential towers and recreation facilities among others. He also said Taurus is glad to have a seasoned builder like Asset Homes onboard for the residential projects inside Taurus Downtown.

Dr. M P Hassan Kunhi, director, Asset Homes, said the year 2021 is a year of hope with the advent of Covid vaccine. For Kerala’s economy, which is uniquely impacted further by NRIs, the improved relations among the GCC countries will be an added impetus for growth.

Asset Homes has so far completed and handed over 66 projects and currently has got 19 residential projects under various stages of completion in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Patthanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur.

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After a 14-year study in Israel’s Nazareth, Archaeology Professor Ken Dark is convinced that Jesus grew up in ruins beneath Sisters of Nazareth Convent.

The home apparently dates back to the first century and believed to be built by Saint Joseph who was married to the Virgin Mary and Jesus’ legal father.

This is not the first time someone has carried out excavations on that particular site. The first attempt made by the nuns of the Sisters of Nazreth Convent. This was carried out after biblical scholar Victor Guerin in 1888 asserted that it was Jesus’ home. On his suggestion, the excavation went on till the 1930s. After that another set of excavations were done at the same place between 1936 and 1964.

These explorations didn’t turn up anything and that the location fell dormant until Professor Dark started a new project there in 2006.

He published the article in 2015 suggesting it was the home of Mary and Joseph.

The professor said that the excellent craftsmanship and a structural understanding of rock were consistent with it having been built and owned by a tekton- a carpenter, stonemason or builder.
Professor Dark also found fragments of pottery at the site which were commonly used by Jewish families of the era.

In the Bible, Joseph is carpenter but was also referred to in the New Testament as tekton- a craftsman who would have been capable of building the home.

Dr Dark also explained that the house became part of the crypt below a Byzantine church that pre-dated the convent. He identified it as the ‘Church of the Nutrition’, described in the seventh-century pilgrim account ‘De Locis Sanctis’. The house was so-called because it was built to encapsulate the house where Jesus was brought up.

While there is no solid conclusion, all evidence suggests this could have been the place where Jesus Christ spent his childhood years.

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Dubai’s bold and imaginative architectural marvel, the Museum of the Future, is nearing completion. The last piece in the iconic structure was fitted on October 3 in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Located in the Emirates Towers area near Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai, the 30,000-square-metre and 77 metre-high iconic building has an egg shape with a hole in the middle that stands for “the unknown”. Its stainless steel facade with illuminated glazed Arabic calligraphy makes it a unique creation. Set to be the one of the most beautiful architectures in the world, it will have seven floors of exhibition space that will showcase innovative and futuristic concepts, services, and products for the future of cities. The Museum, built at a cost of Dirhams 500 million, aims to be a place of tolerance where varied cultural, philosophical, social and spiritual outlooks are welcome.

HH Sheikh Mohammed said that the Museum of the Future is “a global monument of urban excellence” and a quintessential Emirati contribution to delivering a brighter future.

“A universal architectural icon, the Museum of the Future combines between our authentic Arab culture and far-reaching ambitions. It is a global engineering icon, but speaks the Arabic language,” Sheikh Mohammed stated at the ceremony. With the attachment of the final piece to the museum’s facade, another milestone has been reached in completing the future landmark that will add to Dubai’s distinguished track record of architectural masterpieces.

The Museum of the Future, along with the Emirates Towers, the Dubai International Financial Centre and the Dubai World Trade Centre, represents an innovation-driven area, he said.

“We are not after architectural wonders, but we rather seek to unleash human potential to create a better future that abounds in miracles and testifies to the remarkable achievements made by the UAE. Dubai will continue to deliver architectural masterpieces as the world continues to be in progress for those who know exactly what they want,” His Highness said. He noted that the museum has already gained global fame even before its opening thanks to its one-of-a-kind design.

Sheikh Mohammed and his entourage were shown around the landmark to see the progress of work while the team of the Dubai Future Foundation, the body in charge of the project, briefed him on the key design techniques, architectural styles and state-of-the-art solutions that went into accomplishing the cultural landmark.

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Some of the greatest works of this century that have been realised in modern material defy the laws of physics, and beauty too. While some buildings are associated with the architect who brought it to life, others are often unique to the country and milieu where it is situated paying tributes to a bygone culture or civilisation. Here we feature some of the modern works of architecture from across the world.

Burj Khalifa,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Rising a dizzying 2,717 feet above the desert, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates featured as our opening photograph, is a spectacular super tower that reigns as the tallest structure in the world. Its 162 floors contain offices, residences, restaurants, an Armani hotel, and an observation deck, 124 stories up. The strength of its design stems not only from its awe-inspiring verticality but also from its sleek silhouette. Wrapped in a glass curtain wall with steel mullions that catch the Arabian sun, the building tapers gradually from its Y-shaped base, with setbacks culminating in a 700-foot spire.

Gardens by the Bay,
Singapore

Side-by-side parabolic conservatories of glass and steel anchor this cutting-edge botanical garden, Gardens by the Bay, in Singapore’s booming Marina Bay district. Named the 2012 building of the year by the World Architecture Festival, the Wilkinson Eyre–designed structures replicate distinct climates—one dry, the other humid—allowing for diverse attractions like a flower meadow and a misty mountain forest.

Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre,
ReykjavÍk, Iceland

Even before its official opening, Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre breathed new life into the Icelandic capital’s once-sleepy harbour, captivating local people and luring visitors with its kaleidoscopic façade of multi-colour glass. The crystalline shell, conceived by artist Olafur Eliasson, complements the structure’s aggregate of jagged, geometric volumes. At night, exterior LED strips activate, transforming the waterfront landmark into a shimmering beacon of beauty.

Linked Hybrid,
Beijing

Composed of eight connected towers, Linked Hybrid in Beijing is a mixed-use complex representing a compelling vision for 21st-century urban development. To combat the isolation often associated with luxury residential buildings and gated communities, the architects placed wide, open passages at ground level, ushering pedestrians into a series of public spaces that include gardens, shops, restaurants, and schools.

The Shard,
London

Familiar to watchers of last summer’s Olympic Games, The Shard. London is a 72-story skyscraper — the tallest in Western Europe — that transformed the UK capital’s skyline, rising on the southern banks of the Thames. Inspired by church steeples, the structure comprises eight angled glass façades that reflect the surrounding city and sky and offer glimpses inside. Intended by Renzo Piano Building Workshop to act as a vertical village, the multifunctional building includes offices, apartments, restaurants, and a hotel—all crowned by a recently opened observation platform, which affords stunning views in every direction.

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
Dallas, Texas, United States
Architect Thom Mayne, the Pritzker Prize–winning founder of Morphosis, is famous for breaking the mould, and his latest building is no exception. Sheathed in panels of textured concrete, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas consists of a five-story cube, fractured at one corner and set atop a sweeping plinth planted with Texas grasses. Slashed across the cube’s exterior is a dramatic glass-enclosed escalator, which whisks visitors to the top-floor entrance to the exhibits.

Parrish Art Museum,
Water Mill, New York

Topped by a double-gable roof of white corrugated metal, the Parrish Art Museum’s strikingly horizontal new home in New York melds brilliantly with its setting, nodding in form to both the traditional barns and the cottagelike artist studios that have long been associated with Long Island’s East End. Inside the poured-concrete structure—devised by architect Ascan Mergenthaler, a senior partner at the Swiss firm—inviting galleries joined by a central spine are warmed by natural-wood ceilings and abundant skylights.

Guangzhou Opera House,
Guangzhou, China

Zaha Hadid’s Opera House for the southern industrial city of Guangzhou is a testimony to the British Iraqi architect’s aesthetics. The venue consists of two dynamic fluid-form structures, the larger housing an undulating, gilded 1,800-seat hall and the smaller home to a more intimate 400-seat space. The buildings are clad in great expanses of steel-framed glass and granite panels—the complexity of which led to challenges during construction and in ongoing maintenance. But the futuristic complex is an emphatic statement on the ambitions of 21st-century China.

Metropol Parasol,
Seville, Spain

When excavation for a parking garage unearthed Roman artifacts in Seville’s Plaza de la Encarnación, city officials opted to commission a welcoming landmark called Metropol Parasol instead. Some 90 feet high and nearly 500 feet long, the billowing timber pavilion is part pergola, part urban parlor. Viewing platforms are perched atop the organic forms, which also shelter restaurants and an archaeological museum.

Absolute World,
Mississauga, Ontario

Absolute World, Mississauga, Ontario, consists of residential high-rises that strike a unique profile in Toronto’s largest suburb. With continuous balconies and elliptical floor plans, the 50- and 56-story skyscrapers appear to shimmy and twist, each around its own axis.
Such creative formmaking is the focus of the young Beijing firm, whose design was executed in coordination with Burka Architects. The Absolute towers offer a refreshing take on a familiar building type.

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The number of visitors will be limited, meanwhile, face mask are compulsory for the children aged over 11. Guests will also have to use the stairs since lifts are out of use until July 1. Only eight people will be allowed into the elevators at a time.

The tower, completed in 1889, receives about seven million visitors every year – approximately three-quarters of them from abroad – according to its website.

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Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi’s presidential palace that is a unique cultural and architectural landmark in the UAE capital, has been nominated by World Travel Awards as the Middle East’s Leading Cultural Tourist Attraction 2020.
Qasr Al Watan means ‘Palace of the Nation’ and is part of the four-year-old, nearly 100-acre Presidential Palace, located on a peninsula at one end of the city’s iconic Corniche. It houses the formal offices of the UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,the Vice-President and Dubai Ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It is the official meeting place for the UAE Cabinet and the Federal Supreme Council.
The Palace, which was first opened to the public in March 2019,had shut its doors on March 14, 2020 owing to the nationwide fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the “working palace” remains closed to the public; the 10 zones that were opened to the public include the library, which has a collection of 50,000 books collected over 35 years,and the Great Hall, which has a dome that is 37 metres in diameter.
There is a 12-ton chandelier in the Spirit of Collaboration hall which hosts the Arab League and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) summits. Made up of 350,000 crystals,the chandelier had to be assembled in place.The palace,surrounded by lush, manicured gardens, took 150 million man hours to build. Inspired by Mughal architecture,its facade was constructed of white granite and limestone.

According to a palace tour guide, the palace’s pastel colours have a special significance.The three main colours — blue,yellow and white — represent a certain characteristic of the UAE. The blue stands for the Arabian Gulf waters, the yellow for the Arabian sands and the white represents purity and peace.
Qasr Al Watan’s 300-seat banquet hall, laid with 149,000 hand-engraved pieces of fine bone china tableware, is also open to public gazing. A palace and garden ticket, which gives access to all public spaces, inside and out, costs Dh60 for an adult and Dh30 for children aged 4-17 years. A garden-only ticket gives access to grounds and visitor centre and costs Dh25 for adults and Dh12 for minors.
Qasr Al Watan thus represents a first-of-its-kind insight into the Arab heritage and the governing principles that shaped the history of the UAE and its vision to the future. The palace, which is an enriching journey in a contemporary setting that reveals and reflects on governance, knowledge and craftsmanship of the UAE, deserves the prestigious award.

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