Al

Manakh
Dubai Guide
Moutamarat

Gulf Survey
AMO

Global Agenda
Archis
 Khalid Al Malik, CEO Tatweer
Al Manakh was unveiled for the first time on the occasion of the Foreword
International Design Forum
27-29 May 2007, Dubai When I explain my personal interest in design as an Arab CEO, I tend to give
a straightforward business answer: business anywhere – including in the Arab
Organized by Moutamarat world – is no longer ‘business as usual’. If as a CEO you expect to be successful,
you need to develop new capabilities. If you expect your business to continue
to be relevant and meet its clients’ needs, you need to understand how design
will reshape their expectations and your business environment.
Special thanks to Tatweer Moutamarat’s International Design Forum and Initiative will deliver a clear message
to CEOs in the Arab world and abroad: companies that incorporate effective design
and harness creativity are more likely to succeed tomorrow. In a rapidly shifting
environment, CEOs must adopt new approaches to address regional and, increasingly,
global challenges. In order to do that, they need new, creative, innovative tools.
A strategic partner of Moutamarat One of the most interesting transformations of our era is the changing role of
urban centers. The Arab world is experiencing an unprecedented expansion of its
cities. As cities grow and evolve in our region, I find it fascinating to understand
how the process will forever transform our business environment. For the first time
ever, Al Manakh gathers together the insights of Arab and international experts
on the new role of cities as engines of knowledge and exponential growth.
Al Manakh is a reflection on the effect of urban design on our world and what it
takes to be in greater command of our future. When solutions to complex problems
like developing new industries for the Arab world or improving the quality of education
are hard to find, CEOs will need to step forward with creative responses to the
challenges ahead. Al Manakh demonstrates that there are opportunities for Arab
CEOs and positive responses to change.
Design and creativity are about forging new links and finding new solutions; in
that context they speak directly to me as a business leader. As my decision-making
process becomes more complex, I welcome the creative input of designers to
better estimate the impact of urban center growth, demographics, culture, social
change and the environment.
New thinking on urban development in the Arab world is a positive signal and
should always be welcome. Al Manakh offers unique know-how and engages
business leaders like me in an interesting dialogue.
It is time the Arab world joined the global debate on design and creativity
in order to stimulate our capabilities and embolden us to embrace change, an act
which is at times disruptive to our traditional business practices, but can ultimately
be uplifting and rewarding.



 Contents 248 Reflections on a Regional Narrative Rasem Badran on Gulf Sensibility
250 They Will Come to the Desert Al Areen Holding Company Creates an Oasis
Al Manakh Edited by Mitra Khoubrou, Ole Bouman, Rem Koolhaas 252 Ras Al Khaimah’s New Realism Izzat Dajani Shares a Vision for Total Lifestyle Package
256 Sustainable City Ras Al Khaimah at a Crossroads Reinier de Graaf
3 Foreword Khalid Al Malik Terraforming
6 Introductions Ole Bouman, Rem Koolhaas 266 Visiting The World
272 The World Press Conference
Export Dubai
Dubai Guide Edited by Moutamarat 288 Emerging Qatari Diar Introducing an International Development Agency
Import Expat
14 My Dubai Amer A. Moustafa 296 Marketing Multi-Culturalism
18 An Arabian Night’s Fantasy, and that’s ok Mark Kirchner, Samia Rab 298 The Third Expat A Walk through Deira Sara Kassa, Natalie Al Shami
23 Madinat Jumeirah and the Urban Experience in the Private City Fatih A. Rifki, 304 Workers City Todd Reisz
Amer A. Moustafa Education Diplomacy
30 Constructing Fact, Fantasy and Fiction Kevin Mitchell 320 Branding Qatar Education City Bimal Mendis
38 The Dubai Experiment George Katodrytis 326 The Future of Knowledge Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf
1. Accelerated Urbanism 330 Palaces for the People
2. Tourism and Constructed Leisure-land 334 After Bilbao Thomas Krens’ vision for Abu Dhabi as a ‘cultural destination’
3. Transmitted Imagery Development Atlas
48 The Cloud of Dubai Nadim Karam, Atelier Hapsitus
52 Project with the Secret Name X-Architects, SMAQ
58 The Necessity of an Enlightened City Jerry Kolo Global Agenda Edited by Archis
62 Designing Dubai’s Future I Rodney Fitch
63 Designing Dubai’s Future II Elie Domit 374 What Must Be Done: An Agenda for Design Ole Bouman
64 Design in Retail Tim Greenhalgh Shelter
66 Branding the Gulf Majdoleen Till 378 Photo Essay Ursula Schulz-Dornburg
382 Slum as Real Estate CRIT
388 Co-Ownership Urban Think Tank
Gulf Survey Edited by AMO / Todd Reisz, Kayoko Ota 394 Wild Dwelling Bart Goldhoorn
Security
Gulf Atlas 400 Photo Essay Monica Nouwens
70 Regional Statistics 404 Public Space Regained Jeroen Mensink
72 Sizing the Gulf 410 Safety or Security Ricardo Devesa
76 Economic Resources Sustainability
78 How Much is a Billion? 418 Photo Essay Bas Princen
A Region in Brief Rem Koolhaas 422 Re-conceive Gulf Architecture Nader Ardalan
Gulf Histories 426 Sharjah Biennale
82 Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah 428 Global Warming and Other Matters
Makers I Fairness
152 Drawn in the Sand John Harris, Dubai’s Pioneering Modernist 434 Photo Essay Martin Roemers
168 Master Planning with a Land Rover John Elliott, Town Planner of Abu Dhabi 442 Empowerment Emiliano Gandolfi
172 Growth Management 50 Years of Transforming the Arab City 447 Feminist Sustainability Jose Maria Torres Nadal
184 Witness to Kuwait Jeff de Lange’s Extended Expat Contract 450 The Stockholm Syndrome Andreas Ruby
190 Fairness Carlos Ott Forgets to Sign Dialogue
Frontline Rem Koolhaas 458 Photo Essay Roger Cremers
Introducing… (Makers II) 464 Conflict as Practice Markus Miessen
204 Mohammed Sadiyyah, K&A 470 Slogan Urbanism Jiang Jun
208 Babji Rao, KEO 477 Meta Domus Meta Abitare Stefano Boeri
212 Rory Hopkins, WATG
Botch: A Call To Design A Year in the Gulf – Diary Reinier de Graaf
216 Cityscape 2006 Report 11, 36, 61, 211, 229, 260, 279, 303, 315, 337, 373, 441, 487
222 Gulf Skyline
226 Wake Up Sheikh Majed Al Sabah Wants to Save Cities 482 Further Reading
230 Simplicity™ Theo Deutinger 484 Biographies
Regional Case Studies 486 IDF Board Members
232 Vernacular is a Mirror Yasser Mahgoub Reflects on Kuwaiti Architecture 496 Colophon
238 Market Narrows A Visit to the Souk Todd Reisz



 Ole Bouman
An Awakening in Dubai
You have been considered dead for years, leading a vegetative life, dependent
on a life support system. Like a somnambulist you murmur words that make
no sense and gaze at things that are not there.
Not responding to any stimuli, doctors do not know how to resuscitate you.
They take you outside, to see if fresh air will help. They try shock therapy. Then,
finally, they find the place for you. The air may not be really fresh, but the locale
is certainly shocking.
Waking up, you find yourself where nothing is as you knew it. Things look
familiar, but the system according to which they operate is very, very different.
These differences do not preclude a learning experience, however. To make your
time as productive as possible, we have provided a guide.
After you have found your way from souk to mall, from pathway to ski dome,
from desert to golf course, from mansion to skyscraper, you will have acquired
an appetite for further navigation in this strange world. A guide will then no longer
be enough. You’ll need an atlas.
You start to see patterns, grasp relations, and enjoy connections. The awaken-
ing continues by resettling yourself in a region that shows unprecedented energies
in land use and creation. You are going to have a hard time keeping track, so we
will help you with mapping.
Then, as soon as you have a profound understanding of the new realities
around you, you finally feel a new urge to intervene again.
The awakening has completed. The coma of a designer who has lost all relevance
and inspiration has ended. Re-energized, you want to act, to make a difference.
Looking back at the world from which you came, you see entirely new tasks and
endeavors. We have started to list them for you. An agenda for design.
Here it is: a guide, an atlas, an agenda... Here is Al Manakh

Rem Koolhaas
Last Chance?
We live in an era of completions, not new beginnings.
The world is running out of places where it can start over.
Sand and sea along the Gulf, like an untainted canvas, provide the ultimate tabula
rasa on which new identities can be inscribed: palms, world maps, cultural capitals,
financial centers, sport cities…
Yet, much like Singapore in the 1980s and China in the 1990s, the recent
development of the Gulf, particularly Dubai, has been met with derision: Mike
Davis’ damning ‘Walt Disney meets Albert Speer’1 echoes William Gibson’s
characterization fifteen years ago of Singapore as ‘Disneyland with the death
penalty’.2
The recycling of the Disney fatwa says more about the stagnation of the
Western critical imagination than it does about Gulf Cities.
To be a critic today is to regret the exportation of ideas that you have failed
to confront on your own beat, dragons you have been unable to slay; the vast
majority of developments that critics deplore originated and have become the
norm in their own countries.
The tragic effect of architecture’s inability to recognize and think through
modernization’s inevitabilities is a wistful language of perpetual disappointment
with what is produced and the endless recycling of nostalgic panaceas as
well-meaning but moribund alternatives…
It is particularly cruel that the harshest criticism comes from old cultures that
still control the apparatus of judgment, while the epicenters of production have
shifted to the other end(s) of the globe.
Is it possible to view the Gulf’s ongoing transformation on its own terms?
As an extraordinary attempt to change the fate of an entire region?
Is it possible to present a constructive criticism of these phenomena?
Is there something like a critical participation?
(To counter the problem of the workers’ accommodation, for instance, there
is now talk of three-dimensional legislation, which would define an Arab
Existenzminimum and mass-produce it…)
The Gulf is not just reconfiguring itself; it’s reconfiguring the world.
The Gulf’s entrepreneurs are reaching places that modernity has not reached
before… Perhaps the most compelling reason to take the Gulf seriously is that
its emerging model of the city is being multiplied in a vast zone of reduced archi-
tectural visibility that ranges from Morocco in the West, then via Turkey and
Azerbaijan to China in the East. In each of the countries of this Silk Belt, the Gulf’s
developers operate on a scale that has completely escaped ‘our’ attention.
This burgeoning campaign to export a new kind urbanism – to places immune
to or ignored by previous missions of modernism – may be the final opportunity
to formulate a new blueprint for urbanism. Will architecture grasp this last chance?
1. Mike Davis, www.tomdispatch.com
2. William, Gibson, Wired September 1993

 Dubai Guide

Dubai Guide
Edited by Moutamarat

Moutamarat
OMA / Rem Koolhaas



 March 4, 2006
The first thing I recall is the warm blanket that engulfs you upon leaving the arrivals hall

Dubai Guide
of the airport. We have just passed through a long regime of air conditioning, escalators
and travelators from the gate to the hotel pick-up desk. Finally we’re outside. It’s
February. If there is such a thing as an ideal climate, it is probably the Middle East
outside the summer months. We will be coming back every month for at least a year, and
I realize that the pleasant sensation of entering a mild summer day in mid-winter is the
sensation we will be experiencing on most of our visits.
I was here before, about fifteen years ago, on a stop over to Thailand. Except for people
in the oil business, Dubai was not really a destination then. At the time the airside
lounges served largely as a tax free shopping haven for those passing through. I remember
the endless display windows with jewelry and a large, heavily discounted Bentley
displayed on a podium in the transfer lounge. Both are still there: the Bentley has been
replaced by a Lamborghini and the display windows have moved with time to contain
a whole range of contemporary designer products. The heavy discounts have gone; the

Moutamarat
airport is a different one. The percentage-split of transfers v. arrivals has reversed. Since
a fleeting moment on a journey elsewhere, Dubai has become the end of the road – no
longer a passing stage, but a city here to stay. – RdG

Reinier de Graaf – Excerpts from a diary

A Year in the Gulf

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Dubai Guide Moutamarat 13
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 Amer A. Moustafa I Have a Dream!

My Dubai
My Dubai is a public city. While ‘public city’ may appear a redundant expression,
the forces of globalization and the postmodern conditions they impose have

Dubai Guide
increasingly privileged the private! The privatization of all aspects of urban life is
evident in the proliferation of gated communities, exclusive shopping areas, and
tourist-oriented leisure and entertainment facilities. My Dubai will assert its ‘public-ness,’
It is Hard Not to Fall in Love with Dubai!
will balance its intransigent embrace of laissez-faire economics with its fervent
As an Arab who has taken the UAE as residence for over seven years, I have
commitment to the collective good. Dubai, like many good cities, must be people-
developed an intensely emotional attachment to this bewildering, untamable city.
centered, a place where people and the social life they produce is the driving
I have witnessed Dubai burgeon, turning itself into the locus of an exceptionally
impetus for its making. Henri Lefebvre, in Le Droit à la Ville (The Right to the City),
ambitious and patently unique enterprise at city making. It is a city where something
likened the right to the city with the right to urban life, to renewed centrality, and
is made out of nothing, where dreams can come true, where crazy ideas meet
to places of free encounters and exchange. My Dubai is a city of a vibrant civic life
attentive ears, and where ‘impossible is [truly] nothing’. Not unlike Los Angeles, my
and exciting collective engagement.
home for the decade preceding my residency in the UAE, Dubai is quintessentially
My Dubai is an environmentally sustainable city. It’s a city where residents must
distinct: a frontier for adventures, inspiration, and trend setting.

Moutamarat
have an ‘inalienable right’ to fresh water, clean air, and tidy beaches. As we devise
In so many ways, cities are akin to people – they have their own soul, personality,
policies for urban growth, land must be viewed not as something we inherited from
temperament, idiosyncrasy, and even ego. They may embody a set of ideal human
our forefathers but rather a resource we borrow from future generations. Dubai
traits: beautiful, friendly, ambitious, dreamy, creative, persistent, successful, or happy.
must be a city that wisely examines its energy consumption, recycling, and the
Likewise, cities can have much less desirable qualities. And, like human beings, most
ecological footprint required for its survival. It must be a metropolis whose reliance
cities care about their image, about how they see themselves, and about how they
on recycling and sources of renewable energy will lead to minimized consumption
would like to be seen by others. Undoubtedly, contemporary Dubai has deeply under-
and better balance with the resources with which we are provided. As Richard
stood the ‘psychology’ of cities and has taken such understanding to its utmost extent.
Rogers exhorts us in his monograph, Cities for a Small Planet, a sustainable city
In the past decade or so, Dubai has pursued a daring project most befitting of
is the one that shirts from linear metabolism to a circular metabolism. Blessed with
the twenty-first century global scene of extraordinary challenges anchored in the
a sunny, hot climate, Dubai’s buildings must turn ‘green’: they should not only
conditions of postmodernity. Mindful of its image, Dubai has deliberately sought to
end their energy consumption – they must begin producing energy.
develop its self-esteem, its confidence in what it has accomplished and what is yet
My Dubai is a charming city. It is a city replete with inspiring architecture and
to be achieved. Dubai has (re-)invented itself from a sleepy desert town, to a town
memorable places. As such, Dubai will refocus its energy on place-making and not
in the desert – an extraordinary town, indeed.
only on place-marketing. Dubai will not be, as Ian Parker declares in The New Yorker,
What is constant in Dubai is change. There is always a new, discernable ‘some-
an ‘advertisement for a city, as much as a city itself.’ The quality of its buildings, as
thing’ every time I drive around the ever-expanding metropolis. To me, no longer
well as the spaces between them, will be inspiring. It will be a city that is compact
is Dubai in the ‘state of being’ – it is in the ‘state of becoming’. Like Los Angeles
enough to support efficient public transport, big enough to allow for defined
before it, Dubai continues to elude comprehension. It persists in defying truism,
boundaries, and legible enough to ensure a ‘user friendly’ urban experience. Local
and refuses to fit neatly into the commonly recognized norms or intellectually
heritage and natural context must provide guidance towards reinventing originality
constructed categories and compartments. Like other postmodern cities of the
and reclaiming authenticity.
21st century, Dubai is changing fast – too fast for my liking. As an architect and
urban planner, fast change makes me jitter. Dubai has accumulated one fourth
My Dubai is a Creative City
of the world’s construction cranes; the entire city is turned into a big construction
My Dubai is a just and inclusive city. It is a city where food, shelter, safety, education,
site; around the clock, bulldozers and Indian subcontinent laborers choreograph
and hope are fairly and equitably distributed among all people. Where people – all
as they reshape the landscape.
people – participate in its governance and contribute to an effective civil society in
Dubai today has more per-capita entries in the Guinness Book of Records than
which decision-making is accessible to all people in matters central to their lives
any other city on Earth – and more records are ‘under construction’: the tallest
and livelihood. Dubai will be an attractive dreamland, but not a collage of Dreamlands.
building in the world; largest shopping mall in the planet; the biggest airport ever
Am I too idealistic, too much of a dreamer? Probably so, I admit! But grand
built. Unabashedly, Dubai is a city of superlatives – and there is little hope that this
undertakings begin with dreams – big dreams. With big dreams, the sky’s the limit!
drive for the [missing word] will change in the foreseeable future.
Who could have imagined that a sleepy, desert edge city would turn itself, in
three decades or so, into a serious contender of the club of global cities? Who
could have imagined that the city has made itself with little natural resources but
with remarkable ingenuity, adventure, and perseverance.
Yet, in the haste to do too much in so little time, wise people have warned us
not to rush to judgment. The Greek philosopher Sophocles pontificated: ‘One must
wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.’ All admirable accom-
plishments notwithstanding, the jury on how Dubai will turn out to be is still out!

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 Dubai Guide
Moutamarat
OMA / Fernando Donis
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Jumeirah Beach Residence. Beach and metropolis merged by urbanistic photoshop
 Mark Kirchner, Samia Rab

An Arabian

Night’s Fantasy,
and that’s ok
Statistical projections may seem over-ambitious,
but in a world struck by crises and terror, two qualities
the Emirates offer make it irresistible to visitors
and expatriates: cultural tolerance and a reputation
Dubai is an Arabian Night’s fantasy. ‘Orientalists’1 hate it and ‘occiden- for safety
Dubai Guide
Dubai’s urban form is unique in the Gulf as it is divided
by a creek (Khor Dubai), separating three villages that
over time merged into one city: Deira to the north, and
Al Shindagha and Al Bastakiya in Bur Dubai to the south
of the creek

Moutamarat
talists’2 may find it uniquely radical. Referred to either as a Sin City of
decadent consumerism or the leader in the Arab/Islamic Renaissance,
Dubai is in fact both. Coming to terms with these seeming polar opposites
as the defining character of Dubai is something that has taken us more
than 6 years.
As newcomers to the Middle East, we arrived here in 2000 with an
‘orientalist’ perspective. Our chosen careers as practicing architect (Mark
Kirchner) and architectural historian/conservator (Samia Rab) serving
the academy (American University of Sharjah) put us at natural odds with
the Dubai phenomenon. Instead of an evolving architectural legacy, Dubai
seems to have risen up from the sand through what appears to be a singular The importance of ‘Big’ in Dubai is linked to its
(a) historically transient and impermanent architecture
Bigger is better in Dubai, for a reason

guiding vision that leads to obvious comparisons to Las Vegas and Disney- and (b) the vastness of the desert landscape within
which it exists
land. However, after working and living here for 7 years, we have – as much
to our own surprise as anyone’s – stopped laughing at the outrageous pace
and scale of architectural/urban development in Dubai. We have arrived at
an understanding that while Dubai, like any resilient example of urbanism,
is an unsustainable organism it is also one that is uniquely situated to
achieve its goal of becoming a global trade and tourism hub that rivals
any in the world. We recognize the collective aspiration to develop a city
that functions around the year with outdoor and indoor public spaces,
and re-invent a tradition of modernity, defiantly resisting the pessimism
of post-modernity.
Recent architectural projects most certainly reveal, what Sudjic calls
an ‘edifice complex’3, but the importance of ‘Big’ architecture in Dubai is Since the late 1960s, Dubai clearly has had an
‘edifice complex’
Public spaces in Dubai attract local Emiratis and
other inhabitants of different origin
rooted in its historically transient and impermanent architecture, and the
vastness of the desert landscape. While most metropolises aim to create
a ‘24-hour’ city to maximize the potentials of urbanism, climatically
challenged Dubai, where temperatures can exceed 50 degrees Celsius,
struggles to create a ‘12-month’ city through mega-scale projects. The
infamous malls in Dubai create controlled environments that provide
usable public space for its permanent and temporary inhabitants, distant
and regional visitors. During the first few years of our arrival, summers in
the UAE were remarkably peaceful, its traffic emptying as most residents
left for cooler places in Europe or elsewhere in the region. The foreign
policy shifts of many Western nations after the 9/11 attacks in New York
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 and Washington offered Dubai both the economic opportunity (given
the re-investment of regional funds divested from western countries) to

Dubai Guide
It’s an Arabian Night’s Fantasy, and that’s ok

realize grandiose mega-projects and the political will to invest, develop,

and inhabit regionally.
Given its position as a regional trade hub since the late nineteenth century,
Dubai was ‘globalized’ early on in its history. Though never colonized,
Dubai played an important role in mediating trade of goods between East
India companies and the rest of the world. In 1903, the ruling Sheikh of
Dubai abolished taxes on visiting merchants, making it the most attractive
trading portal of the Gulf.4 Yet it’s only been the remarkable post-9/11 Nearly five million visitors annually chose Dubai as Burj Al Arab is now integrated into the antithetical skyline
and oil-boom liquidity that has allowed it to become prosperous enough to their destination, and the UAE government is aiming
for 15 million visitors by 2010
of the ‘neo-traditional’ resort, Madinat Jumeirah

both envision and realize the mega-projects that are either the punch line
of jokes by critics of contemporary urbanism or the envy of aspiring cities

Moutamarat
in the developing world. In this portrayal of Dubai, we include images that
oscillate between past and present; between the public and private visions
underpinning an emerging metropolis. We will address our ‘Orientalist’
readers’ concerns (yes, your perceptions are partly correct; it is an outrageous,
decadent, ‘unsustainable’ city, whose ‘mega-projects’ are built by exploited
immigrant labor), and, more importantly, illustrate Dubai as not only a
tourist ‘destination’ but a thriving metropolis in the Gulf. Our message
to our fellow ‘Occidentalist’ reader is: Rest assured, Dubai is not a mere
Las Vegas with Disneyland style projects: merchants and not entertainers
have and continue to play a fundamental role not only in the economic The architecture of Burj al Arab is defiantly and theatrically modern
affairs of Dubai but also in reforming its political structure.
When we read the newspapers, we find few happy stories in the Middle
East outside of the developments in Dubai. Most of the new developments
portrayed here are promoting a modernizing society’s ambitions. This may
sadden the ‘Orientalist’ who expects ‘Islamic’ virtues from developments
in any Arab city. However, the ‘Occidentalist’ in us understands that
Dubai’s development in the past decade is based on recognition that forces
of modernization have their roots in Western culture. Instead of distancing
itself from western influences, it has embarked on a journey that reflects:
1. Confidence in providing political security within an unstable World
Region.
2. A vision to capture the post-9/11 divested Arab capital floating in search
The local Emiratis accept the fantasy as a new reality. SkiDubai in the Mall of the Emirates provides inhabitants
of new and geographically viable investments. an incentive not to flee the country during the hot summer months
3. Introduction of mortgage financing, presenting middle-income profes-
sionals from Asia an opportunity to own homes within their lifetime.
4. Availability of infinite supply of cheap labor from Asia, not unlike
any other emerging metropolis that is surrounded by less affluent
developing nations.
As we sit and enjoy our coffee along the abra stop in a stylized ‘neo-
traditional’ resort hotel, Madinat Jumeirah, it is difficult to be over-critical
of a space occupied simultaneously by abayeh and dish-dash clad young-
sters in national dress alongside colorfully attired expatriate residents, and
distant and regional visitors of the Gulf. East and West have found a common
meeting place. With skyline pierced by large wind towers, the is hotel with
its courtyard villas, and the Souk (bazaar) collectively recreate on a grand Dubai, like any emerging metropolis, is built on immigrant labor that participates in the construction
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of infrastructure and architectural icons
 scale the almost extinct traditional settlements like Al Bastakiya and Al Fatih A. Rifki, Amer A. Moustafa
Shindagha that were once home to Dubai’s earliest merchants who, in the
Madinat Jumeirah and

Dubai Guide
It’s an Arabian Night’s Fantasy, and that’s ok

pre-oil days, lived and prospered from trading goods with Iran and exporting

the Urban Experience

pearls from the Gulf. We can easily criticize the ‘fakeness’ of the wind
towers and the enclosed air-conditioned space of consumption and leisure.
We have begun to appreciate the dual use of retail/leisure spaces in projects
like Madinat Jumeirah that essentially create a public commons. Though
public spaces in Dubai may not be ‘public’ in a democratic sense, they
in the Private City
allow inhabitants to mix with people of different origins who would not
in any case be on the streets in the inhospitable climate. Amidst its relentless drive to join the club of global cities, Dubai has embarked on
Dubai has not yet managed to mix different social classes in its public a major transformation of its urban landscape. The transformed urban scene of Dubai
spaces (laborers are largely denied entry) but it has successfully managed to is characterized by the infusion of new, privately-owned, – controlled, and –accessed
create spaces for people of different origins without demanding assimilation. urban fragments. These include shopping malls, gated housing developments,

Moutamarat
It has also recognized the role of architecture and place in shaping the leisure destinations, theme parks, office and educational complexes and headquarters
social landscape. Perhaps most importantly, Dubai’s architecture matters of multinational establishments and corporations.
because as Arabs and the Asians alike invest in Dubai’s outrageous projects, In general, such new developments are physically detached from the urban
they are perhaps setting the historical record straight by supporting the continuum: barricaded behind well-guarded gates, panned by surveillance cameras,
and tracked by the watchful eyes of an army of private security personnel superbly
development of a global hub through public space for the 180 nationalities
linked to control centers more akin to a prison than a public place. Pedestrians and
that call Dubai home (DTCM statistic), for today or forever. Dubai, as an
users of public transit will, at best, find it inconvenient, if at all possible, to access
architectural experiment, addresses the realities, ambitions, and perhaps such urban destinations.
unattainable dreams of an even greater experiment: globalization. Madinat Jumeirah exemplifies this type of urban destinations. In many ways,
this complex of commerce and entertainment represents an urban fragment most
1. Prejudiced outsiders studying Eastern cultures and the interconnection of non-Western and Western
people. See, Edward Said, Orientalism (1978) intellectual traditions. characteristic of what may be called ‘private city’ – a city that is determined to deny
2. The term is an inversion of Orientalism. See, Ian Buruma 3. Deyan Sudjic, The Edifice Complex, Penguin, 2005.
and Avishai Margalit, Occidentalism: the West in the Eyes 4. Fatma Al Sayegh, ‘Merchant’s Role in a Changing Society: its collective nature, its civitas. An oxymoron, private city is most fitting an expression
of its Enemies (2004); also Bonnett, The Idea of the West
(2004). Bonnett argues that occidentalism emerged from
The Case of Dubai, 1900-90’, in Middle Eastern Studies:
Volume 34, Number 1, (Jan. 1998).
that describes Dubai’s current and, possibly, future state of being in light of the
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‘Private City’ at its best: Madinat Jumeirah (with Burj Al Arab in the background)
 currently prevailing development trends. ‘What’s wrong with these new developments?’
one might be tempted to ask. ‘In light of their considerable popularity, are not

Dubai Guide
they meeting a real demand in the market place?’ And, ‘what is so disconcerting
Madinat Jumeirah and the Urban Experience in the Private City

about the urban experience in such urban destinations?’ These are legitimate and
compelling questions that the rest of this writing will attempt to address.
The urban experience refers to people’s experience of living in cities; it concerns
people’s daily encounters with their surrounding environment as well as with other
people – people who are strangers to them. The urban experience is a complex
process whereby people interact with their environment, both their physical (open
spaces, streets, buildings, etc.), and social (other individuals, groups, etc.). It encom-
passes acts of participation, observation, and accumulation of practical knowledge
by city residents as they conduct their daily lives. While some of these acts are
intentional and deliberate, others are casual and spontaneous.
The urban experience, moreover, is essentially a public one: it is conducted in

the open, and is potentially exposed to the scrutiny of others. Public life represents
our collective urban experiences. It takes place in city spaces that are accessible
to the public. Publicly accessible spaces are of two types: those that are owned
and/or managed by the public and hence are called ‘public spaces’. Streets, plazas,
and parks, are but a few examples of public spaces. They afford people, all people,
the rights of assembly, self-expression, association, and, as is the case for many,
the right to ‘be left alone’ and enjoy the outdoors. World cities have plenty of such
public spaces from New York’s Central Park to London’s Hyde Park; from Boardwalk
in Venice, California, to Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy; Place des Vosges in
Paris, to Maidan-I-Shah in Isfahan.
The other type of publicly accessible spaces is those that are privately owned
and managed. The Café, Movie Theater, Shopping Mall, and Theme Park, to name
a few, are customarily privately owned and operated places that provide settings
for public life. Such places, which may be referred to as private urban destinations,
Moutamarat
Maidan-i-Shah, Isfahan: living room for the public on a summer afternoon
are increasingly becoming the locus of public life in the contemporary city at the
expense of public spaces. Unlike public spaces, private urban destinations have
certain restrictions attached to their access, use, and the kind of activities that can
take place in them.
These private urban destinations are a free enterprise success story. Investors,
developers, and designers have joined efforts, and indisputably excelled, at providing
a service (the provision of spatial settings for public life) that the public used to
(and is entrusted to continue to) provide. A stunning success is evident in Madinat
Jumeirah. It delivers a well-designed urban setting intended for a specific kind
of urban experience – it provides a contrived, theater-like urban setting that can

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Place des Vosges, Paris: public space for the spontaneous, unrehearsed, and collective urban experience Madinat Jumeirah: an ambiance for an orchestrated, themed urban experience
 be stimulating, exciting, and enjoyable. It is a remarkable destination for orchestrated
public encounters.
Increasingly, though, private urban destinations are becoming the more popular
Madinat Jumeirah and the Urban Experience in the Private City
locations to host public life and, for an increasing segment of society, the only
destination for this purpose. In many ways such destinations are substituting public
spaces as the locus of public life. There are many possible reasons for this state
of affairs. One reason is the generally poor, less attractive conditions of most public
places. Another is the societal tendency to withdraw from public life and prefer a
lifestyle grounded in the private realm. A third possible reason is the fact that these
private urban destinations are hospitable, stimulating, and entertaining. And finally,
increased paranoia about personal safety and security has given such destinations
an added benefit since they are generally perceived to be safer than city public
spaces.
What is disconcerting, however, is that people’s experience in such places has
become the only experience of public life. In Dubai, these private urban destinations
are becoming the substitute location of choice for public life. Given their physical
and symbolic detachment from the urban continuum, these destinations are isolated
from the realities of society. As such, the kind of public life that occurs in them lacks
many of the characteristics central to genuine public life such as spontaneity,
authenticity and freedom.
Good cities, Kevin Lynch taught, are those that support viable public life and
public spaces.1 The driving concern of his work is to aspire to making cities that
sustain democracy, nurture freedom, and enhance human existence. One fundamental
component of a democratic, free, and humane city is the existence of a vibrant
public sphere that is supported by the availability of meaningful, functioning urban
public spaces.
The privatization of public urban spaces, which is what Madinat Jumeirah has
achieved intentionally or otherwise, is a reason for concern in that it displaces social
life from the open, outdoor, public ‘rooms’ (e.g., streets, squares, plazas) to the
indoor spaces of malls, clubs, and the like. Not only does this displacement, James
Holston argues, reproduce the outdoor city public and its citizenry in a new indoor
setting, but it also, more gravely, encourages the privatization of social relations.
26
Unlike the real ones in Dubai Creek, the abras at Madina Jumeirah are not meant for public use – ‘guests only’
Such privatization avails a greater control over the access to space which, invariably,
results in the stratification of the public that uses it.2
Dubai Guide
Madinat Jumeirah is a private urban destination that provides carefully orches-
trated urban spectacles where architectural forms are ‘cooked’ into an eclectic
mélange of romantic settings. The ethics of new design are aestheticized and the
‘good urban setting’ becomes the enchanting, visually stimulating one. Billed as
‘a magnificent tribute to Dubai’s heritage,’3 this opulent development is created as
an urban destination intended to provide a special kind of urban experience. It is
designed to ‘resemble an ancient Arabian citadel … where two grand boutique
hotels, courtyard summer houses, a traditional souk, the Six Senses Spa, the region’s
leading conference and banqueting centre,’ among other luxurious facilities, form
the basic components of the development.4 As such, Madinat Jumeirah is braced
to offer a unique urban experience. An experience grounded in nostalgia for the
‘good old times’ when the Arabs, it is presumed, had a much simpler and happier
Moutamarat
life. Postcards and photographic artwork are employed to reinforce a sense of
belonging to a bygone time and place that is now being revived, reinvented as a
make-believe place for the 21st century urbanites.
Madinat Jumeirah comprises a shopping mall, Souk Madinat Jumeirah, anchored
by two five-star hotels: Mina al-Salam and Al-Qasr. In addition, the development
includes a Sindbad’s Kids Club, a Conference Hall, a world class spa and health
club, and a variety of villas of various styles scattered along a man-made canal
connecting the various components of the development. Small boats, called ‘abras’
roam the canal to shuttle guests from Mina al-Salam, the Souq, and Al-Qasr. The
free-of-charge usage of these abras is the exclusive privilege of guests of the
two hotels. These abras are modeled after the ‘real ones’, the people-mover boats
that have criss-crossed Dubai Creek for the last handful of decades.
Both hotels, together with the Souq in between, combine opulence with eclecticism.
A US $350,000 Bavarian chandelier crowns the lobby of Al-Qasr. Feet away is a
dining hall with ceiling fans that perpetually spin while the AC system provides the
real cold air. Each of the hotels has over 290 rooms including the villa units. Organized
tours of the entire development are available free of charge. A private guide will lead
a tour that includes a visit of the Mina Al-Salam Hotel, an abra ride in the canal, a
visit to Al-Qasr Hotel, a sampling of the villas, and a final stop at, where else, the
Souq. Our guide (January 18, 2006) informed us that since their opening around
a year ago, the hotels’ occupancy rate has never gone below 95%.
The Souq has 75 boutique shops, over twenty waterfront cafés, bars and
restaurants, in addition to open plazas, a nightclub, and air-conditioned walkways.
The development website describes the Souq as follows:
‘Meandering paths lead visitors through a bazaar-like atmosphere in which open
fronted shops and intimate galleries spill onto the paved walkways. The sounds
of craftsmen and women at work combine with the aroma from street cafes and
boutique restaurants. At Souk Madinat, the emphasis is on unique brands, crafted
quality and an interactive experience.’5
In sum, Madinat Jumierah delivers a well-orchestrated urban setting intended
for a specific kind of urban experience – it provides a contrived, theater-like urban
setting that can be stimulating, exciting, and enjoyable.
While places like Madinat Jumeirah may present exotic, pleasurable, and
entertaining urban destinations, they remain ideologically charged. On the one hand,
they dissimulate the social relations of their production. And, on the other hand,
they divert the attention from social reality. They remain successful for what they
are intended to do: promote consumption and enhance profitability.
Michael Sorkin6 describes this kind of urban configuration as a city of simulations,
27
 a city as a theme park. It is a city where a collection of images has become the
most important tool to manipulate urban space. It is a city in disguise, where invented,

Dubai Guide
or perhaps re-invented, images are so composed to hide urban reality. It is a city
Madinat Jumeirah and the Urban Experience in the Private City

made up for urban consumption. And the helpless consumers of such urban
spaces are offered a range of variety that would match the most special tastes.7
In this city of simulations, a city of ‘spectacles’, to use Debord’s expression8,
manipulated urban spaces with their pictorial, phantasmagorical settings stand
in sharp contrast to the realities that exist elsewhere in the metropolis. In fact, this

Moutamarat
…and a wall

Not only is Madinat Jumeirah detached symbolically from its surroundings, it is also physically barricaded behind
a tame green belt …
Towers, in a (public) beach along the more than a thousand kilometers of newly
created waterfront. Great cities, therefore, can never thrive by their private sphere
alone. They need to ensure that the creation of private destinations must go hand
in hand with the provision of public places.
Private cities can make happy consumers. Cities, with a thriving public realm,
can make responsible citizens. It is worthy to make Dubai’s consumers responsible
citizens. Attention to the significance of the public side of Dubai deserves immediate
attention and incorporation in the city’s grand schemes before it is too late.

1. Kevin Lynch, Good City Form. Cambridge, Mass. 7. Matthew Carmona, Steven Tiesdell, Tim Heath, and
pictorialization of space aims in part to hide or to ‘filter out’ these other realities so (MIT Press) 1984. Taner Oc, Public Places Urban Spaces. Burlington,
2. James Holston (Ed.), Cities and Citizenship. Durham/ Mass (Architectural Press) 2003.
that the urban experience is ‘delivered’ to the consumer, sanitized, safe, entertaining, London (Duke University Press) 1999. 8. Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle. Detroit
and, perhaps, tranquilizing. Such an urban experience is an escape from the 3. Madinat Jumeirah website: www.madinatjumeirah.com
(accessed December 16, 2006).
(Red and Black) 1974.
9. M. Christine Boyer, The City of Collective Memory:
harshness of urban reality, from the poor, the homeless, the Other. 4. Ibid. Its Historical Imagery and Architectural Entertainments.
5. Ibid. Cambridge, Mass. (MIT Press) 1994, p.4.
To engage in such an exercise in ‘virtual reality’ at the urban level, is to deny 6. Michael Sorkin (Ed.), Variations on a Theme Park: 10. Sorkin, o.c.
the possibility of confronting the problematic of the real world. ‘The pictorialization The New American City and the End of Public Space.
New York (Hill and Wang) 1992.
of space and time,’ Boyer writes, ‘…shatters our place in the city and forbids us
to envision a social order that we can reform. Although this pictorialization may
amuse, lull, or even entertain us, it does not alienate, nor hold us accountable,
nor sustain our resistance.’9
‘There are no demonstrations in Disneyland’ is Sorkin’s celebrated motto10 – it
surely did not become a famous slogan without good reason. Despite all the fluff,
decorations, and pastiche, private city is the ultimate negation of an inspiring,
democratic, and humane city.
While Dubai emerges as a world-class metropolis, aspiring to greatness, it is more
urgent than ever to balance private interest, the primary motive for growth, with the
public good, the stuff that sustains such growth. As can be seen today, Dubai is
making tremendous strides as a private city. Yet, the urban experience that comes
with living in great cities is grounded in the public sphere. It is played out in the city
streets, plazas, and parks; in a promenade along the Creek, in a square by Emirates

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 Kevin Mitchell or to stand frozen while expressing a perverse fascination with what is

Constructing Fact,
deemed to be inevitable. Both tendencies do little to explain the development

Dubai Guide
or facilitate an understanding of its impacts.

Fantasy, and Fiction

Some of the consequences are already apparent. Short-term gains
resulting from real estate and high hotel occupancy rates will certainly
have long-term environmental consequences. According to the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Living Planet Report 2004, the global
ecological footprint was 2.2 global hectares per person; the ecological
footprint for the UAE was reported to be the highest at 9.9. The global
ecological footprint remained the same in the WWF Living Planet Report
Proposed projects characterized by novelty and, in some cases, parody
2006; however, the UAE increased to 11.9, once again the highest published
have generated media interest and brought attention to the incredible pace
in the report. The majority of the ecological footprint resulted from carbon
of development in the Gulf. While there is no dominant stylistic tendency,
dioxide from fossil fuels, and the UAE led the world in this category. Gulf

Moutamarat
the conspicuous consumption of once purposeful elements transformed
neighbors are not far behind. While the petrochemical and metals industries
into decorative devices remains a favored fallback. New buildings and
contribute to the high energy consumption, it has been estimated that
those that appear to be old reveal how ‘traditions’ have been constructed
during the summer season 75-85% of the total power generated is used
and subjected to willful, and often less than skillful, amalgamations. The
for air conditioning; and cooling can cost owners of high rises as much
barjeel (wind tower) and lattice screens employed to ensure privacy while
as one-third of the total cost of the building over the life of the structure.
providing sufficient airflow were key components of passive cooling strategies
And who pays the price? No one for the time being. Subsidies ensure that
employed in the region prior to the prevalence of air conditioning. Ignoring
costs remain low and there is little incentive for change. Ultimately any
the potential for adaptation of principles, many designers rely on pastiche
fundamental modification must be supported by incentives (and penalties)
and use these elements to decorate high-rise office towers, museums, gas
that are financial. As long as actual costs remain shrouded in subsidies,
stations and residences. Often claimed to make the building ‘regional’,
there is little motivation to conserve resources like water and electricity.
it apparently relieves any further responsibility for formal, spatial or
However, in spite of the fact that architecture has made significant
technological strategies responding to climate or context. A related tendency
contributions to negative publicity resulting from environmental degrada-
has been to conceive of the entire building as a representation of the
tion, the individual building remains a vital aspect of promotional cam-
‘heritage’ of the Gulf region. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its
paigns for developer-inspired dreams. Given the importance placed
neighbors are populated with structures faintly suggestive of sails and
(stereo)typical palaces that can most politely be described as eclectic.
Speculation fueled by foreign direct investment and the peculiar nature
of architecture in the Gulf make it difficult to formulate a critique of the
built environment that avoids the ‘traditional/modern’ opposition – the
equivalent of an intellectual dead end. And criticism that remains at the
level of lamentation and focuses on the loss of a supposed ‘identity’ is overly
reductive and fails to acknowledge the complex fusion resulting from intense
labor migration and a history of trade and exchange. Dubai’s measures
taken to attract mercantile activity from across the region in the early
twentieth century provided the foundation for a multicultural population
bound together by the pursuit of profit. Just as early traders were enticed
by free trade policies, investors are now attracted by relaxed legislation
and returns resulting from a seemingly endless supply of low-wage labor.
Conversely, criticism that seeks to analyze building booms and their potential
consequences is a challenge due to the inherent complexity, lack of infor-
mation and fluid boundaries between institutions and private enterprise.
When confronted with such rapid transformation, it is difficult to make
sense of what is happening in the Gulf and constant change precludes broad
generalizations. One tends to either run in fear while ranting about the
excesses made possible by the most extreme manifestations of neoliberalism Representations A representation of a young lady re-presenting a representation of ‘old Dubai architecture’.
Although co-opted for promotional purposes, the precedents for the building styles shown in the renderings originate
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31
from other cities around the Gulf

Constructing Fact, Fantasy, and Fiction
Swoops and Swirls Real estate trade shows and rapidly constructed high rises reveal the desire to differentiate
developments and attract attention (and investment)
Exuberant Expression The individual residence has become a means of self-expression. References are drawn
from a variety of disparate sources and provide a challenge to accepted norms of visual coherence
Sails and Pseudo-Souks ‘Take photograph here’:
a ‘seven star’ hotel and windtowers
32
on singular buildings in marketing, one would expect an emphasis on
quality of design and construction. But the demand for speed in design
Dubai Guide
and construction processes, the harsh natural environment, and the
general skill level of an imported low-wage workforce ultimately affect
aspirations. Quickly built high rises and elusive searches for iconic sym-
bols of progress or the past do not help matters.
Projects like Dubai’s ‘Cultural Village’ promise to blend Middle Eastern
history with the rich heritage of Dubai. The development will also offer
visitors an ‘inspired mix of Arabic and old Dubai architecture’. What does
all this mean? What is ‘Arabic’ architecture? The developers have packaged
a past that pays no heed to categories such as fact, fiction and fantasy.
Projects such as this obscure a truly rich and variegated past that is not so
easily described or represented in facades ‘inspired’ by turn of the century
Moutamarat
architectural typologies imported via exchanges with settlements across
the Gulf.
To flatten the cultures of the Gulf into themed developments perpetuates
misunderstanding and threatens to reduce architecture to mere novelty.
The economic and socio-cultural conditions that exist in the Gulf defy
easy explanation and challenge fixed concepts. Dubai and its neighbors
contest accepted notions of public, private, community, identity, etc. One
cannot speak of public space in the Gulf without defining which ‘public’.
Constellations of individuals are fluid, changing with summer migrations
to escape the heat and departures when work permits expire.
Picture books and staggering statistics impress, shock and provide
material for quotes but do little to enhance understanding – this takes
more work and contributions by those within and outside the disciplines
of architecture and design. The inherent complexity of the situation
provides contexts replete with challenges. This opens new possibilities
for investigation and action that transcend our understanding, which
presently remains limited by our failure to look beyond constructions
delicately balanced between fact, fantasy and fiction.
From Purposeful to Pastiche Rather than investigating
how formal, spatial or technological strategies responded
to particular contextual challenges in the past, functional
elements are often reduced to surface level decoration.
The transition from purposeful to pastiche does not seem
to be conscious and therefore lacks the wit that may
aspire to more than the mundane
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 Dubai Guide
Constructing Fact, Fantasy, and Fiction

Moutamarat
‘Regional’ Themes Tea in Tunis and a coffee in Cairo – without leaving the mall. While the fictionalized environments
Safe for Consumption Themed shopping malls construct a fantasy world that is far different from the much more loosely inspired by Ibn Battuta are questionable, the execution is admirable. If one looks (but does not touch), it can
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35
interesting reality which exists on the streets of urban neighborhoods in Dubai and other cities in the Gulf almost be believed – almost
 April 12, 2006
Much has been written about the building frenzy in this small Emirate:

Dubai Guide
‘A bubble built on debt’, ‘Albert Speer meets Walt Disney’ Dubai is supposed to be
a badly planned city with an ill-equipped infrastructure that has not managed to keep
up with the city’s prolific developments. But upon our arrival for our second visit,
approximately 11pm, the city is a far cry from its apocalyptic descriptions. This time
of night the generously sized roads hold almost no traffic. The journey from the airport
to our hotel (almost from one end of Dubai to the other) takes less than half an hour.
On our way we pass the concrete skeleton of the Burj Dubai. Its dark concrete structure
fades almost seamlessly into the dark of night, leaving only the regularly dispersed
lights as a discreet indication of its presence. Towering over the giant billboards in front,
the half-finished illuminated building looks just like another announcement of itself –
virtual reality: there, but not quite there.
Albeit exclusively from photographs and maps, the area is all too familiar. Next
door we hope to build the world’s largest rotating structure – an effort to outdo Dubai

Moutamarat
in being Dubai…, a project we have been heavily working on over the past months.
But at this point, all of that is still highly confidential. – RdG
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37
 George Katodrytis

The Dubai Experiment:

Dubai Guide
1. Accelerated Urbanism
New building developments in Dubai, especially high-rises, are linked to the global
network of trends, forces, finance and trading rather than being related to their
locality and community. As such they are alienated from their geographic and
physical location. Therefore a dose of self-stylization is necessary, like a surreal
machine that reproduces its own identity. Buildings are self-referential and they
are held together by virtue of proximity. On a barren landscape anything goes and

Moutamarat
anything is new. This condition is reminiscent of early modernists’ utopian visions
where the new city refers to the present and projects to the future. The desert is
not the killing field we are accustomed to see in newsreels in the last decade, but
the setting of slick developments. There is a new urban and spatial perception of
the desert, a renewed mirage, not unlike Las Vegas in Nevada. The new global city
is developing ‘from scratch’: a real tabula rasa, the dream of any urban designer
and architect as well as a real estate investor. This is about newness, clean, fresh
with little residue of anomaly and deterioration. Buying architecture is like buying
a product. Living in it is like acquiring any lifestyle you can afford.
Like any new city, Dubai has no density, no layering. Buildings are detached
and isolated, and some communities are gated. Even though architecture appears
homogeneous its social reality is heterogeneous. This paradoxically becomes a
haven for upper class buyers, seeking exclusive retreats.
Almost overnight, the city has become a juxtaposition of barren desert,
21st-century skyscrapers and extravagantly optimistic construction sites. The visual
voyage through the city, like in any contemporary cityscape, operates like a
continuous shift between eye and mind, as though differences no longer existed
between the two. The city has definitely ceased to be a site: instead, it has become
a condition. Perhaps it has even lost its site: it tends to be everywhere and nowhere.
The urban setting as a large construction site is unique as it can always keep the
promise alive and prepare itself for new users, the incoming international nomads:
settlers, laborers, consultants, traders, in-transit business travelers and tourists, all
seeking and challenged by newness.
This is an accelerated urbanism like none before; it is immediate in its pictorial
seduction. The urbanization process is streamlined, effective and fast. Dubai is
the largest architectural experiment in progress, soon achieving a critical mass of
mega expansion. This is symptomatic of approaches to development in many other
regions in the world today. This ‘model potential’ makes Dubai an ideal case study
of urbanization; in a sense, Dubai has become ‘required reading’. Yet, a critique

Adina Hempel and Micro Urban

needs to be articulated and new strategies proposed.
What is interesting is that this is a new city caught up in unprecedented conditions
of the new century: globalization, accelerated technologies of imaging and
communication, abundance of investment and mass tourism.
Dubai’s rising skyline, changing the perception of the dessert from the killing fields of the Dessert Storm
to that of a megalopolis re-enacting New York a century later
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39
 2. Tourism and
The Dubai Experiment
Constructed Leisure-land
Adina Hempel and Micro Urban
Dubai thrives on consumerism. This is a city that owes its early survival and its
current momentum to trading. Everything points to consumption. This turns any city
into a theme park seeking to sell the arabesque, tropical, oriental and international,
all in one. Tourism and shopping is the new pastime of the middle class, associated
with leisure, the resort and the lifestyle experience. We work more efficiently
nowadays, and have more free time. Dubai is a constructed leisure land. It is more
like a diagram, a system of staged scenery and mechanisms of good time.
Flying over Dubai, one is confronted with a new type of 21st century urbanism,
which is both diagrammatic and prosthetic in the form of islands. As a tourist,
there is no need to travel to distant destinations, to desolate islands. Islands are
now close to shore, in a new typology of hydro-suburbia.
The island is the lowest form of spatial organization. Pure accumulation, it has
an iconic form and a certain perimeter and location. It can be reached by dramatic
arriving (compare here with Venice’s Lido and Florida’s Key West). The surface
of the island reveals everything there is, all contents; islands are fundamentally
consistent and predictable: they give an assurance of security. But they have
potentials; they are exclusive.
As Briavel Holcomb points out in his essay ‘Marketing Cities for Tourism’ (1999),
in the tourist realm ‘it is the consumer, not the product that moves. Because the
product is usually sold before the consumer sees it, the marking of tourism is
intrinsically more significant than the conventional case where the product can be
seen, tested, and compared to similar products in situ. It means that the representation
of place, the images created for marketing, the vivid videos and persuasive prose
of advertising texts, can be as selective and creative as the marketer can make
them – a reality check comes only after arrival.’
Increasingly, the kind of contemporary architecture and urbanism that simulates
mass tourism has to be not only photogenic but also telegenic – buildings that
look striking in a sequence of rapid-fire cuts, or that stand out in a static shot as
backdrops.
The city of Dubai sprawls out like an exponent of an algorithmically evolving
pattern: fractal architecture with forms of increased perimeter and endless topological
variations, as two-dimensional patterns, allowing very little for three-dimensional
variety. Dubai’s recent development has put it on the map of iconic projects, of real
estate prospecting and holiday dream destinations.
Motivated by a desire for authentic experience for exotic places, for escape or
spectacle, or simply by an urge for new knowledge, the tourist leaves a familiar
environment to view other locations. Today, as places increasingly get restructured
as spaces of consumption, tourist activities merge with other mass-consumption
practices.
Historically, the origin of modern vacation time can be traced back to the 1930s,
when workers in France, for the first time, were given the right to twelve paid vacation
days. Today, tourism has become a ‘total lifestyle experience’. The modern tourist
resort is by definition a constructed one. The tourist’s perception seems to have
shifted away from the pictorial 18th century: there is no longer the desire for the
panoramic view. The excessively visual contemporary culture has made everything
40
Dubai Guide
Dubai’s prosthetic extensions: more than two Manhattans
Moutamarat
Pattern of an exponent of algorithmically evolving
two-dimensional pattern
look familiar. Contemporary tourists are looking for familiarity: they want to feel at
home in a strange place.
This has led to concentrated tourist infrastructures and mega-structure complexes
(hotel + apartments + mall + cinema + expo + anything), which are clustered
together. In this sense, architecture and landscape are part of a single system,
characterized by stratification and controlled spatial experience.
In mass tourism, a dose of familiarization is required. Whereas it was once
uncommon to shop for ordinary clothing items while on vacation, brand-name stores
and outlets mall have popped up all over the world. Similarly, with the spread of
franchised restaurants and hotels, it is possible to eat and sleep in circumstances
that are remarkably alike, and tune into the same TV channels almost everywhere.
Mass tourism is indeed like mass media. The lure of the new works best when
the new is both anticipated and well-packaged. In 1925, in his essay ‘travel and
dance’, Siegfried Kracauer already remarked that tourists are prepared for foreign
places though the perusal of illustrated magazines. Nowadays, through coffee-table
books, television and movies, tourists are well-prepped for on-site architectural
experiences. A profusion of tour guides, and especially Internet sites, launches the
tourist into touring weeks or months before the actual trip begins. What is striking
about this body of preparatory information is the degree to which issues of touring
comfort and efficiency take precedence over historical information about archi-
tecture or place.
From the airport to the air-conditioned bus to the four- or five-star hotel, package
tourists spend much of their time within a cocoon. They might as well be at home,
or at the mall. This tropical but not so dangerous adventure appeals to millions
of tourists.
Dubai there is little difference between holiday accommodation and housing.
Architectural programs are becoming fused and undifferentiated. The morphology
41
 of the landscape and seascape is becoming fabricated to the point that it may soon
be difficult to differentiate between the natural and the constructed. Artificial islands
will add another 1,500km of beachfront, turning the coastline and the city into an
The Dubai Experiment
inexhaustible holiday resort. This constructed landscape, like a stage set, provides
edited scenes of adventure and entertainment.
No matter which part of the world, whenever architecture is built from nothingness,
it seems to be fond of a universal language of spectacle and the exoticism of the
new. It might be useful to look at another aspect of the exotic at this point, and ask
in what ways specific examples of architecture are elusive and foreign to the city
itself. This is also a way of asking how the exotic intervenes in the cultural politics
of global tourism.
Jean Baudrillard has analyzed contemporary culture through the model of
Disneyland, thereby inserting a form of simulated architecture and tourism into the
heart of his definition of hyper-reality. Disneyland is presented as an imaginary
kingdom, set aside from the values of everyday. As such, it serves as a ‘prop’ to
make us believe that the world outside is ‘real’. For Baudrillard, however, the world
outside is not ‘real’ but ‘hyper-real’, and Disneyland is no different. The logic of
role-playing and theming is not limited to Disneyland. It has permeated the whole
of the Western society.
Everyday life is colonized by fantasy, dominated by escapist dreaming. Both the
‘authentic’ architectural icons, and the simulated architectural icons, such as
Disneyland or Las Vegas, are inscribed within the same logic of escapist dreaming.
Escapism is an ambivalent, even negative word when juxtaposed against realism
or authenticity. Yet we are inescapably escapist. Animals flee when confronted by
some sort of threat. Humans are no different. What makes us different is that we
are not only pushed, but also pulled by some imagined reality that is either already
in existence ‘out there’, to be discovered, or by the possibility of its realization and
manifestation. We escape from the given into the desirable through theme parks,
shopping malls, and suburban developments.
3. Transmitted Imagery
Architecture serves emergent economies to express the fascination for symbols of
economic development, national progress in a context of inflationary globalization
and international economic competition. In the first half of the 1990s, several countries
in Asia invested much effort and ingenuity in the construction of skyscrapers, which
not only challenged the legendary supremacy of the American high-rise, but were
also meant to represent these countries’ new role on the international stage. The
Middle East and Gulf states have been slow to take on the construction of high-rises,
despite abundance of land and investment. This is not the case anymore. Dubai
has surged into the global market of finance and fantasy and is now expressed in
the construction of hundreds of high-rise buildings. International architectural firms
Adina Hempel and Micro Urban
have found an expanding and profitable market. Transnational practices place their
designs within the more general framework of globalization with speed and easiness.
The simplicity of transmitting digital documents of both building imagery and
specifications allows for complex designs to be prepared in New York, outsourced
42
and detailed in Mumbai, and delivered to a project manager in Dubai within days.
The universality of curtain wall detailing allows for a ‘common architectural language’
Dubai Guide
without barriers to be constructed and delivered on site equally fast. Furthermore,
the speed of transmitting the image of the building itself allows for a chain of global
real estate networks to sell the product, i.e. the architectural space, long before
its completion on site. Dubai’s heavily invested digital and telecommunications
infrastructures allow its continuous presence in the Internet and electronic space.
This is the city of transmitted imagery.
Urbanism as an art form in the Arab World has an interesting precedent. The
Muslim Middle Ages was marked by the formation and development of new art style,
which found its reflection both in the art as well as in architecture and city planning.
Abstract geometric forms and woven urban spaces have been established very
early on in the Arab World. Cities became basic generators of new art styles, and
the urban culture of this period obtains the role of a system forming factor. It was
Moutamarat
a period of self-identification of urban mentality and formation of new aesthetic of
Muslim Urbanism. Grunebaum wrote: ‘From its birth Islam, by its spirit and main
centers, had urban character’. This tradition is carried on. Urbanizing large areas
and introducing a new aesthetic and ‘art’ is very much inherent in the creation of
the contemporary Arab city.
The earliest stage of urbanization was connected with the transition of the
nomads to the settled life way and cultivation of fertile lands which goes back to the
2nd millennium B.C.
The unification of the aesthetic principles in the Muslim world as a whole had
become a new cultural dogma – a period of universal aesthetic canon had started.
Therefore, some generalized and standard vision of the oriental city as a composition
of blue domes and slim minarets has some basis to be reasonable. The universal
style spread over not only over plastic forms of culture, but verbal ones too. Ornament
43
Constructing the constructed leisure-land
 and words’ ligature became a distinguishing feature of new aesthetic. Even though
this is a case of complex art forms and craftsmanship, it was rarely exported or exploited

Dubai Guide
in the west, except in the case of Orientalism. This imagery was exported, exhibited and
The Dubai Experiment

eventually bought by wealthy Europeans in the form of exotic decoration. Nevertheless

the Arab urban form and art was unique and unified.
This urge for unification and expansion as a cultural need is now changing. The fast
transmission of architectural imagery is now part of everyday advertising marketing practice.
The sky is the new medium of Satellite Urbanism. This turns the land, desert and water via
military technology into spectacle and consumption. GIS and reconnaissance technologies ‘Spirit of the UAE’ collage; the ideal future city Google Earth Urbanism
turn into telegenic (as opposed to photogenic) postcards for selling real estate markets
as well as mass tourism destinations. Satellite imagery of unfinished projects gives rise to
the exciting promise of the future. Satellite technologies used to monitor wildlife development,
hydrography, and land drought are now a tool for global transmission of projects under
construction, reconnaissance tourism advertisements and construction theatre.

Moutamarat
Dubai and the UAE Ministry of Labor currently use the Swiss-based firm Informap
and high-resolution satellite technology to monitor construction sites and projects. Using
high-resolution photography a team monitor the minute details of construction sites beamed
back to the ministry by Digital Globe satellite technology, also used by the US military.
This is the new global capital of the world in the making. Its imagery is transmitted
long before its reality. It is therefore not surprising that all the housing on Dubai’s Jumeirah
Palm Island was sold out in fifteen days. Virtuality dominates over reality. Eventually,
70,000 islanders on Jumeirah Palm will be privileged in that their neighborhood will be

Adina Hempel and Micro Urban

clearly visible and identified in Google Earth.

Ibn Battuta Shopping Mall

Adina Hempel and Micro Urban

Emerging global city in the making

Adina Hempel and Micro Urban
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45
Linear Sheikh Zayek road skyline
Dubai Guide Moutamarat 47
OMA / Todd Reisz
46
 Nadim Karam, Atelier Hapsitus The cloud is a trip, a

The Cloud of Dubai

playful adventure in the

Dubai Guide
city. It is a horizontal
presence on an elevated
platform, an antithesis
to the sum of sky-
Now, at the dawn of the new millennium, we find ourselves in cities in which tension
scrapers all over the
and (the threat of) violence remain the underlying forces influencing political,
gulf region.
economic and cultural development.
In an intimately interconnected world, creative disciplines are fusing, aesthetics
for its own sake has been abandoned and architecture, art and design are all
implicated in the same quest for a visual philosophy. Dubai and other Gulf region
cities are at the forefront of this quest, evolving most rapidly in scale and sophisticated
technology today.
The contemporary pressure for speed is endangering the identities of our cities

Moutamarat
and the dreams of their inhabitants. Nadim Karam & Atelier Hapsitus seek to create
conceptually groundbreaking landscape, architectural and urban art projects,
digging out the stories, conflicts and memories of the city and giving them contem-
porary expression.1
The result is not urban design as we commonly experience it. It is a concentrated
distribution of energy in the city through forms injected with imagination and illusion
that activate memories of the place. Layers of shadow, wind and light add suspense.
The story is told by Urban Toys. They provoke moments of enchantment and what
lingers in the mind is the memory of the place.

Cloud
Dubai is one of the few cities in the world experiencing exponential growth. Its
economy, like its towers, is soaring. Its transient population makes Dubai the
ultimate city of mutation. Within its ever-changing scenery and growth, Dubai needs
a dream that expresses its actual transient phase. If cities can dream, does Dubai
have a dream? For Dubai, the cloud is a design initiative that could start a debate
about the culture and essence of the city. The Cloud takes its inspiration from nomads
who wandered freely, like the clouds they sought. Now, people move vertically
instead of laterally, the landscape seen from their towers is one of clouds instead
of sand. The Cloud is a bridge between dream and reality. It resonates with many
Oriental legends in which figures dream of flying and traveling.

Structure
The super-structure consists of 2 zones – the ‘Support Structures’ and the ‘Cloud
Structure’. The Cloud Structure is a three-dimensional hierarchical steelwork lattice
that extends within the entire cloud volume – 300m long, 30m high and 100m wide
– and is perched 300m in the air above the support structure.

Experience
The open lattice structure of the cloud works at several scales and densities and
defines the basic volumetric shape of the cloud. Density changes allow the opening
up of large and small fields that contain a multitude of functional spaces, viewing
platforms, and dynamic and static sculptures as well as large and small linkages
between them. These platforms and spaces are at varying levels and are connected
by a network of walkways and escalators. The intention is for the vast majority of
these spaces to be external with climatic conditions controlled by a number of
passive and active measures as outlined below. The smallest scales of the structures
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49
 The cloud is an instigator of events for the city of Dubai. support many of the active climatic control and special effects devises that create
It is beyond context but generates its own context. the ‘heaven like’ Cloud Experience. Emphasis is on open structures and devises

Dubai Guide
as opposed to enclosing facades, skins and surfaces.
The Cloud of Dubai

Support
The Support Structures are the legs and stability bracing that hold up the Cloud
Structure. They are spread across the majority of the footprint thus enabling a
structure of minimum density consisting of long, near vertical raking columns known
as ‘Ladders’ and long, near horizontal bracing trusses called ‘Snakes’ that zigzag
upwards in three-dimensional lattices.

Circulation
In addition to being the primary structure, the Snakes and Ladders also form the
primary slow route up to the Cloud. This consists of runs of travelators and/or funicular

Moutamarat
elevators as well as graded ramps and stair/escalators along the Snakes, and steep
stairs and slides on the Ladders. At key nodal and turning points along the Snakes
small viewing and ‘experience’ platforms open up. The secondary circulation
system consists of a number of fast, non-stop elevators from the ground to Cloud
levels that consist of enclosed elevator capsules on minimal vertical structures.

Environmental Engineering
Both the journeys up the Snakes and Ladders as well as the majority of space
within the Cloud are external and hence the project can be considered a vertical
‘park’. Controlling the harsh and hot climate of Dubai in a low energy and sustainable
manner, enabling users to experience a comfortable environment is one of the key
goals of the project. The ‘open’ nature of the project architecturally and structurally
is also manifest in the climatic control methods whose systems will be fully visible
and explained to the visitor in the form of a sustainable climate control story.
A variety of methods are being studied and assessed both for generating energy
as well as for cooling devices and microclimatic controls. A mix of the following will
control the microclimates:
• S
 hading – both natural as well as that achieved from the structure and architecture;
• A
 diabatic cooling, achieved using seawater sprayed onto a multitude of specifically designed
moist meshes and membranes designed into the lower levels of the structural hierarchy.
Energy will be generated by active solar panels and small active wind turbines both
of which will be distributed throughout the cloud and rotate to meet the prevailing
wind direction or angle of the sun. The energy will be used as a power reserve and
to pump seawater up to the cloud for use in adiabatic cooling devises.
The Cloud stands at a height of about 300 meters. An independent structure
carries the Cloud and transports citizens up to it. The concept for the independent
structure takes its imagery from the ancient Eastern game of vice and virtue;
snakes and ladders. The ‘snakes’ and ‘ladders’ double as supporting structure
and transport to and from the cloud. The innovative and technological significance
of the Cloud will make it a landmark and statement of identity for the city of Dubai.
The Cloud can contain up to 20,000 m2 of floating gardens, a lake, restaurants, a
palace and an open museum of Oriental legends with an extraordinary view of the
city. The Cloud is a place to dream. It generates a unique sense of place. It is a
fantastic encounter with the sky. It is a megastructure that forms an iconic sculpture
fully experienced by visitors and users.

1. Nadim Karam & Atelier Hapsitus, in collaboration with AGU contemporary Arab city with the intention of combining
(Advanced Geometry Unit) ARUP, London, are creating original conception with cutting edge-technology through
‘Urban Reverie’; potential projects addressing the works that are essentially sustainable.
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51
 X-Architects (Dubai), SMAQ (Berlin) The urban clusters accommodate diverse functions including boutiques

Project with the

and tourist hotels, townhouses, patio villas, apartments and furnished

Dubai Guide
apartments juxtaposed in non-prototypical combinations to create a vibrant

Secret Name
social fabric.
Each parcel is situated to maximally benefit from its close proximity to
the landscape, the improved micro-climate and the grand vistas. The
landscape, a primary component of the development, can be explored via
a jogging and cycling track which runs through it. Additional public nodes
such as a library, desert museum, public pool as well as the mosque act as
attractors at either end of each cluster turning the T.P.w.t.S.N into a
Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world; its global relationships
destination in its own right with urban flair and close ties to a characteristic
are increasingly determined by economic factors such as shortages of natural
local landscape.
resources. In addition to architectural and urban superlatives, Dubai is

Moutamarat
facing strong shifts within its social fabric and ecosystem: with the highest 1. Commissioned by an anonymous developer.
consumption of energy and water per capita, Dubai has the dubious
distinction of having the largest ecological urban footprint in the world.
The tourist economy that consumes a good portion of these resources
is expected to double within the next three years to fifteen million visitors
per year. Responding to the urgency caused by those shifts, the project
with the secret name1 examines a piece of desert in Dubailand scheduled
to become the Disneyland of the Middle East as a test case for sustainable
urban development.
While projects within Dubai are typically theme-based, the project
with the secret name1 takes sustainability as a non-theme, shifting from
asking first ‘what does it look like?’ to ‘what does this do?’. Rigorously
comparing common Dubai practices and the project with the secret name),
Dubai must choose between a purely revenue-oriented machine and a
context sensitive ‘Dubai’ urbanity – an answer to the local conditions
and needs.
The urban master plan for T.P.w.t.S.N., set on a parcel of 45 hectares,
is composed of a number of dense urban clusters located within a uniquely
(un)landscaped setting. The proposed landscape is predominantly arid
and green areas are concentrated in humid zones mapped out from satellite
imagery of existing vegetation, thus leaving the remaining area for devel-
opment. The shape and composition of the clusters not only recall the
forms prevailing wind currents carve in desert sand, but also permit the
development to profit from the cooling sea breeze. This is beneficial both Extrapolation of humidity mapping. Isographs suggest Humidity map of desert site. Scarce tree distribution on
a possible site layout including specifications for a real photograph indicates hidden water resources
from a bioclimatic point of view and for the sake of human comfort. development and areas to be left open

Solar Powered Streetlights and a Shaded Promenade

An urban promenade surrounds and interconnects each cluster. It ties
together the café, restaurants, hotel lobbies and retail stores on the one side
of the boulevard and the landscape on the other. The urban sun shade – a
continuous hybrid structure that includes photovoltaic discs, solar powered
street lighting panels and seating elements – combined with flowing water
channels turns the boulevard edge into a place for strolling, sitting in a
café or window shopping. Narrow, shaded alleyways lead to the cluster
cores – in the case of the largest cluster to an urban green and aviary. Five islands of development contain hotels, apartments, villas and community buildings. They are connected
via a system of vehicular and pedestrian loops forming a mixed – used public promenade in close connection

53
52

to the landscaped areas

 Dubai Guide
Project with the Secret Name

Moutamarat
Solar powered shading and lighting system. Iso, plans and section. Project diagram on actual site. Island layout facilitates the shading of pedestrian east – west alleys
The public promenade is shaded with a system of photaic cells.
These provide energy for promenade and street lighting

Wind circulation. The project is conceived as a local modification of the desert climate. Urban layout
with its east – west orientated landscapes and routings lets moderate west winds stream through
the development while hot south winds are hindered from penetrating the islands. Towers (up to 15 floors)
54

55
Solar powered shading and lighting system. Partial plans of the public promenade create wind turbulences and facilitate additional air circulation
Dubai Guide Moutamarat 57
AMO / Todd Reisz
56
 Jerry Kolo
The Necessity of an
Enlightened City
With the highest number of ‘first place’ entries in the Guinness Book of World
records, there is hardly any modest way to describe the exposure that the City
of Dubai in the United Arab Emirate receives in the media as the world’s fastest
growing, most architecturally dazzling, most touristy and award-wining city. From
real estate and tourism promotion packages, to television documentaries, in-flight
magazines and newspapers, there is no scarcity of news about Dubai’s status
as the world’s ‘wonderland,’ one whose breathtaking (critics say outlandish)
projects are currently causing experts to consider re-drawing the geographic map
of the world.
Yet, for all its feats in various aspects of growth, there are, as in the case of
great cities in history, concerns about the long-term economic viability, environmental
sustainability, and socio-cultural harmony of Dubai. Some statistics may help to
capture the sources of these concerns. Dubai Statistics Center disclosed recently
that the 2005 census counted the city’s population at 1.3 million. Of these, 75% are
male and 25% are female. Interestingly, people aged 30-34 years comprise 19%
of the population. This group grew by 84% in just five years from year 2000. The
next largest group, those aged 25-29 years, is also 19% of the population and grew
by a huge 88% over five years.
The growth picture is equally dazzling on the employment front. The Labor
Ministry reported, for example, that the number of expatriate workers in the country
was 2.74 million in 2005, a 17% increase over 2004 when there were 2.34 million
expatriates. Estimates from consulates and embassies representing the bulk of the
UAE workforce put the figure at 2.8 to 3.4 million expatriates, with India contributing
about 1.1 million, Pakistan 750,000, Bangladesh 4-500,000, Iran 3-400,000 residents
and workers, Jordan 200,000 residents and workers, the Philippines 200,000,
Sri Lanka 150,000, the UK 120,000 residents and workers, Nepal 70-80,000, and
Lebanon 60,000 residents and workers.
From the standpoint of future sustainability, the data on Dubai’s phenomenal
growth pose policy, planning, economic, environmental and social questions.
Socio-culturally, for example, citizens (also called locals) are disquieted by the over-
whelming impact of ‘western-type’ development and lifestyle on their indigenous
culture. It is common to hear the suggestion that development firms and the
government build separate camps, away from the city, for workers. On the planning
front, Dubai has literally become a nightmare in the areas of traffic congestion,
urban access, environmental impact, the growing distances between home, work
and school, and other physical planning issues. On the economic front, perhaps
some of the most serious concerns are in the areas of skyrocketing living costs,
stagnant or declining wages, high rents and high service costs (parking, schools,
tolls, etc.).
I submit that the issues exemplified above are typical of cities of Dubai’s status.
However, I believe that they are surmountable. The critical question, therefore,
becomes how the citizens of Dubai would cope, succeed and make their city
competitive in the modern world. I posit that a people’s capacity to be productive
determines their city’s competitive edge. Productive capacity is a factor for enlight-
58
enment, what some would call education. Finally, enlightenment is the collective
responsibility of all stakeholders (individuals, governments, corporations and non-
Dubai Guide
governmental organizations) in society. Cities of the future must be enlightened cities
in order to thrive and be competitive. The bulk of this challenge faces governments,
primarily because enlightenment from an institutionalized standpoint is a public
good. An example of this is the public education system, a service we all need, but
whose cost we cannot all afford. Herein lies the need for governmental leadership,
that is, to cushion, subsidize and oversee the provision of quality education for
citizens in order to permit people to be productive and make society livable and
competitive. Enlightenment is an additional ‘E’ I have advocated in my work, in
addition to the famous three ‘E’ principles of sustainable development: economy,
environment and equity. I continue to argue that without massive investment in
public enlightenment, sustainability will not be achievable in cities or rural areas.
This singular factor is also the greatest threat to achieving the noble endeavors
Moutamarat
of organizations such as the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and
the aims of other world trade and human rights efforts.
Relating the enlightenment issue to Dubai’s viability and competitiveness in the
future, the case is made from the standpoint of pointers that Dubai’s remarkable
boom may be threatened by some of the factors responsible for the boom, as well
as factors resulting from it. An example of factors fuelling the growth is imported
labor from various developing countries. The literacy and competency of workers,
many of whom have made Dubai their home by choice, intermarriage or for other
reasons, should be of great concern. Most of these workers are utility or day workers
in construction, without the education and skills necessary for life beyond their
current low-skill jobs. The pathetic plight of these workers is covered in the daily
media. From oppression and exploitation by their formal employees, through extortion
by employment agencies and loan shark firms, to abuses by informal employers
(domestic workers) and even shady entrepreneurs (prostitution and drugs barons),
I argue that these inhumane treatments are largely related to the inability of these
victims to improve their employment, earning and socio-economic status because
of limited or lack of education. There are shocking incidents of road accidents,
petty crimes, and unsanitary behavior that are clearly attributable to ignorance
and illiteracy among most workers in Dubai. Civility and decorum are at simply
deplorable levels, a well-known cause for discontent among locals and highly
educated professional expatriates toward a large segment of the low-skilled labor
class. Sadly, there are subtle, increasing and disturbing evidences of classism,
ethnocentrism, racism, sexism and xenophobia and all the ugly ‘isms’ that can
undermine the charm, attraction and livability of a global city like Dubai.
The problems of illiteracy and inadequate skills are also serious among the locals
and must be addressed aggressively in order to create an indigenous workforce
to sustain Dubai’s huge and sophisticated economy. In a career fair organized early
in 2007 to recruit Emiratis for career jobs, for example, an organizer noted to the
media that, ‘around 800,000 jobs were created in 2006, still many UAE nationals
are unemployed and in search of jobs. Our obligation towards the future generations
is to create suitable conditions for them to participate in their country’s growth.’
There also are silent and controversial debates about the durability of locals in
professional and demanding jobs in the modern workplace. The arguments for
and against this issue notwithstanding, the efforts of the national and regional
governments must be commended and must be intensified to train and elevate
the skills and knowledge capacity of Emiratis. An example of these initiatives is
the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, set up early in 2007 by His
Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai to develop
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 a comprehensive human development strategy and find radical solutions to challenges
that face the education system in the Emirate. There are other complementary
April 14, 2006
‘How is Denmark?’ Is the first question that His Highness fires at us. We are seated

Dubai Guide
initiatives nationwide, for example, the national Emiritization program aimed at
The Necessity of an Enlightened City

boosting the rate of local employees in all corporations and agencies nationwide.
Another example is the Sharjah Tatweer Forum, an initiative to develop the skills
and competencies of national youth in Sharjah Emirate. Efforts are also targeted
at the education of women, in recognition, according the Dubai Minister of Higher
Education and Scientific Research in a media report on a March 2007 ‘Women
in IT’ conference, that without the full participation of women in its economy the
country will never be able to reach its full potential. He noted that employing women
has serious implications for the entire country as well as for the national strategy
for social development.
Finally, I present examples of how Dubai can create an enlightened citizenry,
thereby making the city more cultured, livable and competitive. First is an education
on a sofa in one of the quarters of what we are told is his ‘working palace’ (supposedly
designed by his wife who is a keen interior decorator).
After a mild correction that we are actually from Holland, a polite introduction
session ensues, in which we describe our office and he explains his vision for the city we
are supposed to design. He comments on the increasingly cluttered infrastructure and
traffic congestion of elsewhere in the UAE and recalls memories of the fort as the ideal
symbiosis between working, living and playing, involving all its inhabitants: members
of the family, servants and… slaves. His speech is held briefly before mentioning this last
category, followed by a discreet ‘sorry’.
For somebody who thinks we are from Denmark, his discourse holds a remarkable
number of familiar terms: generic city, critical mass, density, the culture of congestion…
His oration continues uninterrupted for about fifty minutes; even as he feverishly shakes
his empty coffee cup at one the servants for a refill. (He is served instantly.) Less than

Moutamarat
system that prepares citizens for the world of work. The system must be rigorous an hour later we are outside. His Highness did not wish to see examples of our work, he
and experience-based. The system must be decentralized throughout the city, will await the results.
with community branches where people do not have to travel distances to get an ‘That went well… very well!’ comments our contact ‘Sheikh was happy.’ – RdG
education. A critical aspect of the system must be continuing and non-credit edu-
cation, aimed at older and even retired workers who desire to keep abreast of
modern trends in various fields, from computers to social etiquette and cultural
awareness. The government should require appropriate programs in institutions of
higher education, such as social work and health sciences, to undertake community
outreach and partnership programs, in communities in which universities have a
concrete presence. The government and corporations should fund public awareness
programs, using dedicated channels on local and national television and radio to
enlighten citizens about topical issues in governance, the economy, the environment,
art and culture, and life in civil society and a world city like Dubai. I am convinced
that the viability, competitiveness and sustainability of cities in the future can be
assured only by enlightened citizens. There will be no room for mediocrity in future
cities that aim not just to survive, but to thrive.
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 Rodney Fitch
Designing Dubai’s Future
I II
In ‘As You Like It’ Shakespeare characterizes the human condition in a wonderful
passage describing the ages of man. By stretching both the analogy and the
imagination, Design might also be placed in a similar context whereby it grows in
power and influence parallel to the City States’ own emergence and growth from
birth through to full, mature Statehood. Yet, as Rome discovered, when expressed
by grand buildings, impressive public works and infrastructure of themselves, this
maturity is not enough.
There is something of the designer in all of us, for creativity is quintessentially
human. This is as true of Dubai as it is of London or New York.
The challenge for the Arab World is to connect its citizens to the world of Design,
to engage and educate them in the process, to educate them in its discovery and
to provide the educational and technological tools to unlock those channels that
encourage dialogue about the nature and role of design in the National lifestyle.
A fulcrum for this might be some form of National Design Center that codifies
and coalesces around an appreciation of the Arab World’s indigenous design
culture and thus reaches out beyond the Arab world to connect with the wider
world of Design.
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Elie Domit
Designing Dubai’s Future
Dubai Guide
Dubai has prospered for decades from an investment-led economic strategy focused
mainly on services industries. As we transit into an innovation-fueled economy,
the driving force in the next phase of our development will be the imaginative and
creative capacity of our people. The new architects of the global economic land-
scape are those who apply their imagination, creativity and knowledge to generate
new ideas and create new value. Multi-dimensional creativity – artistic creativity,
Moutamarat
business entrepreneurship and technological innovation – will be the new currency
of success.
The creative cluster (arts and culture, design and media) is one of the fastest
growing sectors of developed economies such as the UK and the US. Creative
industries not only contribute towards the economy directly, but also have a powerful,
indirect impact on the rest of the economy by adding style, aesthetics and freshness
to differentiate products and services. To succeed and thrive, Dubai must tap the
creative cluster and recognize its components as vanguards of economic growth.
With growing access to better technology, industries are increasingly competing
at equal price and functionality. The new competitive advantage lies in the ability
to carve out or create new markets through the fusion of business, technology and
the arts. Design, which facilitates this convergence, will emerge as the key component
in any differentiation strategy for business. Changes in world demographics and
trends and convergences in new technologies have created new challenges that
demand greater design sensitivities and solutions from the tools we use and the
spaces in which we live. Design will therefore play a critical role not only in business
but also in the national agendas of many countries by driving the innovation process
(and industrial competitiveness), by contributing to the level of creativity, cultural
buzz and the attractiveness of the location to global talent, and by strengthening
the marketing and branding of the country’s products and services to the world.
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 Tim Greenhalgh
Design in Retail
Citizens of the Arab world will engage with design in many different ways and most
certainly one of them will be whilst shopping. Retailing is a very competitive com-
mercial activity where innovation in the form of store formats, product development
and design are paramount. This short piece offers some simple, though strategic
principles for retail success.
As one looks at the dynamic world of retail, it is obvious that no two businesses,
brands or retailers are alike. Many different factors contribute to successful retailing
and subsequent business growth. So the subject matter of this very practical paper
is almost as large as the topic of retailing itself.
Here we outline five key principles that demonstrate different ways in which a
strategic approach to retail design can contribute to business growth.
1. Translating the unique attributes of a brand into a store design
through an understanding of the truth of your brand
The fundamental questions we ask ourselves at the beginning of any retail project are:
– what is at the heart of the brand?
– what differentiates the brand from the competition?
– what do you want consumers to think and feel about your brand?
The design for the Lego brand store now rolling out globally is a perfect illustration
of how store design must be grounded in the unique truth of the brand to create
a store that could only come from Lego.
At the heart of the brand are the core values of creativity, imagination, learning,
fun and quality. This store is created to engage children, but also the child within
each of us. The design solution is driven by a ‘see the environment through the eyes
of a child’ mind-set and seeks to foster engagement, discovery and interaction.
The results have been a growth in sales of 31% per sq. foot and a 3% increase
in transactions. In addition, the design has resulted in a positive qualitative response
to the brand.
2. Tailoring store design to meet an identified customer mind-set
The second principle is grounded in the fact that consumer tastes and needs vary
from location to location. Understanding and responding to these unique needs is
a vital prerequisite to creating a compelling and relevant retail experience.
As a world-class retailer Tesco understood this and asked Fitch to see how they
too could ensure that their store formats closely targeted different customer needs
in different localities.
Using the wealthy district of Kensington in London as a prototype, Fitch developed
a profile of the store’s upmarket consumer base. Starting with these insights, we
worked to create a design solution that addressed their unique needs.
The result was a store interior that incorporated a new color palette making
categories and products stand out, directly connecting with the food consciousness
of the audience in this locality. Consumer mind-sets should always be the driving
force behind any design solution.
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3. Extending a store design to retail consistently and flexibly
for different shopping habits and needs
Taking the second principle one step further, whilst store design has to adapt to
Dubai Guide
different locations and markets, it must also ensure that the core values of the brand
remain consistent the world over. Getting this balance right is the key to success.
Vodafone is a clear example of how this can be achieved on a global scale. By
developing a series of consistent retail planning principles, overlaid with the unique
brand visual language and experience it culminated in a flexible yet consistent
design blueprint.
What Vodafone have ended up with is a design that is 80% Vodafone wherever
you go and 20% adapted to meet local needs.
Since June 2006 Vodafone has experienced a 25% increase in contract volume
and a 10% increase in upgrade volume.
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4. Making shopping a real experience
In today’s world of product and brand proliferation, it is often said that ‘shopping
is the purpose of life’. If so, it is important to create a store design that makes every
shopping trip memorable, turning it from a simple experience into a voyage of
discovery that appeals to all of the senses.
Central Food Hall in Bangkok is one such experience. The challenge was to create
not only the best food store in Thailand, but in the whole of Asia.
The result was a design that replicated a bustling street market filled with multi-
sensory experiences. At the center is ‘The Street’ offering freshly cooked, authentic
Thai food in a contemporary environment. The layout was designed to encourage
shoppers to meander through vibrant displays and visit the variety of gourmet food
counters.
Since opening in December 2005 foot traffic has risen by 25% with a corresponding
rise in sales.
5. Creating a unique brand signature
Coming full circle, it is important to differentiate yourself in a crowded retail market.
You must look ‘inside’ and discover what’s unique about your brand, then work
to transfer these qualities into an ownable visual platform.
Hyundai Motor Company in Korea did exactly this by translating their strong visual
equities into a compelling and distinctive retail expression.
The strategic journey started by identifying the elements that Hyundai already
owns from its logo to its strapline. Hyundai now talk about their brand signature
and are proud of the distinctiveness that it delivers for them in the marketplace.
As a result 80% of distributors are using the guidelines and using them happily.
In conclusion
If one stands back from the five principles just illustrated by the retail design examples
above, what do they have in common? Simply, that a brand owner must truly
understand what is at the heart of their brand and how to express it. They have
to understand who their target consumer is and how their brand can speak to them
uniquely to meet their needs and desires. Above all, a brand owner must be willing
to invest in and commit to innovation if his brand is to meet the challenge of consumer
expectations and aspirations.
65
 Majdoleen Till ‘Mecca Cola’, which reflects a Muslim identity for a soft drink. This drink

Branding the Gulf has become very popular in the Arab world, partly because it is a fundrais-

Dubai Guide
ing product for charity. Mecca Cola: the name is Muslim, but the graphics
are Western.
We live in a very dynamic and exciting environment. The number of
educated people is increasing by the minute in the Arab World. Individual-
ism is on the rise. The importance of family as the key structure in social
order is receding. The Gulf States are no longer seen as one, Dubai is
different from Qatar, which is different from Kuwait. Each of these small
Success in oil development encouraged many international companies to
states works hard to identify and brand itself as different. Each uses icons dif-
come to the Middle East in the late 1980s. At that time, there was an
ferent from its Gulf neighbors, though all of them belong to one landscape,
appreciation of all that came from the West because of a perception that
one climate, and one history. As brand design consultants we need to be
Western meant professional.
aware of these emerging dynamics but be very careful not to generalize them.

Moutamarat
This belief remained unchanged up until the late 1990s. By 2001 and
right after September 11, things started to change. People in the Arab
world still recognize the importance and value of globalization. However,
that awareness is now crucially and significantly tempered by a strong
emotional need to represent a particular regional and cultural identity.
We see this new sense of self-identity expressed in the replacement of
Burger King in the last two years as one of the biggest fast food chains by
Za’tar wi Zait. As brand design consultants, we have had to be acutely
conscious of managing this interesting cultural tension when developing Judo Wushu Karate Taekwondo Fencing Wrestling Boxing Bodybuilding Equestrian Weightlifting Kabaddi Shooting

brand design solutions for our clients in this part of the world.
As companies develop their brand identities, we have to navigate a very
subtle course between being Western in the professional sense but still
clearly reflecting expressively Arab roots. Take Orry the Mascot for the
Asian Games 2006, for example: while it is unmistakably Arabic, it also Badminton Tennis Soft Tennis Squash Table Tennis Cue Sports Baseball Softball Golf Hockey Sepaktakraw

resonates with an international audience. The JCC brand language and

www.brandsoftheworld.com/
the Cultural Festival are also examples of designs that have successfully
taken into account the two aspects of cultural identity in this part of the
world. Handball Basketball Rugby Volleyball Football Bowling Chess Athletics Archery Triathlon Cycling Gymnastics

The creation of new brand names has also revealed an undergoing

change. As companies create brands in this market environment, there

T his page was created by Jack X iao in December 2006

has developed a trend away from purely Western approaches to naming.
Words such as HORIZON, CONCEPT, FINE, and SOFT have sub-
sided. The new paradigm is centered on names that are Arabic, but also Sailing Canoe and Kayak
Rowing

Swimming
Water Polo
Synchronised Swimming Diving
Trampoline

Orry the Mascot for the Asian Games 2006

easy to pronounce by speakers of other languages: Tabreed, Sorouh,
Tamdeen, KARWA. We now put forward names that are both Arabic and
international because the market tells us that this works.
At Fitch, we believe that design is a reflection of consumers’ needs,
beliefs and emotions. There is no question that the global political situa-
tion affects what consumers want from design in the region. AMERI-
CANA, an Arab food chain, was badly affected after September 11.
General feelings against Arab Muslims in America provoked a subsequent

www.brandsoftheworld.com/
boycott against American products in the Middle East. AMERICANA
paid the price because of the name, and millions of dollars were spent on
ad campaigns that stated AMERICANA isn’t American.
During the same period of political conflict, the Arab world created
66

67
Mecca Cola – the Muslim identity for a soft drink
 BULGARIA Frankfurt Caspian UZBEKISTAN Bishkek
· New York London Tbilisi Moscow Osaka
ALB. 13h Skopje 6hIstanbul 7h Sea5h 9h
MACEDONIA KYRGYZSTAN
Tirana ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN
Bursa Ankara Tashkent
Yerevan Baku TURKMENISTAN
Dushanbe 9hKashi
Shanghai
GREECE ·Izmir TURKEY Ashgabat
¯
Tabriz TAJIKISTAN
y Athens Konya Adana
Mosul Tehran
Aleppo 3h
tta Nicosia Kirkuk Mashhad 1972
SYRIA Tehran Kabul
Line of Control
Crete
iterranean Sea (GR.) CYPRUS LEB.
Beirut

Beirut3h Damascus IRAQ Line

Esfahan
¸ ¯ AFGHANISTAN Islamabad Actu
Cont
Tel Aviv-Yafo Baghdad
- -
Banghazi Alexandria ISRAEL
Jerusalem Amman
IRAN Kandahar
¯
Lahore
Hong Kong
Al Basrah Quetta 8h
Cairo JORDAN

Gulf Survey
-
Al Jizah KUWAIT Shiraz
¯ New
Gulf Atlas

Gulf Survey
Kuwait Delh
PAKISTAN
BY A Edited by AMO SAUDI
Persian
BAHRAIN Gulf Jaipur
Casablanca EGYPT Manama Abu
OMAN
8.5h Doha
- Riyadh Dhabi
Aswan ¯
Karachi
QATAR UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES Muscat
Red
Sea Jiddah
ARABIA Ahmad

Mecca OMAN

AMO
Mumbai
Port Sudan 2h
Mumbai Pu
(Bombay)

Omdurman ERITREA YEMEN

CHAD Khartoum Asmara Sanaa

Aden
Arabian
SUDAN DJIBOUTI
Gulf of Aden
Sea
Singapore

Djamena Socotra 7.5h

Djibouti (YEMEN)
2006 UN Political Map

Addis LAKSHADWEEP
Berbera
Ababa (INDIA)
Lagos

ETHIOPIA
68

69
8h La
CENTRAL Johannesburg
8.5h
Sydney
15h
 Regional Statistics

GDP per Capita Youth

In $US thousands Average Age

> 35
>25,000
31-35

World Bank Statistics, 2004

CIA World Factbook, 2006

25,000-15,000
26-30
15,000-5000
21-25
5000-1500
< 20
<1500
Gulf Atlas

Gulf Survey
Foreign Direct Investment Illiteracy
FDI flows to the GCC in $US millions % of the population that is illiterate

no data 0%
< 10 %

CIA World Factbook, 2006

< 500
UNCTAD FDi Magazine

500 - 2000 10-30 %

www.gasandoil.com

2000 - 3000 30-50 %

www.compiler.fi

AMO
3000 - 4600 > 50

Transparency Ecological Footprint per Capita

Perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts Hectares per person

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Transparency International, 2005

<1 <1
1-3 1-5
3-5 5 - 10
5-7 10 - 15
7-9 > 15
70

71
 Sizing the Gulf

Venice could fit in a quarter of The World development in Dubai. Development on

a seemingly scaleless landscape begs global comparisons when trying to grasp its
size. When looking at the major urban projects from Kuwait to Ras Al Khaimah,
a selection of world-recognized urban landmarks reveal the magnitude of this
urban project. (Numbers refer to descriptions in the Development Atlas at the
end of Gulf Survey.)

B40-Two Seas
K5-Bubiyan Island B12-Amwaj Islands

B7-Bahrain Bay
Gulf Atlas

Gulf Survey
B11-Lulu Island Q4-Lusail Development
Q17-Al Khor Resort
B41-Marina West
K6-Failaka Island B29-Riffa Views Q9-The Pearl-Qatar
BAHRAIN QATAR
B32-Bahrain Mega
K11-Madinat Al Hareer Equestrian Resort
Q20-New Doha
B1-Al Areen Desert Spa Int’l Airport
and Resort B10-Durrat
Al Bahrain Island
K9-Subiya Causeway

K17-Green Island

K15-Heritage Village K13-Madinat Al Fahaheel

K14-Khabary City
K22-Kuwait Int’l Airport expansion K26-Kheiran
Pearl City

AMO
K23-Kuwait University’s new campus

KUWAIT

5 km 25 km 100 km

MDA Federal Inc.

73
72

Venice, Italy Beijing, China Cairo, Egypt Hong Kong, China Paris, France Mumbai, India
 Sizing the Gulf

A16-Reem Island
D12-Dubai Waterfront D8-Palm Deira
Gulf Atlas

Gulf Survey
A3-Central Market D9-The World
A6-Saadiyat Island
D7-Palm Jebel Ali
A2-Al Gurm Resort R2-Al Marjan Islands
D1-Palm Jumeirah R8-Saraya
R1-Mina Al Arab
Islands
D63-Dubai
Abu Dhabi Marina Lakes
D66-The D71-Dubai Festival City
R15-Al Noor City

D15-Jumeirah Islands D62-Downtown Burj Dubai R14-Mangrove

D60-The Lagoons
Dubai D11-Discovery Garden
D16-Jumeirah Village D56-Business Bay Sharjah R4-Ras Al Khaimah
Island R5-Jebel
A1-Al Raha Beach Resort Al Jais
D14-Jumeirah Golf Gateway
A14-Al Reef Villas D75-Dubai Investments Park
Estates Ras Al Khaimah
D18-International City
D95-Dubai Silicon Oasis
D73-Dubai World Central D35-Dubailand

D13-Arabian Canal

AMO
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

5 km 25 km 100 km

MDA Federal Inc.

75
74

Manhattan, New York Moscow, Russia Las Vegas, NV Istanbul, Turkey Barcelona, Spain London, UK
 Economic Resources

Population Ä = 10,000 people Expat vs. Native GDP GDP vs. Oil Year Oil Runs Out Tourists per Year Ä = 10,000 people
Ras Al Khaimah

1968: 1980: 2004:

ÄÄ 24,287 Ä
ÄÄ ÄÄ 74,000
ÄÄ Ä
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄÄ
ÄÄÄ

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Ä 205,000
Ä
n/a

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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

2010
Ä
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Ä
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1,204,000 Ä
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ÄÄ Ä6,200,000
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1,000,000
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77
76
 How Much is a Billion? $ 1.2 trillion
— A Look at Relative Value Total cost of war
in Iraq since
March 2003

$ 700 billion
Direct US spending
$ 675 billion on war on Iraq
Total cost of
construction
projects in Gulf

$ 86.5 billion
Silk City, Kuwait
estimated cost
$ 53 billion
World Bank’s
estimated cost
Gulf Atlas

Gulf Survey
of reconstruction
in Iraq
$ 27 billion
UAE Tourism
revenue
$ 14 billion
Palm Jumeirah
total cost

$ 10 billion
FDI outflow
from Gulf

$ 3.5 billion

AMO
Legends
Theme Park

$ 1.5 billion
Atlantis Palm
Jumeirah
$ 0.7 billion
Dubai Duty
Free revenue
$ 175
Monthly
income
of UAE
laborer

http://www.dubaiairport.com
http://www.unctad.org
http://uaeinteract.com
www.worldbank.org
http://www.theemiratesnetwork.com
http://www.ameinfo.com

79
78

www.nytimes.com
http://www.madinat-al-hareer.com
 Argument

A Region in Brief

The current architectural substance of the Gulf consists of four major

components, produced in three distinct waves:

1. In the seventies and eighties – as part of the first surge of oil wealth
and therefore as a matter of course – big architectural names were
involved in the Gulf… Jørn Utzon (Kuwait National Assembly), Kenzo
Tange (Kuwait International Airport and Arab Gulf University plan), the
Smithsons (unrealized Kuwait City plan), Kiyonori Kikutake (unrealized
hotel), William Pereira (Sheraton Hotel), The Architects Collaborative

Gulf Survey
(Abu Dhabi Cultural Center).
The Gulf became a field of architectural experimentation, where ver-
nacular elements, particularly indigenous cooling and natural ventilation
techniques, were used to renew and redefine contemporary architecture…

2. In the second wave in the nineties, firms typically with an engineering

background, but soon equipped with master planning and even architec-
tural sections, whose convenient presence on the ground gives them an
almost monopolistic claim to most planning and architectural efforts –
Halcrow, Atkins, more recently HOK – developed among them an intricate,
quasi-organic resort urbanism, driven by coastline multiplication, both
on land and on sea…
It is this wave that has given Dubai its unique ‘look.’

AMO
3. Superimposed on this context, will be the imminent contributions of
international starchitects like Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Norman Foster
and others; the dilemmas faced by the third wave are obvious: relatively
inexperienced clients, the ‘experience economy’ as the sole and pervasive
discourse, a well-established quasi-Islamic-modernist language, expecta-
tions of ‘signature’ which will make deviation and surprise, let alone
reinvention, difficult.

4. Independent of these phases, we can also observe since the seventies

an ongoing production of ‘undesigned’, modest – but dominant in places
like Sharjah – presence of a generic, modernist ‘architecture without
architects’ – a cheap, seemingly spontaneous, mostly concrete, always
utilitarian architecture that comes closest to traditionally ‘urban’ conditions:
closely packed streets, alleys, galleries, parks and plazas and residential
neighborhoods based on mini-compounds. These have an appeal, espe-
cially compared to globalization’s past and future fireworks. – RK
Expectations of ‘signature’ will
make deviation and surprise,
let alone reinvention, difficult
80

81
 Kuwait
Kuwait experienced booming urban growth throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Realizing a need to solve an ever present housing shortage, international planning
and architecture firms were commissioned to plan the new city. Young planners from
England and the United States were hired to work in Kuwait City’s municipal offices
to train local practitioners in the Western tradition of planning.
Recent growth has been more tempered than Kuwait’s Gulf neighbors, but with
the Iraqi regime change, Kuwait perhaps stands ready to exhibit a newfound national
pride in skyscrapers and urban vision.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
AMO
MDA Federal Inc.

83
82
 Snapshots

www.flickr.com/photos/toomi/258583249/
Kuwait Bay Covered Parking Lot

Brain McMorrow

Brain Kuw8@Flickr
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
Billboard: ‘With the support of the Kuwaiti people as a whole, Inexpensive gas prices in Kuwait. Current price is $0.17/L
we are starting to write a new page in our modern history’

AMO
Old City souk Salhiya shopping arcade
84

85
Kuwait’s new waterfront and Arabian Gulf Street: 100% public Salhiya facades Where old meets new, Arabian Gulf Street
 Growth Driven Planning

Stephen Gerdiner, Kuwait: The Making of a City, 1983

Kuwait’s urban history has been a series of intricate but restrained maneuvers.
Careful estimations determine an infrastructural framework, which in turn is filled
with roads and buildings. Only when the plan is complete does Kuwait consider
a new plan. Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City model provided the ideological blueprint

[The new city] is almost entirely a product of foreign influences, and predominantly among these ... is the influence of the English.
for achieving Sheikh Abdullah as-Salim as Sabah’s desire to distribute newfound oil
wealth with his people. Each neighborhood is afforded a similarly structured welfare
system. Garden cities, then, required British architects, and thus begins a long
relationship with British urbanism.

1950. Kuwait city plan Al Jahra Gate looking up Fahd Al-Salem Street, Kuwait’s main artery

Gardiner, S. Kuwait: The Making of a City

Gardiner, S. Kuwait: The Making of a City

[T]he Kuwaitis wanted well-
known names. We asked each
of the architects to think about
a city, and to express their
thoughts as architectural ideas
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
– visually, do you see? – not
as written reports. They were
given about a year to do this.

The first master plan was a direct application of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City theory.
Yes, I agree a dream of a com-
mission.
Leslie Martin on Team X’s Urban study and Demon-
stration Building for Kuwait City 1968–1972

1952. Minoprio and Spencely First master plan 1968. North elevation of the Smithsons’
Howard diagram for the Garden City 1950. The Old Wall of Kuwait for Kuwait city Demonstration Building

Kuwait: The First Photographs, Facer and Grant, Stacey International

AMO
1967–72. Development and growth plan, 1972. Peter Smithson presents the model of the mat-building concept
Sir Colin Buchanan and Alan McCulloch to the Crown Prince of Kuwait. The Smithsons’ proposed fees and
project were too expensive, precluding the execution of the project

Gardiner, S. Kuwait: The Making of a City

Stephen Gardiner, Kuwait: The Making of a City, 1983
Dr. Y. Mahgoub, interview, August, 2006

2006. Kuwait city satellite Mosque Community Unit (MCU)

No household would be more than 250m from a mosque.
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87
1927. Kuwait City Al-Khiran Proposal, Shankland and Cox and Partners
 1970s. Modernism in Kuwait

Gardiner, S. Kuwait: The Making of a City

Before 1960, Kuwait had fallen victim to disappointing housing developments and
unimpressive office buildings. ‘Understandably, the Kuwaitis wanted well-known names,’
is how Leslie Martin describes his meetings with Dr. Omar Azzam about inviting a
‘world-class’ group of architects to consider Kuwait City’s urbanism and, eventually,
its architecture. The 1970s offer some of Europe’s most current architects a chance
to alter a city’s course.

1950s. Housing demolished in 1984 as a corrective 1976. Museum for the Kuwait Arab World (now the National Museum),
measure after the attempted assassination of Sheikh Michel Ecochard
Jaber al-Ahmed Al Sabah

archnet.org

Gardiner, S. Kuwait: The Making of a City

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1976. Water Towers, VBB / Sune Lindström and Malene Björn 1976. Plan of Water Towers, Sune Lindström
and Malene Björn

archnet.org

Gardiner, S. Kuwait: The Making of a City

AMO
1972. Kuwait Towers, Sune Lindström Ministry of Information, Jacques Satour
and Malene Björn (winners of Aga Khan 1979. Kuwait International Airport,
Award 1980) Kenzo Tange

There seem to be two parties in the discussion

regarding Kuwait’s architectural identity. One
that feels that if architects are functional, use the
most technologically advanced technique and
are part of the human condition, then they will
naturally reflect a local moment in history. The
other party believes these technological aspects
must be adapted to the local conditions to create
a Kuwait identity in architecture.
Dr. Y. Mahgoub, interview July 27, 2006
88

89
1971. Jørn Utzon National Assembly Complex 1978. Offices, stores and parking, SOM Salhiya Shopping Area
 1960–1980. Regional Criticism

Contemporary Kuwaiti Houses, by Huda Al-Bahar

Urbanization in Kuwait, Readings in Architects

Saba George Shiber, by Dr. Yasser Mahgoub
Mid-century Kuwait takes pride in attracting global (Western) architecture, and through
a process of university-building and professional training it tries to bring forward
its own group of architects and developers. A work in progress, Kuwait still relies
on a substantial foreign presence.
Measuring the danger of an imminent British withdrawal from the region in 1968,
Kuwait joins other regional states in an offer to pay them to stay, knowing that
certain neighbors are keen on access to Kuwait’s wealth.
Kuwait’s diplomacy is a careful mix of ruse, political handshaking, payoffs
and beseeching foreign assistance. Its ‘development fund’ helps keep potential
challengers at bay through monetary support of their large-scale projects. 1979. Domestic architecture Saba George Shiber is a legend in Kuwait
architecture. He worked as an architect
Neighboring Iraq, hungry for a coastal presence and demanding an impossible loan, in Kuwait 1960–64 and wrote a detailed
account of the first master plan of Kuwait
would eventually occupy the country. This time, however, the foreign patrol would not
be British, but American; a newer ally finds reason to protect Gulf interests.

May 14, 1968, The Times

Stephen Gerdiner, Kuwait: The Making of a City, 1983

Stephen Gardiner, Kuwait: The Making of a City, 1983

‘Here in Kuwait there is a
phrenetic [sic] race to achieve
the aesthetics of a utopia or
the graveyard of aesthetics. Over
200 architects, and God-Knows-
how-many-nonarchitects, are
bitterly vying with each other in
a race to try every conceivable
form and fetish even a super-
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Gulf Survey
human is incapable of inventing
Our teachers at architecture school usually or concocting.’
dismiss such [modern] architecture as A Modern Architectural Statement of the Late Post Oil Period George Shiber, Urban Forms and Aesthetics, 1961
‘cosmetic’: using an Arab architectural veneer, The facade rejects use of historic cliches. The articulation of
instead of understanding the real heritage volumes, masses and elevation elements are pure responses to
of Arab architecture’s spatial organization and functional requirements. Concrete is used as a facade material,
true spirit. its mass broken by the volumetric elevations
Ahmed Hameid’s Web Blog ‘360 degrees East’ Huda Al Bahr, ‘Contemporary Residential Architecture’. MiMAR
Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 8:21 am Vol. 13. Aga Khan Foundation, 1998

Advertising on Mubarak Al 1967. Traffic in Kuwait City

Kabeer Street
Jasem Nodoum

Jasem Nodoum

Kuwait’s Burden of Wealth – A New Oil Centre in Arabia.

AMO
1950 – 60. Kuwait residential architecture
archnet.org

Tuesday March 4, 1952, The Times

90

91
1980. Four Kuwait Residences Ghazi Sultan 1950 – 60. Kuwait residential architecture The Gulf War: Coastal ambition and economic plight were the spurs to an invasion gamble
 1991/2004. Redefinition / Emergence

The Daily Star, March 30, 2006

The Daily Star, March 30, 2006
The retreat of Iraqi forces in 1991 and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2004

Kuhne scheme
Burj Dubai
releases increased levels of optimism. This gradual assurance of stability sparks

800m?

1,001m

Silk City, an insight to Kuwait’s future

a rejuvenated pride in the state, a desire to put Kuwait City more firmly on the global

Empire State

Taipei 101
map. Kuwait also sees the post-occupation era as a moment of self-review – of the

509m
381m
1.4 million expatriates who fled the country, only less than a third return to the country.

Swiss Re HQ
A process of Kuwaitization is at least nominally put in place.

180m
Subiya Town v. Silk City captures Kuwait’s threshold position between its histori-

The Daily Star, March 30, 2006

cally careful approach to future and an undeterred global modernism… between
a forty-year-old plan and a two-year-old marketing maneuver. Neither approach has
proven real, but the unlikely materialization of either in pure form may at least
signify a current form of Kuwaiti identity.
Project designed to house 700,000 people, will cost 25 billion dinars London office to smash record

Associated Press

City of Silk_press_05
Women’s Rights In Kuwait
Hundreds of protesters in Kuwait
have held a women’s rights protest
outside the country’s all-male
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
parliament. The assembly is
debating a government request to
speed up the passage of a law on
women’s rights, which was approved
by the cabinet last May. But most
Islamic groups in Kuwait are against
granting women political rights and
the parliament has twice defeated

The concept of the new city will combine Arabic philosophy, culture and politics.
similar measures in recent years.
BBC Online, Monday, March 14, 2005
2006. Massouma Mubarak, Kuwait’s 2006. The Kuwaiti parliament passes a law allowing women
first woman cabinet minister to vote and stand for election, but it comes too late for the
following polls

Gulf Consult

Private or Public
Brian McMorrow Photos
The Liberation Tower – the tallest structure in Kuwait – was
to be called The Kuwait Telecommunications Tower before
the Iraqi invasion halted construction. The structure received
no damage, and construction resumed after the Iraqis were
expelled. Upon completion in 1993, the tower was named
Liberation Tower

AMO
[Living in Kuwait] includes free health and
education, generous housing loans for
newlyweds, cheap petrol, power and water,
subsidised bread and other essential goods,
and a job for the asking. Because Kuwaitis are
essentially guaranteed jobs by the state, all but
7% of the workforce are civil servants.
Middle East Online. January 15, 2005

Gulf War Martyrs Museum, the only building

intentionally left unrepaired after the war 1990. Gulf Consult Silk City Plan
ArchWeek

Gulf Consult
2009. Mubarak Tower
will be 1001 m high and Building on a New Found Confidence?
will form the landmark In terms of master planning Subiya Town has been
for this new city. The on the drawing board since 1983 - it was revised
tower was inspired in 1986/87 and now it is coming back to life, but
by the 1001 nights it could take another 20 years to be developed’
story and the desert
Eric Kuhne, Silk City Architect

‘Sheikh of Chic’ Kuwait Al Jaouni

Villa Modal Kuwait’s first luxury boutique plant life. The tower Robert Conford, ‘Building on a new found confidence?’ ITP Business, June 24, 2006
becomes a key destination for upper crust will be composed of 7
Kuwaitis looking for top notch chic vertical villages which
By Omar Hasan – Kuwait City Middle East Online. September 21, 2004 will consist of hotels,
2004. Villa Moda, a new fashion emporium Pierfrancesco Cravel offices, residences
2005. Fashion Show by Kuwaiti and entertainment

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designer Adiba el Mahboub facilities. 2006. Subiya Island (or Silk City) at present
 Bahrain
Conquered by Saudis in the 18th-Century, appropriated by Christian myth
as the location of Eden, claimed by Persians until the 1970s and now marked
by the US as a model Middle East democracy, the small, somewhat arable
island has had a long history of foreign grabbers.
When the Al Khalifa family arrives on the island and forces the departure
of the occupying Persians, the waning maritime supremacy of Persia in the Gulf
is finally brought to an end, with the Gulf remaining ‘Persian’ only in name.
A United Nations mandate keeps it known as such.
Bahrain’s notoriety of late is derived from its uncomfortable mix of oil wealth
and intense American interests in its geopolitical position. How Bahrain will
charter these influences remains to be seen.
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AMO
MDA Federal Inc.
94

95
 Snapshots

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=112472
2006. The road to the capital, Manama Pearl Roundabout
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Generic Modernism Bahrain International Circuit (Formula One)

AMO
Congestion on the way to the old town Old town
96

97
2006. Bahrain Financial Harbor almost complete Towards King Salman Causeway Indian neighborhood
 Free Trade

www.britishembassy.gov.uk
www.flickr.com
Because of relatively high levels of fresh water, Bahrain has always been a trade
hub of some kind. The trade of pearls, textiles, cigarettes and even humans made
the harbor busy with intrigue. Its central role for the region evolves with the British
selecting the island for its main presence in the Gulf. With the British come the
first formal educational facilities and the seeds of Western-style forms of debate
and politics.
Just as the pearl industry begins to decline, Bahrain finds oil, the first Gulf state
to do so, in 1932. Decades-long speculation proven true, there begins a hungry rush
of Western companies ready to capture shares of the reserves. British engineers,
diplomats and their families move to Bahrain for a sense of adventure and chance
to profit from the boom. For a brief moment, Bahrain glows in the world’s attention
1920s. Riots in Manama against a too conservative Sheikh 1920. British Political Agency
and begins to define Gulf opulence.
With oil come more people, and with more people comes a flood of urbanization

Old Days, First edition, Bahrain 1986, printed at Oriental Press, Bahrain

www.bahraingateway.org
issues that Bahrain has to confront within a decade. Oil’s discovery forces Bahrain
to urbanize at a pace ten times that of the Western world which had taken its time
in the ‘birth pangs’ of its Industrial Revolution. In 1963 the government announces
the opening of Isa Town, a new village outside Manama to accommodate a newly
established working-class. Increased populations means more sprawl beyond
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Gulf Survey
Manama’s old center. Manama becomes just a neighborhood in a nameless
conglomerate sometimes refered to as ‘Bahrain,’ despite the fact that it occupies
only 30% of the kingdom’s land. Growth continues with no such thing as an
urban boundary.

1932. Kloud De Garren 1950s. The wind blows in the right direction
discovers the first oil HH Sheikh Salman Al Khalifa with American oil executives
well in Bahrain
Old Days, First edition, Bahrain 1986, printed at Oriental Press, Bahrain

The London Times, 1927

Old Days, First edition, Bahrain 1986, printed at Oriental Press, Bahrain

Old Days, First edition, Bahrain 1986, printed at Oriental Press, Bahrain

AMO
The popular Bahraini artist Mohammed Zowayed with Al Ahli and Al Oruba Clubs offer cultural and entertainment events
1967. Al Ahli Club other players in Baghdad
www.flickr.com

Old Days, First edition, Bahrain 1986, printed at Oriental Press, Bahrain
Bahrain Cinema, one of many cinemas which begin appearing in Bahrain

99
98

1919. British establish first formal school in the Gulf 1932. Bahrain’s first oil well after the opening of schools from 1919 onwards
 Finance Harbor The first Bahrain airport

Old Days, First edition, Bahrain 1986, printed at Oriental Press, Bahrain
built as a hut. The bell used
Bahrain’s Golden Age of Black eventually fades in comparison to other more in signalling a plane’s landing
and departure is seen below.
immense oil fields in the Gulf. Reserves now running out, Bahrain has already 4 knocks signifies the aeroplane
approaching, while 6 knocks
confirmed its next role as the Financial House of the Gulf. Already in 1974 signifies the aeroplane’s
an advertisement presented the island as a fully occupied, lush Eden of resorts departure time.

and diversified business opportunities. Tourist destinations are behind plan, but
Bahrain’s financial presence is mightier than that of any Gulf neighbors. With over
30 banks settled on the island, Bahrain not only pushes its own development; it also
hedges its development bets by bankrolling its coastal competitors’ development.

For 4 years Bahrain was the only stop for

An Idea That Failed: Spreading Manure To Spread Wealth supersonic Concorde flights in the Gulf
By HERBERT G. LAWSON and RAY VICKER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Wall Street Journal (1889-Current file); Mar 31, 1977; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The Wall Street Journal (1889 - 1989)
pg. 1

The London Times, Advertisement, January 28, 1974

www.bahraingateway.org

The London Times, March 31, 1973

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Gulf Survey
1970s. Sheikh Mohammad bin Issa Al Khalifa hosts
CALTEX Oil Company delegates
The London Times, 1963

Lawrence, J. (1970s). Images of Bahrain. MEED books

The London Times, Advertisement, January 28, 1974

AMO
1970s. Isa Town

OAPEC to build dry dock in Bahrain

The London Times, 1968

www.archnet.org

www.archnet.org

Have you seen Isa Town?’

‘Is that the new town in the
middle of the desert?’
‘Yes, yes, [it] is the new town.
Sheikh owns it. He built it for
people who work and earn
money. Not for beggars and
lazy people. You must have a
job. But every dinar you earn,
you pay only [one] rupee to
Sheikh.
Feteris, Peter J.(1972). About People in Bahrain.
The London Times, 1973

Vantage Press
100

101
1982. Gulf International Bank B.S.C. 1984. United Gulf Bank, SOM
Gibb, Petermuller and Partners
 The Bahrain Model

www.archnet.org
Kenzo Tange, 2002
Success can be damning. On November 6, 2003, US president George Bush
declares Bahrain a model Middle Eastern democracy; just over six months later,
the American government urges its expat citizens to leave in response to terrorist
threats against Americans on Bahraini soil. Attention from a giant, faltering
democracy only makes the errors and contradictions of its trainee more glaring.
The result – a UN censure and a Human Rights Watch condemnation. Bahrain
follows its own course to democratization. Oppositional rallies that adhere to
a strict Islamic code of separation of the sexes exemplify the emerging Bahrain
model toward freedom.

1984. Arab Gulf University. Kenzo Tange

www.cn-thai.co.t

www.washingtonpost.com

www.globalsecurity.org
Bahrainis Embrace Political
Satire
Al-Jazeera, Friday, November 14, 2003
Bahraini Human Rights Centre
Dissolved
Al-Jazeera, Wednesday, September 14, 2004
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Gulf Survey
Bahrainis Rally For Reforms
Al-Jazeera, Friday, May 06, 2005
The King Has Dissolved The
Parliament!
Mahmood TV, July 26, 2006

2003. George Bush highlights 2004. Mina Sulman, principal U.S. Navy base in the Gulf
Bahrain as model ‘new
democracy in the Middle East’

www.skyscrapercity.com

www.flickr.com

1970. Saudi Arabia-Bahrain Causeway,
Christiani and Nielsen Pcl. Engineering
AMO
1939. Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, ruler of Bahrain, Riffa Heights project – An upscale community with sea-views 2006. Riots demanding political reforms
with King Abdul Aziz bin Saud, King of Saudi Arabia and golf course where Shiites cannot buy land
Bahrain and Qatar Sign Bridge Deal.
COWI Engineering 2006

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=112472

www.flickr.com
www.archnet.org

‘I think it is most probable that Michael Jackson

will convert to Islam,’ Jermaine Jackson was
quoted as saying. Jermaine, 52, converted to
Islam in 1989 and now lives in Bahrain, where
Al Jazeera June 11, 2006

Michael has also recently taken up residence.

Find Law Legal News Commentary, Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

103
102

2006. Proposed design for the Friendship Bridge 1988. Bahrain National Museum. KHRAS Arkiteter Durrat Al Bahrain, located on the south coast 2006. Michael Jackson in Bahrain
to Qatar, COWI Engineering of Bahrain. Will include 13 different islands
 Qatar
Qatar is rich.
The richest country on earth, surpassing Switzerland further everyday with each
increase in the prices of oil and gas.
After replacing his father, Sheikh Hamad has focused on modernizing Qatar,
not through towers and shopping centers but through culture. With his wife
Sheikha Moza, he has begun the Qatar Foundation, the ultimate example of higher
education’s evolution in the Gulf.
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Gulf Survey
AMO
MDA Federal Inc.
104

105
 Snapshots

www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow
Qatar Education City. Liberal Arts and Sciences Building Periphery waiting for its developer
Arata Isozaki

www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow

www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow
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Gulf Survey
Sword Arch on Grand Hamad Street Banks on Grand Hamad Street

www.flickr.com
www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=405080&page=26

AMO
December 2006. Fireworks in the Khalifa Stadium Villa
mark the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games

www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow
106

107
View towards the sea from Doha’s developing shoreline Souk under construction in the Old Town of Doha Bus station
 High Contrast

www.diwan.gov.qa

www.diwan.gov.qa
Even relative to other Gulf locations, Qatar was recently staggeringly poor.
Its expansive deserts were once condemned by travelers as deadeningly dull and
unpleasant. The seas around it had been controlled by Bahrain, precluding the state’s
ability to compete on open waters. Constantly having to fight off Bahrain to the West
and Saudis to the South, Qatar had nothing much to defend besides its pride.
In 1949 Qatar’s fate changes with the discovery of oil. Almost overnight Qatar
transforms from the forgotten peninsula of the Arabian Coast to a stronghold
of British presence. Having witnessed the transformation of Bahrain by petrodollars,
Qatar proceeds cautiously – a hospital, an airport, a sports stadium, a clocktower
in a traditional style and a modest palace, especially for an oil sheikh.
1935. Al Khor City 1930s. Looking for pearls

www.diwan.gov.qa

John Harris
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
Qatar State Hospital in Doha John Harris

www.diwan.gov.qa

AMO
Late 1950s. New housing complex in Khalifa using traditional 1960. Doha airport
Arab housing typology

www.diwan.gov.qa

www.diwan.gov.qa

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108

1935. Doha aerial view 1960. Interior of the Sheikh’s palace 1960. Clock tower with Amiri Diwan in the background
 Step Further

www.archnet.org
One step at a time, Sheikh Khalifa builds a museum and one of the first universities in
the Gulf, the University of Qatar. Modest architects are chosen and encouraged to
express traditional aesthetics in modern form. There is one exception – the Sheraton
Hotel, which to this day is the backdrop of any recognizable photo taken by a tourist.
For some it heralds the extravagance of Egyptian pyramids – an almost always empty
hotel built to tower above the city and its coast.

1984. University of Qatar Kamal El-Kafrawi with Ove Arup

The London Times, 1985

www.diwan.gov.qa

The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 1983

Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
1982. Sheraton Hotel. William L. Pereira
1972. The old palace will be transformed into a museum and Associates
www.archnet.org

The London Times, 1976

www.diwan.gov.qa
[Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani] policy
is one of cautious but determined planned
development, avoiding the mistakes of other
states whose growth threatens to get out
of hand.
The London Times, 1975

AMO
1982. Doha Zoo John S. Bonnington 1980s. Doha Kournish

The London Times, 1985

www.archnet.org

www.diwan.gov.qa
In 1996 the Emir established a new TV channel
called Al Jazeera (’The Island’). This channel
would change the face of the media world. Two
years later he abolished censorship on radio
and television.

Sheikha Moza ‘The opinion and the other

110

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1980. Ministry of Information and National Theatre James Connel 1985. Naiga housing complex Anwar Atta opinion.’ Al Jazeera logo
 Size Doesn’t Matter

www.skyscrapercity.com

www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=314423&page=6
There has never been a boom in Qatar.
Money is spent on jewels, not size. Dusting off its cultural campaign of the 1970s,
Qatar chooses to focus on cultural endeavors – devoting funds to invite top-ranked
universities, Qatar is not only building a new campus, but an Education City. As part
of the reorganization of the Kournish, four major cultural projects are on the way.
In a kind of competition with Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh’s cousin has made the emirate
known by being the fierce buyer at any major art auction.

Photography Museum designed by Santiago Calatrava for Doha, December 2006. Museum of Islamic Arts. I.M.Pei
Qatar appears to have been stalled

www.archnet.org
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Gulf Survey
2005. Doha West Bay development Halcrow 1956. Satellite photo with 2003 coastline 2005. Press conference of Qatar’s tourism

President Bush planned to bomb Arab TV station Al-Jazeera!

www.archnet.org
The Emir looked in my book and pointed at a
project. ‘I like it. I want something like this.’
It was ‘City in the Air’, my project from the early
60s. The huge columns of vertical infrastructure
look as if big tree trunks were growing branches

Money is like gas, invisible until someone burns it.

and leaves out in the air.
I said, ‘No, no, this is my student-time project.’
Emir said, ‘it doesn’t matter.’

AMO
It became the National Library. I didn’t mind
developing an idea for a seemingly mismatching
condition.
Arata Isozaki, an interview for the Gulf, August 9, 2006

Education City hosts branch campuses of some of the world’s 2003. Satellite photo with 1956 coastline
leading research universities, such as Weill Cornell Medical
College in Qatar
www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow

www.archnet.org

Arata Isozaki
A B C D
www.mirror.co.uk, November 22, 2005

Arata Isozaki
Osamu Murai

www.archnet.org
A. 1961. Imaginary project: City in the Air. Arata Isozaki
B. 2005. Qatar National Library. Project on hold. Arata Isozaki
C. 2005. Qatar National Bank. Project on hold. Arata Isozaki

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Doha roundabout 2003. Proposed Master plan for Doha’s Kournish Jean Nouvel D. 2003. Proposed Tower on Doha’s Kournish. Project on hold. Jean Nouvel
 Asian Games

www.flickr.com

www.flickr.com
Doha hosts the Asian Games in 2006, the largest ever. The Games have raised the
status of Doha as a venue for international events. When will the Olympics take place
in the Middle East?

www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/doha

www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/doha
Doha 2006 Asian Games
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Gulf Survey
A

www.flickr.com
B

AMO
www.flickr.com

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2006. Al Khalifa Sports City. R. Taillibert

 Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi has nothing to prove. Its anchored indispensability in global markets –
as a result of its immense oil reserves – ensures that its regional and global position
remains undisputed.
With its global political weight ensured, Abu Dhabi has developed a confident
and careful approach to its urban development. Whereas cities worldwide have
converted their municipal departments into marketing machines for attracting
outside investment, Abu Dhabi sells privilege, not pitches.
It was a slow start, with oil monies not quickly reinvested in urban development
until the ascension of Sheikh Zayed.
In the past year, media requests have been granted to a press eager to know the
Emirate’s plans. Abu Dhabi is now responding to the competitive sphere in the Gulf
with a clear agenda, backed up by a new tool for the Gulf – culture master planning.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
AMO
MDA Federal Inc.
116

117
 Snapshots

In-between cities on road to Dubai Reflexive passive ventilation, when air conditioning is on too high
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Gulf Survey
Corniche apartments Parking before mosque

AMO
Port Zayed Khalifa Street
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Al Ittihad Square Modern day dhows
 The Hobbyist

www.sheikh-zayed.info
Sheikh Zayed replaces his brother in 1966 as ruler of Abu Dhabi, resulting in a shift
in the Emirate’s approach to investment and development. Beyond the obvious
need for roads and infrastructure, the Sheikh extends a clear vision of urbanity,
comparable to Western monarchs from centuries before who made architecture
and urbanism their hobbies. Eager British engineers and European architects help
the Sheikh realize some of the best examples of stadiums, airports, and hotels
in the region, generating a stately field of commemorative structures and verdant
landscaping.

1960s. Abu Dhabi stamp 1961. Abu Dhabi airport terminal

Al-Zayed UAE Crown Prince Yearbook

www.adnoc.co.ae/adnoc/english/images/new_community_uae.jpg
When Sheikh Zayed was young there was not a single school in the desperately poor Trucial States...
Abu Dhabi – Gateway to the Gulf
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Gulf Survey
It is no longer of special interest when land
blossoms where there was formerly a vast
expanse of white sand; when a sleeping fishing
village is transformed almost overnight into a
large sprawling city with modern buildings rising
on the debris of old palm leaf huts; or when
concrete roads probe into a desert as silent and
as ancient as time.
Advertisement that appeared in The Washington Post, December 16, 1970
Upon the urging of the British Political Agent, John
Harris visits Sheikh Shakhbut – two days’ air travel to
Dubai and a full day of jeep travel over sand, water and 1960s. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Ar-Nahyan with Sheikh Tahnoun
sand again to arrive in Abu Dhabi about 150 km away planning Abu Dhabi National Oil Company buildings

Slade Baker Collection, Middle East Centre, St. Antony’s College

A large castle dominated the small dilapidated
town which stretched along the shore. There
were a few palms, and near them was a well
where we watered our camels while some Arabs
eyed us curiously, wondering who we were. Then
we went over to the castle and sat outside the
walls, waiting for the Sheikhs to wake from their
afternoon slumbers.

AMO
Wilfred Thesiger upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi, from Arabian Sands, 1950

Sheikh Zayed: architect of a nation. Global Agenda, January 2006

120

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1958. Abu Dhabi Fort Discussions over the new road network
 Opulence in Landscape
Corniche – where seafront meets skyline – sculpts the city’s façade. The urban
device is borrowed from Monaco, via Beirut and Kuwait, and generates housing
prices that compete with towers facing New York City’s Central Park. The Corniche’s
at once current and dated feel, represents Abu Dhabi’s developing history of opulence
and confident ease.
The Corniche also exemplifies Abu Dhabi’s obsession with green. Over 130 million
planted trees garnish landscaped highways, waterfront resorts, residential yards,
and oasis-style parklands – all notable despite the conspicuous lack of rainfall (only
43 mm per year in the city). Even the Emirate’s much fought-for inland oasis is now
almost dry, now requiring desalinated water from the coast.

www.sheikh-zayed.info

Peter Hellyer / The Hutchinson Library

Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
1950s. Abu Dhabi seafront 1970s. Abu Dhabi Corniche 1980. Zayed Sports City Stadium. Seating capacity: 70,000

UAE Yearbook 2006

Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. UAE: Motivate Publishing, 1988

They used to say, agriculture has no future, but

with God’s blessing and our determination, we
have suceeded in transforming the desert into a
green land.
Sheikh Zayed
Salloum, H. ‘How the Sheikh Turned the Desert Green’, The Christian Science
Monitor May 27, 1997

AMO
In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi alone, some 130
million trees have been planted. The UAE’s 22
million, mostly newly planted palm trees now
represent 20 percent of all the palms on the
planet.
Salloum, H. ‘How the Sheikh Turned the Desert Green’, The Christian Science
Monitor 1997.
122

123
A fleet of bulldozers dig into desert sand during the construction The UAE is the largest water consuming country after
1980s. Abu Dhabi Corniche 2006. Corniche redevelopment of canals and lakes in Abu Dhabi the US and Canada
 Single Vision

archnet.org

Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. UAE Motivate Publishing

Reinforcing the original fort within a new cultural compound, erecting sculptural
stadiums for Olympic aspirations and transforming an obsolete airport into strolling
gardens – the 1980s saw the realization of Sheikh Zayed’s vision. Shopping centers,
offices and residential towers pepper the vanishing desert, but all within the strict
land use controls of the Sheikh.

The city has thus developed a calligraphic skyline...buildings are erected at the rhythm of the monarch’s consent.
1985. Abu Dhabi Library and Cultural Center, The Architects Collaborative 1988. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

CORBIS / Christine Osborne

archnet.org

Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. UAE Motivate Publishing

Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
1970. Colonnade at School 1977. American Ambassador Residence John Harris 1977. The Mastaba of Abu Dhabi proposed by Christo 1988. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

archnet.org

Brian J. McMorrow
www.shiekh-zayed.info

AMO
Sheikh Zayed reviews model for the ‘Zayed Mosque’ The new mosque will accommodate 30,000 worshippers at one time

John Harris
www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80143e/80143E0D.GIF
Fares el-Dahdah from ‘Letter from Abu Dhabi’ No. 13, 1996

Instinctive habits are, mercifully,

much more powerful than bad
architecture; and the residents of
the souk were simply ignoring all
the architect’s design on them. They
had set up stalls in the walkways
and constructed their own labyrinth
in spaces which had been meant
as routes of access.
Jonathan Raban, Arabia, 1979

125
124

Old souk in Abu Dhabi, with 196 shops 1962. Development plan with the Ruler’s
1988. Fish, Fruit and Vegetable Souks Abbad Al Radi and Nazar Ahmad palace and Governmental buildings
 An Awakened Giant The Persian Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi said

The Economist
Culture = Money
Change of Plan
1999 Ë 2006
it will invest $730 million in ... developing a
In 2005 Sheikh Khalifa, Zayed’s son, single-handedly transforms Abu Dhabi with Gulf island into an international ‘capital and
commodities center.’ The action... heats up a
new laws opening emirate real estate to the free market. Overnight, Abu Dhabi competition to be the region’s financial hub.
Wall Street Journal July 20, 1999
experiences the avarice of investors wanting a piece of an unfailing success story.
Abu Dhabi ... unveiled a new public joint
Huge developments would sell out in less than an hour. Made even stronger by the stock company charged with developing ...
its flagship Saadiyat Island project ... into a
fact that its impressive development plans are not founded in desperation, Abu strategic international tourism destination.
Dhabi brings stiffer competition to the region. www.saadiyat.ae

Evolution of the tourist industry: from sun/sand, to shopping and now to culture.
Even compared to bold efforts to extend coastlines along the Gulf, this next stage
could very well test the financial endurance of the Gulf. Money has to fill the gap. Not
You should expect that all figures
only investing in an extravagant building project, Abu Dhabi will also foot the bill for in paintings will be clothed.
its own collection imprinted with Guggenheim endorsement. Thomas Krens, Director of the Guggenheim Foundation.

www.emiratespalace.com March 30, 2007

www.saadiyat.ae
More Fortunes Than Degrees
A local pastime is betting how much taller Abu
Dhabi’s clock tower will be than Dubai’s most

Collectively, Persian Gulf-based carriers are set to increase their passenger capacity 140% by 2011.
After a decade of living in Dubai’s shadow,
impressive local landmark, which is, of course
Abu Dhabi – the UAE’s largest emirate – is now
a clock tower.
The Washington Post November 4, 1974 developing its own projects that look set to
challenge its smaller neighbor to the north. Last
week a free hold property sold out in 45 minutes.

About 100 new hotels over the next 10 years will be built in Abu Dhabi at the rate of 10 a year.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
Foreman, Colin.’Abu Dhabi gets ready to step out of the shadow cast by Dubai.’
Estimates of ADIA’s [Abu Dhabi Investment ITP Construction, June 25, 2005
www.itp.net/business/features/details.php?id=2832&category=construction
Authority] size range from $200 billion to ‘way
north of $500 billion’, according to one foreign
investment banker. In other words, it may be the
world’s biggest investment fund.

Emirates Palace literally glows with luxury. The hotel, owned by the Transformation of Saadiyat Island. Plans
government of Abu Dhabi, took more than three years and reportedly include a franchised Louvre Museum
more than $3 billion to build, which would make it the most expensive
hotel in the world

Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. United Arab Emirates: Motivate Publishing, 1988

AP / Kamran Jebreili

AP / Kamran Jebreili
While we recognise and applaud Dubai’s
success, we do not view Abu Dhabi’s
development in terms of ‘catching up.’ I would
like to emphasise that plans currently under
development or in the pipeline are focused on
the top end of the market.
Ali Ahmed Hosani Director of Marketing Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
‘Abu Dhabi Comes of Age.’ ITP Hospitality, August 4, 2006

The Guggenheim Effect

AMO
Bilbao’s Investment
1997: 80m euro
Abu Dhabi Investment
2006: 155m euro

Abu Dhabi ready to spend US$100b. UAE Internact News, August 4, 2006 www.uaeinteract.com/news
July 8, 2006. Thomas Krens,
Guggenheim Director, and Sheikh Suroor
‘The Gate,’ Saadiyat Island, Arquitectonica bin Mohammed Al Nahyan
The Middle East November 2005

www.skyscrapercity.com
Reed, S. Mideast Airlines Soar onto Global Stage. Business Week April 19, 2006
126

127
2006. Yas Island development in Abu 1980s. Chamber Tower and Clock Tower July, 8 2006. Frank Gehry at Emirates Palace Hotel, Autopolis car center to be built in Abu Dhabi
Dhabi showcased at Dubai Cityscape Abu Dhabi
 Dubai
Situated somewhere between the Gulf’s mouth and oil fields, Dubai has had to work
for its notoriety. An enduring optimism of bigger and bolder has almost always paid
off since 1960 when Sheikh Rashid had the practically useless creek dredged as the
emirate’s first step toward holding the largest harbor in the world. Its cultivated
attitude of superlatives has been the foundation for the Gulf City, creating a regional
family who will either copy or improve the Dubai model.
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AMO
MDA Federal Inc.

129
128
 Snapshots

2006. Model of Dubai Towers, The Lagoons, On Dubai Creek

on display in Cityscape
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Gulf Survey
Makeshift roundabout at construction site Satwa, behind Sheikh Zayed Road

AMO
Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates Barbershop in Deira
130

131
2007. Dubai Marina under construction Mall of the Emirates, ‘the world’s first shopping resort’ Deira, the old city of Dubai
 1901. World’s First Free Zone

Rashid’s Legacy

Rashid’s legacy
The Persian port of Lingah, in the Bastak region of Iran, raises taxes on all local
merchants. The Sheikh of Dubai sees opportunity, promptly abolishes tariffs and
declares Dubai a free port. Persian merchants relocate to Dubai, in what is now
called Bastakiyah, named after their previous home. Making room for its first merchant
immigrants, Dubai establishes its ability to host parallel worlds.
Dubai leverages anticipated oil revenues for British loans to fund its first large-
scale urbanization efforts. Rejecting visionary formalism, plans imagine modern
amenities where there are only sand trails for donkeys and camels. One of Halcrow’s
first consultations for the emirate concludes that 4 berths would be adequate for a
proposed port; Sheikh Rashid demands 15, signalling a continuously more ambitious
vision than what conventional wisdom might recommend. 1949. The British-built Al Maktoum Hospital, the region’s first 1960. Dubai International Airport expands trade routes
and later expanded by John Harris

Royal Geographic Society

Bastak, Iran
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
1960. Sheikh Rashid at the opening of Dubai 1960–1965. The dredging of Dubai Creek opens the emirate
International Airport to more and larger ships and transforms Dubai into the largest
port in the Gulf

Now & Then Dubai

John Harris Archives

Bastakiyah, Dubai

AMO
1963. The Al Maktoum drawbridge unifies the old town with the 1970s. New Bastakiyah arising within the old, with Port Rashid
1937. Dubai Creek A Dubai Dhow returns to port expansive deserts of Dubai and its future skyscraper highway in background. Copying urbanism for tourism
The Wall Street Journal February 26, 1968

The Wilfred Thesigner Collection

Wafer-thin bars of gold 1948. Traditional houses with windtowers, Dubai

weighing 3.75 ounces are
preferred for smuggling.

133
132

They are worth $150 each.

Current value $2,489
 Is Dry Dock in Dubai To Be High and Dry And Pie in the Sky?
By RAY VICKER Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Wall Street Journal (1889-Current file); May 6, 1980; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The Wall Street Journal (188
pg. 1

High Modernism

Halcrow 50 Years in the Gulf

Wall Street Journal May 6, 1980

One British politician present during the building of early Dubai says that everyone
shaping the desert town could fit at a dinner table. A mix of appointed local leaders
and British consultants, spearheaded by Sheikh Rashid, chooses a Modernist style
of civic amenities: hospitals, schools, and roundabouts, all at reasonably modest
scales. Sheikh Rashid’s final statement ushers in a new architectural era: one of
the first World Trade Centers in the world and the tallest building in the Middle East
until 1991.

1976. Port Jebel Ali announced to be one of the largest ports in the Gulf

John R. Harris Architects

archnet.org
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
1962. Clock Tower was one of Dubai’s
early landmarks 1978. New Dubai Hospital 1978. Town Hall Complex Pacific Consultants International

Dubai Creek Past & Present, Explorer Publishing & Distribution 2005.
Photography: Narain Sawlani

archnet.org
Dubai Plans to Build Port in Persian Gulf Costing $765 Million.

AMO
1967. Port Rashid 1978. Dubai International Airport 1979. National Bank of Dubai John R. Harris & Partners
Rashid’s Legacy

archnet.org
archnet.org

1978. Sheikh Rashid 1978. Rashid Hospital John R. Harris & Partners 1974. Dubai World Trade Center.
oversees plans for a 56 million pounds and the Middle
134

135
new port development East’s tallest builing at the time
John R. Harris & Partners 1979. Prototype Kindergarten School Jafar Tukan and Partners
 Boomtown
It is impossible to overstate the amount of development Dubai is undergoing. With
There’s the tallest building, Burj Dubai…
almost $125 billion committed to current and planned projects, the Dubai real estate A billboard the size of Piccadilly Circus… Halliburton to Move Headquarters
portfolio exceeds 2005 foreign investment in the U.S. economy. A mild disappoint- The biggest shopping mall in the world is already
here. Another, bigger, the world’s largest retail
to Middle East Hub of Dubai
U.S. oil services firm Halliburton Co. (HAL)
ment at the Dubai Financial Exchange’s onset caught some headlines, but every development, is under construction. There’s to is moving its headquarters and chief executive
be an underwater hotel ($500m). One indoor
significant developer in the region has reacted with only steadied vigor. Heavy-hit- ski resort, with real snow and its own black run,
to Dubai in a move that immediately sparked
criticism from some U.S. politicians.
ting foreign investors are increasing their Gulf presence, e.g., Carlyle Group, Morgan exists already. There is to be a second, with a
revolving mountain. Plans are mooted for a
Texas-based Halliburton, which was led by
Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995-2000,
Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and Halliburton, which has announced Chess City, with 32 tower blocks of 64 floors, did not specify what, if any, tax implications
each in the form of a chess piece. There’s to be the move might entail. It plans to list on a
establishing its headquarters in Dubai. a 60-floor apartment block in the shape of Big Middle East bourse once it moves to Dubai –
Ben. There will be a pyramid and a building a booming commercial center in the Gulf.
called Atlantis that will cost $600m and include The company said it was making the moves
a ‘swim-with-the-dolphins encounter to position itself better to gain contracts
programme’. An Aviation City and a Cargo in the oil-rich Middle East.
Village, an Aid City and a Humanitarian Free Fox News, March 12, 2007
Zone, an Exhibition City and a Festival City,
a Healthcare City and a Flower City, a $4bn
extension to the airport and another entirely new

Mark Harris
Bidoun Magazine
airport along the coast towards Abu Dhabi,…
annual capacity 120 million passengers… Next
to it … ‘there will be several smaller cities that
will cater to the financial, industrial, service
and tourism industries’. The Middle East’s
answer to Disneyland, called Dubailand, which
is far larger than Monaco, is costing $4.5bn.
It will employ 300,000 people in the various
joylands, servicing 15 million visitors. A new
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
urban railway, with 37 stops, begins
construction soon. Dubai is to have its own
Silicon Oasis ($1.7bn) for computer companies.
A mixed development called Dubai Waterfront/
Arabian Canal covers an area larger than
Barbados and will house, when completed
($6bn), more people than Paris.
The Guardian, February 13, 2006

Burj Dubai, to be the tallest

1990. Sheikh Zayed Road 2006. Sheikh Zayed Road from World Trade Center building in the world

Fernando Donis
Dubai Sharpens Focus to Rein in Runaway
Development
After years of frantic development, Dubai is trying to
put its house in order, focusing its ambitions on a few
important sectors of the economy and consolidating
its status as a regional business and trade hub.
When other Gulf states are taking advantage of the

AMO
regional financial boom to finance vast infrastructure
projects, a recently published Dubai strategic plan
aims to maintain the emirate’s competitiveness and
to counter perceptions of haphazard expansion.
Dubai’s efforts, [Ahmad bin Byatt] said, would focus
on improving productivity in those sectors and would
hope to turn the city into a platform to export knowledge
and expertise.
Financial Times, Mar 23, 2007
‘Take wisdom from the wise – not everyone who rides a horse is a jockey.’
Poetry written by Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, as written on the water
by the new land formation of The Palm Jebel Ali 2006. New community on the Palm Jumeirah

Nakheel
www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=345241&page=9&pp=20
136

137
Sheikh Zayed Road, billboard for the Lagoons Model of Bawadi. To be the world’s longest hotel development
with the world’s largest hotel ‘Asia Asia’ as its centerpiece 2006. Arabian Ranches, a new development in Dubailand 2010. Dubai Business Bay Halcrow
 The Hub
The recently opened Dubai Financial Exchange is beginning to fill the missing gap
of a global 24-hour market, between New York and Tokyo. Dubai is halfway to every-
where. Global convergence: Chinese export hub, medical experts hub, international
congresses hub, hospitality hub, floriculture hub ...
Dubai has evolved a tax exemption plan into a system of non-hierarchical cultural
and social norms. In fifty years’ time, Dubai has delivered the world’s most intricate
and simultaneously flat-footed system of cross-cultural coexistence. Giving new
meaning to the term ‘programmatic planning’, Dubai creates an impossible community
of contradictory neighbors: raucous rugby fans, Chinese marts, mosques, non-Islam
prayer districts...
Spectators sit in the stands as they watch matches the second day New parking garage opposite ancient merchant tradition
of Dubai International Rugby Sevens along the Creek on Baniyas Road

Dubai Turns Focus to Airports 120,000,000 passengers

Associated Press
A new company backed by the Dubai govern-
ment, called Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, will
invest $15 billion by 2015 in airports, primarily
in the Middle East and Asia. The consortium of
six existing Dubai companies, is scheduled to
60,000,000 Passengers
build and operate airports and provide financing,
maintenance, airplane leasing and information
technology services.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
Kevin Brass International Herald Tribune Wednesday, March 29, 2006

25,000,000 Passengers

The way Islamic and Western values and cultures are being merged is wonderful.
1,085,000 Passengers
Dubai beach Russian fur stores in Deira in a shopping mall where
1980 2005 2010 2020 Pakistani workers speak fluent Russian and English

Associated Press
Volkskrant
Harvard Medical School Dubai Center Breaks
Ground On State-of-the-Art Educational Facility

AMO
The [$1.8bn] HMSDC building’s most notable
feature will be the Maktoum Harvard Medical
Library, ... the most advanced collection of
clinical and professional development resources
in the region.
Middle East Company News Wire, February 28, 2006

2005. A Dubai official and a Harvard

Medical School representative
discuss development plans 2006. Christie’s holds its first auction in a Dubai hotel
Brian McMorrow

Bill Clinton, Leaders Conference In Duabi, Novemebr 29, 2005

A B C ‘The way Islamic and Western December 2005. Emirates Towers

Three financial landmarks: Dragon Mart, Dubai. The largest trading hub for Chinese products values and cultures are being
A. 1979. World Trade Centre outside the Chinese mainland is taking its final shape at International merged is wonderful.’
138

139
B. 2001. The Emirates Towers City. It is expected to house 3000 Chinese companies Bill Clinton, Leaders Conference in Dubai,
November 29, 2005
C. 2006. Dubai Intl. Finance Center
 Sharjah
Next to its spectacular neighbor, Sharjah stands out as the capital of the Generic.
Without Sharjah, Dubai could not survive: its cheap housing, Iranian restaurants, and
night markets offer an authentic and affordable urban life for Dubai’s workers…
Beyond its basic substance – vast blocks and towers untouched by the architects’
imagination, abandoned casually in the sand like illegally parked cars – are stunning
efforts like University City, a 5-kilometer linear strip of prefabricated white-domed
structures embedded in a stark geometric landscape and the hundreds of virtual
skyscrapers of inactive drilling platforms moored along the quay side…
Sharjah has a long-standing commitment to contemporary culture: established
museums, even a Biennale that was a place of genuine culture long before Abu Dhabi
started to collect museums for its Cultural District.
The great charm of Sharjah is its authenticity – a modern, Islamic city, its complete
absence of superlatives and exaggeration.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
AMO
MDA Federal Inc.
140

141
 Gulf Survey AMO 143
Snapshots
Gulf Histories 142
 Ras Al Khaimah
Mountains have been Ras Al Khaimah’s (RAK) signifier of difference – towering
over desert plains and shallow coasts of the Gulf. They have been both a protective
shield (a haven during foreign attacks) and a geo-economical determinant (only
a trace of oil throughout the emirate). The mountains have come to signify RAK’s
recalcitrant nature in relation to its neighbors: a later member of the UAE, a less
obliged tone with colonialists and now an alternative vision for the ideal Gulf City.
At the crest of the peninsula and entrance to the Gulf, RAK is one of the first
settlements identified by the British maritime forces – both for its gateway position
and its reputation as the epicenter of the ‘Pirate Coast.’
The latter credit triggered several censuring attacks by British forces; by the
20th-Century there was little left of RAK’s original settlement.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
AMO
MDA Federal Inc.
144

145
 Snapshots
Gulf Histories

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AMO
146

147
Historic tower in Ras Al Khaimah
 Subside

RAK Museum
After the British presence is made more permanent in the Gulf and RAK’s piracy
economy stifled, RAK remains quiet as the other Trucial States clamor for British
morsels… airports, ports, and access to faraway harbors. Once the only place
mentioned on a 19 th-Century traveler’s map of the Arabian coast, RAK retires to
dormancy – running less ambitious harbors and pearling expeditions. The British
increasingly favor
favor Abu
Abu Dhabi
Dhabi over
over the
the other
otheremirates,
emirates,aapreference
preferenceonly
onlyto
tobe
beescalated
escalated
by future oil discovery there. Abu Dhabi’s power and wealth force RAK to become
a welfare
welfare subject
subject totothe
thelarge
largeremirate,
emirate, which
which
doles
doles
outout
oil oil
dividends
dividends
to the
to the
lesser
lesser
emirates in order
order toto keep
keep regional
regionalpeace.
peace.Perhaps
Perhapsnot
notcoincidentally,
coincidentally,thethesame
same
engineering
engineering firm
firm that
thatlays
laysthe
thefoundation
foundationofofmodernity
modernityininAbu
Abu Dhabi
Dhabi
and
andDubai
Dubai– –
Halcrow – is hired to do the same for RAK.
1930. RAK aerial
RAK’s oil reserves make up 0.1% of UAE’s total reserves, hardly enough to justify
commercial tapping. Simultaneously RAK has developed several ersatz economies

RAK Museum
that have quietly become profitable and essential to the Gulf. Rock quarries feed the
millions of tons of rock that make outlandish terraforming possible, and its ceramic
and cement feed the avaricious building in fellow Gulf Cities. Though not addicted to
oil, RAK is addicted to other emirates’ sky-high addictions.
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
1960. RAK aerial 1969. Map of RAK by Sir William Halcrow and Partners

Not a single stone remains of the city that the British burnt down in 1820.
RAK: Flame in the Desert

Farewell to Arabia
RAK Museum

The UAE, Ancient People

AMO
Pearl divers All set to welcome holiday-maker;
1809. British attack Ras Al Khaimah a hot spring bath at Ras Al Khaimah

Deakin, M. RAK Flame in the Desert

Michael Deakin ‘RAK Flame in the Desert
148

149
1856. Arabian Gulf from British Intelligence November 12, 1809. ‘Ras Al Khaimah from
the S.W. and the situation of the Troops’ Ras Al Khaimah mountains, its sources of income 1970s. RAK aerial
 A Ticking Clock

http://anarchitecture.blogspot.com/2007/02/snhetta-and-dessert.html
Investment and diversification have caught the imagination of RAK. The emirate
yearns to define itself in contrast to its better known neighbors. But like its other UAE
neighbors, the contrary emirate has invited Halcrow back – this time to consider a
complete design for the emirate from financial centers to suburban cul-de-sacs and
resorts. A landscape full of difference, but a plan in need of a plan.
An Arabian Switzerland or a Dubai bedroom community? RAK must make its move
quickly, especially since it lies so dangerously close to a booming economy. Dubai’s
development reverberates beyond its borders; urbanization always comes with the
sprawl of the not-always-desired. RAK has made gestures toward eco-tourism, which
could very well be the emirate’s defining contrast, but first a beauty needs to be
found in the not-green. 2007. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr and Rakeen appointed Snøhetta to design 2006. Al Hamra Village-sea side Julfur Towers, RAK free zone
an iconic gateway building for the city of Ras Al Khaimah resort, under construction in RAK

RAK Tourism Office

Liberty Magazine, July 2006

Liberty Magazine, July 2006

Amar magazine, March 2007
Gulf Histories

Gulf Survey
Ras Al Khaimah to Push Green Tourism
Tourism developments abound on the drawing
board…while the list may scream of another
Dubai in the making, RAK Promotion Board
insists this is not the case.

Ras Al Khaimah lines up resorts and ‘eco-hotels’ to boost tourism prospects.

ITP Hospitality, August 8, 2006
2006. Saraya Islands to be developed by Saudi Oger Ltd. Adventure vacationers in RAK Mountain Extremes, outdoor excursion Adventure RAK: Jebel Al Jais
and Saraya Real Estate in Ras Al Khaimah Master Plan Strategy by Halcrow

I started hiking up in the [Ras Al Jebel] hills

and talking to the tribes who lived there…They
thought I was out of my mind! They couldn’t

Arabian Business
believe that people would actually pay to go walk
in their hills and sleep in stone houses.
John Falchetto, founder, Mountain Extremes. Finding adventure amongst the
skycrapers. Libety Magazine, July 2006

AMO
RAK Flies into the Future
We are very keen to attract capital from all over
the world to be invested here. We are in talks
with Asian and European partners.
Wild, T. Arabian Business, June 18, 2006
January 2006. Ras Al Khaimah
RAK Offshore development to be built in Ras Al Khaimah Proposed Space Port RAK, Space Adventures

1 golf course (16,000 m 2) =

16.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools water per day

Property Weekly, Photo: Irfan N.

‘It has all the benefits of Dubai but it is still a
cheap location and, as part of the UAE, you
have no tax. It has easy communications, no
Time Out April 2006

bureaucracy, easy paperwork and no red tape.

...You can register a company, and tomorrow
morning you’re in operation.’
150

151
Khater Massaad, CEO RAK Ceramics
Golf course in RAK Stone Quarries: barges leave RAK for The World, Dubai
 Drawn in the Sand
— John Harris, Dubai’s Pioneering Modernist
Makers I

Gulf Survey
AMO
One architect was responsible for Dubai’s initial strategy toward
modernism, from initial hospitals to envisioning the city’s avenues of
growth. Working closely with Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Rashid, John Harris
developed a means of working that wedded Rashid’s ambitions with
an architecture both respected and respectful. Dubai’s development
has since escalated beyond the means of any one person’s vision, and the
firm has adjusted to this complexity. John Harris’ firm still prospers
in Dubai as John R. Harris and Partners. His son, Mark Harris, helps
to convey his father’s story of working to create a city and its image for
the world. At the age of 88, John Harris lives in London with his wife
Aerofilms Ltd

and partner, Jill Harris.

153
152

Aerial of Dubai Town toward Creek and Deira, circa 1958

 Making Dubai
1939
Dubai Population: 21,000
1945
Having served as a Royal Engineer in the
British army, John Harris is released as
a prisoner of war in Hong Kong. Later he
would source the experience for his interest
in building in severe climates.1
1946
John Harris recommences studies at
Architectural Association in London, where
he meets his classmate and future wife,
Jill Rowe.
1951
The British Building Research Laboratories
pursues investigations into construction and
materials in desert climates. Harris is hired
to design the institute’s station in Kuwait.
Makers I
1953
John Harris, in practice with Jill Harris,
wins the 300-entry design competition for
the Qatar State Hospital, sponsored by the
Royal Institute of British Architects.
1954
Halcrow receives its first contract to dredge
Dubai Creek, to ensure its navigability and
sustainability of harbor commerce.
1956
Dubai’s first concrete block house is built.2
1957
Christopher Meyer from the British sur-
veying firm Widnell & Trollope visits Dubai.
He counts twelve Westerners and reports
‘there are the following Europeans in
Dubai:’
Political Agent Tripp (on leave)
Asst. Adams
Agency Admin. Gunston
B.P. Jackson
I.P.C. Kirkbridge and wife
Doctor McAnliffe
Bank Manager King and two assts.
Agriculturist Huntingdon
Police Larrimer3
1957
John Harris opens an office in Tehran that
would remain open until the 1977 revolution.4
1958
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
becomes ruler of Dubai at the age of 30.
During a session in his Majlis, he delivers
his memorable aphorism, ‘What is good for
the merchants, is good for Dubai.’5
1959
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John Harris meets Donald Hawley, British
Political Agent for the Trucial States
during the latter’s holiday in London. This
fortuitous contact leads to John Harris’ first
trip to Dubai to meet Sheikh Rashid, and
he is hired as Dubai’s first town planner.
Hawley will also ensure Harris is commis-
sioned for a master plan of Abu Dhabi.
Harris is 38 years old.6
1960
The United Kingdom Board of Trade issues
Hints to Business Men Visiting the Persian
Gulf, which includes tips in culture, negoti-
ations, and travel in the Arabian Peninsula.7
Sheikh Rashid forms an advisory
committee to approve and promote the
Harris master plan. The committee
includes Bill Duff (financial advisor to the
Ruler), Neville Allen of Halcrow and John
Harris. Political Agent Donald Hawley also
remains involved. Simultaneously Harris is
advising on hospital developments.1
Nelson Rockefeller announces plans for
a World Trade Center in New York City.
1961
Dubai’s first central water supply system to
accommodate 86,777 households is installed.
Halcrow receives instruction from the
Political Agent to begin implementation
work of Harris’ master plan.2
1962
Sheikh Rashid begins planning work on
Port Rashid. Halcrow study recommends
4 berths. Sheikh Rashid insists on 15.
Ambition trumps conventional wisdom.8
Harris submits master plan to Sheikh
Shakhbut of Abu Dhabi.
1963
Sheikh Rashid’s son-in-law, Ahmed bin Ali
Al Thani, Ruler of Qatar, funds Dubai’s
first bridge as a wedding present. Halcrow
designs the drawbridge. The two Dubais
are connected.
1965
First street lights are installed in city center.4
1968
Harris completes his first architectural pro-
ject in Dubai: the expansion of Al Maktoum
Hospital, expanded from 38 to 106 beds.
Dubai Population: 59,000
Sheikh Rashid establishes the National
Bank of Dubai – a key player in Dubai’s
future development. Harris designs two
branches. The Deira branch is the tallest
building in Dubai at seven stories.7
1969
During visit to the Ruler’s Majlis, John
Harris witnesses the presentation of a ‘jam
jar full of oil’ to Sheikh Rashid. Oil is
finally tapped. Full throttle with hospitals,
schools, and a more ambitious master plan.
John and Jill Harris lay a red carpet
from the sidewalk to their doorstep to
welcome Sheikh Rashid to their home
during his state visit to London. A striking
photo portrait of Sheikh Rashid hangs in
the Harris library.
1970
First tenants move into Tower One of New
York City’s World Trade Center, designed
by Minoru Yamasaki.
1971
Harris submits second and extended
master plan for Dubai.
The independent United Arab Emirates
is formed. British political and military
presence is reduced.
1972
Queen Elizabeth diverts her flight to refuel
in Dubai instead of Bahrain to witness
the new airport. The visit inspires Sheikh
Rashid to pursue a World Trade Center for
Dubai. John Harris is commissioned and
conducts a world tour to grasp a rising city/
market phenomenon.9
1975
Construction of Dubai World Trade
Centre begins.
Dubai Population: 183,000
1976
John Harris submits his third and final
version of the master plan to the Dubai
municipality, which takes over responsibil-
ity for planning manners.
1978
Harris’ design for the New Dubai Hospital
is completed. At 14 stories it is Dubai’s
tallest building for a matter of months. The
WTC begins to rise.
1979
Queen Elizabeth opens Dubai’s World
Trade Center, 39 stories and the tallest
building in the Middle East. Dubai’s
gateway to a new real estate era opens in
the direction of what will become Sheikh
Zayed Road.
1980
Dubai population: 210,000
Wall Street Journal raises speculation
whether Dubai’s Port Jebel Ali development,
estimated at $765 million ($2 billion in 2007)
is anything more that a ‘pie in the sky.’
Dubai remains ahead even of itself.10
1981
Returning from graduate studies at Harvard
Graduate School of Design and work
experience with architect/developer John
Portman in Atlanta, Georgia, John Harris’
son Mark Harris joins JRHP.
1984
John R. Harris & Partners wins design
competition for HH the Ruler’s Diwan.
The design arguably reveals the first use
of the barjeel (wind tower) as a decorative
device to cover HVAC and other mecha-
nical systems. The white estate stands
timelessly next to the rebuilt Bastakiyah
buildings. Dubai discovers preservation
as a modernist act.
1985
Dubai population: 419,000
1990
Sheikh Rashid dies at the age of 78. Dubai
mourns the loss of a great leader.
According to a current day Pakistani
cab driver who has been driving for 34 years,
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Sheikh Zayed Road receives its first street
lights and guard rails, signifying its ascension
to becoming Dubai’s central artery.
2005
Dubai population: 1,135,000
Today
Having taken over from his father in 1997,
Mark Harris is based at John R. Harris and
Partners, London but visits Dubai office
frequently. Current projects in Dubai are
located in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Festival
City, and Jumeirah Palm. Recent completed
projects include the first major theatre
and community arts center at Emirates
Mall, Dubai and a new English school
AMO
in Sharjah.
We would like to express our gratitude to
John, Jill and Mark Harris for sharing their
stories and observations with us. – AMO
1. Interview with Mark Harris. August, 2006.
2. G abriel, Erhard, The Dubai Handbook. Dubai Petroleum
Company, 1987.
3. Meyer, Christopher, ‘Visit to Dubai, August, 1957.’
4. Morris, A.E.J., John R. Harris Architects. Hurtwood
Press, 1984
5. Wilson, Graeme, Rashid’s Legacy: The Genesis
of the Maktoum Family and the History of Dubai.
Media Prima, 2006.
6. Hawley, Donald, The Emirates: A Witness to a
Metamorphosis. Michael Russell Publishing, 2007.
7. UK Board of Trade, Hints to Business Men Visiting
the Persian Gulf. 1960.
8. Heard-Bey, Frauke, From Trucial States to United
Arab Emirates. Motivate Publishing, 2004
9. D ubai Word Trade Centre: 20 Years of Success.
Motivate Publishing, 1999.
10. V icker, Ray, ‘Is Dry Dock in Dubai to be High and Dry
and Pie in the Sky?’ Wall Street Journal. May 6, 1980.
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Early Modernist insertions, Dubai circa 1960. Photo taken by John Harris aboard Royal Air Force airplane
 Necessary Modernism Dubai Master Plan. 1959
John Harris meets Donald Hawley, British Political Agent in Dubai: ’I had met
[John Harris] by chance socially during my leave and he had expressed interest
in coming out when I told him of Dubai’s need for a Town Planner. I had put his
proposal to Sheikh Rashid who said he would like him to come out for discussions.’
Professionalism and circumstance. After a conversation with Sheikh Rashid,
Harris is named ‘plenipotentiary in town planning and surveying matters.’ British
government papers reveal that there had been discussions with more experienced
master planners Minoprio, Spencely and Macfarlane, but Sheikh Rashid chooses
otherwise.
John R. Harris Architects archives

With no planning experience, Harris develops Dubai’s first master plan, which
would guide Dubai’s development until the discovery of oil in 1969. The assignment
is at once daunting and terribly simple. Planning is not about vision, but about
modern necessity. Each proposal brings with it the question of where the funding
will come from.
Dubai has no paved roads (what roads there are can not accommodate
automobiles), and no utilities or modern ports of supply. Water is supplied by cans
Qatar State Hospital, later renamed
brought by donkeys. First task: to order the first aerial surveys of Dubai. Then
Rumailah Hospital. 1957
the plan must address the most basic: a road system, land use zoning and the
John Harris, together with his wife and former classmate
determination of a town center.
Jill Harris, completes a small commission for the Building
The drawn plan reveals a resistance to severity – where new roads respect
Research Laboratories in 1951. Though a fairly small building,
old city (houses in the way of roads are not even deleted in the plan!). The density
Harris would gain from the experience lucrative intelligence
of Deira is minimally penetrated for automobile access, a capillary vein that widens
about building in desert climates, which he displays in the
as quickly as it departs from density into open desert. Harris’ modern insertions
Qatar State Hospital design competition, one of a series
respect the formlessness as much as possible, graduating to Modernist grids once
hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
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open desert is reached. The old city remains as inchoate activity. The new is
Beating out several hundred entries, the Harris scheme won
zoned and rational. Dubai imports its first British roundabout.
for its ability to integrate environmental conditions into the
design, as explained in the RIBA decision: ‘Of all the designs
submitted this offers the best solution to the problem.
The ward units are particularly well planned to afford good
supervision and economy in working while they are sufficiently
compact for air conditioning without detriment to good
cross ventilation. The planning of single bed wards to avoid
sun and glare is ingenious.’
The commission’s size enables the Harrises to establish
an office. Beginning with the Qatar commission when he
was 34, Harris’ career would continue to grow in the Middle
East (among other places). Harris employs not a style but a

John R. Harris Architects archives

principle: modern materials to suit climate and culture.

John R. Harris Architects archives

Technology works with climate, without trying to conquer it.
During travels to Doha for the project, Jill Harris recalls
visiting the women while the men met about the project.
Introduced by the advisor’s wife, who is Irish and conversing

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in fluent Arabic, Jill is the first person the Emir’s wife meets
who speaks no Arabic. Dubai Master Plan. 1971 (post-oil discovery)
John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

Al Maktoum Hospital, Dubai. 1968

Harris’ first building commission in [The New] Dubai Hospital. 1979
Dubai is the expansion of the barracks- The Dubai Hospital at 12 storeys establishes yet another building height datum
Rashid Hospital, Dubai. 1969
style Al Maktoum Hospital. With the for Dubai. At the opening ceremony, Sheikh Rashid enjoys the complex’s endless
JRHP’s second hospital for Dubai adds
Qatar State Hospital and Al Maktoum Dubai Metropolitan Hotel. 1976 halls and doorways – medicine and modernity. Project adds 665 beds to Dubai’s
another 400 beds to local healthcare. National Bank of Dubai. 1969
Hospital, Harris’ brand of modernism Its flat roofs and shaded facades have healthcare system.
Built in three years, the project is a Along the Creek, the bank is Dubai’s
would be not only advanced but also since been edited.
hasty response to newfound wealth. first display of financial strength and
humane. At the time the small hospital The cupola arches serve as a band Harris’ first commercial building. At
serves a thousand-mile radius. shell at the building’s opening ceremony. 7 stories, the building’s penthouse
provides views of the entire city. The
bank has been demolished.
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World Trade Center under construction
 Showcase for the World
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John R. Harris Architects archives
John Harris presents Sheikh Rashid with the first
proposal for the World Trade Center. 1973
Harris recalls how he was introduced to the Dubai’s World
Trade Center project: ‘I was leaving Dubai and flying back to
London. My suitcase had been placed on the sparkling new
hoist at Dubai’s international airport and sent down to the
loader below. At that moment a hand rested on my shoulder
and a voice said: ‘Sheikh Rashid wants to see you.’ I explained
about my luggage, but of course my suitcase went one way,
and I went the other.’
Even before the iconic World Trade Center of New York
City is fully occupied, Sheikh Rashid already plans for such
a concept for Dubai. Upon viewing Harris’ first model for the
project, he simply states it needs to be higher, much higher
than Dubai’s 3- to 5-story skyline.
Growing gradually after each review, a 34-story project
is finally approved. However when construction reaches
8 stories, Sheikh Rashid asks for a revision – 5 additional
floors. With a rapid response to fulfill the demand, the final
building is completed at 39 stories.
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John R. Harris Architects archives
John R. Harris Architects archives
Roundabout before World Trade Center
Watercolor by Alan Armitage shows the WTC-to-be
Site visit at the World Trade Center
as an imminent shadow.
‘I established a special relationship of trust with Sheikh
Rashid,’ responds Harris to the question why he stayed
in Dubai for so long. He felt that the people had a genuine
affection for the sheikh.
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Dubai International Airport Magazine
John R. Harris Architects archives
John R. Harris Architects archives
Dubai International Airport Magazine. Autumn 1989
Sheikh Rashid and Harris at WTC site Oil is finally discovered in 1969. Sheikh Rashid shares
the excitement with Harris, and visions of greater ambition
begin: hospitals, schools, public works. Revenues ensured,
Harris introduces a bolder scheme. Oil wealth will generate
commerce, population, and even more investment. Harris
Dubai Hilton Hotel. 1979 establishes the guidelines that would ensure Dubai as a
AMO
As part of the World Trade Center complex, JRHP designs smooth auto mobile city. Road networks naturally follow the
Dubai’s first Hilton Hotel. The design minimizes the amount coastline, but also open up to development toward Abu Dhabi.
of glazing to control solar glare. The end result does not The plan foresees potential traffic congestion over
John R. Harris Architects archives
please the client so much since it also reduces views. It has the creek, introducing two bridges and a tunnel to connect
been torn down for the World Trade Center expansion plan. Dubai’s two sides. Dubai’s future growth is measured
surprisingly well, but even its optimism does not match
Dubai’s actual growth. Industrial areas, once deemed to
be on the outskirts, are reassigned as mixed use and health
years after the plan’s submission.
As of 1985 planners name Dubai a ‘well-functioning
WTC Opening Ceremony. 1979
‘automobile-adequate’ city.’ A well-calculated road system
Harris joins Sheikh Rashid and Queen Elizabeth
could silence any argument for the need of a mass transit
for the festivities.
system. Because of its ability to absorb the growing
population, planners place the city in the echelon of cities
who have realized their master plans. Harris’ 1971 plan can
be mostly credited for this foresight, and for already identifying
the WTC site, which at the time was far into the desert but
John R. Harris Architects archives
would become the gateway to Dubai’s new economy. Enough
green to soften the desert, enough traffic to generate urbanity,
enough roadways to invite the world, the WTC sits infallibly
on a highway interchange, a symbol of a once easy, rational
relationship among humans, roadways, and buildings.
A fragile equilibrium that would last a brief moment.
Top of World Trade Center Tower
View looks toward the Creek’s lagoon and the Maktoum
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family’s Zabeel Palace.
 Harris’ Catalogue

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John R. Harris Architects archives
John R. Harris Architects archives

Building Research Laboratories, Finance Ministry, Doha. 1957

Kuwait. 1952

John R. Harris Architects archives

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John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

Ruler’s Diwan, Dubai

Abu Dhabi Master Plan, palace and National Grundlays Bank, Oman.
government center. 1962 1968

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John R. Harris Architects archives
John R. Harris Architects archives

Sulaibikhat Hospital, Kuwait. 1969

John R. Harris & Partners

Harris buildings
John R. Harris Architects archives

John R. Harris Architects archives

presented on stamps
from Qatar, Oman, Wafi City, Dubai. Commenced in 1984 by John R. Harris and Partners and further developed by others.
and Dubai.
Architecture as an
instrument for social
progress.
Al Itehad School, Dubai. 1975 American Ambassador’s Residence,
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Abu Dhabi. 1977
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The World Trade Center Apartments, the World Trade Center, and Hilton Hotel, Dubai. 1980
 Interview
Master Planning
with a Land Rover
— John Elliott, Town Planner of Abu Dhabi
In conversation with WATG architects about the design of Emirati palaces, it
came to be known that one of WATG’s head architects, John Elliott, was one
of the first planners and architects in Abu Dhabi. According to his curriculum
vitae, Elliott has arguably designed more hotels and resorts than any
architect in the world. But before achieving this superlative, he had been
the first town planner for Abu Dhabi. Envisioning Abu Dhabi’s first houses,
schools, and roads, Elliott’s plans materialized Sheikh Zayed’s vision to
introduce his Bedouin citizens to city living.
I don’t know how much of a story you want, so I’ll tell you the whole
Makers I
John Elliott —
story. One day in 1966, a guy called Freddy Webb was walking down
Chiswick High Street. It was a hot day in August. He felt very thirsty, so
he went into a pub for a drink in the afternoon. Standing next to him at
the bar was this tall guy. The tall guy said, ‘I work in Abu Dhabi. There’s
going to be a dramatic change there.’ This all had to do with oil – the
Iranians had nationalized the Abadan refinery and the British-Iranian Oil
Company was going to follow. And… the Brits needed the oil. Further
nationalization in the region would have stopped any further oil development.
You can see the picture of what happened. Suddenly in 1966, a new sheikh
comes to power in Abu Dhabi.
If you’ve read any of the books of Thesiger’s journeys in the region,
you’d know about Sheikh Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s then new sheikh – extremely
intelligent, an incredible leader of men, lovely man. Under the sponsorship
of the British, oil was discovered to be of very high grade in Abu Dhabi,
and Abu Dhabi suddenly boomed.
It came about that the prediction that this guy made had been absolutely
right. In 1966 the consortium Arabicon was formed with some engineers
and architects. One day in that year they came to me and said, ‘John, you
did some planning in Sweden and Finland. We’ve got an amazing project
for you. There’s this island in Abu Dhabi. Do a master plan.’ So, we were
sketching away a master plan of the island.
JE —
Todd Reisz — How old were you?
I was 29. I really didn’t know what I was doing. It was to take Abu Dhabi
island – there were no real roads; the electricity was down all the time;
there was no water.
We produced a whole series of plans. The best one they ignored. I proposed
that we dig a series of canals from one side to the other side, right across the
island. The island was very low, only five feet above sea level. Everything
for construction – cement, steel – was coming in by barge as there were no
roads. The waters were low, so everything had to be kept offshore.
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My proposition was they could distribute canals and develop the island.
The major roads would go in the perpendicular direction with bridges
over the canals. Very logical. But it was too much for Abu Dhabi to take
and they didn’t develop it. Now people are building canals all over the
place in Abu Dhabi. I guess nobody is a prophet in his own land…
TR — You were the resident town planner, so you moved to Abu Dhabi?
Yes, with my kids. We ran the town planning department in a little
JE —
office in a semi-air-conditioned building. It was funky stuff, right out of
the Wild West. We drove around in Land Rovers, had a little stand-by
generator. Water was delivered by tanker. Now people are into saving
water – my God, did we save water! Really, it was great fun. Sheikh Zayed
was an incredible client. I got to see him two or three times a week.
TR — He was integral in the planning process, right?
Yes, every day. Sheikh Zayed would draw with a camel stick in the sand.
JE —
He asked one day, ‘Do you think that we should educate women?’ I said,
‘Yes, why not? Because otherwise, one day, the kids are going to grow up
with an educated father and an uneducated mother. Who’s going to run
the society?’ Three weeks later, he said, ‘I want you to build a girls’ school
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here and a boys’ school over there. They must be at least one hundred
yards apart.’ From that we did a whole series of things.
One of the things that I did at my house in Abu Dhabi was to make an
irrigation system, in which you take all of the bath water, put it into a tank
and separate out the gray water. I welded two oil drums together. We took
seaweed – we had a house right on the beach – put it into the welded
drums, added baby droppings as a catalyzer and a little more seaweed on
top. Out of the bottom, you get really nice earth in about two weeks.
So I could keep a green garden in the desert.
One day Zayed turned up to see this little garden and we became very
close through this whole gardening thing. I was explaining to him how
Abu Dhabi should really have parks and that there should be tree-lined
AMO
boulevards. He loved England. He used to go there a lot. He loved the
green. I would like to think that I was one of the contributing factors to
Abu Dhabi being green.
Then we changed from being a planning office to being an architecture
office. We did little jobs – villas for petroleum companies, office quarters
for the Abu Dhabi defense force, schools. Then they took the census and
discovered that there were 36,000 Abu Dhabians. Zayed said, ‘Right, we’ll
have national housing.’ He didn’t want the Bedouins wandering all over
It was a waste of time by asking
which plans. We had a whole set
of plans, threw them into the back
of the Land Rover and drove off
to find Zayed in the desert.
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 the place with the goats and sheep. So we had little villages of national
houses. Each had a front garden and a back garden; the Bedouins would
sleep on the roof. We built these villages all over Abu Dhabi. Some of
them still exist, I’m amazed to say.
TR — Where are they?
JE —If you drive up the highway in Abu Dhabi, there are just a few of them
left. They are a bit tiny. Every site had to be 80 feet x 80 feet. The Bedouins
kept the sheep and the animals in the garden. The whole idea was to
urbanize the Bedouins, and this village housing project was part of the
whole education and urban and social development project.
I’ll tell you a nice story. One day there was a knock on my door just before
dawn, just before the prayer. They said, ‘John, come, bring the plans.’ And
it was a waste of time by asking which plans. We had a whole set of plans,
threw them into the back of the Land Rover and drove off to find Zayed
in the desert.
When we found Zayed, he said, ‘We’re going to have a village from
here.’ When he said, ‘here,’ he was looking for a marker. There was nothing,
just sand, literally with nothing more than a stone or a tree. There were
Makers I
four soldiers in the Land Rover behind him. He snapped his fingers and
one jumped down. Zayed placed the soldier and said, ‘Here…’ He then
took another soldier, put him in the sand at the next corner of the future
village and said ‘…to here.’ He did this about three or four times. Then
he just drove off to his palace. I said, ‘Your highness, there are still four
soldiers in the desert.’ He said, ‘Bedouins!’ As if to say, ‘Don’t be stupid.
They are Bedouins. They’ll find their way back.’
TR —You said, there were no trees, no hills. So what did you use as a
reference to design a city?
Exactly, you have to sort it out. We had to relate it to the dunes. In Al Ain,
JE —
for instance, it was especially related to where the water was, because it
was a big complex of aflaaj 1, the irrigation systems that run the water from
the basic spring in different directions. These are well documented. Little
bits belong to particular families, so these villages were actually subdivided
Sheikh Zayed with fellow traveller, 1949 Abu Dhabi aerial photograph, 1963
25 Years Progress
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into family neighborhoods. Extended families would get a village of twenty
or thirty houses. Zayed knew how the aflaaj were and knew how the villages
should be laid out.
Then did you rely on traditional British town planning or modernist
TR —
ideas of the quickest route from A to B?
It’s funny, because I did my post-graduate work in Finland and in Sweden.
JE —
And of course they had totally different background concepts for what
planning is all about – especially in Scandinavia where you built things into
the trees and into the landscape. That was really much more of the way
that developments in Abu Dhabi occurred, more than with the traditional
British grid or the Corbusian. It came out of trying to be sympathetic with
the landscape.
TR — So, you did try to do that?
Yes, and of course there were still a lot of traditional villages, which
JE —
were all very organic. They had grown in a way that worked with tribal
dynamics, and we tried to keep the same patterns. The last thing that we
wanted was to have straight lines. With the orthogonal being out, they
were orientated in traditional ways.
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TR — Do these places you designed still exist in Abu Dhabi?
Some bits still exist. Unfortunately, there came road engineering. Then
JE —
came traffic rules, like high speed curbs and roads that are unnecessarily
wide… These were all of low value, so as the families developed, they
moved on to elsewhere.
TR — And your house?
JE —Oh, my house went many, many years ago. My house was next to the
church. The church had been given a piece of land by Sheikh Zayed. It
was amazing how far-thinking he was. Christians were so few then. The
church was a little, prefabricated Australian house. It’s not there anymore;
it eventually moved way out. But the nuns – the Little Sisters of Mercy – are
still there, still running a small primary school.
Why did you leave as town planner?
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TR —
In 1970, Britain planned to leave the region. Socialist, Harold Wilson,
JE —
the stupid idiot said, ‘No, no, we’re not going East at all. We’re pulling
out.’ Zayed begged him to stay, saying he’d pay them to stay. But no, they
moved out. The whole of the British regime – the police were British, the
army was British, the civil service – all that was out. When I was there,
the postmaster was a guy from Cardiff. All of that obviously had to grow
and change. Actually, the Brits were always pretty good at pulling out.
And others – the Lebanese, the Syrians and the Egyptians – all moved in
to take over the job. Of course there was this whole process in Abu Dhabi:
Emiratization of the workforce.
TR — So basically when the Brits left, you had to leave….
I didn’t have to, but I had been working 16 hours a day for three years,
JE —
and I was burned out. I had two small children. My eldest daughter was
actually the first European child born in Abu Dhabi. And she’s called Maya
because of that. So, I just moved on.
1. Plural form of falaj: an Emirati word for an underground
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irrigation system, some going back more than three
thousand years.
 Growth
Halcrow’s Beginnings

Records of Dubai 1760-1960, 2000

‘One of the key players behind the scenes in Britain’s war effort was a Sunderland-
born civil engineer whose expertise was called on in a range of projects from the

Management
famous Dam Busters raid on Germany to the design of the bunker from which
Eisenhower directed the D-Day landings.

Sunderland Today, date unknown

‘And William Halcrow also earned the wartime nickname Noah for his work
in saving the London Underground from disastrous flooding.
‘How Noah prevented the great flood…’ Sunderland Today, date unknown

Sir William Halcrow

The British firm Halcrow is synonymous with growth and development

in the Gulf. In a region beleaguered with banners of developers and future
cities, Halcrow has maintained a relatively unobserved presence for the
average citizen – usually occupying only a modest position on development
signboards. Once noticed, however, the blue typeface seems present at
just about any Gulf project of note.
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An invitation to build a cooling water jetty for Kuwait City in 1952
began Halcrow’s role in realizing the 21st-Century Gulf. Positioned well
with the British governmental presence in the 1950s, Halcrow quickly
gained an unbeatable track experience in laying foundations for urban
societies in the Gulf. One Halcrow representative, Neville Allen, was
taken into the confidence of Sheikh Rashid as a member of his intimate
planning committee. Today the firm’s multi-faceted group aids at every
scale and phase in realizing Gulf ambitions – designing new cities, road
networks, ports and water/power development.
Halcrow’s first crucial contribution to the Gulf was the initiatory
improvements to Dubai’s creek harbor, an act that triggered Dubai’s
subsequent boom from practically nothing. Beyond contextual vacuum,
tabula rasa design signifies logistical lawlessness; not only was Halcrow

AMO
introducing modern infrastructure but also modern processes. A gradual
and steady cycle then ensued: past projects make possible future projects.
Once ports, roadways, and waterways have been laid, then come other
things: necessity first, then desire. Halcrow’s success can be contributed
to keeping current with Gulf demands.

Halcrow 50 Years in the Gulf

Halcrow 50 Years in the Gulf

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Halcrow engineers survey new highway route through

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Al Qasimi visits work on Sharjah’s deep-water harbor Hajar mountain range in UAE and Oman in 1966
Map for Dubai Port: Report on Proposed Improvements, Halcrow. 1955 with Halcrow engineers
 Interview
50 Years of Transforming
the Arab City
John Smith is the resident director for the Consulting Business Group
of Halcrow based in Dubai, which looks after master planning, urban design,
transport planning and environmental assessment projects in the UAE.
Jatin Chopra, based in London, is the International Business Manager,
working with Halcrow’s International Planning and Architecture team.
I realize your position is relatively new. What does it signify
Rem Koolhaas —
for Halcrow’s presence in the Gulf ?
My position was created about 18 months ago. I’m now based here
John Smith —
to provide more focus on master planning and architecture solutions
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together with a team of 55 to 60 people and to foster the interaction with
our engineering side. We’ve been growing with the market.
In the 90s, a lot of the work was done from London by small teams that
would come out here only temporarily. We would do the presentation, fact-
find, and then go back to finish off the detailing. Now we’ve got a permanent
practice here in Dubai. The company has been here for 51 years, and
I think that master planning has been around for about 25 years.
The requirements from clients continuously increase, so the speed of
turning around the plans and the concepts is something that you have to
keep pace with while maintaining the quality of production. There is thus
the need for an increased local presence.
RK — What is Halcrow’s role as a planner in the Gulf ?
We are looking to provide a high level of service that goes from the
JS —
concept stage through to the supervision of the infrastructure.
Master planning is quite a big market in the Gulf, and within this market
there are at least two or three different markets. One is for initial concepts;
another is the development of these concepts. Very specialized companies
do these things very quickly at a very high standard for fees that are quite
small. Some of these firms are local, and some are more international.
We have individuals in our own organization in Dubai that can do that
work, and are competitive in that market. But there are lots of other players
in that market. They might be offices of only two or three people – flexible
and concentrated on one particular market.
Creating initial concepts is a market that we want to remain in, but a large
part of our master planning work is actually in validation, sometimes of our
own concepts and sometimes of other concepts. A lot of clients have favorite
conceptual sketches and they come to us to make these concepts work.
Architecture is a very small percentage of our work. One of our companies,
Halcrow Yolles, has a very strong connection with larger architectural
offices, and provides the structural advice for architectural proposals.
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Halcrow has taken the strategic decision not to set ourselves up to be
competitors with these major players. We concentrate only on the medium
level architecture, such as industrial buildings and some detailing work.
Do you have a sense of how much of the finally built environment
RK —
has been influenced by your master planning or is based on your
master planning?
The market is expanding all the time, so I couldn’t really give a figure.
JS —
I think that when we started out, it would have been somewhere between
a fifth and a third. Because we’ve been here a long time, a lot of projects
come through the door. We’re in the fortunate position of not really
having to do a lot of marketing, because we’re so well known for engineer-
ing and master planning. But the market is maturing, and therefore the more
players, the more niches. I would like to think that our percentages have
remained the same. We maintain strategic relationships with a number of
key clients.
On one hand our master plans present a highway and services structure
which is generally followed during implementation. On the other, our master
plans offer guidelines for the preferred distribution of land use, density,
Gulf Survey
and building form. These latter aspects are not always followed.
Is there a Halcrow style or Halcrow philosophy? For instance,
RK —
I would say that there are two aesthetics that I recognize. The first
one is resort aesthetics, and the second one is slightly more urban.
Perhaps Business Bay would be an example of the second. Is there
another kind of Halcrow dimension?
If we look at areas that we might call ‘development planning’, we prepare
JS —
framework plans or structure plans on a more strategic level. Our work
on a structure plan for Ras Al Khaimah and that emirate’s Jebel Al Jais
Regional Park would be two examples. Other projects I’ve personally been
involved in, not in the Gulf but in Mauritius and Trinidad, were national
development strategies. There was a similar project for Yemen for the
World Bank. We are currently doing a lot of research for the Asian Devel-
AMO
opment Bank (and other international funding institutions) on poverty
alleviation. That’s yet another strand to our work.
RK —So, Halcrow is more complex than you would construct from Dubai
or the Emirates…
Yes. But I would guess that 70 to 80 percent of Halcrow’s development
JS —
planning work is master planning and urban design, worldwide. Of that
70 to 80 percent, maybe 70 to 75 percent is in the Gulf, and the remaining
part of that is in China.
Generally speaking, the other 20 to 30 percent of Halcrow’s work is
mainly social studies – poverty alleviation and national studies – done in
the rest of the world, principally in the Caribbean and in Asia.
RK — Do you see that as a contrast, a complement, or icing on the cake?
It’s complementary. It makes good business sense because we’re not
JS —
putting all our eggs into one basket. It gives our staff a variety of opportu-
nities to explore. I think that it comes back to the philosophy of poverty
alleviation again. Part of what we believe in is that we are creating jobs.
We are creating what we feel are respectable lifestyles.
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 You are suggesting that about two-thirds of all the development
RK —
planning work is here…
JS — Yes, master planning and development planning work.
RK —So in that sense, you are undeniably a specialist, which goes back
to your founder, who started here and introduced the whole discipline.
Well, the founder was an engineer, some 140 years ago in the UK.
JS —
doesn’t work. If, at the end of the day, the client says, ‘Okay, we hear what
you’re saying, but we’re going to do it anyway,’ then we say, ‘Okay, we’ve
given you our professional advice. It’s your choice.’
RK —What do you think of Dubai as it is currently? Are we beginning
to see the contours and outcome of this kind of approach?
Frankly, I stopped wanting to be Florence Nightingale. Quite a lot of
JS —

I think that the master planning component has evolved more recently, my experience has been working directly for aid agencies such as the UN,
in the last 25 years. Master planning, itself, and urban design are rela- the World Bank, and the ILO (International Labor Organization). I used
tively new skills, compared to city planning and new town planning, to think that it was a personal experience, helping poverty alleviation.
which go back about 50 to 60 years in the UK. That’s how I rationalized getting up every morning. But I have to say,
RK — How do you define the differences? while institutional strengthening was a very important part of that, often
I think that in the early days, new town planning, which emanated in
JS — the things the client gained most from was the understanding of how
the 40s and 50s in the UK, was partly economic and certainly design you went about your job. The output itself was often left on the shelves
oriented. of clients, because the means to implement it wasn’t there. Just the philoso-
You have mentioned activities as different as elaborating
RK —
phy, more than the output, was essential.
the overnight sketch of three people and work for a very serious A lot of that is not appropriate in a climate like Dubai. With the different
government. It’s a huge stretch between these. democratic systems here, implementation is the order of the day – time
I think that you have to make a distinction between the projects we’re
JS —
and quality of production. Dubai is experiencing an unprecedented rate
Makers I

involved in. There are those which are aid-funded by the World Bank and
the Asian Development Bank and which have a particular long-range
program. One of the first projects I worked on in Malaysia for the World
Bank lasted four years. Now, for anybody to get a four-year project these
days is almost unheard of. 12 months, maybe, from those agencies. With
development projects here in Dubai it’s no more than 12 weeks.
RK — Do you think that’s a loss or a gain?
JS —Well, in some senses I think that it’s a gain. Particularly in this part
of the world, things are changing so rapidly. One of the problems is that
if you’re more than 12 months into producing your prescriptive type of
structure, it’s out of date. Our director Asad Shaheed understands we need
to know very clearly what the client wants and then turn that into an
illustrative plan as quickly as possible.
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of growth. This inevitably entails some very ambitious projects requiring
levels of infrastructure which were not previously envisaged. The authorities
are thus having both to provide the required infrastructure to match
current project needs, and to plan for substantially increased future demand
in urban infrastructure.
The way I rationalize it is that we are creating jobs. I’m not a designer,
so I can’t say that I’ve created this fantastic skyline. But I feel that this
Dubailand International Media Dubai Business Bay
Production Zone 2009

AMO
I agree with that. I’ve been in the business for 34 years now. I started
off life as a traditional urban planner, utilizing a particular structure frame-

Photo: Halcrow 50 Years

work. There is no institutional strengthening in that process. The action
is: produce the plans, substantiate them, and then get it built. In places
like Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Qatar, the market moves too fast to do otherwise.
RK — What room is there in such an effort for critical thinking?
JS — Critical thinking has to be done very early on.
RK — For instance, do you ever tell a client, ‘Don’t do that’?
Sometimes, you have to. What we try to do is to fulfill what we believe
JS —

to be the appropriate scheme for the site, taking the constraints that the
client gives us. Up front we try to get the client to provide the right infor-
mation – what is the gross floor area; what is the saleable land; what are
the key development parameters. Then we try to stick to that.
Sometimes we have to advise clients not to pursue an idea. For instance, Dubai TECOM City 2006

traffic impact and environmental assessments are regulated quite strictly

here now. You can produce a great looking scheme, but if it doesn’t work
on the highway network, which is quite congested in Dubai, the scheme

Halcrow

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Collage of Halcrow proposals

 is the reality in Dubai. You either get in and swim, or you don’t put your
foot in the water. I think that Halcrow has got the right balance.
Do you see the speed and the nature of the work
RK [to Jatin Chopra]—

that is developing here gaining ground worldwide?

It has done so in the last five years. The biggest question is, can
Jatin Chopra —

it continue? Is it sustainable? That question is asked every year, especially

at this exhibition Cityscape. I guess that it’s one of the hottest topics. The
answer is that we have to wait and see. It has been working so far, and let’s
see how far it can go. The whole issue of sustainability, how long it can go
on for, is a very difficult question to answer… (ALCROWSPECIALISESINTHEPROVISIONOFPROFESSIONALPLANNINGDESIGN
JS — In the Dubai context, there are limitations to the transportation net- ANDMANAGEMENTSERVICESFORINFRASTRUCTUREDEVELOPMENTANDTHEBUILT
work. Still, people were saying five years ago, ‘When is this boom going to ENVIRONMENTWORLDWIDE
end?’ and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. 7EEMPLOYOVERPEOPLEANDGENERATEANANNUALTURNOVERINEXCESS
RK —And they asked this question in the 1970s as well. Is there any %UROSMILLION7EHAVEAWELLESTABLISHEDNETWORKOFMORETHANOFFICES
other region in the world that seems to be catching up with the pace AROUNDTHEWORLDFROMWHICHWECONTRIBUTETOCOMMISSIONSINOVER
of Dubai, from Halcrow’s point of view? COUNTRIES
We think that Shanghai is trying to do that. And things there, as in
JC —
/WNEDBYAPRIVATETRUSTANDANEVER INCREASINGNUMBEROFEMPLOYEE
Dubai, do happen very quickly – not at the same speed or on the same
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Gulf Survey
SHAREHOLDERS(ALCROWHASGROWNINTOONEOFTHELARGESTINDEPENDENT
scale, but they’re moving in that direction. CONSULTANCIESOFITSKIND4HEEDGEOFFLEXIBILITYANDFREEDOMTHISBRINGS
RK —I work in Shanghai, and I find there’s no comparison what- ADDEDTOOURFINANCIALSTRENGTHANDSERVICESDELIVERYISHELPINGTOMAKE
soever in terms of speed. There the government is more present, USAFIRST CHOICEPARTNERFORCLIENTSACROSSTHEWORLD
so it gives you a much more demanding kind of partner, whether
you want it or not. (ALCROW)N4HE-IDDLE%AST
(ALCROWHASPERMANENTOFFICESIN$UBAI!BU$HABIAND3HARJAHINTHE
You asked whether the speed and nature of work in Dubai is gaining
JS —
5!%AND$OHAIN1ATARANDCURRENTLYEMPLOYSOVERPEOPLEINTHE
ground elsewhere in the world. In our experience Shanghai does indeed -IDDLE%ASTREGION
have similarities. We have prepared master plans for private sector housing,
on the basis of which construction work has started within six months of )NTHE-IDDLE%AST(ALCROWPROVIDESTRANSPORTWATERPROPERTYDEVELOPMENT
ENVIRONMENTALANDENERGYCONSULTANCYSERVICESACROSSAGEOGRAPHICREGION
our final report. This is similar to our experience here in Dubai. EXTENDINGFROM.ORTH!FRICATO$UBAI4HISCULTURALLYECONOMICALLYAND
ENVIRONMENTALLYDIVERSEREGIONHASSEENREMARKABLEDEVELOPMENTOVERTHE
LASTYEARSAND(ALCROWHASPLAYEDALEADINGROLEINITSDEVELOPMENT
SINCE

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7EHAVEPARTICIPATEDINBUILDINGTRANSPORTATIONINFRASTRUCTUREINCLUDINGPORTS
HIGHWAYSBRIDGESAIRPORTSANDTUNNELS7EHAVEASSISTEDINTHEDEVELOPMENT
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OFWHICHHAVEBEENDEVELOPEDINPARTNERSHIPWITHBENEFICIARIES

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DEVELOPSUSTAINABLEGROWTHSTRATEGIESAPPROPRIATEHOUSINGSCHEMESAND
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OFGOVERNMENTANDTHEPRIVATESECTOR

FROM(ALCROW#ONSULTING"USINESS'ROUP

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Development billboard in the UAE

 Halcrow Master Plans
Annual Records 1962: United Arab Emirates

Halcrow

Halcrow
Halcrow
RAK 1960. RAK Master Plan Yemen 2000. Aden Qatar 2010. Lusail Master Plan Iran 2010. Bandar Abbas Waterfront
Annual Record 1962: United Arab Emirates
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Gulf Survey
Halcrow
Halcrow

Halcrow
Abu Dhabi 1962. Abu Dhabi Master Plan for 100,000 Kuwait 2005. Kuwait Internet City Bahrain 2010. Bahrain Financial Harbor RAK 2011. Mina Al Arab

AMO
Halcrow

Halcrow

Halcrow

Halcrow
Saudi Arabia 1992. Obhur Creek Dubai 2009. Dubai International Media Production Zone Dubai 2010. Business Bay Pakistan 2015. Karachi Waterfront
Halcrow

Halcrow

Halcrow

Iran 1998. Pars Energy Zone RAK 2009. Al Marjan Island Sharjah 2010. Nujoom Islands Dubai 2015–18. Dubailand
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 Other Halcrow Projects

Roadways

Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow 50 Years
Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow
Sharjah 2002. Gillay Tunnel Sharjah 1976. Khor Fakkan Port Dubai 2003. Jumeirah Marina Sharjah 1979. Sharjah International Airport Qatar 2004. West Bay, Doha

Sharjah 1960. Sharjah Road Plan

www.halcrow.com

Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow 50 Years
Halcrow 50 Years
Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow
Dubai 2007. Palm Jumeirah Underwater RAK 1977. Mina Saqr Port Qatar 2004. West Bay, Doha Sharjah 2006. Sharjah International Airport Dubai 2004. Dubai Int’l Financal Center
Tunnel
Dubai 1963. Al Maktoum Bridge
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Seaports /
Water Management

Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow
Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow
Halcrow
Abu Dhabi 2005. Sheikh Zayed Mosque
RAK 1978. Fishing Harbors Abu Dhabi 2006. Abu Dhabi Breakwater Dubai 2007. Dubai International Airport

Dubai 1965–78. Dubai Transportation Plan

Halcrow 50 Years

Architecture
Kuwait 1952. Shuwaikh Jetty
Annual Records 1962: United Arab Emirates

Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow
Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow

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Dubai 2007. Dubai Internet City
Dubai 1979. Dubai Dry Docks Dubai 2008. Dubai Marina

Halcrow 50 Years
Bahrain 1970. Manama-Muharraq Cswy

Airports Sharjah 1997. Sharjah University City

Dubai ca.1955. Dubai Creek Dredging

Halcrow 50 Years
Halcrow 50 Years

Sharjah 1987. Ar Rufaysah Dam

Halcrow 50 Years
Dubai 1975. Deira-Shindagah Tunnel
Halcrow 50 Years

Halcrow

Abu Dhabi 1958–2005. Abu Dhabi Airport Abu Dhabi 2000. Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Kuwait 1956. Desalination and Power Station

Halcrow 50 Years
Halcrow 50 Years

Kuwait 1999. Sulaibiyah Sewage Treatment

Halcrow 50 Years

Abu Dhabi 1999. Shahama Interchange

Halcrow
RAK 1976. RAK International Airport Sharjah 2000. Al Qasbah Canal

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Dubai 1972. Port Rashid

 Interview
Witness to Kuwait
— Jeff de Lange’s Extended Expat Contract
Jeff de Lange has lived in the Gulf for more than thirty years. His story
starts with Kuwait’s seminal attempts to grow local architects and planners.
He now works at one of the region’s most well established local consulting
groups, Gulf Consult, where he is director for all planning, leisure, and
transportation commissions undertaken by the company.
You have been in Kuwait for a significant component of its
Todd Reisz —
development, from a mostly inconsequential harbor town to what
it is today.
That is true, and I’ve worked for the government on three different
Jeff de Lange —
occasions and the private sector on two different occasions. Looking back
on it, the Kuwait lifestyle has changed significantly in my time here since the
Makers I
mid-70s. When I arrived in January 1974, Kuwait had a population of about
a million. In the 1950s, it was still only 90,000 people. It’s three million now.
When you first arrived in Kuwait, you worked for the municipality,
TR —
with the town planner Hamid Shuaib…
JdL —In 1969 the Kuwaiti government had commissioned Colin Buchanan
and Partners to undertake Kuwait’s first comprehensive master plan.
Almost every government ministry was desperately looking for Western
expertise back then. Consequently, Hamid Shuaib, the chief architect and
town planner of the municipality, concluded that they would set up a program
to bring in Western professionals to work with their Kuwaiti counterparts.
There were six of us who were hired to fill this role: three town planners
and three traffic engineers. In the process I found Kuwait committed to the
planning process. The Kuwaitis who had earlier worked with Colin Buchanan
were very strong professionally and inspiring for the government side.
Hamid was always my professional mentor. We ended up being strong
competitors when later we were in private practice, but despite that, he was
still my mentor. He was one of the loveliest men, a super man.
In addition to Buchanan, there was also the presence of
Lily Jencks —
some famous European architects, for example the Smithsons
and the Pietiläs. Did this direction come from the government?
There were a couple of far-sighted people in the cabinet who made it
JdL —
a national strategy to put the city on the world map. The government’s
desire to have some high profile individual architects and keynote buildings
was set within a proper framework of the city master plan.
TR — What did you actually do while working for the city?
My first stay in Kuwait was only 18 months. It had been an adventure
JdL —
but also a culture shock! I left to return to work in the UK but was drawn
back in 1977. After a number of years in the private sector, I joined the
Ministry of Public Works in 1983. It was a golden time in the ministry:
it was managing projects well, and big-name, foreign consultants once
184
again became interested in Kuwait. I headed the section that evaluated
consultants’ proposals and scopes-of-work for major building projects.
Around that time the US federal government sent over a group of seven
architects to help manage the commissioning of big projects. I worked
with them as the only non-American. We were brought in to sort out and
run big projects, which helped give new confidence to international archi-
tects that Kuwait was the place in the region to do work. Firms like The
Architects Collaborative (TAC) and SOM started to have a presence.
Did this shift from British to American presence represent
TR —
something larger?
I feel that there’s always been a preference to go to America for archi-
JdL —
tecture and Britain for engineering and planning. In the 1980s, Kuwait
embarked on a huge motorway program that was totally dominated by
British firms, for instance.
What were the other major projects in the 1980s that your team
TR —
was overseeing?
In the early 1980s, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad
JdL —
Al-Jaber Al-Sabah offered to host the meeting of the Islamic Conference
Organization in 1987. This invitation would transform Kuwait City.
Gulf Survey
Suddenly, a conference center, palatial palaces, guest houses and significant
infrastructure improvements had to be designed and built in a time frame
of a few years. The Bayan Palace was completed for the event. It was designed
and built in about two-and-a-half years – a record time in the region. For
this building rush, the American team introduced Kuwait to the concept
of construction management. This represented a huge step in Kuwait’s
development capabilities.
Then in 1990, I was head-hunted by the Prime Minister of Bahrain and
went to Bahrain to work for four years. In 1994 I made my way back to
Kuwait to work for Gulf Consult. I’ve been back in Kuwait ever since then.
TR — What was the social climate of Kuwait at this time?
In the 80s, Kuwait was booming because Lebanon was suffering from
JdL —
civil war. But there were still troubles in the background. There was a
AMO
suicide attack on HH the Amir, and there were coordinated attacks on the
American and the French embassies and other government installations.
These were shocks to the system.
Earlier on a major issue for the government was trying to figure out
how to distribute the oil wealth. One of the significant ways they chose
was to acquire land and buildings from people and give them new land in
newly created suburbs. They gave them money as well, according to how
many family members, how many children, how poor they were. So land
was acquired and buildings demolished, not so much for redevelopment
need as to distribute wealth to the community. That’s why there still
remain large plots of vacant land in the city even today. And that’s the
way they created suburbs between the first and the second ring roads, and
the third ring road, and the fourth ring road. By the late 70s to early 80s
they stopped this method of acquiring land and distributing money.
TR —And how do you find the proposal for Silk City? Do you see
it as an attempt to change the tide of Kuwait planning?
JdL — I believe that Silk City has no urban planning or design significance
185

Unknown
Silk City – article in a Kuwaiti newspaper
whatsoever. It’s to be taken merely as a positive sign of the development
companies of Kuwait wanting to draw the government’s attention by saying,
‘Look! Maybe the time has come to start involving the private sector in
some of these big jobs.’ Nothing more than that. I should stress though that
the municipality has planned to build a major government-sponsored city
on the same site, Subiya, since the 1970s and that project is significant.
TR — So that would be a change in tide.
It’s a change in emphasis, but since the mid-1990s, there’s been a move
JdL —
toward BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) as a way of achieving projects. Now
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the government is turning to BOT procedures more and more for doing
almost everything. Development companies are using BOTs to achieve
many things in the city and proposing that huge chunks of the city be
developed by private companies in place of the state. It’s a way that private
capital is used as one of the key motivators in achieving development.
Just about every urban location on the peninsula has something
TR —
that looks like the Silk City proposal…
Yes, I’ve got positive feelings about the need to see a property-planned
JdL —
new city up north, but for Kuwaitis there’s a huge emotional tie to Kuwait
City. I would say, from an urban design point of view, it would be inappro-
Courtesy of Gulf Consult
186
Subiya new town master plan by Gulf Consult
priate to have a major high-rise anywhere other than in the old city center.
TR — Is there a trend among Kuwaiti developers to diversify?
Yes, Kuwaitis should never be underestimated for their financial
JdL —
development clout. For twenty or thirty years, many Kuwaiti firms have
operated with their head offices in London or New York. They keep a
low profile in Kuwait. You come to Kuwait and wonder, where are all the
corporate offices that you see in Dubai? The reason they’re not in Kuwait is
that they’re too big. They’re actually running out of London and elsewhere.
TR — Is there a push to change that?
Well, Kuwaitis have always invested abroad. If you look back 150 years,
JdL —
they were traders in Asia and East Africa. With Iraq’s regime change, Kuwaiti
investment companies are now positively investing more in not only Kuwait
but other parts of the Middle East, North Africa and South Africa.
We would like to ask you how the life of expats has changed since
LJ —
you’ve been in Kuwait and how the mix of nationalities has changed.
We understand that expats make up about 66% of the population.
There’s been a consistent one-Kuwaiti-to-two-foreigners rate since
JdL —
before I came to Kuwait. Recently there’s been one major change, which
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occurred as a consequence of the Iraqi invasion. Up until 1990 the civil
service and the many parts of the business sector were staffed by Palestin-
ians, who, because of political conflict, were living here in Kuwait on a
permanent basis. They had their wives and children here. After the 1991
liberation, there was a great reduction in the number of Palestinians living
in the country. Now their positions have been mostly replaced by Egyptians.
The Egyptians tend to live here without wives and children, who prefer
to stay in their home country. The proportion of foreigners to citizens has
remained almost exactly the same; except proportionally, there’s been a
reduction in the number of foreign families and an increase in bachelors.
There’s a lot of mobility in the labor market, about half the expat population
experiences a very fast turnover.
Before 1990, Westerners came here for adventure or fun. Money was
AMO
important, but there were a lot of things in life other than money. Whereas
now, Western people seem to be much more focused on financial gain –
covering alimony, or earning the down payment for a first house. There’s
much less motivation on the part of the Western expat to learn about the
country they’re in.
TR — Has that changed how expats are approached by Kuwaitis?
No, Kuwaitis are extremely welcoming. But as the country has become
JdL —
much bigger, a lot of expats don’t even get the opportunity to meet Kuwaitis.
There are two million foreigners: roughly half a million Pakistanis, half a
million Indians, at least three quarters of a million other Arabs – Egyptians,
Syrians, Yemeni, Palestinians… And we’re all mixed up, I would say.
In our company, Gulf Consult, we’ve got 23 nationalities.
TR — Now are you permanently settled in Kuwait?
JdL — Yes.
TR — And you won’t go back to England?
Well, we have a house in England but no, not in terms of my working
JdL —
career at any rate.
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Makers I

Gulf Survey
AMO
Stills from an 8 mm film shot by Jeff de Lange. Kuwait, May 1975 Top row: Typical houses of the 60s and 70s in Western suburbs. 2nd row right: American Mission Hospital, now a national monument.
Top row: From inside Kuwait Towers under construction, the old town center and Emir’s Palace. 2nd row left and center: Main 3rd and 4th rows: Mubarakiya Souk in town center – parts still remain today. 5th and bottom rows: Old Gold Souk in town center,
shopping street. right: Town Governorate and Police Force. 3rd row centre: Municipality built in the early 70s, still functioning today. redeveloped in the old style some 15 years ago.
4th row: Old seafront – long gone. 5th row centre: British Embassy, still fully functional. right: Liberation Tower, world’s 5th tallest
188

189
structure, stands here now. bottom row: Village of Doha, dhow building center.
 Interview

Fairness
— Carlos Ott Forgets to Sign

‘What’s good for the merchant is good for Dubai.’

– Dubai’s motto, the late Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum

The Gulf’s motives are simple, and you could say that simple is fair. A region
of transparent ends, it harbors no hesitation to expand on vision and strategy.
The Gulf makes for exciting work, but it also demands a broad acceptance
of risk. Clarity of ends does not entail the clarity of means.
The Gulf has time to hear your ideas, but not to tolerate your bitterness.
In August, 2006, AMO spoke with the optimist and Uruguayan architect
Carlos A. Ott about his extensive experience in the Gulf. Ott demonstrates an
architect’s adept ability to relativize loss and to accept that a region’s acceler-
ated development cannot compensate for the bruised egos of architects.
Makers I

Gulf Survey
Carlos Ott Architect

Carlos Ott Architect

National Bank of Abu Dhabi National Bank of Dubai
Carlos Ott Architect

Opéra de la Bastille, Paris

During the 200th anniversary celebrations for Bastille Day, the UAE’s
cultural diplomat Sheikh Nahyan attended the opening of the Bastille Opera
House in Paris. I had designed the building. He invited me to come to Abu

AMO
Dhabi to learn about some projects. I would eventually design the National
Bank of Abu Dhabi.
The Gulf is very open to foreign architects, and their leaders are the
architect’s true clients. Sheikh Nahyan was a very powerful person. I told
him the building should avoid the usual Arabic pastiche style. Convincing
Nahyan was the way toward breaking that pattern. Because he backed the
design, it was built.
The Gulf wants more from architects than you might think. Our second
competition was National Bank of Dubai. They rejected all the submissions.
I said, ‘Give me 30 days, and I will show you something you will like.’
They agreed. This was at the same time as the first Gulf War. There were
no flights over the Arabian peninsula, so I had to fly via Pakistan… getting
models through x-rays was nearly impossible. They liked it and it was built.
The bank’s chairman was an old gentleman, Ali Al Owais. He was 85
years old and the richest man in Dubai. He had a run-down office in the
middle of Deira. I wanted to talk about a building, and he about poetry –

Carlos Ott Architect

Arabic and Spanish. The influence of Arabic on the Spanish language and
vice versa. I would sit down for hours, drinking tea, eating dates, talking
190

191
Mirror Image? Burj Al Arab, Tom Wright of WS Atkins (left) and ANTEL Telecommunications, Carlos A. Ott Architects (right)
 about Andalucía and the importance of the Alhambra. I could not imagine
sitting like that with Mr. Rockefeller.
The Middle East turns on the opinions of strong rulers. Their opinions
make cities. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has single-handedly
made Dubai into an international city. He made Dubai in ten years.
These leaders know a horizon, a goal – whether or not you agree with
them – that of creating an important city, an important country. They
are today’s Haussmann. You may not agree that Haussmann was right in
rebuilding Paris. But they’ve all done it. Dubai has lost some things …
perhaps its original quaintness. But the grand, tall buildings along Sheikh
Zayed Road, the new airport, the new metro, the islands, etc. – they’re
creating an image the world can’t ignore.
The UAE was dead, after the first Gulf War. We were competing with
a sea of local firms for few projects.
My most horrible experience as an architect. I was once asked to make
a conceptual design for an iconic hotel on Dubai’s coast. I locked myself in
my hotel for two weeks. I came up with a proposal for the Burj Al Arab…
identical to the building that stands today.
Makers I

Gulf Survey
I had done the sketches in pencil. Quick drawings without my name on
them. I submitted them to a satisfied client. We would see each other in
a month’s time. One month later I learned my contact had been fired and
the project halted. Three years later, I saw the building being built.
It was my fault. I had not included my name on the drawings. Sketches with

Prisma colors on blue Canson paper. Since they didn’t know whose drawings
they were, someone else was asked to build it, and they did. My fault.
My building was identical to Burj Al Arab, but a bit taller. Main concepts
– building in the water, a sail motif, a restaurant with an aquarium – were
my ideas. You can see on my website a building I did at the same time.
The two share the same concept.
Abner Mckenzie
Carlos Ott at work
But I have many buildings built in the region. Some are in planning
now. I know many of these emirates and their leaders. They are all amazing
in their own ways.
If you start with a tabula rasa, then everything is questionable. Dubai’s
vision is now mostly in the ground. Not so for other Gulf cities. They will

AMO
want to define themselves against Dubai’s mistakes. In Dubai, we made
mistakes because it was new.
Remember. St. Petersburg was built overnight. Florence during a
time of Tuscan prosperity. Same with Haussmann’s Paris. Wealth comes
in short-lived spurts and needs to be taken advantage of when it is
there. Obviously, many mistakes are being made. Errarum humanum est.

Burj Al Arab seen from the backside

It was the first idea for a building in the water. You can see Dubai’s
future development took this idea further.
The experience spoiled my relationship with myself, not with Dubai.
I was a typical idiotic architect. I could not blame anybody but myself.
When I drive by and look at the building, I say, ‘Oh, what an idiot I was.’
It looks a bit like a roach from the back. The building that we did in
Montevideo is much cleaner and taller. And those diagonal elements on
the façade were not my idea. But anyway…

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 Argument
Frontline
The Gulf is the current frontline of rampant modernization: a feverish
production of urban substance, on sites where nomads roamed unmolested
only half a century ago.
The Gulf – its initial development triggered by the discovery of oil –
is undergoing hyper-development to ready for oil’s eventual depletion.
Since it is the site of greatest urban production and because it occupies
territory where there was no previous (urban) occupation, The Gulf repre-
sents the essence of the current city in its pure form.
Gulf Cities are in construction now. This means they are, inevitably,
based on the repertoire of current urban prototypes – communities
(themed & gated), hotels (themed), skyscrapers (tallest), shopping centers
(largest), airports (doubled) – cemented together by Public Space,
extended soon with boutique hotel, museum franchise and masterpiece.
In its current state, it is a landscape of vast means and ambition,
translated with gargantuan effort into ambiguous and sometimes disap-
pointing results, a kind of farewell performance of the ‘Urban’ that has
become threadbare through sheer age and lack of invention.
If you want to be apocalyptic, you could construe Dubai as evidence
of the-end-of-architecture-and-the-city-as-we-know-them; more
optimistically you could detect in the emerging substance of The Gulf –
constructed and proposed – the beginnings of a new architecture and
of a new city.
Some of The Gulf developments are bound to remain unique to it; most
announce an imminent transformation of the urban condition itself.
A reading of The Gulf suggests the following imminent inevitabilities…
1. The city is no longer generated by a plan; it has become a patchwork
of developers’ increments.
Instead of aiming for intensification, the city is now conceived to soothe
and relax; the ultimate typology of the urban increment has become
the resort. The aesthetics of rigour – the grid – has been defeated by
the aesthetics of the organic, the geometrical by the approximative…
Themes are the only viable means of distinction; Regularity, Utilitarian
and the Utopian have a future only as themes.
2. Infrastructure is no longer conceptual anticipation, but pragmatic
afterthought.
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3. Cities no longer have a natural, but an ‘assembled’ population. The
assembly consists of those who are attracted with various incentives –
tourists, expats – and those who help to sustain its attraction – builders,
cooks, masseurs. Cities are now inhabited by the pampered and
the pamperers.
4. Density is virtual. Almost everybody who lives in Dubai also lives some-
where else… The actual inhabitation of the city is a fraction of its
maximum capacity. (That also explains why the implausible calculations
of the engineers never come back to haunt them.)
Systematic absenteeism creates a sense of civic hollowness across ever
larger areas of the globe. The public realm has been replaced by Public
Space, politics by design…
5. Because they are provisional, the inhabitants of such a city will have
a radically different stake in its future. Since they will never be citizens,
they feel a conditional loyalty; they will not constitute a polis, but
a provisional community of the disenfranchised…
They will abandon at the first sign of trouble.
Gulf Survey
6. For architecture, The Gulf represents, simultaneously, the apotheosis
and the ultimate democratization of the icon. The collapse of a whole
series of earlier legitimizations of architecture – function, efficiency,
organization, originality: all exiled to the realm of the big yawn – creates
a titanic struggle on an infinitely reduced battlefield. The ubiquity of
extravagance creates fewer and fewer opportunities for distinction;
it will therefore erase the distinctions between the first, second and
third rate…
The winner will be the one who walks away from this battle first…
7. Both the urbanism and the architecture of The Gulf are clearly unsus-
tainable: sustainability will be the regime that will impose radical change
and revision on a brand-new model of urban life.
AMO
For that very reason – call it historical inevitability or sheer coincidence
of timing – The Gulf will also be the terrain where the current crisis
of the metropolis will be confronted. The limitations of the current
architectural repertoire are so comprehensive and destructive that
it has become unthinkable to rely on them as a toolbox for the future.
8. Eventually, The Gulf will reinvent the public and the private: the
potential of infrastructure to promote the whole rather than favor
fragmentation; the use and abuse of landscape – golf or the environ-
ment?; the coexistence of many cultures in a new authenticity
rather than a Western Modernist default; experiences instead
of Experience™ – city or resort? – RK
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 A titanic struggle on
a reduced battlefield
Frontline

Gulf Survey
AMO
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 Argument

Introducing…

The Gulf trumpets opportunity for architects of all kinds. Anyone is welcome
to audition his ideas for a public ready for vision yet unseen. An incompa-
rable magnitude of development has alighted on the Gulf coast to test
architecture’s imagination. In a place where the terms taller, bigger, and
exclusive come with any new development, there is no room for design’s
outing of expression. A Zaha Hadid design is hardly discernible in the
clambering skylines of formal fantasies.
As quickly as this stage has been set, two-desk architecture firms have
transformed into regional agglomerates in less than a decade. But they still

Gulf Survey
do not register on architecture’s radar. Sometimes employing more than
15,000 architects, they have stretched their bounds to attempt to satiate
the insatiable. While ‘world-class’ architects focus on the jewel, their more
robust counterparts design rows of towers, as similar or as different from
the others as the client pleases. Architecture as investment proposal cannot
move off the auction block quickly enough to make room for the next. The
Virtually Unknowns (VUs) can ride this speed; they in fact fuel it.
The architects with the most presence in The Gulf are such because of
their sheer production statistics; streamlined management structures win
projects more assuredly than unquantifiable flair. These Virtually Unknowns
are positioned to determine The Gulf lifestyle for the next century.
Other architects are responsible for their own foundering in irrelevance.
While Western architecture has focused on convincing itself of its singularity

AMO
and pursuing the next strange form, a more intelligent system has perfected
its so-called art into an algorithm. The building industry – where engineer,
architect, and even developer are once again united in one entity – has
caught up to neutralize the difference between the brand-name and a more
efficient, generic alternative. ‘Special effect’ is simply the expected. In a
time frame of three weeks, a Virtually Unknown can generate the thrill that
the brand-name architect couldn’t even do in twelve months.
The Virtually Unknowns mount a contentious but quiet confrontation
with Western arrogance. In a region that produces no more than a few
hundred architects a year, the imported pool of architects is mostly non-
Western (even within the ostensibly Western VUs). It is Egyptian, Lebanese,
Syrian, Indian and Pakistani. A smoother generic arises – borrowing
technique and language from the West, but injecting it with another pace
and a steadier mind – icon that resists the obsession with authorship …
that captures capitalism’s acceleration but not its temper. We are not talking
about architecture vs. building; this is architecture’s redefinition, whether
it is welcome or not. – AMO

Fernando Donis

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Towers of Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai

 Khatib & Alami
‘Khatib & Alami (K&A), a multidisciplinary architectural and engineering consulting company, Based: Beirut, Lebanon
offers clients an integrated approach towards the ever increasing need for concrete and reliable Since: 1959
project delivery systems. Since 1984 K&A has continuously ranked among the top 100 International Staff 1,500
Design Firms as published by Engineering News Record (ENR).’

Google Hits 40,000

Floors Built 1,031

80
www.khatibalami.com

10
0

Project The Index Torch Infinity Tower Rose Emirates Marina The Tower No.1 Dubai Marina Lakeshore Dubai Jewel Shahla MAG 214 Saeed Dusit Fairmont Lakeside Al Buhairah Zumurud 2N Tower Golf Towers Bukhatir Marina Sail Crescent Al Aryam Al Batha Al Ghazal Al Jazira Commercial Yacht Bay DSO Del Mar Al Shoala
Floors 80 80 73 72 59 54 54 46 44 40 40 38 37 37 36 35 31 31 30 29 24 22 22 21 21 19 19 18 16 15 10
Completion 2008 2008 2009 2007 2006 2002 2006 2008 2007 2008 2007 2001 2001 2002 2008 2002 2008 2006 2007 2001 2006 Complete 2006 2003 2006 2006 2003 2007 2007 2006 2000
City Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Sharjah Dubai Dubai Dubai Sharjah Dubai Sharjah Doha Sharjah Dubai Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Dubai Dubai Dubai
Introducing…

Gulf Survey
WS Atkins
‘Atkins Middle East first carried out design and supervision commisions in the Gulf area in 1976. Based: Epsom, UK
From its regional head office in Dubai, UAE (operating as WS Atkins & Partners Overseas), it now Since: 1938
employs a total of nearly 702 staff located in Dubai and in the region’s other thriving offices in
Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah, Kuwait City, Muscat (Oman), and Doha (Qatar).’

Staff 15,000

Google Hits 178,000

AMO
Floors Built 3,728

80
www.atkinsglobal.com

10
0

Project Burj Mubarak al-Kabeer Proposed Al Mas Burj Dubai Bright Star Burj-al-Arab Park Place 21st Century Al Durra II Al Salam Le Reve JBR Towers Bahrain World Trade Centre Al Salam Tecom Sky Gardens Tiffany Goldcrest I Lake Terrace Oasis Towers Indigo Icon Goldcrest Views Global Lake Indigo Tower Lake Terrace Manazel KG Tower Rostamani Al Yamamah
Floors 250 77 74 63 60 60 58 55 51 51 50 Various (x50) 50 47 45 41 40 40 40 39 39 35 35 30 20 20 16 14
Completion TBA 2008 2007 2008 2007 2003 2006 2003 2008 2005 2006 2007 2006 2007 2008 2007 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2006 2004 2006 2003 2003
City Kuwait City Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Manama Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai
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201
 Adnan Saffarini Based: Dubai, UAE
Since: 1960s
Staff ?
‘With its creative-minded and highly-qualified staff, the office is designing and supervising
hundreds of projects all over the UAE as well as in other countries in the Gulf Region.’
Google Hits 1,230

C AL
LO
Floors Built 1,433

80
www.saffarinidbx.com

10
0

Project Al Yaqoub Concorde Khalid Al Attar Sheikh Maktoum Pearl Towers Corniche Damas Tower I Damas Tower II ARY Digital Dubai Star Falcon Flamingo Armada Lake City Al Waleed Al Hawai Alareifi Orbit Tower Marina 1 Peninsula Unnamed Al Durrah Al Riqqa Marina 2
Floors 72 62 61 60 Various (x10) 53 49 49 45 45 40 40 40/35/35 36 36 31 31 30 24 23 20 18 12 12
Completion 2008 2008 2006 2008 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2000 2006 2009 2006 2008 2006 2006
City Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Ajman Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai

KEO Based: UAE, Qatar, Kuwait,

Bahrain, USA Staff 1,400
Introducing…

Gulf Survey
‘Founded in 1964, KEO delivers world-class professional design and management services.
Since: 1963
KEO offers award winning architectural design, progressive infrastructure engineering, and
construction management known for quality and professionalism.’ Google Hits 42,700
C AL
LO

Floors Built 822

80
www.keoic.com

10
0

Project 23 Marina The Gate Kuwait Business LIWA Heights Al Jon AG Tower AU Tower Dar Al Awadi The Reef Madina Al Massahleh Rakan Al Muthanna Towers Latifa Towers Sheraton Sheikh Tahnoon Khiran Towers Al Bahar Shangri-La Ghazwa Towers Union Center Emirates Palace

AMO
Floors 89 70 Town 40 40 37 37 35 34 34 30 (x2) 30 23 22 (x2) 21 18 17 (x10) 14 12 12 12 12
Completion 2008 2006 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007 2005 2008 2007 2005 2003 2002 2001 2005
City Dubai Kuwait City Kuwait City Kuwait City Kuwait City Dubai Dubai Kuwait City Dubai Dubai Kuwait City Kuwait City Kuwait City Kuwait City Kuwait City Abu Dhabi Khiran Kuwait City Dubai Kuwait City Kuwait City Abu Dhabi

Design and Architecture Bureau (DAR) Based: Dubai, UAE

Staff 150
‘DAR Consult was established in 1985 and restructured in 1996 jointly by Engineer Hussain Lootah Since: 1985
and Architect Ibrahim Salem. Today DAR Consult provides through its diverse multicultural staff,
state-of-the-art services that propel the aggressive growth of the UAE and the region.’ Google Hits 167,000
C AL
LO

Floors Built 734

80
www.dar.ae

10
0

Project Emirates Crown Churchill The Maze Al Seef Al Shafar Al Gaith Nuaimi The Citadel Kharbash Goldcrest Executive Al Shera Tamweel Al Manara The Palladium Al Thuraya London Crown Al Shafar Al Sondo Yamamah Real Estate Bank IBM HQ Canon HQ Microsoft HQ
Floors 63 61 56 44 44 44 44 42 42 40 40 37 36 35 28 24 12 12 12 6 4 4 4

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202

Completion 2008 2008 2008 2005 2009 2006 2006 2008 2006 2007 2007 2007 2004 2007 2005 2008 2008 2002 2000 2005 2004 2004 2004
City Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Kuwait City Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai
 Interview
Mohammed Sadiyyah,
K&A
Khatib & Alami is one of the most prolific architecture firms in the Middle
East. At any given time, it has large-scale architecture projects along Dubai’s
Sheikh Zayed Road in every development phase. We were eager to discuss
the firm’s success with the partner and head designer Mohammed Sadiyyah,
an engineer with decades worth of experience in Gulf architecture.
I would like to talk to you about your office and the projects
Todd Reisz —
you’re working on.
In the UAE, we have four offices in four emirates: Abu Dhabi,
Mohammed Sadiyyah —
Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah.
Introducing…
TR — How many people are working in those four offices?
MS — About 700 people.
TR — And how about Khatib & Alami in total?
MS — 2,100.
TR — So you are working on tons of projects…
You know, we are a multi-discipline company. We cover civil engineering,
MS —
architectural designing, environmental engineering among other things.
We do airports, roads, we cover all these areas. As far as the building
projects are concerned, we have about 40 projects under construction in
the uae and another 30 under design. In the civil part, including trans-
portation, traffic and even landscape architecture, we have in total about
30 other projects.
TR — So you have a total of about 100 projects going on at this time…
Yes, and that’s only in the UAE branch. We have three design centers –
MS —
one in Beirut, one in the UAE and one in Saudi Arabia.
TR — You’re head of design for the UAE, yes? What does that mean?
MS —I am actually the director of the UAE office and a partner. Each partner
is a director. So, I am director of all design – civil, architectural, electrical,
mechanical – anything related to design.
TR — Does that also mean conceptual design?
MS — Everything, from the inception until tendering and awarding of contract.
TR — Two of the things that are striking about Khatib & Alami are that
it’s a regionally based firm and that it is able to produce built work
very quickly. Has Khatib & Alami developed a certain system that
enables them to do this?
MS —We are an ISO-9001 certified company in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia. Beyond this we have our own quality system, which includes
policies and procedures. The design has many procedures which govern
the flow from the concept until building. Supervision also has its own
procedures. So, I can say that we are very systematic in our production.
We care very much for our customers. Customer relations is very important
204
to us and this is why we have repeat clients for many, many years.
We never lose clients.
TR — Who are your biggest clients?
Now that the private sector has diminished, what you see now are
MS —
the big, semi-public developers – Dubai Holding, Sama Dubai and Dubai
Properties, and Tatweer, for example. On the other hand, we have
Emaar and Union Properties, who is one of our excellent clients.
TR —What’s interesting here is that you say that private, smaller-scale
clients…
MS —The development of the construction industry in this country passes
through phases. Up until 1990 the private developer used to build with
their own money. The projects were a maximum of 100 million dollars.
Then from 1990 to 2000, these clients increased their budgets to 400
to 1,000 million dollars. Since 2000 onward, the big developers have
become semi-public. They started building projects that were never below
500 million. This transformed the market.
How did that affect Khatib & Alami? How did you adjust? Where
TR —
did you get 2,000 architects and engineers?
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MS —I’ll tell you. When I came to the emirates twenty years ago, we were
thirty people. Two years ago, we were 1,500 people. Then in two years
we increased by 500 people. Our company had to become a partnership.
There used to be only two partners. Now we are eight partners. So the
responsibility is distributed and spread among more people.
TR — Does this affect the work? Did the product change?
MS —The product changed in terms of the size. I can give you an example.
This project on Sheikh Zayed Road, which is for Union Properties [pointing
to the drawing], was the first ‘high-rise building’ as you call it in the cur-
rent terminology. It is about 45 stories high. Until three or four years ago,
we had many projects on this side [pointing to the Great Pyramid] and a
few projects here [pointing to the Eiffel Tower]. Last year we found that
there were more projects coming to the side of the Eiffel Tower. [laughs]
AMO
This year we have two towers higher than the Eiffel Tower.
TR — Most of your work is in Dubai from this office?
MS — Let me say, 85–95 percent.
So, Khatib & Alami has been able to develop itself not only
TR —
as an architecture firm but also as a planning firm. And you
oversee the planning as well as architecture?
MS — Yes.
Khatib & Alami
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Khatib & Alami skyline with Eiffel Tower and the Great Pyramid
 TR — You are an architect?
I am not an architect. I am an engineer. In the UAE we have a General
MS —
Manager, who is above me. He is a partner also. He is my partner and my
boss at the same time. I am the Head of Design. And I have a deputy. So
the responsibility is spread. As far as the organization is concerned, we are
well structured.
TR — Is it a help or a hindrance that you are a Lebanese-based firm?
MS —It depends. Sometimes you will find that clients want international,
foreign companies. Those same clients sometimes get stuck because the
international companies aren’t here. On many occasions we have been
called to take over a project.
TR — Do you ever work as the local architect for a foreign architect?
MS —Yes. Do you know the Infinity Tower by SOM? We were more than
‘local’. They did the concept, and we did everything else. And we are now
alone, supervising the job.
TR — Is this an annoying role, or is it one that you are willing to do?
We have played this role many times in many places. We have very
MS —
good relations with the international firms, like SOM, HLW, HOK…
Introducing…
TR — Do you also work on competitions?
MS — Yes, like the Fairmont Hotel.
TR — Who did you beat for that?
MS —A lot of international firms. Tower Number One for Union Properties
was also a design competition. Although UP was our client when they
selected the winning design, they did not know that it was ours. They were
surprised that it was us.
Let me show you this job. This is a job for a Kuwaiti investor on Palm
Jumeirah. Our contract was to do the design development for the selected
architect, which I’m not going to name – international, American… The
client didn’t like the concept which was presented to him. He was working
with them for more than a year, and we were waiting for our turn when
they’d finish their concept. We ended up taking over the project and changing
the concept.
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The Tower, Dubai The Fairmont Hotel, Dubai
TR —Why are there mountains here in the background? To give it a
little bit of a character? How long did it take for you to get your
concept approved?
MS — This concept was done in three weeks. The client liked it very much.
Then it is more economical to go with you. One year with an inter-
TR —
national architect, three weeks with Khatib & Alami… Did the client
ask for something with a more traditional look or feel?
MS — No, not really.
When I look at this and compare it to other projects by Khatib &
TR —
Alami, it’s extremely different.
It depends on the client. And this hotel won’t even be in this style.
MS —
He said, ‘I want this one to have an Indian theme.’ after we had made
the presentation. Now we are changing the hotel into an Indian theme.
TR — So the client did say that they wanted something more traditional?
MS —The main developer has given each hotel a theme, which they specify,
so that they don’t have similar themes. There are about 40 hotels, and they
want each hotel to have its own theme.
Why is it that Lebanon has so many good firms as opposed to
TR —
Gulf Survey
other places?
The education in Lebanon has been the best up until recently. We have
MS —
the American University, which is the best university in the region. And
we have the Lebanese University, which follows the French system, and
the Arab University, which follows the Egyptian system. So you can see,
American, French or Arab – to cater to a wide spectrum of market needs.
TR — But you say the ‘best up until recently’?
Because you can now see more universities coming to the region. Lebanon
MS —
has the best, but new schools in the region are becoming a challenge, in
Kuwait, the American University in Sharjah, the UAE University in Al Ain…
[Meeting had to end with the arrival of an important client to Cityscape booth.]
AMO
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TR
Hotel for Palm Jumeirah, Dubai
 Interview
Babji Rao, KEO
KEO’s steadfast reputation has grown beyond its start in Kuwait. It is one of
the most successful Gulf-based consultancies today. Combining a subtle
balance of international panache and local know-how, KEO has already sold
its services beyond the Middle East, to China, Bulgaria and Uzbekistan.
Todd Reisz — First of all, can you tell us the scale of KEO International?
KEO is a completely multidisciplinary firm with about 1600 people
Babji Rao —
right now. Pretty big for a consultancy. Our offices are located in Kuwait,
Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain as well as in Oman, Lebanon,
and now in Ajman.
TR — So ten offices…
BR —Yes, including a liaison office in Washington DC though we don’t do
Introducing…
any projects in the US. Our projects are spread out all over the Gulf region.
In terms of services, there are three business units: KEO design, KEO
Infrastructure and KEO Project and Construction Management (PM/CM).
All three units are very strong with their own and related fields and are
managed by professionals with vast experience and knowledge in the industry.
TR — Which division is the biggest?
BR —KEO can offer all services needed in the development industry under
one roof. Naturally, the design division is big, but PM/CM has been
growing recently. In the design division, we provide master planning,
urban design, architectural design, interior and graphic design, landscape
architectural design and structural, HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and
electrical engineering services. In infrastructure we provide engineering
services in the planning and design of various water-related systems.
Initially, we did the infrastructure master plan for the whole state of Kuwait,
out of which all of the wastewater treatment plant projects were generated.
We designed and supervised the construction of four major ones. Then
our third unit, PM/CM division is providing services to major projects
in the region, including Qatar Education City and Qatar Energy City.
TR — What is KEO’s vision for itself? Is it to be a kind of GCC professional?
BR —It’s a professional, respectable organization in the region that is able
to offer services of international quality and style along with the local
knowledge. That’s what makes a difference. We belong here in GCC but
at the same time, we can offer services with the same knowledge base and
confidence as any international consulting firm.
TR — Why do you think that KEO has been so successful at this?
BR —Firstly, we have a progressive leadership at the top. Our organization
is led by two professionals: our president Dr. Abdul Aziz Sultan, with
a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Michigan, and our
CEO Donna Sultan. Both of them have a vision and commitment for the
region and its culture and heritage.
208
Secondly, we are a multidisciplinary organization equipped with a
knowledge base in all disciplines. Our young architects and engineers join
us because they believe in an institution like a university – and they are not
wrong as the knowledge flows freely among our professionals.
Thirdly, we have a technical staff base, which itself creates a self-
supporting system among the people committed to the organization. We
call ourselves the KEO Family. Once you join, you’re a KEO person, and
then you’re always a KEO person. Even if you go away, you go only to
come back to KEO. It’s professional loyalty.
TR — How has KEO been able to do that?
BR —Our sustaining capability is tremendous. Most of our staff members
make long-term careers here and KEO takes extreme care to provide a
method for their professionals to follow a career development track. For
example, this is my 28th year with KEO. By virtue of our long stay most
of our staff know Kuwait physically and culturally. Meanwhile we associate
with major international firms such as WATG, SOM, HOK and DAIQ
on a project-to-project basis. And then we have people who have the
experiences of working in other offices and countries.
It also seems that there’s something about KEO’s image, which
Gulf Survey
TR —
seems both international and local.
Yes, that’s simply because we belong to the region and are providing
BR —
services of international standard for over 43 years. For example, we did
the GCC Palace for Abu Dhabi in 2005, but we had already done a similar
GCC Conference Center (Bayan Palace) for Kuwait in 1982. We have a
past related experience for any project type. Currently, we’re working on
refurbishing the existing Al Bustan Palace Hotel in Oman for the GCC
conference to be held in December 2007.
TR — So KEO will have worked on three GCC Palaces?
BR — Yes.
TR — Does KEO have a design policy?
Yes. What we have to do is an architecture that relates to this region,
BR —
design with a contemporary thought using the most up-to-date technology.
AMO
We really can’t go back to barjeels (wind towers). But projects are client-
driven, so you have to respect their style preference.
TR — What about the Souk Sharq in Kuwait?
This was one of the first projects implemented on a BOT (Build-Oper-
BR —
ate-Transfer) method in Kuwait. DAIQ from Boston prepared the initial
concept and planning, then we transformed it completely to relate to the
region. The ultimate image that came off was very much in keeping with
Kuwait’s character.
Do you think that this represents KEO’s design policy more than
TR —
these glass towers?
BR —All the clients based here are trying to build a Manhattan. They want
to build landmarks to stand out. They come here and tell you, ‘I want a
landmark. I want the tallest building’, although the floor plate can only be
160 square meters. It may not really be what we want to do as architects,
but we try to influence their ideas as much as possible and bring them to
something of quality.
TR — And by ‘quality’ you mean connecting to the local culture?
209
BR — Yes, and to heritage.
 TR — The speed of design is unbelievable.
It is very true especially in this region. We have the capacity to deliver
BR —
projects with record speed and to meet stringent deadlines. Abu Dhabi
Emirates Palace and the Pearl Qatar are two of our finest projects we
delivered in record time.
TR —Earlier you called this project ‘brand new’, but you already have
a rendering of it.
BR —Yes, we can do it just like that. [snaps his fingers] ‘Brand new’ means
a couple of weeks old. KEO is completely up to date in technology. Our
offices and our construction sites are completely networked. I sit here
today working in Kuwait, then in 20 days I press a button and print out
at the office for submission deadlines in Abu Dhabi. We can say two
or three weeks for business. We usually prepare two options for what we
call a ‘design workshop’.
TR — How long does it take you to get through to conceptual design?
BR —That depends – we usually prepare two options following a ‘design
workshop’ with client participation. But as you know clients will never say,
‘I want Concept A or B’. They will say, ‘I want something from A and
Introducing…
something from B, maybe even C.’ That’s how it goes. Generally, it takes
four to six weeks to get through concept design.
Speediness made possible only with your local understandings
TR —
and know-how…
Yes, we belong here and we are here to stay with many more profes-
BR —
sionals joining our KEO Family.
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Entrance of Souk Sharq, Kuwait
February 10, 2007
‘A integrated approach to the assembling of consultancy teams – ensuring they interact with project
managers and market researchers will ensure diversity in planning and built form outcomes and an
authentic realization of His Highness vision of “world’s best practice”.’
‘Welcome to this mad part of the world.’ We are greeted with what will soon turn out to be
the standard greeting of the many consultants in the peer review of a large urban project.
Apart from a few locals, the overwhelming majority of review participants are of Western
origin. Initial presentations include dissertations on examples of ‘timeless urbanism’ in
Brisbane, East Perth and Sydney. Panel members bicker over what is the appropriate style
for the new city: should it be Islamic, neo-Mediterranean, hybrid or contemporary?
But in one respect all members of the peer review panel find themselves in complete
agreement: to make a good masterplan there are ‘MANY HANDS REQUIRED’. With
consultancy now a self-propelling, multi-billion dollar business, one wonders what other
conclusion could be reached…
The main problem of the whole operation actually seems to be the reviews themselves.
It is disheartening to see how each new version of the plan is essentially weaker than the one
it replaces. The “plan” is the result of a random sequence of subjective interventions. The
logic of each is virtually impossible to reconstruct.
In the discussions – as in the initial greeting – there is much talk about the supposed
Gulf Survey
madness of this part of the world. But if the peer review is anything to go by, one wonders
who the real authors of the madness are. To what extent is the madness that almost all
consultants refer to a madness of their own making? – RdG
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 Interview
TR — This means that you have to constantly one-up yourself…

Rory Hopkins, WATG Yes, but it keeps us on our toes.

RH —

TR —Doesn’t it eventually become absurd, or do you find that there

is a certain amount of integrity that comes with the one-upping?
Yeah, it gets harder every time because you always have to do better
RH —

Rory Hopkins was the project architect for Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo’s
design of the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. Based in London, he lived in Abu
Dhabi for three years to see through the execution of the design in time for
the 2005 Gulf Cooperation Council Summit. WATG, London-based international
design firm, specializes in leisure, hospitality and entertainment projects.
Todd Reisz — First of all, I’d like to know how you got the Emirates Palace project.
We were invited to the competition held by Sheikh Khalifa.
Rory Hopkins —
The Sheikh had been to the Mövenpick Hotel in Jordan, which we had
designed, and he enjoyed it.
The Emirates Palace project was a collaboration with KEO, a Kuwaiti
firm. We did the architecture right up until construction; they did a lot
Introducing…
than you did before. But it hasn’t become completely outlandish yet. A
project we are working on right now in Oman is very much in the Omani
palace style and in keeping with Omani architecture.
TR — You are an architect?
RH — Yes.
TR — Are you based in the Middle East?
RH —I’m back in London now. I’ve worked out of London for some time.
But I lived in Abu Dhabi for three years while the Emirates Palace was
being built. I don’t like doing a bit of a project and then letting it go. I like
to start and take it to the finish. I worked on the design of Emirates Palace
from the London office, then moved to Abu Dhabi to complete it and ran
the site for WATG. There were maybe 120 consultants on the site. We did
quality control as well, making sure that our original concept design was

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of the engineering and services. We didn’t do the interiors or landscaping. being carried through right there.
KEO eventually took over the initial idea of landscaping, which we had
TR —About quality control, Abu Dhabi seems to project a culture of
restrained luxury. There’s an ability for luxury to unroll or unfurl out
done in the master plan.
of control. Do you find yourself, as an architect, ever having to roll
I understand that this is more than a hotel. Was that Sheikh
TR —
it back up?
Khalifa’s idea?
It was originally conceived for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
RH —

conference in December 2005. Then during design development, it came

up that they could also use it to house the Arab League Council when
they were in town. With the GCC and the Arab League, there are so many
people who have to be attended to in such an order and hierarchy. You
have grand suites, normal suites, and normal guest rooms. The Emirates
Palace was designed firstly as a palace for the GCC conference, so it
wasn’t really designed to operate as a hotel.

AMO
I read that other emirates had seen this hotel and wanted the same
TR —

kind of design. Is it becoming a concept?

RH —We’ve been approached by others. Each emirate and each Arab country
likes to do or have something similar. They say, ‘We like it, but we want
something different and better.’
TR — Is it like a state guesthouse?
RH —No, it’s like a national monument but open to the public. The Emirates
Palace is a government-funded building; it’s the first government palace
that the public can enjoy and is allowed to enter, as long as they can pay.

www.emiratespalace.com/en/ExteriorPic.htm on 30 march, 2007

I think that’s a first for anywhere in the Middle East.
TR — Does this reflect some of your office’s work for high-end luxury?
RH —Yes, the main work we do is luxury hotels and leisure resorts, such as
the Palace of the Lost City in Sun City, South Africa and Atlantis in the
Bahamas. We’re now doing the Atlantis in Dubai. It was back in the 1990s
that we worked on the Royal Mirage and the Ritz Carlton, which were
among the first hotels to be built in Dubai that acknowledged the vernacular
of the Gulf region. There was nothing back then of this detail and quality.

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212

Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi, UAE

 Yes, it’s just briefing the clients and making sure that they understand
RH —

that what we’re designing is in their best interest. But I think everybody
agrees that Abu Dhabi has been a great success. The Emirates Palace has
put them on the map. People picture the Emirates Palace exactly as it is,
even if they don’t exactly know where Abu Dhabi is.
TR — Why do they notice it?
RH —The building has become such an icon, like Burj Al Arab has become an
icon for Dubai. This is what Abu Dhabi wanted. They are more traditional.
I think they’ve got it right. They’re a lot richer than Dubai, a lot more
traditional and a lot more restrained.

Back in the 1990s we worked on

the first hotels to be built in Dubai
that acknowledged the vernacular
of the Gulf region. There was
Introducing…

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nothing back then of this detail
and quality.

Courtesy of WATG
Mövenpick Dead Sea, Amman, Jordan

AMO
www.the2mikes.com/Cruiste%20May%202005.htm

215
214

Atlantis Bahamas, Bahamas Atlantis at Palm Jumeirah, Dubai (model, Nakheel offices in Dubai)
 Document

Cityscape 2006
Report
For three days in December 2006, Dubai hosted one of the world’s largest
real estate fairs. Dedicated mostly to development proposals along the
Arabian Coast and in the Arabic world, the annual event is increasingly
attractive to more international projects, ready to display their proposals
to a public eager to invest. Open and free to everyone who can present
a business card, the Cityscape event is at once high-risk seriousness and
frivolous entertainment. Comic relief, music, light shows and robot perfor-
mances are fair game in attracting the roaming public.
Botch: A Call to Design

Gulf Survey
Private rooms behind display booths shelter sensitive sales negotiations,
but it is impossible to conceal all the deals. Salespersons, sometimes clad
in uniforms similar to flight attendants, cannot make potential customers
wait for a free room. Negotations become part of the spectacle; awkward
1. D ubai Towers Dubai, having introduced its concept ‘Dubai Towers’ to Istanbul, Doha and Casablanca,
moments of deal-making, guarded price lists forgotten on display models. Sama Dubai returns the concept to its source. No architect of record at the exhibition
Investors are no longer men in dark suits; they are dentists, retirees-to-be,
even families who carry the bags of information catalogues as if they are
spending a day at the mall. The comparison is not one missed by developers.
A trip to any mall in Dubai also affords the chance to invest: Cityscape
booths fit nicely in malls opposite outlets for Zara or Chanel.

AMO
216

217
Disclaimer for IPad Tower, by Omniyat Properties. As apparently expected,
design has since been modified for subsequent real estate fairs 2. Najmat the Natural Choice. ‘Natural’ because it is a development on a naturally-occurring island in Abu Dhabi
 3. Cityscape booth for Zaha Hadid Architects.
Touching is encouraged
Botch: A Call to Design
4. Omniyat Properties served investment opportunities, robot
entertainment and beverages (served by a robot)
5. The Palisades, where ‘the legacy of an era lives on.’
Women in Victorian dresses served beverages to visitors
of the full-scale bandstand
218
6. One of the most visited stands at Cityscape: City of Arabia in
Dubailand. The giant model served as fantastical sales counter
7. The robot performance held every couple hours at Omniyat
Properties. Chairs at other booths served merely as stools
for the crowds further back
8. Model for Nujoom Island, Sharjah. Marketed as a new town with a
‘harmonized’ lifestyle – a focus on traditional Islamic family values
9. Tyrannosaurus rex which has become the perplexing mascot 12. Better Homes real estate agency invites world citizens
of City of Arabia, Dubailand to become educated consumers
Gulf Survey
10. E maar’s model for King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. 13. H alcrow’s presence as one of many expert firms looking
to interact with aspiring developers
AMO
11. Beverages and diversion at Cityscape 14. Detailed modeling for Dubailand theme park, Aqua Dunya
219
 15. Al Kaheel, a Dubailand development featuring equestrian-themed 18. H igh-brow entertainment, provided by one developer 21. Culture Village, Dubai. Beyond the expected mix of residenital, 24. Moutamarat’s IDF stand
resorts and living resort and commercial development, the ‘Soul of Dubai’ will
include cultural institutions, schools, academies for art, music,
dance, pottery and other crafts
Botch: A Call to Design

Gulf Survey
16. I Pad by Omniyat Properties. An insertion of gadgetry fetishism 19. Symbolism not lost. International Real Estate and Business Center, 22. Silicon Gates as part of the Silicon Oasis development project, 25. Diyar Najd Special Projects. Contractors and developers
into architecture. Inspiration apparent but architect unnamed by Bonyan Properties. Location not revealed at Cityscape where luxury living meets technology park. Traditional style from Saudi Arabia
with modern amenities

AMO
17. M usic and movement performance for Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, 20. Non-stop musical entertainment at Emaar’s travertine-clad display 23. Emirates Industrial City: to maintain the Emirate of Sharjah’s 26. Inspiring backdrops of imaginary landscapes for casual
which will include a Ferrari-branded theme park prominence in industrial development conversations
220

221
 Gulf Skyline

What is left to be invented when it comes to the creation of a landmark? So far the
21st century – in a desperate effort to make one building stand out from the next – has
been characterized by a manic production of extravagant shapes. Paradoxically, the
result is a surprisingly monotonous urban substance, where any attempt at ‘difference’
is instantly neutralized in a sea of meaningless architectural gestures.
Botch: A Call to Design

Gulf Survey
AMO
Architectural Services International, Inc.

Norr Group
Pei Partnership Architects

Architect unknown

Arquitectonica

Architect unknown

WS Atkins

WS Atkins

Aedas

KEO

WS Atkins

WS Atkins
Norr Group Consultants Int. Ltd

Norman Foster

OMA/Rem Koolhaas

Zaha Hadid

WS Atkins
Architect unknown

Architect unknown

Architect unknown
National Engineering Bureau

Farayand AEC
222

223
224 Botch: A Call to Design

SOM

WS Atkins

KEO

OMA/Rem Koolhaas

Dar Al-Handasah

Cadiz International

SOM

Architect unknown

Architect unknown

WS Atkins

RMJM

Jean Nouvel

WS Atkins

Shankland Cox

Borja Huidobro/Atelier 4 Architects

WS Atkins

Santiago Calatrava

Architect unknown

Eric R Kuhne & Associates

KEO

Norr Group

225 AMO Gulf Survey

 Interview
Wake Up
— Sheikh Majed Al Sabah Wants to Save Cities
Sheikh Majed Al Sabah’s passion for fashion first emerged when he encoun-
tered the tailoring genius of Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto as
a teenager. His Villa Moda brand, a series of high fashion stores throughout
the Middle East, has grown to become an international phenomenon. At the
convening of The Arab Strategy Forum organized by Moutamarat in Dubai,
Al Sabah spoke with Rem Koolhaas.
Last night at The Arab Strategy Forum, you were very outspoken
Rem Koolhaas —
about current urban development in the Gulf. You could start perhaps
with giving your general opinion about the Gulf’s development as a whole.
The Middle East has been experiencing an appalling status, when
Botch: A Call to Design
Sheikh Majed —
it comes to architecture. Ever since the 1970s, we keep seeing that there
is sometimes very good direction – that there are invitations from the
government for well-known architects from around the world to come and
be involved in some of their projects.
Nevertheless, in the 80s and the 90s, we started seeing a decline in
architecture and design. We kept on seeing people take models of existing
cities and projects – from different cities in Asia or in America, for instance.
They would say, ‘This is a beautiful project in Las Vegas or in Hong Kong.
Let’s do the cut-and-paste idea, or use the same kind of theme.’ So that’s
why I feel that what is needed is a wake-up call for all the decision-makers:
‘Look, what is happening is quite appalling and disastrous, so why can’t
we fix that?’
How do you see that kind of opinion – to be completely
RK —
expressive about what is going on in the Gulf – taken by other
people? Does it start to register with others at some point?
Have you been on a one-man campaign?
So far yes, but my voice is getting heard. In Kuwait, I’m trying to get
SM —
involved through specific government institutions. I’m trying to convince
them to bring in quality architecture within their new projects. They will
end up paying the same thing regardless of which architect – sometimes
paying even much less for quality architects.
It’s been a proven experience from my retail side. The government and
the decision-makers started to see that: ‘Okay, you have succeeded in what
you wanted to do; it’s a very good model, very successful. Why can’t you
come and help us?’
RK — What is your model?
My model is in the fashion business. I am very bored by shopping
SM —
malls and department stores. So, the idea that I do is to come up with the
environment itself. I’m not a mono-brand; I’m a multi-brand. When I
come to design a space, I always like to take influence from the souks and
226
the bazaars from around this region. That is the model for me. When you
consider the souk and the bazaar, they are the most enduring experiences
of shopping… the chaos, the lack of uniformity, the ability to touch and
taste and smell. That is the philosophy that I would like to implement in
my retail environment, but when it comes to established luxury brands,
they are still protective of their image. When it comes to my outside world,
I like for it to be chaotic, to use the influence of the bazaars and the souks
from all around the world.
RK — Which souks do you think are the most representative?
I think, from a philosophical point of view, the most inspiring are in
SM —
Damascus, Isfahan, Istanbul and Teheran. Not Dubai.
So you are mostly talking about places where the market
RK —
economy has barely entered….
SM — Yes.
RK —So you have been able, you think, to avoid the same kind of
kitsch transplant that happened here [at the Madinat Jumeirah]?
Fortunately, we’ve avoided that kind of kitsch. You have to be innovative
SM —
and diverse. To be creative. That’s the key. In our philosophy, when we
Gulf Survey
make any decision, we like to be innovative, but we also like to work with
quality architects.
RK —But the problem is that everyone thinks of him/herself
as incredibly diverse and innovative…
SM —They market themselves to be incredibly diverse and different. There
are so many beautiful projects, which I’m sure you bump into, especially
the old 60s-inspired buildings here and there. But these projects are not
marketed. Today the hype is to put Andre Agassi on the heliport,
announce ‘This is it!’ and run commercials all around the world. Here,
that is a building. This has happened as a kind of default in the absence
of real architecture.
The way to overcome such a thing is to always ask a quality architect…
and to give them the right briefing and the right direction and ask them
AMO
not to copy others.
I once invited Philippe Starck for a brainstorm. I told Philippe that
people from the Gulf go abroad – to Europe, to America – and there they
enjoy shopping. Most of the shopping experiences in the European or
Western countries happen on streets. You can see this on Avénue Montaigne,
Via Monte Napoleone, Fifth Avenue, etc. So, how can we create a street
which is luxurious, beautiful, different, and compatible with the Middle
Eastern world? That was the challenge – to avoid the shopping mall.
What kind of criticism do you think is effective in this world?
RK —
Yesterday you were amazingly blunt. You even addressed corruption.
What vehicles do you think we can develop to address this situation?
How can designers address this kind of environment?
SM —The decision-makers – the government and businessmen – they need
direction. They are misled by events like Cityscape1, ‘Oh, there’s something
called Cityscape. We have to go there so that we can see what the others
are doing, and then we can do the same.’
If quality architects and quality projects come together under one
227
 umbrella, and I can lead it and say, ‘Governments, real-estate developers
and companies, come. This is what we feel that Kuwait should look like…
or Qatar should look like.’ It takes an effort to put such a thing together,
but at least we have a voice. The voice of Cityscape has brainwashed the
decision-makers.
RK — What about corruption? How direct and open can you be about that?
SM —Well, it’s the ministries who make the decisions when it comes to
architects, designers, or planners. The minister himself is obliged to take a
message to the Council of Ministers, in order to address the decision-makers.
Under the minister, there are people who are short-listing or approaching
architects. For example, if there is a big project in Kuwait, and they would
say within the ministry, ‘We are going to shortlist some architects. Let’s
see who designed the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai; who designed the King
Abdullah City for Emaar in Saudi Arabia.’ Then, someone from the
ministry calls prospective architects and says, ‘You will be on the shortlist,
provided that x commission is given to me.’ That’s the corruption.
RK — Is it your ambition to move beyond commercial?
Yes.
Botch: A Call to Design
February 13, 2007
‘Live your dream… Imagination becomes reality… History rising… A place that lives…
Delivering distinction… Real estate with real deadlines… Call it home by calling…
We think out of the box so you don’t have to live in one…’
To what extent have the disciplines of urbanism and marketing merged?
Once urban plans were designed to accommodate the masses, today the masses have
to be seduced. If 25 years ago urban plans were still produced to cater to an actual
demographic necessity – a more or less delayed response to a more or less urgent need,
today urban plans are designed to attract the very population they are planning for.
During the last thirty years, almost anywhere in the world, the initiative to build
the city has been transferred to the private sector. The discipline of urbanism now must
give shape to developments whilst at the same time it finds itself entirely at the mercy
of the market to make those developments happen.
Rather than organizing and giving form to a known quantum of clearly defined uses,
the task at hand becomes the accommodation of an imagined future: to preempt an urban
experience while the precise substance of that experience remains as of yet undefined.
The primary challenge is to be vague and explicit at the same time.
The consequences of this shift have largely left the profession of urbanism in limbo.
It is as though the ethic of thorough analysis and accurate planning has become worthless

Gulf Survey
SM —
overnight. In its place have come advertisement slogans and marketability analysis.
RK — So what would be the next level of your ambition? Renderings precede plans, the sale of land precedes the planning of infrastructure, the
SM —I think master planning…master planning of new cities. Remember, image precedes the substance… for every engineer there are a hundred sales
the entire Middle East and Gulf region is totally underdeveloped. There representatives. – RdG
are so many aggressive plans from all of these governments to plan new
cities, to develop new areas, new zones. So, why can’t we try to take one
of their new plans and make it into a model?
RK — Are you speaking specifically of Kuwait?
SM —I’m speaking about Kuwait and beyond. When it comes to making
decisions on architects and designers in the Middle East, there are no
leaders – only followers.
1. Cityscape is the annual property investment and
development exhibition and conference held at Dubai’s

AMO
World Trade Center

229
228

Sheikh Majed Al Sabah at The Arab Strategy Forum organized

by Moutamarat, Dubai, December 2006
 Theo Deutinger

Simplicity™
Highest quality awesome pure exclusive island community ideal urban
community straight most exclusive brands substantial full exhilaration
of the city awesome design solutions objective peaceful environment
vibrant atmosphere predictable most exclusive stunning views ultimate
privacy original wonderland of beaches integrity, transparency and
efficiency honest ultimate holiday destination unprecedented dynamism
ultimate address unique financial services fair new reference point for
the world.
Botch: A Call to Design

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AMO
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231
 Interview
Vernacular is a Mirror
— Yasser Mahgoub on Kuwaiti Architecture
An architect and scholar from Cairo, Dr. Yasser Mahgoub is currently an
assistant professor of architecture in Kuwait University’s Department of
Architecture. After completing his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan,
Dr. Mahgoub held teaching positions in Egypt and at UAE University in Al
Ain (Abu Dhabi) before joining the faculty in Kuwait. He is currently involved
with the professional community in Kuwait and was involved in the founding
of the Kuwaiti League of Architects.
Can you describe how things have transformed in Kuwait
Todd Reisz —
since the end of the First Gulf War?
Things are changing fast, not only since the liberation of Kuwait
Regional Case Studies
Yasser Mahgoub —
in 1991 but also in the last few years with the regime change in Iraq. There
is a feeling of optimism in the country and a greater sense of security about
the future. New projects are constantly being introduced, and so are
chances to compete equally with other countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, and Bahrain. And this optimism is being accommodated with
changes of building regulations that allow high-rise buildings, first from
40 floors to 70, and now up to 100 floors. Kuwait is a dynamic, hybrid
society, and is changing fast.
The impact of globalization is approaching the country in a different
way than before. It is more positive now whereas it was more negative in
the 90s. Of course, consumer culture and the exposure to other cultures
have been continuing.
TR —Do you think that the optimism comes from Kuwaitis simply
feeling comfortable with asserting themselves?
YM —Yes, and people are finding opportunities to invest more and do more.
But there is also the urgency to upgrade the traffic system and to build
new communities. The third master plan was revised recently and I think
that the municipality is now going to implement it. Major projects are
under way: the Subiya new town, the New University City in Shedadiya,
the Failaka Island and the other islands development projects, the regional
train line, and the interstate highway between Gulf countries. These
projects will have a big impact on the country.
TR — Is there such a thing as Kuwait architecture?
YM — People refer to traditional and vernacular buildings as the only true
Kuwaiti architecture. I think that is a misconception. As I see it, architecture
is a mirror of society. Like any other vernacular architecture, it was a pure
reflection of the conditions and the social needs of a time. It reflects what
is going on and what has happened in the past. The ‘vernacular’ and the
‘traditional’ are a reflection of a particular time and conditions. Today’s
architecture is also Kuwaiti architecture. For example, mud bricks and stones
232
were local materials, but wood had to be imported from India or Africa.
After the discovery of oil, more resources became available to build in
new ways. New expertise came in, and different ideas were imported from
other parts of the world. People were able to go abroad and visit other
places and come back with their own ideas about what they want and what
architecture should be. It was at this point in Kuwaiti history that the
first master plan was made.
What I call ‘hyper identity’ or ‘hybridity’ has changed architecture
from its primitive, vernacular and traditional condition to a more vibrant
and changing one, reflecting the people’s ambitions, what they want to be,
what they are, and their history. It’s an overlap of many layers of meaning
that does not allow us to look at each one separately.
TR —In the early years, modernism wasn’t necessarily coming from
the West but also from the East, specifically Japan. It is exciting
to think that the government was clearly aware of architecture’s
true potential at that time.
YM —Yes, Kenzo Tange was commissioned to design the airport building.
At that time an intellectual, cultured group of people were running the
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municipality. They were open to new suggestions and opinions. They
wanted to see the world and wanted the world to see them and interact
with them. Yet they had their own values and were aware that they had
conditions that should be respected. For example, Hamid Shuaib, the first
Kuwaiti architect to graduate from a university in the West, was working
in the municipality and participated positively in selecting and implementing
projects. Saba George Shiber was appointed as a consultant for the munici-
pality and participated in monitoring the progress of the implementation
of the master plan.
Being visionary while maintaining certain self-restraint –
TR —
can we say this is one kind of tradition in Kuwaiti architecture?
YM —Yes, I can say that, in general, it is. But, there is currently too much
bureaucracy that is holding back the speed of development in comparison
AMO
to other Gulf countries. While it’s a good thing that everybody is partici-
pating in the decision process, projects don’t go as fast as other places like
Dubai, Bahrain, or Qatar. There is an exhausting bureaucratic process
that projects have to go through. They have to be reviewed and approved
by many governmental agencies, whereas in other Gulf countries decisions
are made much faster by smaller bodies of authority. The bureaucratic
process has an impact on how projects are implemented and procured.
TR — So the proposal of Silk City is more of an exception than the rule?
YM — Yes.
TR —What do you think about Kuwaitis’ openness now to projects
like Silk City?
YM —Silk City is adjacent to Subiya City, which is approved and is going to
be implemented soon. Because Silk City was not part of the scope of the
current master plan, they are trying to bring the two ideas together. They
require coordination because Silk City is a private organization while
Subiya City is developed by the government. So they are trying to see what
they can do about the two.
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 If we consider monumental buildings in Kuwait – like the National
TR —

Assembly by Jørn Utzon or the Ministry of Information by Raili and

Reima Pietilä, have they become Kuwaiti, or are they still seen as
foreign bodies?
YM —They have become part of the landscape and the collage of styles that
is present in Kuwait. They are not understood by everyone, but definitely
by specialists, as representing part of Kuwaiti architecture history.
TR —But beyond the collage effect, have they had a more resonating
effect on what Kuwaiti architecture is?
YM —I don’t think so, because Kuwaiti architecture is always changing.
Everybody agrees that before oil there was pure Kuwaiti architecture. But
after that, there have been many changes and forces that are still pushing
and pulling people between their modernism and postmodernism. You
find dissention between being modern and being traditional.
At a recent seminar this issue of identity was discussed. Some of the
practicing architects said that we shouldn’t be concerned about the matter
at all. We should just do what we think is functional and technically
advanced. We should be part of the human condition; we should try to
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advance with others and not separate from them.
Others disagree and say ‘no, we should adapt technology and human
thinking to our own cultural background and values.’ People have to look
inward and see who they are in order to be able to deal with others, and
Khaled Adham

how to hold to the values and culture while benefiting from technology and
Salmiya Palace Hotel and an Italian shopping mall (a separate development) built ca. 2000 Saleh Al Mutawa
advancement in new lifestyle. At the end, you will find that most architects
are being influenced by the economy and clients.
One particular Kuwaiti phenomenon is Saleh Al Mutawa. He is a
developer and architect. He has built many buildings here in Kuwait, and
they represent his vision of what ‘Kuwaiti architecture’ should be.
TR — Do you like his architecture?
YM —I study it. It’s a case worth studying. He’s influential and has resources
to build his own buildings. So, he is there, active and building. He is a

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graduate of the US, and has written a book about his vision and buildings.
But other architects don’t like it at all. They think that it is copying
and pasting and that it is a Disneyland.
Some people look at identity as a negative thing that’s separating Kuwait
Kuwait Petroleum Company Building Salhiya architecture (scheduled for demolition) from the rest of humanity and a way of ‘labeling’ Kuwait. In my opinion,
there is no one answer to the question of identity. It’s very difficult to find
a cause-effect relationship between architecture and identity. Instead,
there are context and conditions. A historical moment is happening.
Courtesy: Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait
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New development encircling old Kuwaiti houses off of Arabian National Assembly Complex by Jørn Utzon
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 Architect/developer Saleh Al Mutawa brings Arabic reference (the objects of which are
likely to be purchased in Egypt) to modern comfort at the Salmiya Palace Hotel, Kuwait
City. His hotel towers off the Arabian Gulf Street are the two most shocking towers in
Kuwait City, defying both contemporary minimalism and the harmonized traditional.
Al Mutawa himself keeps a balustraded office on the ground floor lobby – despite its
central position, it is only one space in the hyperactively charged arcade. Does he keep
his office there so that he can measure the pulse of the people?
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 Essay Todd Reisz can hardly be maneuvered, in a way that says modern conveniences are

Market Narrows
— A Visit to the Souk
Souk: From Arabic ‫قوُس‬, sūq, from Aramaic, šūqā (‘street’, ‘market’);
from Akkadian sūqu (‘street’), from sāqu (‘narrow’, ‘squeeze’).
Agora: Greek αγείρειν meaning ‘to gather’, ‘to collect,’ ‘large place’
Nighttime is the time for shopping in Kuwait’s souk: the temperature
is lower and the chance of a cool breeze is higher. Night also ensures a
strangely temporal scene, a typical street dissociated from its everyday feel.
Light is fluorescent-bright, but it quickly subsides to an impenetrable
Regional Case Studies
not encouraged. Souk streets determine their preferred shoppers.
Cities touched with the modern tendencies of market forces see their
souk cultures deform and dwindle, perhaps to return as a nostalgic, self-
conscious aftermath. First crumbling into devastated outlets where little
is on sale, then tourism development grabs hold of souk’s romantic notions
and rebuilds a tourist’s paradise of exotic variation, but selling only the
expected: packaged incense to bring home; knickknack souvenirs; beach
toys and cheap sandals. Where capitalism has hardly had its way, the souks
have maintained an authentic nod to past trade customs and the protocol
of gestural bartering. Kuwait’s souk sits comfortably between worlds.
In a constant play between public and private, the souk challenges
what is open space and closed. Narrow streets open to a larger space. This
is a coffee shop as much as an urban square, as it is a closed courtyard.
Several streets – filled with vegetables, home goods, clothing and perfumes
– converge on this essential space. The café business seems neither to
own the courtyard nor be franchised public space – they exist only with

darkness – sharp white to gold and then to black. What extra light there
is for atmospheric effect sheds a soft golden tint on external surfaces – like
dirt roads and new paving bricks, glimpses of the pitched ceilings above.
Despite the fact that layers of city exist above the shops, at night they
disappear as if Kuwait were still a one-story village. Fellow shoppers
remain in cool shadows – an urban community but one that provides the
ease of privacy.
Translating souk to ‘market’ misses an urban nuance, because market
implies a distinct space – like agora. Whereas agora implies the ‘gathering,
assembling’ of unused space into a definable void or center 1, souk’s
mercantile roots come from ‘narrow’ and ‘street,’ an attenuated alternative
to a Western version of market – easily inhabiting portions of the city not
‘gathered’ but ‘squeezing’ into underused space. Agora is destination; souk
Gulf Survey
each other.
In 1966, a travel writer noted that the ‘ragged old souk had mostly
vanished’.2 The mud bricks and rusty corrugated steel of earlier days are
now all gone. Ever since the 1950s, Kuwait has tried in numerous ways to
update its souk. What remains are various manifestations of modernism,
rejected and revised. More diversion and discovery.
1. Perhaps why agoraphobia is both the fear of crowds 2. Holden, David. Farewell to Arabia. 1966
and of large spaces.

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is more like city – it streams out and occupies the ground level of a city; it
seeps underground functioning like a nervous system.
Display is at once artless and captivating. Every surface within a stall
is covered with at least two layers of merchandise – even the inner sides
of open doors and door jambs are real estate too prime to ignore. No shop
can be fully inspected. There is always something your eyes miss.
No matter how many shoppers there are, there is still a certain dignity
to shopping.
Crossing from one covered street to another can signify a world of
difference – in terms of products and also atmosphere. A quick turn in an
alley will place you in Kuwait’s center of Arabic perfumes, and around the
next corner the souk is a dusty road where dates and figs are sold by twenty
different vendors – each obeying a presentation custom of mountains of
the fruits broken in a way so that you can easily taste the products. More
renovated streets of the souk are paved with ceramic tiles, much like the
produce section of a supermarket. These spaces are teeming with South
Asian men waiting to be hired to push your purchases in their carts. On
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other roads marked with potholes and broken rocks, these modern inventions
 1. The Left Alone. Stores built in the 1950s from concrete and brick to replace the mud
brick stalls – they have seemingly transformed themselves back into what they once
were – a patina of wear and resistance returns ancientness. The roads in these areas
are dirt. These are the areas where a stillness is obvious.
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Todd Reisz

2. The Modernized. Parts of the souk show the obvious signs of modernization, that is,
opened up by the broadening of streets and clear demarcation of sidewalks from roads.
American Main Streets. Car traffic is let in and encouraged. Stores get bigger, so do their
signage because it can be read from a greater distance. Double parking traffic jams so
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that traffic doesn’t go too fast. Honking and waving. Another kind of street life.
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3. The Reinstated. Sometimes modernism is embraced. At other times it is swallowed
by a stronger, more ancient order. Storefront shops unfold out onto designated sidewalks,
opening facades to be extensions, if not replacements, for interior spaces. Shoppers
are then directed to walk in roads. The squeezing of modern voids to a minimum;

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souk makes an etymological return to ‘narrow.’

 4. The Rebuilt. After the Gulf War, the souk experienced its own ‘Kuwaitization.’
Traditional mud brick stalls are visually reintroduced as concrete block stained mud-brown,
with fresh new wood and iron cast street lamps, like those from a Dickens-era movie set.
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 5. The Bedouin’s Return. Modernizing Kuwait saw a need to accommodate cars. Souks
and old buildings were torn down for new developments and parking lots. If these modern
voids are not rightly filled with the new, souk vendors return with shed-like islands – an
electric-light oasis in the middle of a dark vacancy. The vendors here sell light merchandise
– canvas bags, tin teapots, light bulbs. There is the feeling everything could stay for years
or be moved out tomorrow.
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 Essay Dr. Rasem Badran society bound to traditional values. This social pattern has been merely

Reflections on a enhanced through the everyday life in the public domain, and experienced
by walking through the alleys of this living fabric of most Arab cities.

Regional Narrative
— An Architecture on Gulf Sensibility
New urban approaches should provoke traditional social behavior,
encouraging the user’s imagination both to interact with spaces and to
seek their social ties. The outcome must be an unfinished pattern that
interacts continuously with the surrounding conditions. This can be clearly
perceived in some of my office’s modest models of approach, such as the
Born in Jerusalem in 1945, Rasem Badran received his education in Ramallah Grand Mosque in Riyadh and King Abdul Aziz Museum complex (Al-Dara-
and later in Germany, where he graduated in Architecture in 1970. His practice, Riyadh), which are approached through the urban socio-cultural identity
Dar al-Omran, formed together with engineer Laith Shubeilat, is based in in which the concept of an old city is revitalized and renovated.
Amman, Jordan. In 1995, Badran was a recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Nonetheless, we can’t deny the vertical growth that the city is witnessing.
Architecture for the Great Mosque of Riyadh and the Redevelopment of the The approach towards verticality, however, is based on statements rather
Old City Centre. than events. Verticality must explore the idea of continuous additions
through time, not as final manufactured objects. References to these modular
additions can be inspired from our own urban inheritance of cities, such
Through my work, I have persistently pursued a dialogue containing social as Sana’a and Hadramout. This approach to the vertical can guide our
patterns that define this region and respond to its unique environmental understanding of the term ‘high-rise buildings’ beyond the limited benefits
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conditions. A new perception of physical space is generated, which reha- it provides today.
bilitates communal values, through understanding the level of perception My architectural proposals reveal my attempt to reach an epistemo-
of the inhabitants and the users. An intelligent living network can then logical model to prevent our cities from becoming abandonments where
balance between the material and the spiritual. the elderly await the inevitable and final end, where the child looks outward
My experience with architecture has involved a search for an environment at uncertainty.
that responds to the essential characteristics of the Gulf region and the
community patterns that have evolved over time. Our proposal for the
Museum of Islamic Arts in Qatar, for example, narrates the story of the city
through the institutionalization of the museum structure, based on a
micro-urban concept. My architecture is influenced by the cultural and
religious values of Islam. It engages the dialogue between public and
private by the juxtaposition of the introverted family within an extroverted

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Courtesy of Dar Al Omran
Courtesy of Dar Al Omran

Courtesy of Dar Al Omran

Courtesy of Dar Al Omran

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Urban fabric of the old city of Isfahan Proposal for Museum of Islamic Arts Qatar The Grand Mosque in Riyadh Hafeet project in Al Ain
 Interview
They Will Come
to the Desert
— Al Areen Holding Company Creates an Oasis
During the days of Cityscape Al Areen Holding Company’s general manager
Waleed Ishaq Saffy shared insight about the company’s largest Bahraini
project, the pseudonymous Al Areen, located a short drive from the urban
sprawl of Bahrain’s capital Manama. On a development map of the Gulf,
Al Areen stands out as an isolated oasis in the desert, without expectation
of any other development to connect it to the most coveted development
asset – coastline. What kind of strategy was behind this daring move?
There is something that seems different about the Al Areen
Todd Reisz —
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project when you compare it to other projects.
We feel that we are creating a destination that takes part in one
Waleed Ishaq Saffy —
of the most beautiful desert areas of the Kingdom of Bahrain. In the last
twenty years, there have been towns developed outside Manama, but they
were never a complete package. At Al Areen people can actually live or
visit for quality entertainment. By having proper quality control, appropriate
concept development, construction and infrastructure, we feel that this
project can afford to be different. It’s a low-rise development where you
are free from the buzz and headache of the city. For example, one of the
feature ideas is to have an area with controlled traffic movement and a lower
speed limit.
Despite its lack of waterfront, the Al Areen development is considered
one of the most important real estate projects in the Kingdom with total
investments exceeding 1.2 billion US dollars. This luxury, mixed-use
health, residential and family leisure and tourism development spans over
two million square meters close to the Al Areen Wildlife Sanctuary.
What really strikes me about this project is that it claims to
TR —
embrace the desert, which no other development project does.
Courtesy of Al Areen
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Master plan of the Al Areen development
WIS —This portion of the island was purposely developed in order to utilize
a desert environment that doesn’t have beachfront. Before the Formula
One racetrack came to Bahrain, there was no development at all on this
part of the island. After having seen a lot of attraction come in for Formula
One, we thought of developing the desert area adjacent to it.
Initiators of the development had the idea of bringing in Banyan Tree
Hotels and Resorts, a Singapore-based luxury chain operator of six spa
facilities, to operate the Banyan Tree Desert Spa & Resort, Al Areen. But
that alone was not enough. It would be difficult to get people from down-
town Manama to drive a half hour just to visit a spa in the middle of the
desert. We decided to expand the idea into a destination where people can
live or come for a few days – not just a one- or two-hour stay.
TR — Is the wildlife component more like a zoo, or a reserve?
It’s a natural Wildlife Park, not a safari, and is open to the public. There
WIS —
are enclosures, but you can see gazelles, ostriches… It’s really interesting.
You go by minibus, and then pay a small fee for a tour.
TR — Will you call it a city?
I don’t want to call it a city. It’s a small town, a community, with its
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WIS —
own facilities.
TR — Do you imagine that people who live here will also work in Manama?
WIS —It is possible, since the development is only a 25-minute drive from the
city centre. We’ll have around 800 villas of different sizes here. We will also
have approximately 2,500 flats distributed throughout the development.
TR — What is the economic range – mixed, very high or middle income?
Al Areen is definitely not for the lower- but for the upper-mid and
WIS —
higher. House sizes range from mid-size to villas and palaces. In the entire
region, homes in a mid-price range have been upgraded. The price of
construction has gone up tremendously, not just for Al Areen but globally.
So middle-class families have to deal with a new price range.
We have what we call ‘Downtown Al Areen,’ which includes a shopping
bouvelard with high-end boutiques, cafes and a residential area with
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townhouses and condominiums. For residents and others from out of town
we are also building a medical park very soon with a Rehabilitation Centre
and luxury accommodation units for long-term stay.
TR —In your marketing materials, you stress Banyan Tree Al Areen
as a spa and resort in the desert. Is there a desire to keep it sustainable,
to embrace desert landscape?
Since it can get quite hot in the summer, you have to make it a bit dif-
WIS —
ferent. Water features will help with that. Banyan Tree Desert Spa & Resort,
Al Areen presents a total of 78-luxuriously appointed villas; 56 one-bedroom
Desert Pool Villas and 22 two-bedroom Royal Pool Villas and featuring
private open-air swimming and jet pools, over-sized infinity bath tubs and
sprawling master bedrooms. Capturing the essence of Arabia, each villa
is designed to incorporate an intimate fusion of traditional Middle Eastern
and contemporary Asian architecture. The interiors combine arabesque
style furnishings with elegant Far Eastern fabrics, wrapping guests in
sheer luxury and total tranquillity. The Banyan Tree Spa features eight
Deluxe and four Royal Spa Pavilions, the world’s first Garden Ham-
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mam, a Hydrothermal Garden and extensive fitness facilities.
 Interview
Ras Al Khaimah’s
New Realism
— Izzat Dajani Shares a Vision for Total Lifestyle Package
Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates of the UAE, is out to define itself
from its neighbors. Measuring the feats and attempts of other emirates,
RAK wants to define a path unique to Ras Al Khaimah, connected to its
particular geography and history but also offering the modern day lifestyle
expected of its resident-to-be. Izzat Dajani, chief executive from RAK’s
government, made time during his hectic days at Cityscape to outline what
is in store in the next five years.
What is Ras Al Khaimah trying to do and what is it trying to
Todd Reisz —
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be in terms of its relationship with other emirates and other cities
developing along the Gulf coast? It’s out to be different, especially
from Dubai. But what is it that makes this emirate different?
Let’s start with the GDP so you can understand where we are.
Izzat Dajani —
You can find that 59 percent of the UAE’s contribution to GDP is from
Abu Dhabi, 29 percent is from Dubai, just under 7 percent from Sharjah
and Ras Al Khaimah has 2.9 percent. That is one of the elements that are
defining us, depending on our economy size and population. Ras Al Khaimah’s
GDP grew by a phenomenal 18% in 2005 to a total of $2.5 billion. Our
population is just over 200,000 people. We’ll double both in the next five
to ten years. In terms of size, we are the fourth largest emirate after
Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. That said, Ras Al Khaimah is a really
different place with a new vision in place. It’s about finding a destiny.
It is like an unpolished jewel – ironically, there’s a lot of rock here!
Over the past three or four years there has been a reorientation of Ras Al
Khaimah’s vision based upon the realization of Ras Al Khaimah’s potential.
This new confidence is a sign of HH Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi’s
coming to office as Crown Prince & Deputy Ruler. Ever since the new
leadership started looking at new ways of doing things, we have been moving
with a new realism. That’s very important.
TR — What is ‘new realism’?
ID — It’s not enough to dream. Everyone dreams. Everyone here at Cityscape
is dreaming of realizing his or her own project. The trick is, those with a
realistic vision that can be materialized will succeed. The others will just
become frustrated. In Ras Al Khaimah today, we have a vision that can
be materialized. We go on a realistic time process. We look at things over
five years, not over fifty years. And we keep refining the model.
What’s happening basically is that we realized that we have great potential
in the real estate and hospitality markets. One of those reasons is that the
land topography is very attractive. The mixture between different land-
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scapes – between coastline and the mountains, between the plateaus and
the valleys – is really interesting.
We also look at things from more than a real estate point of view. Part
of the success factor is in how we differentiate our products.
TR — And one of those things is geography?
ID —Yes, and what we also realize is that, unless we come with a total
lifestyle package, we’re just another development.
TR — What’s a ‘lifestyle package’ ?
ID — You see, we have thought through all the components of life. The house
that you buy or you rent is connected to the restaurant you visit; it’s
connected to the theme park that you take your kids to, to the hospital that
you go to when you feel sick, as well as the school that your kids go to. It’s
a whole lifestyle experience. It’s no good building the most exquisite resort
if it’s not part of a full lifestyle package. We have a holistic approach
whereby every project that we do is going to be integrated with the overall
components of a full lifestyle development.
Gulf Survey
Courtesy of Investment and Development Office, RAK
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Saraya Islands will occupy the pristine 7 kilometre Julfar Island
The Saraya project, for example, is a fully integrated project, meaning,
it has a happy and clever mix between components of lifestyle. It has the
real estate which people live in. It has the hotels which are a creative linking
to the real estate. Just staying in a gated community can sometimes be dull
and boring, or you don’t want too much activity inside your living quarters,
so you want something close by such as hotels. Then, you add a boulevard
to that so that within a five-minute drive you move from a fully residential,
gated community to a boulevard that’s full of shopping and life. It has coffee
shops like Starbucks and all the malls. We are also thinking of linking that
boulevard to the mountains with a cable car and probably a nine-hole golf
course at the altitude of 600 meters.
So that’s a whole experience. By linking the hotels to the boulevard to the
shopping area to the recreation for children, to the fully secluded atmosphere
for grown-ups to enjoy the time with their family with peace of mind,
linking it to an experience in the mountains and, at the same time, creating
the environment close-by for first-class education and first-class health
care, it becomes a reality.
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 I talked to people from a project where they are also selling a
We are just trying to catch
TR —

lifestyle package. But it’s a traditionally Muslim lifestyle, making sure

that people who come to live there are not just buying a type of house or
place, but also a type of community. They are sharing it with a similar
type of people. Is that anything that Ras Al Khaimah is looking at?
You have to think these days outside the box. You can’t confine yourself.
ID —
What I mean by lifestyle development is that you take the components
around you, and you make sure that whoever is buying here gets the full
benefit of the surroundings.
Courtesy of Investment & Development Office
the reality of the day.
Although the weather here can actually be a bit harsh in the summer,
you have at least sun all year round. You can enjoy your life outside all
year round – especially people who come from a less hot environment.
But importantly, no investor would park money in a place where you
don’t trust health care. If people trust the education and the health care,
they have to come.
TR — And the health care system of Ras Al Khaimah is now in place?
We are now talking about delivery. This is going to be a premiere place
ID —

for a health care delivery system. Because of the components that we are
bringing in, people will trust health care and education in Ras Al Khaimah.
We have signed up with one of the premiere hospitals in the United
States. They will be opening a fully integrated health care system in Ras
Al Khaimah. I can’t announce the name, but they are one of the premiere
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Saraya Islands hospitals based in Texas. They are now working with us to set up specialty
clinics, medical centers and hospitals. Health care with our partner will
How do you convince home-buyers that your hospitals are of
TR —

quality and your schools are of quality? kick in a bit earlier, early 2008.
What is particularly striking is that Ras Al Khaimah is selling
TR —
The proof is in the pudding. Our projects speak for themselves. We don’t
ID —
something that it’s had – an ancient landscape – and things that it
promise the future; we promise the present. That gives a sense of confidence. needs simply by bringing them in from afar.
Ras Al Khaimah has done so much in terms of investments in education. ID —We look at ourselves as a small unit in a much bigger one. We are like
We are really serious about education. We have the first fully integrated a fish in a big pond. That pond is too big. Within a two-hour flying radius
American campus: George Mason University. My office, Investment & from the UAE you can get superb health care, send your kids to a good
Development Office, has been a strong instrument in bringing a full university, or put them in a boarding school…
campus of a top key American institution to Ras Al Khaimah, so students TR — What about sustainability, environment?
can go to a real American campus that’s branded. We have also signed up ID — If you do the thing right, it sustains itself.
with Tufts University for its renowned nutrition program. Tufts’ School TR — But that’s also something to be marketed.
of Nutrition is the premiere nutrition institution in the United States and

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They always ask me, ‘What makes countries succeed? What makes
ID —

globally. We are just trying to catch the reality of the day. Ras Al Khaimah succeed?’ I say, ‘Leadership, leadership, leadership and
TR — So, you have two universities… luck!’ [laughs] We’ve put the first three right, and I hope there could be
Yes, with more coming. We will also have a premiere boarding school
ID —
the fourth.
which will probably be one of the well-branded, well-structured boarding
schools.
TR — Is it a new school or a branch of an existing school?
It’s a new school. Educators from premiere schools globally – from Aus-
ID —

tralia, Britain, the USA, or Canada – are on the advisory board sitting
with us to make the structure for that school.
TR — How would you define Ras Al Khaimah’s five-year vision?
Ras Al Khaimah is about offering people a fully integrated lifestyle

Courtesy of Investment & Development Office

ID —

where they can come and feel the difference. Remember, this part of the
world offers zero taxation: no income tax, no corporate tax, no duty, no
sales tax, no capital gains tax. For the European, the American, the Arab
and the Asian, this is nice. It’s an ideal place to buy a second home: people
can come here, park money in a house or a home or a unit. The more the
value goes up, the more money you make. Al Hamra Academy boarding school
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 Reinier de Graaf

Sustainable City
— Ras Al Khaimah at a Crossroads

The city had a compelling reason, once… to share scarce protected land among the
largest possible number of people – a place where working, living, and playing formed
a single integrated whole.
Industrialization, followed by an explosion of wealth, gave rise to a gradual dismantling
of the city’s traditional properties. The integration of human activities was abandoned
in favor of zoning, concentration in favor of dispersal, and collective forms of settlement
Not this… …but this.
in favor of ‘home and garden’ as the ultimate symbol of individual wealth.
In an attempt to overcome the traditional ails of the city, the 20th-Century elevated
the anti-city to the status of blueprint.
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But 20th-Century cures may yet prove to be 21st-Century ails. In the face of an
imminent depletion of resources, everything we have grown to like – low density, lawns,
spaciousness, luscious green – has come to represent an ecological time bomb.
For some time desert developments have been constructed as though they could have
been constructed anywhere else. Large sections of the desert are being turned into high
maintenance lawn. Levels of energy and water consumption are representing immense
ecological cost. Amidst the harsh climate conditions of the desert, a return of the
city’s traditional properties – concentration, density, and integration – seems unavoidable.
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is at a crossroads: even with pressures to join the development
race in the UAE, the Emirate still feels relatively virgin. Not yet ‘developed’ to the level
of Dubai or Abu Dhabi, RAK could still avoid the type of rampant global modernism
that has hit other parts of the UAE and opt for a more considered approach.
With 150,000 new inhabitants on 4 square kilometers, the Gateway Development
Project represents a quantum leap in RAK’s development. It marks a decisive moment in
the course of the RAK’s future planning. But beyond RAK itself, the Gateway Development

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Project could acquire a regional or even global relevance: a showcase of sustainable
development in the most adverse conditions – a key moment in the rehabilitation of the city.
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Gateway Development
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Gateway Development plan, November 2006
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 September 25, 2006
We have been invited to take part in an obscure urban planning project. Main feature:
a mysterious Russian professor who claims he can make rain in the desert. His
presentation includes news flashes of a recent – and very unusual – flooding in the UAE
as proof. All of this is made possible through the use of ‘Magnetic Technologies’, the
remnants of an aborted science program for climate control from Soviet times, which
the professor has now patented. His portfolio includes a credential letter signed by
Leonid Brezhnev.
Weird antenna-like equipment is loaded onto pick-up trucks (much like the infamous
SS20 nuclear missiles) and driven into the desert. The antennas shoot ions into the
atmosphere provoking clouds to burst and cause rain. The professor’s presentation
continues to show pyramids of snow, sphinxes of ice, and photographs of himself and
various high-ranking government officials in the burning desert sun, testing the
hardness of freshly fallen hail.
A question about the possible undesirable side effects is rebutted with the confident
statement that the only real problem of the technology is keeping count of the many
positive things that occur in its wake. Amongst the many blessings of the artificial rain
are: increased human fertility rates, cured cases of skin cancer, and the mass return
of animal species until recently considered extinct. – RdG

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AMO
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261
 Argument

Terraforming
‘We haven’t done anything new. We’ve just given dredging its shape.’
‘What you are about to see is like seeing the pyramids being built
thousands of years ago.’
– marketing representative for The World

Land reclamation was once based on need: for infrastructure, for

defense, for streamlining nature. Projects were based on logic and an
aesthetic of efficiency and minimal intervention. In The Gulf, reclamation
is for the first time related purely to pleasure – adopting a logic of
maximum whimsicality. The ‘coast’ is no longer a fraught and utilitarian

Gulf Survey
encounter between land and sea, but an orientalist and fractal plotline.
Since ‘coast’ is the main selling point of The Gulf, this shift has generated
not an isolated indentation or pier, but a shoreline of systematic multi-
plication, a stretching, ad infinitum. Formerly the scene of a millennial
struggle against the elements, the sea has become, like the desert,
a developer’s new, frivolous canvas for unlimited exploitation.
Development ambition drives technological advancement. Technological
advancement urges more development ambition. Urbanization through
virtuous circle.
Founded in 1864, Van Oord is the conglomerated summation of Dutch
engineering companies that, approaching epical proportions, stabilized
the Netherlands’ at-risk relationship with the sea. It is arguably the
world’s largest land reclamation company. The 20th-Century saw Dutch
land engineering establish a globally admired reclamation science,

AMO
whose intelligence will be evolved and poetized in the 21st-Century.
When Dubai was considering land reclamation in the 1990s, Van Oord
was invited to tender. Realizing that the situation demanded something
more than the usual landfill project for a harbor, they demonstrated to the
Dubai developer Nakheel that land reclamation could generate terrific
revenues. Van Oord won the contract and, with the emirate, redefined
land reclamation’s potential in the process: a calculated pursuit of
15 million beach visitors per year. It was eventually an idea from Dubai
to engage the palm motif, not only because Nakheel means ‘palm’ but
because the shape naturally extends surface (coastline) without expanding
land area. Beyond extravagant shapes for extravagant hotels, the exported
vision has been able to convince clients in and beyond Dubai that the
price of land reclamation can be lower than coastal land costs, provided
that materials are available within acceptable transport distances and
that wave climates are not too extreme.
Property buyers at The World will not only be able to freely build as
they desire on their empty islands, they will also have the chance them-
selves to try terraforming within their territorial waters. England might
suddenly be reshaped: a B for Branson. – AMO

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Nakheel compares the scale of its projects to the building of the pyramids. But another man-made wonder comparison might be the Great
Wall of China. All the sand that has been transferred to create The World could build the Great Wall around the earth’s equator
 How to Terraform Making Palm Jumeirah in 21 months

KEEP CLEAR KEEP CLEAR

OF OF
PROPELLERS PROPELLERS

MAIN ENGINE 2 WARTSILA 12V46C

Courtesy Van Oord

LO P

January 7, 2001
100 meters!

1. Jumbo-size dredgers dump sand to approx. -10 meters, then… 2. L

 arge-size dredgers dump sand to 3. M
 edium-size dredgers 4. Followed by ‘rainbowing’ up to +2 meters… 5. And finally shaping and leveling.
approx. -7 meters, then… dump sand to -5 meters,
then…
January 29, 2001

May 4, 2002
Terraforming

Gulf Survey
Courtesy Van Oord
August 1, 2002
Palm Jumeirah: Engineers work to determine means
of erosion protection

If the new coastlines being built in the Gulf were assembled end to end and attached to
September 22, 2002
the northern tip of Kuwait, the extended coastline would end somewhere in Pakistan.

AMO
Courtesy Van Oord

March 25, 2003

‘The World’ being shaped with the ‘rainbow’ technique Singapore’s land mass has been increased by 25% as a result
of land reclamation. Van Oord was involved in almost every effort
of this territorial growth

June 7, 2003

Logo Islands, Dubai February 11, 2007

We hear there is a large variety of decoy techniques to simulate site activity in the face
of impatient decision makers: ranging from visual presentations showing construction
activity on different projects than the one at hand, to pointlessly having trucks move
Courtesy Van Oord

July 10, 2003

sand from one corner of a site to the other.
The most extreme one is called ‘Rainbowing’: during one of His Highness helicopter
visits – at tremendous expense – one of the boats that suck sand out of the middle of

Courtesy Van Oord

the Gulf had to turn its pumps on and spray over the land. Only this time, it wasn’t
sand, just water. It was nothing other than a façade to have His Highness saying,
‘It is happening, fantastic, it is happening.’ – RdG
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The company logo of the precursor to Nakheel,
translated into Logos Island by Van Oord October 3, 2003
 Document

Visiting The World

Hamza Mustafa:
‘We’ll first approach The World via South America, then head through
the Panama Canal to the Atlantic Ocean. Then we’ll cross the Atlantic
Ocean and pass Africa on the way to Europe. We will set foot there. The
islands will do the rest of the talking. I will not. Geography is everything
here.’
Press:
‘Which country are we visiting?’
Hamza Mustafa looks to his assistant
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Assistant:
‘Denmark.’
Hamza Mustafa:
‘We will be visiting Denmark.’
So began our press group’s introduction to The World. The man-made
Invited members of the press – mostly from Millionaire-like lifestyle magazines
islands, which from a bird’s-eye view take the shape of a world map, lie arrive at the Nakheel office in Dubai.
4 kilometres off the coast of Dubai. The concept of bringing the world
to Dubai is fully credited to HRH Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum and
is being realized by his company Nakheel. The bare islands (or countries)
start at about $30 million and are sold on an invitation-only basis to those
with not only tremendous wealth but also celebrity panache. Greenland
is already occupied.

AMO
We boarded two boats and headed toward The World on the temperate
Gulf waters. Nothing but water and sky lay before us. If I hadn’t known
we were heading toward new land not yet visible on the horizon, I would
have said we were heading straight to Iran. Dubai, however, has extended
its reach further into the historically contended waters. In a body of water
that can’t even be referred to by a proper name – the Persian Gulf or the
Arabian Gulf? – everything about this project seems pleasantly absolute
and oversimplified: the World is in the Gulf.
I asked the marketing director if the project would ever be visible from
shore. No, except maybe on a clear day from the top-floor restaurant of
the Burj Al Arab, the world’s only seven-star hotel.
Having once redefined luxury, Dubai has now released it from the
confines of icon. Invisible is the new look.
Press:
‘Is this the endgame of luxury?’
Hamza Mustafa: Model of The World at Nakheel offices, indicating how the 300 islands could
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267
‘Yes. There is nothing after The World.’ be used as private villas and exclusive resorts.
Terraforming

Gulf Survey
December 2006

AMO
Images provided by Nakheel PR.

October 2006
Recent satellite photo of Dubai. Inset indicating boat route to and around The World,
crossing through the Panama Canal into the Atlantic Ocean, entering Europe through
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the Mediterranean Ocean and then up a fictional waterway to our destination: Denmark.
Terraforming

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Our steersman and the approaching breakwater barrier. Once crossing this threshold, Greenland, the original showcase island, was purchased by a courted purchaser.
the Gulf waters become almost eerily still – hardly a wave breaks on shorelines. We asked to get closer to the island, but this is as close as we could get.

AMO
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271
A barge arrives from Ras Al Khaimah to supply rock for The World’s breakwater barrier. Approaching the Mediterranean, with Africa to the right (the cliff).
 The World
Press Conference
Hamza Mustafa is Nakheel’s General Manager for The World development
project. Luis Ajamil is an engineer for the firm Bermello Ajamil & Partners,
Inc. based in Miami, USA. On a day during Dubai’s Cityscape exhibition,
a group of international press took a short yet exciting journey to Denmark
with the two expert navigators.
Good afternoon. It’s nice weather, everybody. We are now
Hamza Mustafa —
at The World, 7 kilometers in length, 9 kilometers in width. It will add
232 kilometers of new beach. Now that’s very important. Dubai, as you
see it, is a coastal city. All development happens on the beach, and that’s
in line with our tourism industry. The tourists come to Dubai for two
Terraforming
reasons – the sun and the beach. The sun’s not going anywhere, but our
beach was fully developed by 1999. The government of Dubai placed the
order to add new beach lines to Dubai.
So, Nakheel’s main objective is to add new beach to Dubai. The Palm
added 130 kilometers. The World has added 232 kilometers. Together,
all of Nakheel’s projects will add 1,500 kilometers of beach to the original
67 kilometers.
Dubai has positioned The World as its most exclusive development ever.
Approaching Denmark’s landing, twelve kilometers from Dubai’s shore.
272
Van Oord dredging ship in background.
There will only be 300 islands; there will only ever be 300 buyers. Only
300 people will help us implement Dubai’s greatest vision.
You can see for yourself why we are so careful when we choose our buyers,
why it’s such a process to decide who gets to play a part in owning a piece
of these beautiful islands. Up to now we have sold about 45 percent of the
project. By next year, we will have stopped sales completely. We will then
let those who have already bought construct. Once that construction is
finished, by 2010 or 2011, we will sell another 50 islands. When it comes
to real estate terms, you can think of this project as Dubai’s Limited Edition.
Want to walk with me? This island, Denmark, gives you an idea of the
size of one island. The average price of an island is 30 million dollars. But
you can see the size of it. There is a lot that can be built here, from hotels
to residential villas to multi-use developments.
This is far north and basically over the Gulf. We are now standing
12 kilometers into the sea. That’s Dubai behind us. Over there is Europe.
Asia’s over there. North America is on our left.
Let me introduce Luis Ajamil. Luis is the main engineer and the
planner behind the project. Luis and I spend a lot of time planning and
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deciding how The World community’s going to work. Luis has his own
development company. I asked him to join us today because it’s an oppor-
tunity for you to see the people who are behind this project.
Press — Could you comment on luxury? Is this the end-game of luxury?
Yes, absolutely. There is nothing after The World. Not everybody
HM —
wants to buy a lot of land, but everybody dreams of buying an island.
That’s what you’re doing here. See that island over there? That’s a 200,000
square foot island with a 20,000 square foot villa on it. I built that place as
AMO
273
 a show villa. After one of the guests came and saw it, they were so
impressed that they bought the place. That gives you an idea of a low-
density single family estate.
We’re not going to have a lot of those – about 15 of the 300 islands will
be that type. That is luxury. You’re talking about a 40 million dollar home.
But the rest of the products, even as they get denser, will be incredibly
luxurious. What’s exciting about this is, once you live out here, you’ve got
all of these islands, and each of them has something to offer. One night
you can get on a boat to go to a restaurant, the next time you go to see a
movie. Everything you do regularly, you can do it here in an exclusive way,
by boat, as a community. You begin to think about just spending time here
and visiting other islands. The potential is just incredible. It’s so big that
you are never going to get tired of it. Working collectively and having each
developer come up with his own ideas will make this a truly unique place.
Press — What are the names and nationalities of some of the developers?
HM —Our developers come from England, from Ireland, from Kuwait. We
have a Russian developer, an American developer. The list goes on.
We haven’t announced all of our developers. We hand over the islands
Terraforming
in 2007 and the developers start construction after then, and it takes them
four years to finish construction. They don’t decide to launch the projects
until they actually break ground. Nobody wants to wait for eight years
until a project is ready.
So we talk about The World as two things of construction at the same time.
We have to build the land, and then they have to come and build on top.
If the developers do what they wish with the islands once they buy
Press —
it, does that mean they are going to be freehold?
HM — Absolutely. Everything you see here is freehold. We sell it freehold,
and the developers build and sell it freehold. This will always remain as
a freehold title.
Luis Ajamil — You’re buying a plot that includes the water up until the water of
the adjacent island, and each island has been carefully set. So when a
developer plans their community, if they want to have, say, a cove here and
surround it with beautiful houses, they can do that. Or if they want to
build a marina, or fill part of a bay in, and do something else in the middle,
they can do that. Each developer will have the flexibility within certain
guidelines, so that they don’t affect the surrounding islands and navigation.
In a way, you can create your own island – Hamza calls this terraforming.
You couldn’t ask for a better situation. It’s very easy to shape, yet it’s very
strong.
What are some of the challenges you have faced in developing
Press —
this? What are some of the things, in terms of construction, that you
have had to change around a bit to adapt?
LA —The challenge is just the massive scale and speed at which this is going.
It has required having a good construction company to keep the production
rates. The next project that Nakheel will announce, one of the Palms, is
the largest reclamation project of land in terms of the volume of earth that
has been moved. And it will be done in just a few years. That’s really the
major challenge.
274
Now the challenges will switch to the infrastructure side. In certain
ways, this is a lot easier than building on land. If you were to build a
project of this size in the middle of the desert, you would be worrying
about roadways and conflicts with surrounding land uses. Transportation
is your biggest problem because everybody relies on a single-person car.
Most of the people here will be arriving here by ferries because of
convenience. In a way, we’re building a community from a resource conser-
vation perspective. We don’t need to build roads. We don’t need to put
down asphalt. We don’t need to worry about pollution. As the population
goes up, you just increase the ferry service. All we would have to do is
maintain the navigation aids. From this point of view, it’s really going to
be easy.
Press — And in case of emergency?
LA — The World will be divided into four zones and each zone will be served
by one hub. Each hub has an emergency service: you have your fire station,
your police station, your healthcare provider, to which you will have
instantaneous access. Each one is so designed that, if you were crawling
at a slow speed, you’ll get there in ten minutes maximum. On average, it’s
Gulf Survey
about seven minutes to get there. Most of the islands are five minutes
away. Again, from that point of view, it’s going to be easier than trying to
get an ambulance to your place through traffic.
Press — How many people will be here at any given time?
LA — The average population is 150,000, and it will peak at about one
quarter of a million on holidays when the hotels are all going. That’s with
permanent residents, transient visitors and people that work in The World.
To give you an idea of the scale, Venice fits in less than a quarter of the
size of The World. So, it’s a very large-scale project.
HM — I think most of you want to go back to Cityscape, so let’s head back
to the boats.
Press — Did you work with one particular dredging company?
AMO
There’s one company doing all of the dredging: Van Oord, a Dutch
LA —
company. The largest dredging company in the world. The ship on the
opposite side of this island is a dredger. They look like regular ships, except
that their cargo space is filled with sand. They go out there [gesturing
toward the Gulf] and pick the sand up.
Press — Whose idea was this?
HM —Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum. He came up with all of these concepts.
It was all his idea.
Everything you do regularly, you
can do it here in an exclusive way.
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Terraforming

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AMO
Hamza Mustafa, project director for The World, poses for French telejournalists

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on Denmark, the rest of Scandinavia lies in the background.

 February 14, 2007
A shocking account of events around a recent urban development: apparently the sale
of plots had preceded the planning of utilities and amenities. By the time the need was
identified, the sale of land had already been completed. The result: a community of
200.000 people without schools, fire stations, electricity or even a single mosque. The
money involved in buying back enough land to accommodate these amenities allegedly
consumed the entire profit of the development. Who said the free market was a self-
regulating intelligent system? – RdG
Terraforming

Gulf Survey
A view from Denmark over Europe and Africa toward the Dubai skyline.
The rising Burj Al Dubai (here at 86 stories) and other Sheikh Zayed Road towers
form a two-dimensional skyline.

AMO
Korean reporters taking snapshots. A picture from Dubai without iconic backdrop –

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will this be the most sought after experience in Dubai? Dubai without Dubai?
Terraforming

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AMO
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Palm Jumeirah under construction, March 2006
 Syria
Argument Jordan
Ibn Hani Syria Russia Turkey

Export
$0.5 bn
development will $0.5 bn $11 bn $5 bn
The Dead Sea Golf
host a resort Eighth Gate project The Great Istanbul investments
and Beach Resort
develpment of stunningly designed villas, in Syria ‘to recreate the luxury and style that Domodedovo project is the first include the $500 mn tallest twin tower
is one of the largest undertakings
beach houses, apartments, and a luxurious are features of Emaar’s world-class Dubai offering in Europe in partnership project in Europe to begin construction
in Jordan property development.

Dubai
5-star hotel. developments.’ with Russian development in 2006. Architect is not known.
company Coalco to develop
‘a fully-fledged and structurally
balanced city.’ China
Egypt
Satellite office in
$16 bn
Shanghai for pursuit
30 million sq. m
Tunisia Turkey of participation in the Chinese development
Gamsha Bay township project
$1.88 bn $5-10 bn boom. Also, ‘modern community centric
in Hurghada ‘will offer the very
Marina Al Qussor Joint venture lifestyle developments in Beijing and
best of Egypt with its coral reefs,
waterfront development project Lakeside project outside Istanbul Shanghai’ including hotels, retail and
hills and beautiful coastline.’
to include residences, retail, tourist with Turkey’s largest gold exporter. schools.
attractions and golf course. First phase includes luxury villas,
Egypt shopping centers, commercial China
Morocco $4.15 bn space and hotel developments. $2.7 bn
$2 bn Emaar signed
Project to establish
Amwaj project a Memorandum of
a presence in China through
waterfront metropolis in Rabat Understanding with
a mixed use residential and commercial
is ‘a realization of the vision of the the Egyptian
project in Tanggu District, overlooking
two countries and reflects the strong Government to start
Tianjin Port.
bond between the UAE and the work on an integrated India
Kingdom in diplomacy and economy.’ community based in $4 bn
Egypt’s new Smart Over five locations Pakistan
Morocco Village in Greater Cairo. identified for development $20 bn
$0.5 bn Other developments of ‘residential, shopping, The 25,000 ha Karachi
Marina de include Cairo Heights landscaped gardens, civic Waterfront development ‘will be a new
Casablanca twin-tower development and Alexandria. facilities.’ Karachi’. The new city will also be home

Gulf Survey
includes a ‘business and life’ center, and will to Special Economic Zones.
house a 5-star hotel, offices and
entertainment / shopping center. India
$20 bn Paksitan
Nakheel and Delhi- $2.4 bn
Morocco Morocco based DLF Group sealed deals Master planned
$6.9 bn $0.6 bn for two township projects in India, communities in Islamabad and Karachi,
Contract with King Al Houara Resort one near National Capital Region including over 14,000 residences, shopping,
Mohammed VI in Tangier is the first and the other in Maharashtra, along hotels and amenities.
to develop communities comprising overseas project for a coastal region.
residential, commercial, retail, leisure Qatari Diar, offering
and entertainment facilities and an authentic and unique Malaysia
mountain and sea resorts. Moroccan way of life In December 2004,
for its residents, suited Saudi Arabia Dr. Mahatir Mohamad,
with the company’s $0.25 bn former prime minister of Malaysia, visited
Egypt understanding of the Saudi develop- Emaar for a briefing on all major projects.
In Cairo, an Arab character. ment venture with Nakheel
extensive project seen as part of Dubai’s efforts
will acquire a prime location on the Indonesia
toward improving pan-Arab
east bank of the river Nile. The Cairo ‘New Bali’ multi-
business cooperation.
Nile Corniche Towers, will express billion dollar develop-
‘Qatari culture and sophistication’ Saudi Arabia ment includes resort and residential
on Cairo’s skyline. $26.7 bn development on Lombok island. The project
King Abdullah is a joint venture with the Indonesian

AMO
Economic City. Largest government of 6,070,000 sq m.
Sudan private investment ever
Qatari Diar has in Saudi Arabia.
signed a strategic Oman Oman
investment agreement with the Sudanese Working with the $1 bn
Government to develop a major tourist Omani Ministry Salam Resort & Spa
and residential resort on the banks of the of Toursim to create an eco-tourist Yiti development is the first project under
Blue Nile. Built on a prime site opposite resort inspired by the local wildlife ‘Salam brand’ to be launched by Sama
Khartoum’s Presidential Palace, it will span and environment. Dubai in Oman.
100,000 sq m. Seychelles
‘A 5-star resort with full
leisure and shopping
Djibouti amenities and residential villas.’ ‘The Dubai Model’… a newly minted term for the empirically perfected
$1.5 bn Nakheel is
constructing Djibouti’s first 5-star hotel
development package of financial inspiration and exportation. Its definition
in a first-phase project for a luxury tourist has been cultivated mostly by semi-public companies based in Dubai and
destination.
Qatar: Emaar, Sama Dubai, Nakheel, Limitless, DAMAC, and Qatari Diar.
It’s not just about the Gulf, it’s about where the Gulf is going. These corporations have established a euphoric construction zone of
In order to keep making returns on their public-private investments the shopping centers, Mediterranean-style homes and luxury hotels within
Gulf’s major developers are bursting at the seams with domestic projects. the largest swath of the globe barely touched by globalism. This once
After an accelerated push for development in the region, it is now an ignored void, not only shunned by investors but also gingerly approached
opportune time to consider the built – there is now something to react to, by IMF bankers, can now be listed alongside other world-class luxury
protest against. In the meantime, the development companies are high- destinations.
strung kinetic machines of investment, in need of release. Resorts, second-home villas and greened deserts are now the tell-tales
Hence Modernism’s second exportation – this time from another of a new hybrid of money management and foreign policy. Emaar claims
source – the world’s largest re-export hub. that among its built and proposed projects, it will ‘cover’ 1.5 billion people,

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more than China’s population. – AMO

 The Real ‘New Middle East’
August 24, 2006 Los Angeles Times
Last month, as images of war and carnage
in Lebanon filled Arab airwaves, more than
10 million Saudis joined together for a
common goal. A massive political protest?
No. A petition calling for an end to the
fighting? Not that either. A boycott of
American goods? No. So, what did 10
million Saudis more than half the adult
population do? They bought stock.
For 10 days Saudis rushed feverishly for
a piece of the kingdom’s most ambitious
development project ever: a $27 billion
city that will create a seaport, an industrial
district, a financial centre, an education
and healthcare zone, resorts, and a
residential area…
As the headlines screamed crisis, the
business pages told another story. When
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said that the Lebanon war was a sign of
the ‘birth pangs of a new Middle East’, she
was both dramatically wrong and partially
right. A ‘new Middle East’ is indeed being
born, but it has little to do with Lebanon
or President Bush’s democracy agenda.

‘A New City’
Dubai Towers – Dubai Dubai Towers – Casablanca Dubai Towers – Doha Dubai Towers – Istanbul
57 to 94 Stories Two towers 80+ Stories 101 Stories
TVS Associates Architect unknown RMJM Architects Architect unknown
Export Dubai

Gulf Survey
Dubai Towers™

Global Samples of Emaar Villas Advertisement for King Abdullah Economic City Emaar WATG

The Meadows, Emaar, Dubai

Smart Village, Emaar, Egypt Amelkis, Emaar, Morocco Jeddah Hills , Emaar, Saudi Arabia Oukaimeden, Emaar, Morocco

Emirates Hills, Emaar, Dubai La Collección, Emaar, Dubai Alvorada Houses, Emaar, Dubai

The Springs, Emaar, Dubai Lakeside, Emaar, Turkey

AMO
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Marrakech, Karachi, Hyderabad, Beijing... Emaar plans the execution of its formulaic golf and resort villas along a bloc of nations historically
linked to the Gulf. An Emaar house is at once a replica of Western suburban tradition and an identifiably unique company product
Export Dubai

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AMO
Haitham Mussawi/Agence France-Presse
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Lebanon, August 2006 International Herald Tribune, August 16, 2006
 Interview
Emerging Qatari Diar
— Introducing an International Development Agency
Qatar is on the rise in the international real estate development market.
As the development arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, Qatari Diar was
established in 2004 in response to Qatar’s booming economy. With Lusail,
its first and flagship project in Doha, not yet even finished, Qatari Diar is
already stretching its influence beyond into Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Syria,
Eritrea, and Cuba. Leanne Arnold, then the director of marketing, spared
a moment at Cityscape to provide more perspective on Qatari Diar’s vision.
What is fascinating about Qatari Diar is that it is taking itself
Todd Reisz —
beyond the borders of Qatar before it has finished a project at home.
Is there a certain type of company model that you use when going
Export Dubai
beyond Qatar?
We are backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, which is a
Leanne Arnold —
government bank of Qatar. Some of our projects or opportunities arise as
a result of our direct financial relationships with other countries. The other
strategic push has been to focus on emerging markets. So, think about the
projects that we’re currently involved in: Cuba, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan,
Syria, and Eritrea. They’re all in emerging markets. We want to reach
a critical mass with those projects now. So, from an investment point of
view, to balance that investment portfolio, we are now looking to expand
to Europe. And we announced last week our intention to bid for the Chelsea
Barracks in London. So when real estate investment management funds
look at us, they see that emerging markets are high-risk but high-yield.
And you can balance that out with more solid investments in Europe.
TR —It seems that the notion of going into emerging markets also makes
a certain amount of sense. Why hasn’t it been done before? Why is it
now that there seems to be a push to reconsider places that established
Western developers have neglected?
LA —I think there’s a certain sense that people here within the Arab world
know the area. And within the global real estate boom, there’s a demand
for this kind of development. All of these emerging market countries have
started to find a new real source of wealth. What do we do with that wealth,
if we don’t develop the area? So, that’s really why the emerging markets
have come to the fore for real estate development. There might be economic
demand for it, or there might also be a demand because of governmental
relationships. Khartoum is one example of that.
TR — Could you tell me a bit about the Khartoum project?
I can’t. We’ve just been involved with a feasibility project. It’s a very
LA —
exciting project. It’s likely to be commercial, residential and tourism.
So all three areas are ones in which Qatari Diar is established.
TR —
LA — Yes.
288
TR —And this project was also formed through governmental
relationships?
It originated through the advocacy of the government. We are a real
LA —
estate investment vehicle for Qatar. Since we’re part of a government
bank, we were asked to look at the idea, and we decided to do it.
Is there a certain type of development pattern or a system that
TR —
Qatari Diar implements in other countries? Is there a formula?
LA —I think that we take a standard formula in how we approach development,
in terms of market research and business planning. I think the issue for us
is to be sensitive culturally in each area.
TR — What does that mean?
LA —For instance, in Morocco, while we might come from the outside, we
want it to look like it’s Morocco. It’s about drawing on cultural heritage
references. So there are the forts, the Islamic patterns, villas painted white
– all have a feeling that fits the area.
TR — But is there something Qatari that’s in Morocco?
LA —The biggest export of Qatari Diar is the notion of communities. Our
strongest message is about natural communities, building a precinct.
Gulf Survey
The country has a stronger sense of family. Qatari society orientates itself
around the family. It’s an interesting marketing concept…a wider sense
of community.
TR — How does that materialize in the projects?
It’s in the way we talk about the projects. It’s in the fact that we visit
LA —
Morocco; we will have our research done in terms of percentage of the
development that is geared towards tourism. We make sure that we’ve got
a minimum of locals, residents who will live and work there. It’s about
maintaining more of a community.
TR — So you make sure that it doesn’t become only timeshares…
LA —Yes. Some percentage of each development will be maybe timeshares
or people’s second homes, but in the larger sense, it will be a development
for people who want to live in Morocco.
AMO
TR — And does that come from a certain government initiative?
No, I think that it’s something that’s generally happening in the devel-
LA —
opment plans that are being built at the moment.
TR —I’m curious when you talk about ‘community’. I’ve heard it several
different times this week, that this is a core characteristic of culture
in the Gulf. Is that a positive thing that the region can share with the
rest of the world?
All of these emerging market
countries have started to find a
new real source of wealth. What
do we do with that wealth, if we
don’t develop the area?
289
 I think this is a particular quality in Qatar, and there are questions
LA —

about the future in terms of this. Other countries in the region are suffering
from a brain drain. Young people go away to study and don’t come back.
Close to 100% come back to Qatar. The reason they come back is they
care about their country; they are passionate about their culture. In
a world of 24/7 communication, the physical sense is being lost. I think
that in parts of the Arab world, it’s not like this.
TR — Do Qatari Diar’s developments embrace these ideas?
LA — I think that they do.
TR —Could you give an example of a Qatari Diar project that aims
to achieve this?
Lusail is planned to house 200,000 residents. We’ve planned for traffic
LA —

controls, pollution controls, parking, public transport – everything that

facilitates community to exist both in the whole and in each part of the
development. You have to be able to build community, whereby each
section of the city is supported by schools, mosques and other services.
So it’s not just about large glass buildings with no amenities around them.

www.mec.gov.qa/upload/iblock/bd27a7a81e25d549d5b2ea0ad40ad5dd.gif
Does Qatari Diar address issues of sustainability?
Export Dubai

Gulf Survey
TR —

LA —It depends how you define sustainability. I think it can mean a number
of things. For instance, sustainability in growth and development. It’s
not just the financial side of things. Are you building for ten years’ time,
or are you building something that can’t be sustained in terms of sales.
In terms of sustainability being ecologically sensitive … are we going
to fundamentally change the way things are done? No.
TR — And where do you see Qatari Diar being in five to ten years?
The Lusail project in Qatar will be completed. I can see that we will
LA —

have developed a number of our tourism and residential resorts in other Lusail development – a family environment fostering multicultural, inclusive community value
parts of the world. Qatari Diar can also be dominant in emerging markets.

Qatari Diar and Sudan Sign
Major Development Deal
Reuters, October 2, 2006
Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment
Company, a major force in global real
estate development, has signed a strategic
investment agreement with the Sudanese
Government which will see the company
develop a major tourist and residential
resort on the banks of the sweeping Blue
Nile in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The ground-breaking accord was
signed in the Qatari capital, Doha, between
290
Nasser Hassan Al Ansari, Chief Executive
Officer of Qatari Diar and Sudanese
Minister of Physical Planning & Public
Utilities, Abdul Wahab Mohammed
Uthman.
‘This is a vote of confidence by Qatari
Diar in the future of Sudan and a signal
to the world that this country can attract
major overseas investment,’ said Al Ansari.
‘The agreement marks the entry of Qatari
Diar into the Sudanese market where we
are investigating further development
opportunities…’
Qatari Diar Signs Memorandum
of Understanding with Eritrea
The Peninsula, January 28, 2007
Doha – The Qatari Diar Real Estate
Investment and Development Company
and the Government of Eritrea recently
signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to invest, develop and construct
several projects of International standard
in Dahlak Island (Dahlak Kebir).
The MoU was signed by the Minister
of Finance, Burhan Ibrei, on behalf of the
Eritrean Government and by Eng. Nasser
Hassan Al Ansari, CEO, Qatari Diar Real
Estate Investment and Development
Company.
AMO
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ibrei
said: ‘The depth of relations between the
two countries reflects positive mutual
interests, continuous endeavor to develop
bi-lateral cooperation between the two
nations, and the MoU reinforces such
efforts and a shared desire to develop
investments.’
He said that the agreement lays the
foundations for the development of several
tourism projects in Eritrea, adding that it
reflects the proactive efforts of the Eritrean
government to support and enhance the
Eritrean economy and investment activities
contributing to the nation’s growth on the
one hand and encourage direct foreign

291
investments on the other…
 Argument

Import
UAE by origin = 4,104,695

Expat Kuwait
2,687,000
expats 65% 1,746,550
other expats 30% 1,231,408
south asian expats 50% 2,052,348

0
45

nati
0,
94

ona
%

ls 2
35
ls

0%
‘The Gulf states have been in constant and timeless contact with fellow Arabs,

na
t io

824
Persians, Baluchis, Pakistanis, Indians and Africans and these are the races

na
na

, 8 91
which have played the most prominent part on the southern Gulf scene.’ t io
na
ls
– The Trucial States, Donald Hawley 62
%
45
0,
12 expats 38% 275,880
Bahrain 0
726,000

In The Gulf, outsiders – Philippino, Egyptian, Iranian, European, Pakistani, UAE by gender = 4,104,695
Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai, Russian, Australian, American, Libyan, Syrian,

Gulf Survey
Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Chinese, and increasingly Iraqi –
constitute 80% of the population. At no other time in the world has there
been another precedent where 20% locals were able to coexist with Qatar expats 72% 585,360 male expats 58% 2,128,986
ma
80% ‘foreigners.’ 73

0
le
813,000 5,1

2 27,6 4
na

fem
81 t io
Throughout its history, this 80% has been fundamentally made up 22
% na

ale
ts ls
pa 20
of three kinds of expats: x %

a ls 2 8%
ee

nati
al 41
8 ,0
1 + 2) The first two are both in their own way economically active males fem 57

ona
(and females): enablers and users. The first comes to earn low wages, but

ls 1
n a tio n
wages advertised higher than in his homeland. The second comes with

0%
the know-how to participate in and encourage the speculative Gulf City.

406
,8
He may stay indefinitely and be pampered with tax breaks. With little

34
emotional investment, both plan to leave eventually.
3) The third comes from other Arab countries, finding The Gulf a political
Abu Dhabi expats 80% 1,480,520
or economic haven from instability. He or she gives The Gulf the semblance

natio nals 20% 370,0 00

AMO
1,850,000
of a middle class. Often raising families and finding permanence, this
expat is a national in mind but a foreigner on paper. At a moment when America is otherwise
The Gulf has never been anything other than international; however, engaged, and Europe is hedging on its
it has always been a coexistence that accepts both integration and earlier embrace of an easy multiculturalism
distinction, globalism and regionalism/family. It seems each ethnicity – tolerance, immigration, freedom of speech
or nationality accepts its titular badge, accepting it as much as acknowl- – it is fascinating to experience how the
edging those of others. Islamic Gulf states live in completely
‘Live and let live,’ rather than ‘melting pot,’ is how The Gulf remains the synthetic societies – based on less than 20%
Dubai expats 88% 1,170,400
most international place in the world. na locals, maybe another 15% Caucasian expats
1,330,000 t io
AMO has collected several stories of a particular moment of Western na
ls
and another 65% that is an amalgamation
introductions into this international trade zone, principally at the moment
12
% of Arab, Asian and increasingly African
15 nationalities. Is it the provisionality of this
when oil was being discovered. Oil of course redefined how others saw 9,
60
0 mass-migration and its typically limited
The Gulf and how The Gulf saw itself. Western architecture was ready to duration that explain this seemingly peaceful
help to represent redefinition. The 1950s and 1960s saw the true roots coexistence, or are we witnessing
of The Gulf’s audacity, its ability to achieve greatness in the face of accel- a new sociological paradigm of an utterly
erated development. How will The Gulf’s next transformation redefine its RAK expats 55% 398,555 ‘artificial’ community that ‘works’ at a
expat demographics? – AMO 724,645
326
,0 9 0 moment when the world produces more and
5%
ls 4 more evidence of populations that curdle…?
iona
nat

293
292
 Pre 1960 Post

Pearl Diving Pearl Building

l’Eldorado, Envoye Special (France 2)

Footage from: Dans les soutes de
Wilson Graeme, Rashid’s Legacy
Employment Opportunity

22 September 2005
Pearl Diving Pearl Building
Origin: India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, Origin: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal,
Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Yemen, Oman, Egypt, China, The Philippines, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Morocco, Yemen
Mali, Ethiopia Well over 50% of the UAE population is from South Asia, most
Ninety percent of the Gulf economy was once based on the pearl working in low-paying construction jobs. Enticed by the hope of Pearl Divers ‘… at 47 degrees C we nor- ‘… 15 heat strokes and 15 ac-
trade (today oil makes up just less than half). The industry, fuelled earnings to bring home, they often arrive to find that fees for obtaining mally stop the work… it’s now cidents a day… they can leave
by indentured laborers and slaves, required men to live at sea for work permits and other bureaucratic charges dash hopes of quick 55 degrees C on the building a dead body on a site for more

Jonathan Raban, Farewell to Arabia

6 months of the year, living in wet, cramped quarters with little riches. Many go back to their homes, driven by dreams of their own site… we don’t need labor than 2 weeks… even the dead
to eat. If a voyage went well they might be able to afford a plot of contracting companies and prepared with building experience. unions because they are happy body has to pay his way back
land. If the harvest was poor, they could end up in debt for years. to be here…’ home…’

http://en.wikipedia.org
Japanese development of the cultured pearl devastated this
economic round.

Divers on a Gulf pearling dhow ‘The Slave Market,’ Jean-Leon ‘… without their passport they Surveyor working on-site at a
Gerome – Western dramatization cannot leave… the family is land reclamation project
waiting, full of hope…’
Import Expat

Gulf Survey
Trade Investment

Face and Grant. The Emirates: The First

Regional Financial Center

Photographs. Stacey International.

Van Oord. Dubai’s Future In The

Trade Investment1
Origin: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Origin: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria,

Making. July 2006.

China, UK Lebanon, India
Before the discovered security that oil reserves would last decades, 9/11 forced a major shift in investment strategies for Arabs around
if not centuries, Gulf Cities searched for whatever means possible the world, as they had to look outside a suspicious United States for
to draw regional merchants to their shores, both to supply its more open trade markets. As a result, an estimated tens of billions
resources-starved Bedouins and to found coastal trading posts of dollars 2 has been redirected to the Gulf. Sharia-proof investment An old port in Kuwait Waterfront of Sharjah 1907 Pakistani restaurant kitchen Surveyor working on-site at a
that would determine their authority on the Gulf waters. Semi-legal programs, both in the Gulf and subsequently in the Western world in RAK land reclamation project
gold trade, re-export tariff-avoidance programs, and overflow (to re-re-direct those funds), have since blossomed to take advantage
textile industry from India were the seeds of modern Dubai of more Islamic-minded customers.

Wilfred Thesiger, Arabian Sands.

business culture.

http://www.ameinfo.com
http://www.uaeone.com

www.libanmall.com
Egyptian Samih Sawiris (left), HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal

AMO
A Kuwaiti merchant boat A pearl merchant in the UAE
returning from Africa Chairman of Orascom Hotels of Saudi Arabia is the 8th
and Development, presents richest person in the world and
‘The Cove’ project in RAK through his Kingdom Hold-
ing Company, invests in real
Speculative Eden Colonialism Global Corporatism estate in the Gulf

Colonialism Global Corporatism 3

Origin: England, Portugal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Iran Origin: UK, US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, China
Since the mid-17th-Century, the British were the premier imperial Free zones – the practice is over a century old, but its scale of

http://www.answers.com
presence in the Gulf, replacing the Portuguese and Dutch of global attraction has never been greater. Tax holidays and constantly

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.communi-
bygone eras. The intermixing of militaristic and mercantile interests easing real estate regulations (freehold) draw more people every

www.flickr.com
was established from the earliest stages of British involvement, year to the Gulf, whether to participate in the building or to take
beginning with an official decree from King James in 1616 that advantage of a world hub. Awarded tax exemptions, well-paid
permitted British merchants to pursue profit in the Gulf. workers – particularly childless bachelors – release their expendable
income with abandon back into the local economy, once again
taking advantage of tax-free zones and duty free airports. King James I of England Lord George Curzon, Viceroy Michael Jackson in Bahrain Sir Richard Branson opens the
of India, visited Sharjah in 1903 largest Virgin Megastore in the
Face and Grant. The Emirates: The First

to secure smooth passage Middle East at the Mall of the

http://www/uaeonlinepromotion.com
Photographs. Stacey International.

through the Gulf Emirates

Property Weekly 14 June 2006.

The Thesiger Collection
Bertram Thomas on Khuwarah Sir Wilfred Thesiger, explorer Joseph Matthew, General Philippe Starck of YOO with
around his 1927 journey to Manager for International Busi- Ziad Barakat of the Galadari
1. w ww.economist.com/cities/findStory.cfm?CITY_ Sharjah ness Development at Larsen Investment Office (GIO). YOO
ID=DUB&FOLDER=Facts-History (28 August 2006) & Toubro Ltd., India’s biggest will provide concept design for
2. Washington Times, August 27, 2005. engineering and construction GIO projects
294

295
3. Heard-Bey, Frauke, From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates. company announcing future
Dubai, 2004. expansion in the Gulf
 Document

Marketing
Multi-Culturalism
If marketing is defined as constructing uniqueness from the same ingredi-
ents, selling real estate in Dubai must be the Himalayas of the profession.
Billboards show a surprising consensus: a pastel-clad, Caucasian population
(fanatically engaged in harmless activity and vastly more fertile than the
declining birth rate of the white race) meets contemporary Arab families
in an über-idyll for idealized expats and perfect locals. They are virtual
demographics that radically supress the multi-cultural richness actually
emerging in the city, and that, over time, may be its greatest asset.
Import Expat

Gulf Survey
Residential marketing imagery taken form Dubai billboards

AMO
Analysis of Inclusion/Exclusion

Inclusion Exclusion
296

297
Composite image of Dubai’s virtual marketed community
 Essay Natalie Al Shami, Sara Kassa
The Third Expat
— A Walk through Deira
Tucked away from Dubai’s modern glass towers is another city-within
called Deira, where networks of trade, community, and tourism operate
on a parallel economy outside new Dubai. A journey through the streets
of Deira by night scratches the surfaces of this hidden city’s vibrancy.
Import Expat
Moving inwards through alleyways and arcades, behind towers from the
70s, 80s and 90s that are treated as passé by the new Dubai, your arrival
in Deira feels like an accident. There is no monument that declares, ‘You
are here.’ But soon the pace draws you in, towards the glimmering yellow,
red, and green lights in the distance. Hindi music flows from the interiors
of shops, replacing the traffic noise from the main road. The air feels
warmer. Flickering lights make everything a blur under the night sky.
The pace increases with pedestrians, shoppers, delivery trucks and
bicycles, presumably heading toward a destination. It’s difficult to distin-
guish who is working and who is socializing; everyone seems busy. Street
posts showing maps of the area stand deserted amidst the sea of people
rushing by: Deira is for those who know. Shops selling printed t-shirts,
brightly colored scarves and cheap electronic gadgets stretch over an
infinite labyrinth of paths. You stop to examine one storefront only to be
interrupted by a persuasive shopkeeper inviting you into another, or by
the voice of an old Emirati woman negotiating the price of silk textile from
behind her shimmering gold burgu1. An Indian hammal, having used his
wooden cart as a street bench, stands up and gets ready to transport the
load of packaged goods stacked impossibly high to somewhere. He makes
298
Social scenes in Deira’s cafeterias.
Gulf Survey
Hotel signage disappears amidst the city’s lights and bustling night activity.
AMO
his way through the noise of the crowd, moving effortlessly across the busy
streets, taking opportune gaps between people, and then disappears into
a dimly lit alley.
Among a commotion of signage is a half-lit sign for Sina Hotel. The sign
marks a walkway that leads to an exterior elevator, which brings you to
a sparse room that serves as the lobby. The space is devoid of furniture;
its linoleum floors are immaculately clean. There is no apparent clientele,
yet the man at reception says there are no available rooms for the coming
two months.
Outside again, you find groups of Indian and Pakistani men clustered
around cafeterias, which were never designed to accommodate their clients,
who sit on wooden stools on streets and sidewalks. Styrofoam cups filled
with chai are delivered on small trays and drunk by everyone. A television
set broadcasts a cricket match. The exterior setting resembles an interior
of a family living room. Fittingly, laundry hangs above from windows and
balconies to dry.
Eager to find a crowd you can associate with, you try a group of Russian
299
 UNCLASSIFIED HOTELS IN DUBAI

High Land Hotel

Al Maha
Al Jazeera Hotel
Hotel
Al Firdous
Alsahwa Al Badr Hotel
City Gold Hotel Hotel
Hotel Al Khaima Aras Hotel
Al Isteqlal Al Akhlas Hotel
Hotel Gold Plaza Hotel Hotel
Prince
Lapaz Stars Hotel Dolphin Nile Hotel
Al Sheraa Hotel Deira Howf
Al Jaloos Hotel
Hotel Palace Hotel
Hotel Hotel
Al Aman
Khaibar Hotel Al Khail Hotel Delhi
Hotel Hotel Al Hilli Darbar Bombay
Hasban
Al Karnak Hotel
Hotel
Hotel Emirates Dhiyafa
Hotel Palace Hotel
Sina
Hotel Al Wehda Hotel East Hotel
Mirage New Avon
Hotel Hotel
Atlas Hotel

Sadhana
Al Wasal Hotel Hotel
Al Madani
Hotel Al Marwa
Sahar Hotel
Hotel

Niawaran
Legend Hotel Sweet Palace
Hotel
HOTELS IN DUBAI
Import Expat

Gulf Survey
Unclassified Hotels Fal Hotel

Admin Boundary
Al Maha Safari
Road Center Line Al Jazeera Hotel Palace Hotel
Residential Hotel
Al Firdous
Alsahwa Al Badr Hotel Burj Nahar
Residential/Commercial
City Gold Hotel Hotel Hotel
Hotel Hotel Al Khaima Aras Hotel
Al Isteqlal Al Akhlas Hotel
Government Hotel
Hotel Gold Plaza Hotel
Industrial Lapaz
Prince
Stars Hotel Dolphin Nile Hotel
Russian store sells fur coats in a mall in Deira.
Al Sheraa Hotel Deira Howf
Education Al Jaloos Hotel
Hotel Palace Hotel
Hotel Hotel
Hospital Al Aman
Khaibar Hotel Al Khail Hotel Delhi
Water Hotel
Hasban Hotel Al Hilli Darbar Bombay
Al Karnak Hotel
Parks Hotel
Hotel Emirates Dhiyafa
Sandy Areas Hotel Palace Hotel
Sina
Landscape Hotel Al Wehda Hotel East Hotel
Pavement Mirage
New Avon
Hotel
Hotel
Tunnel Atlas Hotel
Bridge Road Sadhana
Al Wasal Hotel Hotel
Parking
Al Madani
Transportation Hotel Al Marwa
Sahar Hotel
Hotel
Sports & Recreation Dudai
Niawaran
Concorde
Brigde Ped.
Hotel Hotel
Sweet Palace

AMO
Other Emirates
Hotel

Fal Hotel

Eureka Hotel
Date : 05/04/2004 Scale : 1:12500

Safari
Disclaimer : This Map belongs to Dubai Municipality GIS CENTER. Copying, distributing or providing the map contents to a third party in whole or in parts without the prior permission of Dubai Municipality is strictly prohibited. Copyright 2001. GISCENTER. All rights reserved.
Map of Dubai shows concentration of unclassified hotels in Deira.

tourists being invited into an incense store by a young Iranian shop keeper.
They do not enter, so you decide to continue walking with them only to
find yourself before a fur coat store. A whole row of fur stores, in a city
whose 50-degree summers make even one too many. Two Russian men
sit in the store whose interior fittings do not match the value of the furs;
the silence in the interior almost competes with the street noise outside.
This time the tourists enter and leave you standing behind.
Where hotels and restaurants are classified as ‘unclassified,’ here impres-
sions transcend infrastructure, and where activity defies building, this city Interior view of an alley in Deira reveals the underlying mechanism of services
is sadly no longer for you. and industries provided by the city’s inhabitants.

1. Burgu
A burgu’ is an Arabic term that means a long linen veil
covering the face, with holes made for the eyes. Old local
300

Emarati women can be seen wearing a stiff golden colored

301
Burgu to cover their face.
 July 27, 2007
Evenings in Dubai are weird. It is impossible to get away from the fundamental
experiment Dubai is. Even ‘a night on the town’ incites conceptual speculation, albeit
a different one than during the day.
A bar, described by a fellow hotel guest as ‘very democratic’, reveals an instant X-ray
of Dubai’s ethnic diversity: one half of the bar’s clientele are male, over forty and white,
the other half is female, under 21 and… Chinese, Ethiopian, Sudanese, Moroccan, Turkish,
Iranian, Uzbek, Turkmen, Chechnyan, Tadjik, Kazakh, Kirghiz and other former Soviet
republics one wouldn’t even know existed.
The bars reveal how Dubai is basically driven by two different kinds of expats. Dubai’s
nightlife represents the city’s operating principle in its most blatant form: an orchestrated
match of different, but complementary needs. It is here that the world’s most pressing
asymmetries are converted into economic exchange and the basic underlying principle
of globalization is presented in the raw. In Dubai, Houellebecq’s ‘Platform’ is acted out
on a daily basis.
Five years ago AMO, in attempting to identify the most pressing issues for the next
twenty years, produced ‘The Atlas of Globalization’. The atlas identified the existence of
an A-world and a Z-world: the A-world being the part of the world that was secure, rich,
but old and stagnant; the Z-world being the part that was hazardous, poor, but young
and vibrant. The basic principle of a global market, much like the flow of electricity, seems

Gulf Survey
to be driven by the energy that is generated by the existence of opposite poles where the
specific properties of one seem to automatically generate a demand for the opposite
properties of the other. – RdG

AMO
303
302
 Essay Todd Reisz

Workers City
Import Expat

Gulf Survey
AMO
Todd Reisz
A main street in Muhaisnah on Friday, the Muslim day of rest.
Men wear clean pressed shirts and pants or lungis. Two women were
304

305
on the street with children – the only women I saw in Muhaisnah.
 Dubai has been described before as one large transit hotel – everyone
stays with a check-out date in mind. Perhaps similar to bankers from
England or engineers from the Netherlands, the construction laborers
from South Asia come mostly on two-year (renewable) contracts. ‘No one
cleans a rented car,’ is a known maxim in Dubai, where those creating
Dubai have no vested interest in its outcome. But at Al Quoz, where many
of the construction laborers live, things seem different.
There one finds a careful treatment of surroundings. Clean kitchens,
an almost militaristic orderliness of the shared bedrooms, collective
utensils neatly scrubbed and stacked. Here there is a community. Sponsored
usually by small, undetectable contractor businesses, the guest workers
live in company ‘labor camps,’ the official name given to the barracks-like
housing. On open roads just minutes away from the skyscrapers that line
Sheikh Zayed Road, these rows of camps offer an experience in contrast
to the neighborhoods they are building.
Here people walk along roads, greet each other on corners and chat
in the tight aisles of grocery stores. These seem like mundane activities
but ones strangely absent in Dubai’s newness. It is this carefulness and
Import Expat

Gulf Survey
willfulness of living that are overlooked in media coverage of these laborers.
The purpose behind this reporting might have the interests of the over
Almost every camp I entered had this kind of notice board at the entry. Among other
500,000 labourers in mind, but it lacks a personalization of these workers
things, it often stated that visitors were either not allowed to enter or were required to
beyond invisible demographics. It refuses to consider that these men con- register at the office. Once at Al Quoz, an overseer – who seemed to live with the other
tinue to create a supportive society in the wake of their unstable existence workers – asked me to sit down in the office. It had an old table, a wall calendar and
and corresponding governmental and corporate opacity. plastic lawn chairs. The man was very nice; of course he offered his hand. I told him
Apparent in Al Quoz and other camps, as with any group dynamic, I was visiting to look around and take pictures. He asked me for my email address,
are extremes and mishaps. Upon visiting these camps, what stands out but I never heard back from him.
is a captivating humanism. The dire circumstances are not prevalent –
perhaps because some companies have responded to criticism with
improved standards, but more importantly because of the general spirit
one finds among the men in these camps. In terms of what seems to be

AMO
the everyday – a given weekend morning and weekday afternoon when
night labourers are waking up – the atmosphere is disarmingly civilized.

In this camp, alleys between barracks become extensions of the rooms (cabinets,
kitchen counters, makeshift wardrobes, wash basins). This was an unusually active
306

307
street scene in Dubai. It smelled of tea, onions and toothpaste.
Import Expat
This was the most primitive camp I saw. But it was also in some ways the most pleasant.
Trees were the sign of irrigation experts. The spaces between barracks were filled with
scavenged objects: inoperable video game consules, crates, furniture made from scrap
wood, courtyards and closets. Open sky kitchens. I spoke to one resident who said he was
an electrical engineer from India. He said that only engineers lived in this camp. He had
a large bandage on the right side of his face. I asked if he had been injured. ‘No,’ he said,
‘I just had surgery.’
At this mini-supermarket I counted at least twenty different kinds of fresh produce.
I couldn’t identify most of them. They were mostly greens and looked fresh and healthy.
308
I’ve never seen so many men shopping for produce in one place before.
Gulf Survey
The absence of families, of wives, of children made for a different kind a culture. But
it didn’t seem unusual or awkward to see just men. Personal stories were about missing
people back home, but there was a strong tie among the men. The maleness seems also
counterbalanced with neatness, upkeep, cooking, sewing, soaps, music and friendship.
AMO
An external kitchen – communal property thoughtfully cleaned and stacked.
The largeness of pots and pans indicates meal-sharing. Many workers mention
309
cooking with friends – Pakistanis share recipes with Indians and vice versa.
Import Expat

Gulf Survey
No one was ever taken aback when I stepped into the washrooms. I guess that comes
from sharing with so many people. My presence was treated no differently than that of
someone who lived there. I managed to make this man uncomfortable, unfortunately,
when I asked to take a picture of him. He didn’t seem in such a hurry to get out of the
washroom, enjoying getting cleaned up and washing some linens in the sink. He quickly
checked his hair in the mirror for the picture, but I had taken the picture before I realized
what he was doing. I didn’t want to bother him with a second shot.

A day of rest is a day of laundry. The courtyard smelled of damp clean clothes.
The blues of labor uniforms mixed with the bright colors of linens and casual clothes.
310
AMO
No one ever opened their apartment to me without my first asking if I may have a look.
There were no rooms with cross-ventilation. Each time I entered a private space,
I braced myself for the stench of mildew or something worse. Each time I was proven
shamefully wrong.

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Import Expat
Construction workers – at this station mostly Pakistanis – at Dubai Marina.
The most people you see in one place in Dubai.
These men were in their well-known formation, single-file waiting for the buses back to
their camps. Everyone smiled beautifully, serenely when I pulled out a camera. I thought
it would be very uncomfortable to ask to take a picture of them, but they were happy to
entertain the diversion. There were some overseers inconspicuously standing behind them.
312
One made a joke by pretending to take my picture with the camera on his cell phone.
Gulf Survey
AMO
This man stepped outside the single-file line and asked me to take his picture. After
a moment’s deliberation, he chose the Grosvenour House Hotel as the backdrop.
After I took the picture he nodded to say thank you. He wasn’t expecting to ever see
the photograph. Some kind of documentation of his whereabouts meant something
313
significant to him.
 June 26, 2006
12:15 pm
Our projects are beginning to feel like teflon efforts: we have established enough contact
to deliver our work, but almost all our endeavors lack engagament with the local
situation. We want to recruit people with knowledge of the UAE and a command of the
language. This takes us to the American University of Sharjah.
For the first time in all of our trips to the Middle East, we manage to get lost. The
campus of the university isn’t hard to find, but once we have passed the main entrance
the whole system of wayfinding breaks down, or rather folds in on itself... Like a religious
mantra, each road sign is a mere repetition of the university’s name. We get guided in all
directions: North East South West. It is as though the American University of Sharjah
has taken its mission to the extreme in an effort to exude its brand across the globe...

1 pm
We finally make it to the Architecture Department. The building is a large monumental
structure built in a neo-classical, vaguely oriental, palace style. Strangely enough the
style of the campus comes almost as a welcome relief after the random exuberance of
Dubai, where the technology of the curtain wall now seems exclusively dedicated to
creating ever more bizarre forms of high-rise.
The architecture department of the University of Sharjah has opted for the full

Gulf Survey
implementation of Robert Venturi’s ‘decorated shed.’ Inside the impressive exterior resides
an extremely utilitarian interior: exposed steel and concrete and (occasionally) timber are
the only materials to serve as backdrop to large rectangular tables with computer screens.
Interior design is virtually absent. We instantly feel at home.

1:15 pm
So far in the UAE, nobody knew who we were; here our entrance provokes a collective
stop and stare... The gap between our status in the worlds of business and academia
seems to have reached its climax in the Middle East.
The architectural department is mainly populated by young women. Architecture, we
are told, is not considered an overly serious profession in the Arab world: as a form of
design it ranks among the ‘softer’ subjects. Young men are dissuaded from pursuing this
subject and encouraged to become engineers.
The group of students we meet are all from the Middle East, but locals are a small
minority. Interesting hybrid backgrounds emerge: Ukranian-Palestinian, Turkish-

AMO
Jordanian. Most students we talk to are informed and sharp. By and large they appear
to be immune to the stereotypical descriptions of development in the Gulf proclaimed
by their (mostly American) teachers. One wonders just in which direction the
educational process is being conducted... – RdG

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 ‘I can think of no more valuable asset to our
Argument
country than the friendship of future world

Education leaders who have been educated here.’

Colin Powell, Institute of International Education
August 2001

Diplomacy 586,700 students from developing

countries applied for visas every year
to study in the US.
The US conquest of educational markets in The Gulf is peaceful.
Until 2001, the flow of students from developing countries to the US Before
was rising by about 3.5% every year. But since 9/11, this rate has steadily 2001
declined, the first time in over thirty years. Foreign applications to After
American graduate schools fell by 10% due to increased security controls,

Gulf Survey
the difficulty of obtaining a visa, and the image of America for the rest of

More than $1.5 billion lost in tuition

the world, especially in the Middle East.1
Countries preparing for a future without oil or natural gas revenues
need universities. Having previously imported skilled labor, Gulf Cities
now want to nationalize their workforce, especially in anticipation of
the rising Arab youth population. This demographic explosion will be
from foreign students.
either a grave crisis or an innovation boon. Handling centuries-old aca-
demic institutions like software platforms, Gulf Cities see no reason not
to replicate and modify for the demographic shift. Gulf-builders speak of
importing ‘brand-name’ universities, as educational institutions remain ‘This may well be the beginning of a renaissance ‘And we can build more enduring relationships
the one American product still able to make societal and financial head- of the Arab world that transforms the region than ‘take a Muslim to lunch’ day.’
way without any resistance in the Middle East. Normally, the Gulf City from extremism to moderation.’ John Hughes, a former editor of The Monitor, January 2005
S. Rob Sobhani, adjunct professor at Georgetown University,
supports the partnership by offering to pay for all buildings, overhead, discussing Education City in Qatar
and staff salaries. As one report states, tuitions ‘go straight into the ‘Less reconcilable with the idea of mutual learning ‘This is a good way for the United States to

universities’ coffers back home.’2
Branch campuses – often with the gated security of embassies – will
not likely mean a mixing of students internationally (Kuwait’s new
campus, however, will separate the sexes). Part of the draw for Middle
is the fact that the American overseas campuses
in Education City do not adapt their programs to
their host country.’
Sonja Strohmer, US Satellite Campuses In The Middle East:
Cross-cultural Mediators Or Missionary Outposts?
AMO
represent itself overseas, particularly in Arab
countries where in the past most of the trade
has been in guns and oil.’
Antonio Gotto, Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College

Easterners is to acquire an American education without the Western www.ostina.org

societal contract, and for women – who make up at least 65% of The
Gulf’s students – this means they can acquire an education while remaining ‘A policy that limits too many smart people
close to home. – AMO coming to the United States is questionable.
The visa issue doesn’t make sense.’
Bill Gates, speaking on a technology panel at the
1. www.economist.com Library of Congress, April 2005
2. Science, April 7, 2006

‘… we are expanding the opportunity for a

prestigious Sorbonne education… You will
study in French, which is the language of many
of the most important cultural achievements
in world history.’
Jean-Robert Pitte, President Sorbonne
Press Kit 2006
316

317
 Established academic institutions are converging in The Gulf
2002 2006
Philippines India
2006 Mahatma Gandhi University
USA
AMA International University
Computer Science Buisness 2005
Coputer Science
Engineering Informatics
Business Informatics Fashion Technology Ireland
NYIT Bahrain International Studies Tourism Studies
Business administration, Mechatronics Engineering
Marketing, Accounting, Business Administration Royal College of Surgeons
Management of information systems, Computer Science in Ireland Dubai
Computer science Healthcare Management
Communications arts
Interior design
Quality in Healthcare
1999
Physical therapy
2005 2006 Australia
Ireland UK University of Wollongong Dubai
Business Administration

2006 Heriot-Watt University’s

Information Technology
Marketing
Royal College of Surgeons
in Ireland – Medical University France Dubai Campus
Business Administration 2004
Engineering Management
Applied Finance and Banking
of Bahrain Mechanical Engineering
Medicine Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
Archeology & Art History
Construction Management **New**
Quantity Surveying **New**
USA
Nursing
Healthcare management French & Comparative Literature Business Administration with Edinburgh Business

Kuwait City Geography & Urban Planning

History & Geography
School **New**
Strategic Project Planning
Harvard Medical School
Dubai Center
KUWAIT Information & Communication Construction Management Brings updated medical knowledge,
Languages & Civilizations Petroleum Engineering high-impact training, and state-of-the-
Music & Musicology
Philosophy & Sociology
Oil and Gas Technology
Food Science, Safety and Health
art professional development resources
to the physicians, nurses, and allied
2006
Education Diplomacy

Gulf Survey
Intensive French Program
health professionals of the region.
Canada
2000 Germany
Centennial University
Netherlands Of DubaiLiberal Arts
2005 and Sciences
CHN University Qatar Business
International Hospitality Management Russia Engineering, Applied Sciences and
International Leisure & Tourism Management
International Retail Management
USA Technology
Environment and Health
International Service Management International Oriental Academy
with The St. Petersburg State
1998 NYIT Abu Dhabi
University of Engineering and
USA Economics
Diploams in Engineering, Law, Medicine,
2002 etc leading to a Specialist’s Diploma
Virginia Commonwealth Commerce
USA University Management 2004
Fine Arts in Graphic Design Law

Weill Cornell Medical College

Fine Arts in Fashion Design
Fine Arts in Interior Design 2004 Manama Ras Al Khaimah
Economic Information Systems Belgium
Pre-medical Program BAHRAIN Sharjah
Medical Program
M.D. Degree
USA European University College
Brussels Dubai
Carnegie Mellon University
Dubai Business Administration

2003 Business
Doha Marketing Management.

AMO
Computer Science Finance and Risk Managment.

USA QATAR
Human Resource Management.
Business Information Management

2005 Texas A&M University

Arabic, Asian and European Languages

USA Chemical Engineering

Electrical Engineering
Abu Dhabi
Georgetown University
Mechanical Engineering
Petroleum Engineering 2001 U.A.E.
Foreign Service program
USA
College of the North Atlantic Qatar
Business Studies
2005
Health Sciences
Engineering Technology
UK
Industrial Trades
Information Communications Technology Middlesex University Dubai
Pre-Nursing programs Accountancy
Business Administration
Psychology
Communication & Media
Computing Science
Tourism
2004
Hospitality Management
Publishing
Iran
2005 Islamic Azad University Dubai
USA Executive Business Management
Computer Enginnering – Software
Architecture Engineering
George Mason University Business Management
Pre-Medicine Computer Science
Graphic: OMA/AMO

Business Administration
Engineering and Information technology
India
318

319
 Bimal Mendis

Branding Qatar
— Education City
29

1
Qatar is rich and its education is free. Yet its literacy rate is lower than
most countries with a comparable per capita income. Education City 28
26 30
promises to change the status quo and set the stage for an Arab renaissance
in learning. Through its affiliations with American campuses, Qatar
has generated an influx of students and academics. A new campus in the
desert presents a tabula rasa for starchitecture: 25globalized architecture
for globalized education. On a master plan by Arata Isozaki, academic 27
institutions compete for identity with only limited interest in cohesion.
Education Diplomacy

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1 4 3 8

2
5
22
15 14
21 9

17 6 7

24 18 16
23 10

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19

20 13
1 Qatar Foundation Headquarters
2 Rand Policy Institute
3 Central Library
Image copyright GOOGLE EARTH™ mapping service. GOOGLE EARTH™ is a trademark of GOOGLE INC.

4 Weill Cornell Medical College

5 Carnegie Mellon College of Business And Computer Science
6 Texas A&M College of Engineering
7 Student Center
8 Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
9 Expansion
10 Islamic Studies Center and Mosque
11 Academic Expansion – Male Student Housing
12 Al Shaqab
13 Ceremonial Court
14 Think Tank 11
15 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
16 Female Students Hostel
17 Virgina Commonwealth Universityschool of Arts
18 Temporary Qatar Foundation Headquarters
19 East Student Housing
20 Al-jazeera Children’s Network 12
21 Qatar Academy Primary School
22 Qatar Academy
23 The Learning Center
24 The Sports Academy
25 Expansion Area
26 National Data Center
27 Convention Center
28 Specialist Teaching Hospital
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321
29 Hospital Expansion
30 Nurses’ Housing
 Location Population Area sq.km Density Population per sq.km

STATE OF QATAR 839,213 11,000 75 / SQ. KM

QATAR UNIVERSITY 8,600 8 1,077 / SQ. KM

EDUCATION CITY 5,000 3.14 1,592 / SQ. KM

Education Diplomacy

Gulf Survey
TEXAS A&M 45,487 21 2,200 / SQ. KM

CORNELL UNIVERSITY 19,500 3 6,500 / SQ. KM

AMO
IIT, CHICAGO 6,670 42 16,000 / SQ. KM

Education is both a resource and a commodity. Branch campuses, such as Cornell Uni-
versity’s Medical College by Isozaki, market a branded education unique to the region.
Internationally and historically recognized, they lend instant credibility to a new campus
that is eyeing an untapped Middle Eastern demographic eager for higher education.
322
The master plan for Education City has prescribed a density that is even less than almost
every suburban campus in the US. For Education City, ‘city’ represents what is actually
a paradox, thereby creating a new typology, one beyond suburban. In marketing their
distinctive brands of education, the American franchised campuses – many already used

323
to spacious territories – will need to adapt to ever greater spatial horizons.
Education Diplomacy

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AMO
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/amed/qatar/qatar.html

Like most education institutions in Qatar, the more established Qatar University The arrival of branch campuses from the US brings a new context for co-education in
campus has separate facilities for male and female students, not all of which are equally Qatar. This is particularly significant for Qatari women, who customarily do not travel
available for women. In contrast, Education City is unique in its attempt to reflect abroad for education. On a campus where 65% of the students are women, and 33% are

www.qf.edu.qa
societal standards of the imported educational systems. Still, the impact of ostensibly from countries across the Middle East and Asia, Education City’s goals for openness

325
324

Western cultural norms on prevailing conditions in Qatar remains to be seen. and integration will set new standards for the region.
 Essay Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf

The Future
of Knowledge

Recent decades have seen the emergence of regions such as Asia and the
Middle East. Already very noticeable in terms of demographics for some
time – home to the largest and the youngest populations – these regions now

Graphic: OMA/AMO
see their demographics matched by an increasing economic significance.
As a result, large groups of people are attaining access to education
where previously they had little or none. Universities worldwide now have Population Growth per Hour
to cater to a dramatically increased demand for knowledge and an unprec-
edented number of students.
This phenomenon does not only affect the size and structure of uni-
Education Diplomacy

Gulf Survey
versities, but it also has a serious effect on their output. Simply to keep up
with demand, the sheer quantity of knowledge that universities find
themselves having to produce seems to know no limits. This is reflected
in the numbers of ‘scientific’ articles that are being published, the amount
of co-authors that produce them, and the increasing specialization of
knowledge into different fields. Universities seem to operate on the unspoken
principle that: the more people that there are learning, the more there

McKinsey Local Research and Information

must be to study.
The emergence of the new regions has caused universities to open new
local branches; the model of the original university gets multiplied – a kind
of ‘franchising’ – in an attempt to reach new audiences. The term ‘Educa-
tion Diplomacy’ does little to conceal the ulterior motive: rather than
aiming to generate a local knowledge base, these universities seem pre-

AMO
Twice as many students in the Middle East in 2020
dominantly committed to exporting existing knowledge for financial gain.
Despite education now being a global billion dollar industry, its contri-
bution to furthering science has largely been failing. Over the last decade
we have seen a steady decline in the number of technological breakthroughs.
For example: there has been a sharp increase in funds for pharmaceutical
research with very few new patented medicines emerging. Contrary to

NewScientist.com news service, entering a dark age of innovation, July 2nd 2005
what one would expect, increased funding does not necessarily result in
an increase in innovative products.
Once a monument of authority – an uncontested moral universe – the
university has become an empty shell, manifesting itself in overblown
logos and the interchangeable architecture of its buildings. Increasing
affiliation with international corporations – almost as a stamp of approval
– serves to conceal a fundamental shallowness. With no aura left of its
own, the university has to resort to the supposed prestige of international
company brands.
326

327
Decline of Technological Breakthroughs
 A Crisis of Knowledge

Open doors 2004, International Students in the US, http://open-

One could argue that the task of the university in developing regions is

The Economist, from bench to bedside, Nov 2nd 2006; CMR International
relatively straightforward. A simple demographic scan shows that the

doors.iienetwork.org/?p=50137 Graphic: OMA/AMO

parts of the world with the most youth – and therefore most in need of
education – are also the parts where illiteracy is rampant (see Regional
Statistics, pp. 70-71). Here the university could still sustain a confident
claim of being able to educate without too many reservations; never before
was there so much to teach to so many people.
However, precisely in the face of this monumental task, the status of
knowledge itself is increasingly in crisis. The effect of the internet in this
respect has been enormous. The world finds itself confronted with an International Students Studying in USA Increased Funding
endless proliferation of opinions with a happy disregard for the empirical
truth. The internet allows for the publication of absolutely anything,
unedited, un-interpreted and especially unverified, giving rise and granting
validity to almost any theory. Respected journalists are ranked effortlessly copyright – the universal sharing of knowledge is prevented precisely at
alongside the most insignificant amateur bloggers. Inside the modern the moment that we possess the technology (mass communication, the
medium of internet objectivity, the basic principles of science and knowledge internet, etc…) that could make it possible to use that knowledge to address
seem distinctly outmoded. the concerns of our time on a global level.
Education Diplomacy

Gulf Survey
The uncritical reliance on the internet as the only source of information The lack of universal sharing of knowledge prevents an open debate on
with no checking of sources has, in a way, produced a new kind of illiteracy some of the most pressing global subjects. In the absence of a global debate,
right in the heart of the so called ‘developed world’ – the supposed misunderstanding and double standards rule supreme. Human rights,
‘enlightenment stronghold’. In Google we trust! corruption, freedom of speech, free trade, nuclear arms proliferation, and
Knowledge is no longer absolute. The truth – at least what we call copyright. Undoubtedly many of these values and concepts currently
scientific truth – comes increasingly under threat. considered to be universal will, in the long run, turn out to have been too
narrowly defined – i.e. only from a Western perspective. In order to
A New Equilibrium acquire true universal status, they will have to be renegotiated and become
Since the events of 9/11 the US has separated itself from the rest of the subject to a global debate. The University is the natural place for this debate
world. The ‘Western’, or more bluntly the American, truth has lost its to take place.
universal appeal and no longer holds the final word. (This is, amongst Maybe the real Enlightenment is still ahead of us.
other things, expressed by the decreased enrolment of foreign students

AMO
in US universities.)
The world is entering a new equilibrium in which the centre of balance
has gravitated eastward. America and Europe, previously a double unity,
have increasingly become subject to a rift. Increasingly Europe is orienting
itself towards Asia. It is as though once again the world is reverting to its Eurasian Landmass

pre-1492 configuration before the discovery of the American continent:

the Eurasian Landmass, a single universe encircling the Mediterranean.
This re-reading of the world as a single land mass, consisting of different
spheres of influence with different values opens an exhilarating prospect:

http://faculty1.coloradocollege.ed/~ahyde/web104/mapqui2104.htm
a world without a single majority, a world in which a truth can only be a
truth once it is shared by all.
Indisputably, the West has a lot to offer. Conversely, the West stands
to gain a lot from concepts in other parts of the world. Asia now represents
an area of unlimited scientific experimentation uninhibited by religious
doctrines. It has also proved immune to some of the West’s most persistent
pests: the myth of individual genius and the inseverable tie between
knowledge and authorship.
It is one of the bizarre dilemmas of our time that – in the name of

329
328
 Document

Palaces for the People

Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace revels in a luxurious paradox. It is the most

exclusive hotel in the UAE and the most revered public space of Abu Dhabi.
Could it be that the Emirates Palace is to Abu Dhabi what the Palast der
Republik was to East Berlin – a moment when inordinate sums of luxury
symbols are displayed and offered to the most casual of the general public?
The porters greet everyone just as cordially as the next visitor and
employees have smiles for everyone. The visitors are the ones who cast the
discriminating glance toward each other – are you a gawker or a guest?
In some ways a palace for the people, Abu Dhabi’s residents bring their
Education Diplomacy

Gulf Survey
guests to show the marvels. Every visitor knows that Abu Dhabi is rich,
but the city remains frustratingly modest for the visitor who seeks the
overstimulation usually associated with wealth. Emirates Palace is the
concentrated fulfillment of this need. Once seen, one knows how rich
Abu Dhabi is. Even if the hotel rooms were affordable, few could stay in its
rooms. Part of its luxury is the unmatched ratio between staff and guests –
one reason why it is not called a hotel. The complex is a building type of its
own. If one approaches the elevator to the rooms above, the staff becomes
accordingly more investigative than friendly. An overpriced coffee will have
to suffice as one’s chance to ingest luxury.
As part of the Emirates Palace public program, it hosted an exhibition
detailing the expansion of Abu Dhabi’s display of self-confidence – a project

AMO
that will move expression from the scale of a palace to that of an island:
Saadiyat Island (the Island of Happiness).
The emirate caught the world’s attention when a deal was signed with
Guggenheim to build a branch on the island and to have Frank O. Gehry
Entry to Culture = Wisdom exhibition
design it. It was a significant move, but one more of pattern than innova-
tion. Abu Dhabi superseded global city protocol when it announced the
unprecedented – the purchase of name and borrowing rights and a long-
term training program from France’s Louvre Museum. Jean Nouvel’s
design for the new Louvre / Classical museum can’t seem to garner the
attention that the international museum deal made. Architecture remains a
vehicle to cultural politics. In addition to the two new museums by Gehry
and Nouvel, Zaha Hadid is designing a performance center, and Tadao
Ando the maritime museum.
The Gensler plan has fully grasped the requirements for this kind of
architecture. Like land pinched away from the island, the Saadiyat coast
affords each museum its own peninsula so that any context is reduced to
still waters and a receded skyline. Museum architecture couldn’t ask for
a better siting.
330

331
Emirates Palace Lobby
 Methodology of sustaining Saadiyat Island feasibility, Booz Allen Hamilton
Market Analysis
> Market size and growth potential
> Consumer behavior:
– Demographic profiles
– Decision making process
– Price sensitivity
> Decision tree mapping visitor-
segments and drivers of spend
with key element of the cultural
center
International
Initial Baseline
Benchmarking
> Initial interviews
> Benchmarking framework:
> Review of existing studies identification of key dimensions
and data
> Extensive set of case examples
> Assessment of key hypotheses and comparables:
and model input: – Museums
– Cultural District scope and quality – Biennales
– Architectural presence / facilities – Theme parks
– Overall Saadiyat island tourism
objectives
Economic Model
Education Diplomacy
> Annual impact
– Direct impact parameters (volume,
price, resources,...)
– Indirect and induced spending
impact (multiplier effect)
> Development impact:
– Construction and development
(hard and soft costs)
– Real Estate Uplift
Khaled Adham
332
Culture District Master Plan, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
Business Case/
Scenarios
> Cost for public authorities:
subsidy / investment
models
> Direct revenue streams:
– Visitor spend
– Sponsorship
– Public Funding
> Value generation (direct
return, real estate value, ...)
Booz Allen Hamilton
Overall Development Guggenheim Museum, Frank O. Gehry
Perspective
‘The design of the Guggenheim Museum for Abu Dhabi was driven
> Incremental cost / benefit by the unique relationship between the desert landscape and the
perspective: site location on the water. The building features central galleries
– Direct, indirect and stacked on four floors, around a courtyard. Two rings of gallery
induced spending
spaces radiate from the core which are less formally constructed,
– Short term jobs and return
potential allowing for a tremendous amount of flexibility and variety for
– Permanent jobs and return displaying art works.’ Architect’s Statement
potential
> Social impact assessment: Program sq.m
– Qualitative perspective
(education, ...)
– Quantitative perspective Permanent Collection Galleries 9,474
(business and cultural Special Exhibition Galleries 3,395
institution development, ...) Education Center 513
Theater 513
Retail and Cafe 1,500
Visitor Services Areas, Gardens and Terraces 3,868
Back of House 10,737
Total 30,000
Performing Arts Center, Zaha Hadid
‘The central axis of Abu Dhabi’s Cultural District is a pedestrian
corridor that stretches towards the sea. The sculptural form of the
Performing Arts Center emerges from this linear movement,
gradually developing into a network of successive branches. As
it winds through the site, the architecture increases in complexity,
building up height and depth achieving multiple summits in the
bodies housing the performance spaces. The building reaches
a height of 62 meters and stretches over the length of the Cultural
District, creating open views to the sea and skyline of Abu Dhabi.’
Architect’s Statement
Program sq.m
Theatres and Concert Halls 16,283
Institute for Performing Arts and Education Center 3,577
Congress Center 3,849
Retail 975
Restaurant and Cafes 1,766
Visitor Services Areas, Gardens and Terraces 7,016
Back of House 18,915
Total 52,381
Museum of Classical Art, Jean Nouvel
‘The museum takes the form of a micro-city, along a promenade,
covered by a large, light reflecting dome. The landscape is a
microcosm of different desert landscapes from the oasis to the
dune, from the pond to the archipelago.’ Architect’s Statement
Program sq.m
Gulf Survey
Exhibition Galleries 8,900
Education Center 900
Retail and Cafe 1,300
Visitor Services Areas 3,400
Back of House 9,500
Total 24,000
AMO
Maritime Museum, Tadao Ando
‘The building is a unique space carved out from a single volume.
The solitary form stands like a gate over a vast water court. Within
the ship-like interior, visitors are guided through the exhibition
space by ramps and floating decks. To create a visual link with the
maritime environment, the musuem features an enormous aquarium,
and floating dhows over the voids of the interior.’ Architect’s
Statement
Program sq.m
Exhibition Galleries 4,400
Education Center 400
Theater 300
Retail and Cafe 550
Visitor Services Areas, Gardens and Terraces 1,100
Back of House 3,250
Total 10,000
333
 Interview
After Bilbao
— Thomas Krens’ vision for Abu Dhabi as a ‘cultural destination’
The Guggenheim has joined forces with Abu Dhabi to make it a cultural
destination. Mastermind of the Bilbao phenomenon, the Solomon R.
Guggenheim Foundation’s Director Thomas Krens revealed his vision for
Saadiyat Island – the next big step after Bilbao, and beyond the art biennale.
Rem Koolhaas — We saw your exhibition at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi
about the Guggenheim’s involvement in cultural development. I wanted
to ask you how you saw this project in relation to past projects of the
Guggenheim, namely Bilbao. Also, there has been mention of comparing
this project to the Venice Biennale – namely that Saadiyat Island could
offer what’s next after the biennale concept. I also read in one of the press
Education Diplomacy
articles that the objective for Saadiyat Island was to create a cultural
destination that people would have to visit more than once. What was
meant by that?
That was an objective that came out of the original discussions with
Thomas Krens —
the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Sultan, that Abu Dhabi
strived to become ‘a cultural destination’. That concept had to be defined,
because from a certain perspective no major world-class institutions yet
existed in Abu Dhabi, the kind that would draw an international tourist
audience. The question was: ‘How do you achieve an effective critical mass
in terms of a cluster of cultural institutions that could make Abu Dhabi an
international cultural center or destination?’
A single building – a Bilbao-type structure – would be irrelevant in this
context. The notion for Saadiyat Island was based on several simultaneous
and complementary elements. The participation of the Louvre, which was
initiated by Sheikh Mohammed and former President Chirac, was a given
before the Guggenheim became involved. As was the desire for a performing
arts center and for two local museums that reflected local culture – the
Sheikh Zayed National Museum and the maritime museum.
So Abu Dhabi had commissioned a master plan from Gensler Associates
– in 2004, I believe – that organized Saadiyat Island into six districts –
one of them a cultural district, which called out for a cluster of cultural
institutions and museums – and laid out a road, highway, and services
network. This plan was adopted before the Guggenheim became involved.
RK — Was this in any way similar to Bilbao in cultural terms?
TK —Bilbao was different from Abu Dhabi in the sense that it had, more or
less, a reasonably strong cultural infrastructure before the presence of the
Guggenheim. They had good Fine Arts Museum, solid Kunsthalle-type
spaces, and they had a commercial gallery network already in place. Bilbao is
also within one hour flight time of 40 million people. So the new Guggenheim
museum became a cultural symbol, but it was based on the foundation of a
larger system. Indeed the Gehry museum was designed to be out of proportion
334
and out of scale with what existed; it was designed to be a destination visit in
and of itself. But it also developed within an integrated relationship with the
existing institutions. This model has been pretty successful. In Abu Dhabi,
nothing of this type existed, which the leaders understood. They had already
developed a concept for creating a cultural destination beyond a single
building or institution.
RK — How did the notion of the art biennales fit into this thinking?
TK —You have to understand that the Guggenheim was a consultant to a
developing process. We participated in the discussion that was taking place
in Abu Dhabi. We had a long history in this regard. Given our presence and
prominence in Venice, we had already spent considerable time on an analysis
of the biennale concept. We know that something like 131 art biennales
already existed around the world. Some of these are relatively modest one-
day events, some have a longer history. But there is none that has a longer
history than Venice. If you look at the origins of the biennale concept, you
can include São Paolo and Documenta. And then you ask, ‘What works
and what doesn’t?’ This was the most logical jumping-off point when
considering creating a biennale concept as part of a cultural destination.
Gulf Survey
RK — How is Venice a model for a fresh biennale concept?
TK —The collection of national pavilions in the Park [Giardini] at the Venice
Biennale is really the snapshot of what the world was like in the 1930s –
maybe thirty to forty national pavilions. There are almost 200 countries in
the world, many of which – such as China, India, etc. – are still not represented
by a permanent pavilion presence at the Venice Biennale. So, the thinking
was that Abu Dhabi had to improve that situation by discarding the national
pavilion model in favor of a more global, curatorially driven one.
Another important concept was that an effective biennale had to have a
critical mass of space, and that the pavilions that were built could ideally
be used continuously throughout the year for a variety of purposes including
educational and commercial activities. I think that the overall Venice
AMO
Biennale space is around 50,000 square meters. In Abu Dhabi that was a
point of departure. I believe that the plans for a new Biennale Park include
around 65,000 square meters of exhibition space in 19 pavilions. These
pavilions vary in size, from 2,000 square meters to 10,000 square meters – all
of them different spaces. And each pavilion would have two faces: one that
connects the pavilions together around a canal; and another that is urban
and that engages the commercial development defining Saadiyat Island.
Of course, there are similar program parameters: namely, on one floor,
easy access to move things in and out, load capacity that would allow fairly
large works. Abu Dhabi could envision very loosely a biennale that, instead
of inviting nations to do their own pavilions, could invite a varied cohort
of curators representing a wide range of geographies and intellectual ideas,
whose projects taken together, would inevitably cover the contemporary
cultural moment more effectively.
RK — I take it that this concept is something that you developed, and
that you selected the architects.
Not at all. The Guggenheim as an architectural consultant supplied
TK —
ideas to the Abu Dhabi planners, but the decisions at the end of the day
335
 were theirs. We are not involved in the plans for the bien�������������������
Guggenheim Museum.
n������������������
ale, only for the January 31, 2007
The desert looks surprisingly green. Some of the valleys even begin to show a strange
RK — Can you amplify the concept of the cultural destination? resemblance to the type of luscious green on the omnipresent billboards of future urban
TK — Again, this thinking was already underway by the Abu Dhabi planners quarters. At times, with the right angle, one could completely lose the idea one is in
when the Guggenheim became involved. We were both a source of ideas and the desert. At regular intervals, empty bottles and paper wraps – the leftovers of picnics?
– litter the thin crust of green.
a foil for ideas. I consider a cultural destination a place that would, at the
We are told that this is the result of an uninterrupted two-week period of rain during
very least, command the attention of a fairly significant cross-section of the the beginning of January. The morning edition of Gulf News featured a long article
global audience for contemporary culture. For Abu Dhabi to be a success on climate change and who would stand to gain or lose from it. This Emirate appears to
as a cultural destination, it would have to have a major league status within be amongst the winners. But, as we drive on and the valleys continue to green, a strange
the cultural/art world. The more each component, element, or institution feeling of discomfort enters our minds. It has been more than four months now since
is independently successful, the more likely they could create a destination. we encountered our mysterious Russian professor; meanwhile, what advanced state could
his experiments have reached? – RdG
A critical part of this is also the network of infrastructure that was being
planned for the greater Abu Dhabi. Roads, highways, airports were being
planned that could service such a cultural destination. Hotels and accom-
modation facilities were hugely important. The Abu Dhabi Tourist Authority
was the mastermind. Clearly their plans for Saadiyat Island include a fairly
significant number of hotels that dramatically increase the capacity of the
city to provide the services to anticipate these things on a larger scale. This is

Gulf Survey
also joined with their notion about stressing education as well as culture in
the long-term planning for the city. They already had signed an agreement with
the Sorbonne. Yale University was discussing whether to bring a graduate
program there. There are also significant health organizations – the Cleveland
Clinic is setting up a hospital there. All of this was underway before the
Guggenheim became involved. So, Saadiyat is currently a culture-based,
knowledge-based, environmentally conscious large-scale urban development
that will become a major tourist destination. Another key objective is to take
advantage of this rather extraordinary coastline, the beaches. The weather,
if you like warm weather … I’ve always found the climate quite delightful.
RK — We, too. It’s incredible, the weather. It seems you could have two
scenarios. One is that for every Guggenheim that is not on Fifth Avenue,

AMO
Frank Gehry is the architect. And then there is the scenario where you
would experiment with that. Why did you ask Frank again to do it?
TK —You are forgetting about the Guggenheim-Hermitage in Las Vegas designed
by Rem Koolhass. You know that I have a very close working relationship
with Frank. In the end it wasn’t me who chose Frank. Sheikh Mohammed
wanted Frank for the project. And I was in the comfortable position of
welcoming that opportunity. Perhaps we might have steered more towards
diversity within a Guggenheim network, but there was a very strong com-
mitment among the Abu Dhabi leadership to what Frank Gehry could do,
so I could hardly disagree. Frank is a genius and he is perfect for the site.
RK — Are you planning something similar to be realized anywhere else
in the world … that you can talk about publicly?
TK —There is another concept we are looking at for New York that is very new.
I can’t really talk about it now. I have for some time been thinking about
another kind of museum space and museum structure. It’s constituted in
a fundamentally different way than the model of classic, encyclopedic,
chronological museum … and it has an architecture that privileges some
very specific objectives of efficiency and scale.
336

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 Development Atlas

Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected

Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Kuwait

1 Arifjan Public Residential units, commercial and ministerial 40,000,000 2015 33,000
Residential Authority for complex, a private and a state university, a general
Project Housing hospital and fuel stations all located in southern 1 2 3
Kuwait

2 Khairan Public Mega project including commercial, residential and 145,000,000 TBA 70,000
Residential City Authority for industrial investment projects.
Housing

3 Low-cost Public Housing in the traditional Bedu area, confronting TBA 2010 18,000
Housing Authority for Kuwait’s severe housing shortage
Project South Housing
of Jahra

4 Saad Al- Public Development of villas, public buildings such as 2009 5,000
Abdullah Authority for mosques, schools, roads and sanitation systems,
Township Housing on the outskirts of Kuwait City
4 5 6
5 Bubiyan Island MPA Mega Kuwait’s largest island aims to be the Gulf’s largest 850,000,000 2016 20,000
Projects port, connecting Iraq and western Iran to the Gulf:
Agency a container terminal, a free trade zone and oil storage

Gulf Survey
facilities, as well as residential areas and nature
reserves, linked to Kuwait by rails.

6 Failaka Island MPA Mega New harbour and marina for 300 boats including a 43,000,000 2014 5,000
Projects holiday resort, chalets, entertainment and ministry
Agency buildings

7 Failaka Ikarus Resort and spa including a water park with private 1,700,000 2008 N/A
Island: Ikarus Entertain- marina, an eco-tourism and camping areas and a golf
Entertainment ment Project course

8 Subiyah Resort Resort complex comprised of a hotel, resort, a spa, 100,000 TBA N/A
health club and marina complex, located on Khuor Al 7 8 9
Subiyah overlooking the Bubiyan Island

9 Subiya MPW: Dual carriageway 6-lane bridge to link Subiya Island 36,000 m 2010 N/A
Causeway Ministry of to Kuwait City
Public Works

10 Subiya New Kuwait City Residential city with a commercial centre TBA 2013 100,000
Town Master Muncipality
plan

11 Madinat Al Tamdeen Multi-purpose economic, commercial and residential 250,000,000 2011/ 2032 700,000

AMO
Hareer (Silk Real Estate city. its centrepiece will be Mubarak Tower, a 1001 m
City) & Aijal Real high structure that plans to dwarf Burj Dubai
Estate
10 11 12
12 Mall of Kuwait Tamdeen Hypermarket, 5 anchor stores, the world’s best brands 150,000 2008 N/A
Real Estate and spectacular entertainment facilities

13 Madinat Al Tamdeen Mixed-use project built around the traditional 17,200 Complete N/A
Fahaheel Real Estate Fahaheel fishing harbor, including Fahaheel Waterfront:
Al Manshar complex, Al Manshar Rotana Hotel and
the primary shopping district Al-Kout.

14 Khabary City Al Dar First Mixed-use community complete with residential 232,000 2008 4,500
Holding houses, office space, hotels, hospitals and schools

15 Heritage Village Kuwait City Major residential and entertainment complex 54,700 2030 TBA
Muncipality

16 Sharq Sief Area Kuwait City A study of the entire commercial area of the site, and 1,000,000 N/A N/A
Muncipality a study on retaining the historical buildings and the 13 14 15
sitting of proposed new commercial, governmental
and residential facilities to be developed.

17 Green Island Raka’ez Real Dolphinarium, retail shops, restaurants, multi-purpose TBA TBA N/A
Estate Co. hall, Children’s World Area and Children’s Discovery
Museum.

18 Kuwait Trade Al Tijaria Complex of commercial mall in a podium and offices 4,300 2007 N/A
Centre tower above
338

339
TBA: To be announced 16 17 18
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Kuwait

19 Symphony Al Tijaria Complex of commercial shops with an office tower 11,500 2007 N/A
Complex and a hotel tower above, both viewing the Arabian Gulf

20 Bur Juman Al Tijaria Offices and residential complex with a shopping mall 28,000 TBA 2,200
Complex

21 The Avenues MABANEE Kuwait’s largest shopping mall with office buildings 425,000 2007 N/A
Company and leisure facilities in two further construction phases 19 20 21
S.A.K.

22 Kuwait Infrastructural work, the expansion of the airport’s two 85,000 2007 20,000,000
International existing runways and the building of the third runway per annum
Airport to receive Airbus A380 super-jumbo aircrafts
expansion

23 Kuwait More than 25 faculty buildings, containing a 600-bed 7,300,000 2014 30,000
University’s hospital for the medical faculty, dormitories, sports students
new campus facilities and auditoriums

24 Asian Olympia United Headquarters building for the Asian Olympia Council, TBA 2008 900
Project Resources a 5-star hotel, office and residential towers and retail
Real Estate areas
Company 22 23 24
25 Kuwait Kuwait 9 luxurious office towers, shopping malls and new 23,300 2010 N/A
Business Town Business luxury leisure facilities and a multi storey car park
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Town Holding
Company
(KBT)

26 Kheiran Pearl La’Ala Al Residential city built as ‘the Venice of the Gulf’ with 2,500,000 2009 100,000
City Project Kuwait all house plots having berthing facilities and including
Real Estate developments such as Lagoon City
Company

27 Al Watiya Al Nakhil Two 40-stoery commercial towers, a 28-storey 4-star TBA 2009 TBA
Complex United hotel and a 25,000 sqm retail areawith a parking for
Real Estate 1,000 vehicles
25 26 27
Company

28 Fintas Centre Commercial centre with retail, entertainment and 250,000 2009 500,000
administrative components, with focus on clinics,
cinemas, recreation, parking, a botanical garden and
a market

29 Shaikh Jaber Authority Multi-use stadium for football matches and athletics TBA 2007 65,000
Al Ahmed Int’l for Youth &
Stadium Sport

30 Kuwait Int’l Tennis stadium including a hotel and health club 52,000 N/A

AMO
Tennis Stadium

31 Salmiya Ministry Middle-income housing for Kuwaiti nationals TBA 2007 TBA
Residential of Awqaf 28 29 30
Complex & Islamic
Affairs

32 Kuwait URC: United Mixed-use complex consisiting of a commercial tower, 23,000 2008 N/A
Business City Real Estate a residential tower and a retail centre
Company

33 Al Abdali URC: United Warehouses, showrooms, industrial facilities, hotels 8,000,000 TBA N/A
Border Real Estate and low cost residences located between Kuwait
Passage Company and Iraq, attempting to regulate customs and trading
activities

34 Marina World URC: United Marina Shopping Mall and Marina Seaside, includes 3,000,000 TBA N/A
Real Estate Club el Marina, Marina Hotel and Marina Hall, within
Company a coastal renovation scheme
31 32 33
TOTAL 1,351,300,000 1,059,000
340

341
34
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Bahrain

1 Al Areen Desert Al Areen Mixed-use development to transform desert into a 2,000,000 2008
Spa and Resort Holding thriving landscaped resort with a mix of hospitality,
residential, entertainment and tourism components.

2 Al Areen Khaleeji Designed to take advantage of the natural topography 143,000 TBA 300
Desert Spa and Commercial of the site and blend perfectly into Al Areen’s hills
Resort: Oryx Bank through a residential development of villas
Hills 1 2 3

3 Al Areen Abu Dhabi Features luxury villas, town houses, terraced 47,000 2009
Desert Spa and Investment apartments and apartment blocks for shops and
Resort:Sunset House residences
Hills

4 Science and Kuwait Attracts global science and technology companies 2,000,000 2011 N/A
Technology Finance of small to large sizes to grow niche markets in the
Park House KFH Kingdom

5 Bahrain Bahrain Integrated financial community on prime seafront 380,000 2010 7,000
Financial Financial property with a diverse range of commercial, residential
Harbour (BFH) Harbour and leisure components.
Holding Co.
4 5 6
6 Bahrain Gulf Holding Bahrain’s most advanced world-class waterfront 32,000 2009 5,000
Financial Co. residential complex and the first within the BFH
Harbour:
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Villamar at the
Harbour

7 Bahrain Bay Bahrain Bay Balance of commercial, residential and retail spaces 1,100,000 2012 25,000
Development Development set around the Manama waterfront.

8 Bahrain Bay: Centerpiece of Bahrain Bay with 220 rooms, 400,000 2009 N/A
The Four conference facilities and a private beach
Seasons Hotel

9 Bahrain Bay: CapitaLand High-end retail, serviced apartments and luxury 220,000 2010 500
Raffles City residential units
Bahrain
7 8 9

10 Durrat Al Durrat 12 man-made islands with more than 2,000 villas and 20,000,000 2009 45,000
Bahrain Island Khaleej Al 3,000 apartments
Bahrain Co.

11 Lulu Island Bahrain Gov. Designed in the shape of the number 9 with 564,000 2009 6,500
& Mouawad 39 residential buildings with a total of 1,217 apartments
group Real with waterfront or lagoon views
Estate Inv.
Co.

AMO
12 Amwaj Islands; Ossis 6 man-made islands – Najmah, Tala, Wardeh, 2,798,000 2007 45,000
Al Fanar Resort Property Hamama, Delphene, Farasha – combine residential
Developers districts, commercial and leisure resorts with
a unifying architectural theme and a smart city 10 11 12
environment

13 Amwaj Island/ The Abu Waterside commercial project located on a waterside 55,000 2007 375
Najmah: Dhabi strip of Amwaj Islands in Najmah district
Lagoon Bahrain Investment
House

14 Amwaj Island/ Al Marsa ‘Waterfront’ district traversed by a series of 83,000 2007 700
Najmah Al Real Estate waterways similar to Venice, which is the first ever
Marsa Floating Company man-made island in the Kingdom of Bahrain where
City waterfront villas, chalets and flats are being built

15 Amwaj Island/ Amwaj Luxurious residential development comprising 360,000 2009 1,100
Najmah: Amwaj Gateway Co. six 20-storey towers
Gateway 13 14 15
16 Amwaj Island: Tala Island Townhouses, villas and apartments, shaped in an 110,000 2007 1,400
Tala Island Development elongated curve, built in a gated community with
Co. sports facilities

17 Salam Beach Sama Duba 5-star beach resort hotels, spa and wellness centre, 500,000 2009 N/A
resort and Spa hotel villas, a vibrant souq, waterways and marina
styled to resemble an Arabian citadel

18 Bahrain Works and 14 islands with 15,000 government houses, including 10,000,000 2016 70,000
Northern Town Housing a regional university, state-of-the-art transportation
Ministry facilities, an interactive museum and an aquarium

343
342

16 17 18
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Bahrain

19 Saar Gate Alargan Int’l Housing development 54,800 2009 700

Real Estate

20 Bahrain World - Landmark office, retail, and hotel development to 18,000 2007 N/A
Trade Centre be branded and operated as the Bahrain World (Moda Mall)
(BWTC) Trade Centre, in which large-scale wind turbines are
integrated to harness wind power for an alternative
energy supply. 19 20 21
21 Bahrain City Majid Al Shopping complex, the largest indoor water park in 139,400 2008 N/A
Centre Futtaim the region, an indoor amusement park, the largest
Investments cinema in the Middle East, and hotels

22 Domina Domina 340 spacious rooms including 2 presidential suites, 20,000 2007 N/A
Bahrain Hotel Hotel Group villas, restaurants, spa, leisure avenues and 1,860 sqm
and Towers & Al Hamad banqueting and conference facilities
Construction
& Develop.
Co.

23 Super Yacht Aquiva 170 m-long floating hotel with 100 rooms and N/A 2009 N/A
Hotel Development a ‘world class spa’

24 Hay Al Zahra’a Al Enma’a First joint government and private sector housing 34,700 2008 700 22 23 24
View House project to provide affordable housing scheme to
Bahraini nationals
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
25 New town in Al Enma’a Divided into a northern part of tourist facilities such 1,800,000 2012 20,000
Hidd House as hotels and private residences, and a southern part
including government houses.

26 Township for Al Enma’a Residential complex for expatriate workers 67,000 TBA 6,000
labourers House

27 Waterfront Dadabhai 6 residential blocks, a health club, 3 swimming pools, 13,000 TBA 400
housing and Construction a business centre and restaurants
develop.
project
25 26 27
28 International Ministry of 3-phase expansion project intended to more than 125,000 2008/ 2010 15,000,000
Airport Works & double its terminal floor area per annum
Expansion Housing

29 Riffa Views Riffa Views Development of 1,000 luxury residences, an 18-hole 2,700,000 2008 3000
Signature golf course, a 9-hole short course, sports, leisure and
Estates school facilities

30 Sheikh Khalifa Ithmaar Bank Football stadium, multipurpose sports hall, world- TBA 2007 3,600
Sport City standard swimming pool, central tennis court, parking spectators
lots, gates and a road network

AMO
31 Bahrain Al Khaleej Industrial Park, Business Park and Residential Park, 1,700,000 TBA TBA
Investment Development strategically located in the Hidd industrial Area,
Wharf Co. (Tameer) providing direct access to major sea, air and road
networks. 28 29 30

32 Bahrain Mega Bahrain Idyllic lake-studded resort close to an international 3,700,000 2010 4,500
Equestrian Wiggins standard horse-racing course and equestrian club,
Resort with recreationaland residential components

33 Bahrain Rail Bahrain Light rail system as part of plans to create an N/A 2011/ 2030 10,000
Network Chamber of integrated transport strategy for the country between per hour
Commerce its major upcoming projects
& Industry
(BCCI)

34 Muharraq - Garden project set as ‘a major face-lift’, featuring an TBA 2010 TBA
amusement park and a shopping mall.

35 Gilgamesh Al Enma’a Artificial Gilgamesh Island project moved to another TBA 2012 TBA 31 32 33
Island in House site because of potential environmental damage
Muharraq

36 Ishbiliya Village Al Enma’a Villas, apartments and commercial units with a mall, 176,000 2008 3,000
Development House retail shops and restaurants
344

345
34 35 36
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Bahrain

37 Green City Middle East’s first environmentally designed and TBA 2009 5,000
ecologically oriented Green City with EURO University
set up to be the fist university in the Middle East
specialised in environmental sciences; students and
staff housing attached

38 King Hamad Ministry of General and teaching hospital, which will also have 227,000 2007 N/A
General Works and some facilities for the medical school, including a 37 38 39
Hospital Housing; 200 seat lecture theatre
Ministry of
Health

39 Busaiteen Ministry of Resort including a 50-storey hotel, apartment blocks, 442,000 2009 1,000
Resort Muncipality villas and chalets, a mall, a theme park and other
Development & Agricultural leisure facilities
Affairs

40 Two Seas Dala Waterfront development comprising residential 11,000,000 On Hold TBA
Development clusters, luxury hotels, schools, hospitals, high-street
retail opportunities, promenades and other modern
amenities

41 Marina West AA Janahi Residential beachfront community on the Kingdom’s 345,000 2009 5,500 40 41
Holdings Co. west coast including a retail and leisure development

TOTAL 61,904,000 248,600

Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
AMO
346

347
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Qatar

1 Al Sadd Qatar Real Mixed-use development in central Doha comprising 30,000 2010 TBA
development Estate a retail and office component and a residential
Investment component
Co. (QREIC)

2 Doha Qatari Diar Office space and an exhibition and convention 124,000 2013 TBA
Convention Real Estate centre with 2 iconic towers, 60- and 100-storeys high,
Centre and Investment soaring on a prestigious location on Corniche 1 2 3
Tower and Develop.
Co.

3 Al Qutaifya Qatari Diar Residential and commercial districts on reclaimed TBA TBA
Lagoon land including Chiva Som Qatar, designed blending
Thai, Qatari and western cultural influences

4 Lusail Qatari Diar 10 districts including a Marina and Waterfront, 35,000,000 2010 200,000
Development Boulevard Commercial, Corporate Office Park,
Foxhills and Resorts.

5 Lusail - Centerpiece of Lusail City is commercial, residential 1,600,000 2009 TBA

development: and civic facilities inspired by Qatari heritage and
Fox Hills European influences
4 5 6
6 Lusail Damac 14-building Mediterranean-themed residential project TBA 2010 1,100
development: Holdings located inside the Lusail development’s Fox Hills
Fox Hills – The
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Piazza

7 Lusail Qatari Diar Pinnacle of seaside living, boasting the feel and 600,000 46 plots
development: Real Estate excitement of a traditional Arabic souq while offering
waterfront Investment state-of-the-art amenities and entertainment options
district and Develop.
Co.

8 Lusail Al Addiyar Gulf’s first hydrocarbon industry business center, 1,300,000 2013 N/A
development: Real Estate acting as an oil and gas hub, and providing a single
Energy City Investment point of access to markets and expertise in the field.
Qatar (ECQ) Co.
7 8 9
9 The Pearl-Qatar United Riviera-style man-made island, including villas, hotels, 3,660,000 2010 40,000
Development retail shopping and restaurants, entertainment and
Company recreational facilities, schools and parks
(UDC)

10 Education City: Qatar World-class equine management facility including TBA 2008 N/A
Al Shaqab Foundation an equine breeding facility, hospital, indoor outdoor
Equestrian arena, members’ clubhouse, staff accommodation,
Academy in and entertainment facilities with museum.
Qatar

AMO
11 Education Qatar Pittsburgh based research university, offering Qatari 445,000 2008 100
City: Carnegie Foundation students undergraduate programs in computer students
Mellon science and business administration annually
University 10 11 12
12 Education City: Qatar Auditorium, a theatre and a multi-purpose hall, where 150,000 2009 8,000
Convention Foundation exhibitions, conferences and festivals are hosted
centre

13 Education City: Qatar Office and lab space, professional services and 1,200,000 Phase I: N/A
Qatar Science Foundation support programs to tenant companies in a complex 2007
& Technology of buildings.
Park

14 Education City: Qatar First all-digital, academic medical research centre in 200,000 2010 380 beds
Sidra Medical Foundation & the region; highest standard in patient care, teaching, (built area)
& Research Weill Cornell medical research and clinical practice
Centre Medical
(Teaching College 13 14 15
Hosp.)

15 Smart Al Rayyan Several clusters incl. World of Electronics and Future 5,000,000 2014 N/A
Industrial City Bank City exhibition centres

16 Ain Khalid Barwa Mixed-use project comprising malls, residential 2010 TBA
Commercial Real Estate apartments, retail outlets, exhibitions and restaurants
Development Company

17 Al Khor Resort Barwa Full-service town featuring residential villas, beach 7,990,000 2013 80,000
Real Estate chalets and commercial centres for oil and gas
Company industry workers

18 Qatar Office complex including training facilities, medical Phase I: N/A

348

349
Petroleum center, recreation and sports stadium, and a computer 2007
Headquarters centre 16 17 18
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Qatar

19 Sharq Village Resort in a unique Qatari village architectural 98,000 2007 N/A
& Spa style, including a spa, a traditional Qatari Souq,
and entertainment facilities.

20 New Doha NDIA 2 runways partially on reclaimed land, passenger Reclaimed 2008/ 2015 50,000,000
International Steering terminal complex, a new 10-gate terminal, all land: per annum
Airport (NDIA) Committee associated airline and airport ancillary features, 18,000,000
and retail space sqm 19 20 21
Terminal bldg:
55,000 sqm

21 Hammad Pediatric, orthopedic, physical medicine and 500,000 2008 1,100 beds
Medical City physiotherapy hospital in addition to a day care
surgery center, home care center for elderly and
a renal dialysis unit

22 Al Waab City Al Waab Integrates a variety of housing types, small and large 1,200,000 2012 10,000
Development scale retail, offices, health facilities, a culture center
Company and a world class hotel

23 Al khor Housing Qatar Housing Expansion project. TBA Phase I: 5,500

Project Petroleum, 2007, Phase
expansion QREIC II: 2009 22 23 24
24 Dubai Tower Sama Dubai 80-story tower offering high-end retail, state-of- 218,000 2009
Development the-art offices, a 5-star hotel as well as top-quality
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
apartments

25 Grand Hyatt Touristic Villas and a 5-star hotel complex 93,000 2009 250 rooms
Hotel and Villas Investment (built area) (hotel) and
Company 56 villas

26 Villaggio Mall Qatar’s largest shopping centre offering 145,000 TBA N/A
comprehensive mix of major retail outlets, services (built area)
and entertainment activities

27 Museum of Important collection of Islamic art with areas for 45,000 2007 N/A
Islamic Arts public reception, exhibition, education, technical and
administrative facilities, and support services
25 26 27

28 Qatar National Qatar National Library, Contemporary Art Museum, 50,000 2007 N/A
Library and Museum of Science and Natural History

29 ‘Nine-Mile’ Supported Large luxury residential communities and entertainment TBA TBA TBA
Development by Qatar complex, incuding the country’s largest theme park,
Government a sport park with Formula One racing track, acqua
park and a cruise ship terminal (This project may have
been cancelled and compensated by an entertainment
park in Lusail.)

AMO
TOTAL 74,148,000 336,000

28 29
350

351
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Abu Dhabi

1 Al Raha Beach Al Dar Residential district of high- and low-rise buildings, 6,800,000 2009/ 2011 120,000
Resort commercial and entertainment venues with a gated
residential community of 365 villas (Raha Gardens)

2 Al Gurm Resort Al Dar International luxury hotel, exclusive villas and 1,800,000 2008 3,000
mangrove reserve

3 Central Market Al Dar 3 towers of a 5-star luxury hotel, an office tower and 50,000 2010 1,000 1 2 3
a residential tower with a modern souq

4 Yas Island Al Dar Island with a motor sports racetrack, Ferrari theme 25,000,000 2014 1,500
park, water park, retail and entertainment venues,
hotels and low-rise residential apartments and villas
(Contractor: KBR)

5 Al Falah Al Dar and Urban housing project of 15,000 villas for middle- 1,000,000 TBA 80,000
Housing others income UAE families, in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi,
comprising a series of villages encircling a town
centre of civic and commercial activities.

6 Saadiyat Island Tourism 6 districts of residential, leisure and recreational 27,000,000 2018 150,000
Development facilities, including a cultural district of 8 iconic
& Investment architectural landmarks containing Performance Arts 4 5 6
Company Centre by Zaha Hadid, Classical Museum by Jean
(TDIC) Nouvel, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by Frank Gehry,
and Maritime Museum by Tadao Ando
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
7 Between the (TDIC) 5-star hotel, executive apartments, and villas, available 600,000 2008 N/A
Bridges along with gardens and private swimming pools

8 The Quay (TDIC) Redevelopment of city’s previous Tourist Club site 140,000 TBA 1,500
into a world-class tourism, residential and commercial
shoreline hub

9 Golf Gardens Sorouh Real Luxurious residential villas and town homes, featuring 347,000 2008 700
Estate and recreational and commercial venues in addition to
(TIDC) gardens and parks
7 8 9
10 Lulu Island Sorouh Real Hotels, restaurants, gardens, an aquarium, a museum, 2010 N/A
Estate fun parks for children and a wildlife reserve

11 Saraya Abu Sorouh Real High-rise development including residential 125,000 2013
Dhabi Estate and commercial buildings, serviced apartments
and a hotel

12 Al Shamkha Sorouh Real Residential project intended for UAE nationals 11,000 TBA 32,500
Estate

13 Material City Manazel Real Hub for UAE’s commercial services and trading 230,000 2010 N/A
Estate activities related to construction and building

AMO
materials with the first building materials exchange
in the Middle East
10 11 12
14 Al Reef Villas Manazel Real Villas and apartments, grouped into 4 themed 929,000 2009 6,000
Estate communities

15 Manazel New Manazel Real New city outside Abu Dhabi of low-cost villas for 3,000,000 TBA 10,000
City Estate emaratis and expatriates on 99-year loans

16 Reem Island Tamouh Residential, comemrcial and business project built 6,317,400 2012 280,000
Investment on Al Reem Island

17 Reem Island: Al Reem Urbane waterside community of residential areas, 1,860,000 2012 80,000.
Najmat Abu Investments 2 five-star hotels, island resort, business district and
Dhabi amenties

18 Reem Island: Sorouh Residential units with commercial and recreational 1,320,000 2011 100,000
Shams Abu Investments facilities
Dhabi 13 14 15

353
352

16 17 18
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Abu Dhabi

19 Reem Island: Abu Dhabi Five 50-storey towers with luxury apartments and 808,256,000 2009 5,400
Addax Port Towers offices, a central shopping area, community facilities,
Property landscaped gardens and marina
Investment

20 Autopolis Elite Regional distribution centre for car manufacturers and 1,200,000 2011 1,500
Investment dealers, built on an Island, which offes auto-themed
House amenities for tourists including a museum, boutique 19 20 21
auto hotel, an exhibition and convention centre, and
villas. A Car Hotel designed by Kas Oosterhuis will
allow customers to drive with their cars right into the
hotel lobby

21 Autohub Elite Automobile operators, distributors, manufacturers 2011 N/A

Investment and auto-related industries in Mussafah Industrial City
House

22 Danet Abu Al Qudra Fully interactive smart digital community ‘designed 210,000 2009 2,500
Dhabi Real Estate to be one of the region’s best-planned communities…
a welcoming oasis enhanced with a futuristic skyline,
with gardens, parks, green boulevards, building,
cafes, and leisure facilities’
22 23 24
23 Zayed Bay Al Qudra Mixed-use development offering office space with TBA TBA 3,000
Real Estate state-of-the-art services, exclusive residential
apartments, prime retail spaces, 5-star Hotels and
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
a conference centre on water edge

24 Abu Dhabi Mubadala Mixed-use development with outstanding visual 50,000 N/A
Financial Development impact, the centrepiece will be designed by a world-
Centre Company renowned architect; consisting of a state-of-the-art
securities market, supported by substantial office
space, positioning itself as a preferred business
destination

25 Abu Dhabi Comprises a new midfield passenger terminal, a 34,000,000 2010 50,000,000
Airport second runway, cargo, maintenance facilities and passengers
expansion other commercial developments on land annually 25 26 27
26 Capital Center District comprising of the Grandstand, 30 residential, 150,000 2009 3000
office and retail towers: The Galleria multi-storey
retail space; The Marina future home of super-yachts,
marine exhibitions and floating hotels; and The
Feature Tower

27 Khalifa Sea Mubadala Port complemented by an industrial zone catering 100,000,000 2012 N/A
Port and to a number of medium and light industries
Industrial Zone

28 Sheikh Commercial and residential project divided into 6,300,000 2010 50,000

AMO
Mohammad Bin 3 sectors: 1) a mall, office towers and furnished
Zayed City apartment; 2) and 3) residential buildings

29 Workers City Zonescorp, . Residential complexes for workers 2009 100,000 28 29 30

30 CERTCity; Higher ‘World class centres of excellence supported by a 1,000,000 2008 2.500
Centre of Colleges of top class convention centre, 5-star hotel facilities,
Excellence, Technology housing estates, shopping malls and state-of-the-art
Research and sports, recreation and leisure facilities’
Training

31 Al Fahim Resort Al Fahim Resort complex with conference and meeting 1,100 2008 N/A
Group facilities, recreation facilities and a cluster of
residential serviced villas

TOTAL 216,260,500 847,200

31
354

355
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai

1 Palm Jumeirah Nakheel Smallest of the three Palms containing mixed-use 31,100,000 2007 60,000 ppl.
developments of commercial, retail, residential and 45,000
hospitality offerings visitors
daily

2 Palm Jumeirah: Nakheel Personal islands for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid - 2005 N/A
Logo Islands Al Maktoum
1 2 3
3 Palm Jumeirah: Joint venture: Resort which will feature unique water attractions 500,000 2009 N/A
The Atlantis Kerzner Int’l including one of the world’s largest marine habitats
Limited &
Istithmar

4 Palm Jumeirah: IFA Hotels & Will encompass premier retail and apartment 60,000 2009 1400
Golden Mile Resorts residences within two parts: The Golden Mile
Residences and The Golden Mile Retail

5 Palm Jumeirah: Joint venture: Luxurious 48-storey mixed-use condo-hotel and 130,000 2009. N/A
The Trump Nakheel residence centrepiece of the Palm Golden Mile
International LLC, and
Hotel and The Trump
Tower Organization 4 5 6
6 Palm Jumeirah: Fairmont Mixed-use development of residential villas, 141,500 TBA TBA
Kingdom of apartments, hotels and resorts
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Sheba

7 Palm Jebel Ali Nakheel 40% bigger than the Palm Jumeirah, containing 10,000,000 TBA 250,000
mixed-use developments of water homes built on
stilts that spell a poem written by His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

8 Palm Deira Nakheel Largest of The Palm trilogy, with 41 fronds housing 80,000,000 2015 500,000
mixed-use developments

9 The World Nakheel Mixed-use private and commercial 300 island 55,100,000 2008 300,000
development ranging from 14,000 sqm to 41,800 sqm
7 8 9
10 The Gardens Nakheel Residential community of mid-rise buildings and villas 2,200,000 Completed 10,000

11 Discovery Nakheel Residential community arranged in 6 garden themes 2,400,000 2008 46,800
Garden of Zen, Mediterranean, Contemporary, Cactus, Mogul
and Mesoamerican courtyard gardens

12 Dubai Water Nakheel Mixed-use development of 250 master planned 81,000,000 TBA 500,000
Front: Madinat communities with Al Burj anchoring the project as
Al Arab & Al one of the world’s tallest buildings
Burj

13 Arabian Canal Nakheel Mixed-used residential, commercial, retail and TBA 2013 TBA

AMO
hospitality arranged around a 80,000 m long canal
‘Dubai’s second creek’

14 Jumeirah Golf Nakheel Residential golf community with course designers 11,190,000 2007/ 2008/ 1,800 10 11 12
Estates Greg Norman for Fire and Earth theme and Vijay Singh 2012
for Water and Wind theme

15 Jumeirah Nakheel The World’s first man-made inland island community 3,000,000 Completed 1,400
Islands of 46 clusters

16 Jumerirah Nakheel Residential community built in classic Arabian and 7,500,000 2008 3,600
Village Mediterranean architectural styles
(previously
known as JV
South)

17 Jumeirah Park: Nakheel Residential community with expansive parks, eco- 3,500,000 2009 3,600
(previously friendly green spaces and family orientated amenities
known as JV
North) 13 14 15
18 International Nakheel Residential community comprised of four main 8,000,000 2007 75,000
City districts: Central District, Residential District, Lake
District and Forbidden City
356

357
16 17 18
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area/ sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai

19 International Nakheel Large trade mall designed in the form of a dragon that 8,000,000 2004. N/A
City: Dragon serves as a commercial center for more than 3,000
Mart Complex Chinese companies

20 International Nakheel Exclusive area for permanent and temporary 1,115,000 2008 N/A
City; Dubai exhibitions of home furnishing and construction
Design Centre solutions
19 20 21
21 The Lost City Nakheel Residential development inspired by famed cities 5,600,000 TBA TBA
in Arabian history

22 Dubai Maritime Nakheel Comprehensive maritime complex offering maritime 2,325,000 TBA N/A
City services and management, marine education and
research, and other services

23 Ibn Battuta Mall Nakheel Retail development themed around the travels of the 2,043,867 Completed N/A
renowned 14th-century Arabian explorer, Ibn Battuta

24 Jumeirah Lake Nakheel Waterfront community of residential and office towers 1,350,000 Completed
Towers (JLT) alongside hotels, leisure and retail outlets

25 Extreme Parks Nakheel Extreme branded experiential theme park 279,000 TBA TBA
22 23 24
26 Techno Park Dubai World Designed to serve as a regional platform to launch 23,000,000 Completed
Dubai Group international, local and regional technology businesses
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
27 Downtown Limitless Commercial, retail and residential community of four 2,000,000 2007/ 2011 235,000
Jebel Ali quarters – East Quarter, East Central, West Central
and West Quarter – all linked by a range of transport
options

28 Dubai Industrial Tatweer, a Industrial zone containing an Industrial Research and 52,000,000 2015 300,000
City (DIC) member of Education Centre, central warehousing and a quality workers
Dubai Holding control standard function

29 Dubai Media TECOM, a A tax free zone within Dubai providing a regional hub - completed N/A
City member of for media organizations 25 26 27
Dubai Holding

30 Dubai Media TECOM, a Part of DMC offering complete technical and 2,000,000 Phase I: N/A
City: Dubai member of community infrastructure catering to film and Complete
Studio City Dubai Holding TV production industries

31 Dubai Internet TECOM, a Free economic zone where companies can operate 140,000 2007 10,000
City member of without restrictions workers
Dubai Holding

32 Dubai TECOM, a Free zone for outsourcing industry - Phases I & I N/A
Outsource member of I: Complete

AMO
Zone Dubai Holding

33 Dubai Health Tatweer, a The world’s first health care free zone 2,024,000 2010 TBA 28 29 30
Care City member of
(DHCC) Dubai Holding

34 Dubai Dubai Learning community that will develop the region’s 93,000 2006/ 2008 N/A
Knowledge Holding knowledge work force by housing various universities
Village

35 Dubailand Tatweer, a Entertainment complex divided into 7 seven exciting 185,806,000 2015/ 2018 15,000,000
member of worlds with a range of projects to suit everyone. There tourists
Dubai Holding are 23 projects capitalized on Dubailand and work is annually
currently been carried out on phases, and some of the
Dubailand facilities like the Dubai Autodrome and Al
Sahra in Dubai Heritage vision are already operational.

36 Dubailand: 1. Tatweer, a 16 projects themed on adventure parks including Aqua 13,900,000 2015/ 2018 TBA
Attractions and member of Dubai, Astrolab Resort, Aviation World, Snowdome, 31 32 33
Experience Dubai Holding Great Dubai Wheel, Dubailand Theme Park, Falcon
World City of Wonders, Fantasia, Giants World, The Global
Village, The Islamic Culture and Science World, Kids
World, Legends Dubailand, Planetarium, Space and
Science World, and Tourism Park
358

359
34 35 36
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai
37 Dubailand: - Has the ambition to become the largest tourist park
Space and in the world
Scienc World
Tourism Park

38 Dubailand: Emirates Star Includes a snow and ice leisure park, a deluxe hotel 130,000 2010 N/A
Snowdome Properties designed to look like an iceberg and a huge revolving
(32 Group) ski slope 37 38 39
39 Dubailand: Falconcity of Residential, tourist, enetrtainment and recreational 3,716,000 2011 TBA
Falcon City of Wonders LLC facility shaped like a falcon, containing life-size
Wonders & Salem Al replicas of seven wonders of the world
Moosa Ent.

40 Dubailand: Legends 3 climate-controlled indoor theme parks, residential 2,300,000 2009 / 2013 TBA
Legends Development developments, themed hotels, 5 hotel apartments
– Dubai Land Company towers, a 9-hole golf course, entertainment and
LLC shopping area, and business developments

41 Dubailand: 2. - 5 projects of mixed sporting venues, including 32,900,000 2016 / 2018 N/A
Sports and Extreme Sports World, Dubai Sports City, Racing
Outdoor World World, Polo World and Golf World
40 41 42
42 Dubailand: Dubai Sporting venues and academies featuring 4 giant-sized 4,645,000 2010
Dubai Sports Tourism stadiums designed for international events, along with
City Development residential and commercial developments
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Company

43 Dubailand: Tatweer, A Tiger Woods-designed Golf Course, golf academy; 2,351,000 2009 1,000
Tiger Woods a member a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse with the latest
Dubai of Dubai amenities; an 80-suite boutique hotel for VIP guests;
Holding 300 luxury villas; 20 mansions and a retail area

44 Dubailand: 3. - 12 projects themed on nature and desert-based 130,000,000 2018 N/A

Eco-Tourism attractions, including Petting Zoo, Animal World,
World Equestrian Centre, Light & Sound World, Gardens
World, Dinosaur World, Science and History Museum,
Bio World, Sand Dune Hotel, Sandstone Villas, Camp 43 44 45
World and Desert Safari

45 Dubailand: Al Kaheel Park Tourist attraction with mixed-use residential 929,000 2008 1,000
Kaheel Park LLC and commercial components including a working
horse farm.

46 Dubailand: 4. - 4 Spas, health and well-being retreats including 29,700,000 2018 N/A
Themed leisure Andalusian Resort & Spa, Women’s World, Wonders
and Vacation World and Holiday World
World

47 Dubailand: Al - Unique desert resort set in undulating sand dunes just 3,716,000 2006 / 2010 250,000

AMO
Sahra (DHV) thirty minutes from the heart of Dubai. A traditional
Souk with arts and crafts of the region, luxury tented
lodges and a Caravanserai boutique hotel ensure a
memorable experience
46 47 48

48 Dubailand: - Retail facilities comprising of Mall of Arabia, Dubai 4,274,000 2019 N/A
5. Retail & Outlet City, Auction World, World Trade Park and
Entertnt. World The Flea Market

49 Dubailand: 6. - 4 Entertainment projects including The Towers, Dubai 560,000 TBA N/A
Downtown Walk, Virtual Games World and Teen World

50 Dubailand: City Ilyas and Elite Towers, Mall of Arabia (to be the world’s largest 1,860,000 2009 35,000
of Arabia Mustafa shopping mall), Restless Planet Dinosaur Park and
Galadari Wadi Walk
Group

51 Dubailand: Al Ahli Group First factory-outlet mall with a business park, a web 910,000 2008 TBA
Dubai Outlet marketing centre, an artificial beach with restaurants, 49 50 51
City residences and a hotel

52 Bawadi in Tatweer, a Vegas-like strip containing 31 hotels of different 12,900,000 2010 / 2013 690,000
Dubailand member of themes and over 29,000 rooms visitors
Dubai
Holding

53 Arjan in Mizin, a Commercial, residential, retail and hotel developments 1,858,000 2009 TBA
Dubailand member of in 10 demarcated zones with 157 plots
Tatweer

54 Tijara Town in Dubai First project in Dubailand to offer integrated office, 1,880,000 Phase I: 14,000
Dubailand Properties showroom, warehouse, and residential apartments 2008
360

361
as one unit
52 53 54
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai
55 Jumeirah Dubai Waterfront community consisting of 36 residential 2,044,000 2007 25,000
Beach Properties towers, 4 hotel towers and a 1.7 km beachfront
Residence shopping boulevard
(JBR)

56 Business Bay Dubai A city within a city, with waterfront high-rise towers, 5,950,000 2010 TBA
Properties both commercial and residential, along Dubai’s Creek
55 56 57
57 Busiess Bay: Dubai 3 towers designed by Zaha Hadid forming the 560,000 2009 TBA
Dancing Properties centerpiece of the Business Bay, consisting of office,
Towers residential and hotel tower with a common podium.

58 Culture Village Dubai Divided into residential, commercial and retail zones 3,716,000
Properties with hospitality and entertainment sub-districts
pertaining to the promotion of the Arts in society

59 The Villa Dubai Residential retreat, inspired by generous spaces for 2,700,000 2007 4000
Properties outdoor living with Spanish style courtyard housing

60 The Lagoons Sama Dubai 7 landscaped islands, comprising residential and 6,500,000 2010
office buildings, shopping centers and marinas, all
interlinked with bridges and built along the Dubai
Creek, with a focus on culture by housing Dubai’s 58 59 60
first Opera House.

61 The Lagoons: Sama Dubai Centrepiece of the Central Business District, 2010
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Dubai Towers comprising four state-of-the-art towers for residential,
commercial, retail and hospitality purposes

62 Downtown Burj EMAAR Residential, commercial, hotel, and entertainment 2,025,000 2008 30,000
Dubai outlets with open green spaces, water features,
pedestrian boulevards, an old town and one of the
world’s largest shopping malls

63 Dubai Marina EMAAR Man-made island of over 200 high-rise buildings, 4,900,000 2008 75,000
and 700 berths providing retail and leisure facilities,
and luxury residential accommodation
61 62 63
64 Arabian EMAAR Inspired by heritage of the Arabian horse, consisting 12,141,000 Phase I 10,000
Ranches of an equestrian centre, scenic desert trails, polo completed
grounds, a world-class desert golf course, villas and
townhouses

65 The Meadows EMAAR Premium villas offering luxurious double-storied villas – – -

of 3 to 7 rooms

66 The Lakes EMAAR Villas & townhouses for lease – – -

67 The Views EMAAR Water Side and Golf Side towers, offering picture- – 2009 -
perfect views from its apartments

AMO
68 Emaar Golf EMAAR Mirador La Colección and Hattan III golf homes set – – -
Homes on spacious plots close to the Emirates Golf Club,
featuring Spanish and Islamic architecture 64 65 66
69 Dubai Metro Dubai RTA Fully automated metro network of a Red and Green 69,700 m 2009 N/A
Line, intended to provide transport coverage to
strategic areas in Dubai, branching out further with
future extensions.

70 Dubailand: Dubai Large new zoo to replace exisiting, built at Dubailand 2,024,000 2008 N/A
Dubai Zoo Municipality with a safari and educational facilities for children Phase I:
500,000

71 Dubai Festival Al-Futtaim Centrally located retail and hospitality project, 6,475,000 2008 100,000
City Group occupying 4 km along Dubai Creek, consisting of the
Marsa Al Khor, Festival Centre and Al Badia districts

72 Aqua Dunya Al Sharq A gigantic water theme park with thrilling wet/dry 745,000 TBA TBA 67 68 69
Investment rides, water shows, aquariums and a resort with a
residential community

363
362

70 71 72
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai
73 Dubai World Department Residential, commercial and logistics complex with 140,000,000 2020 750,000
Central of Civil Dubai’s new World International Airport, previously
Aviation called ‘Jebel Ali International Airport’ and ‘Jebel Ali
Airport City’

74 DubaiI – A company that leases planes, develops airports and N/A 2015 N/A
Aerospace makes aircraft parts to tap into growing demand for
Enterprise air travel in the Middle East and Asia, creating a new 73 74 75
hub for aviation

75 Dubai dth Mixed-use industrial, businesss, residential and 32,000,000 2010 100,000
Investments Investments recreational development with ‘a pioneering concept
Park (DIP) Park of creating a city within a city, an area to work, live
Development and play’
Company
L.L.C.

76 Dubai Pearl Commercial and residential community composed 465,000 2008 / 2011 55,000
investment Properties of eclectic property styles, inspired by the Georgian,
Park: The Regency and Victorian eras
Palisades 76 77 78
77 DIP: Dunes Al Serkal A cluster of 19 mid-rise towers housing 950 apartments 43,000 2009 1,750
Village Properties
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
and Manazel
Real Estate

78 DIP Ritaj - Residential community featuring restaurants, cafes, TBA 2008 4,000
Development shops, entertainment and recreational facilities

79 DIP: Dubai Town Center Residential apartment community planned around 162,000 TBA 7,400
Lagoon Management a man-made lagoon
Ltd

80 DIP: Ewan – Residential Community containing 75 properties 185,806 TBA 30,000

Residence
79 80 81
81 DIP: The Green Properties Traffic-free environment with cobbled roads, 1,041,000 TBA 1,650
Community Investments residential apartments and villas with 6 recreation
West (Phase (PI) areas of 3 different types: luxury, family and
II of Green bungalows
Community)

82 Hydropolis Crescent The world’s first luxury underwater hotel 2,600,000 TBA N/A
Hydropolis
Holdings LLC

83 Dubai Pearl Omnix Residential and comemrcial community with including 929,000 2010 3,600

AMO
International 2 hotels and a retail and leisure centres
L.L.C.

84 Dubai - Group of 20 leading universities and colleges 12,077,000 2012 150,000 82 83 84

Academic City students

85 Dubai Department Terminal 3, Concourse 2 and Car Park that will 1,459,000 Phase II: Phase II:
International of Civil increase passenger capacity from 33 million annually 2007 70,000,000
Airport Aviation at present to 120 million by 2008 per annum
Expansion

86 Al Wasl City Dubai Inv. 8-tower residential and hotel cluster 56,000 TBA TBA
Co. (EDIC)

87 Al Safa Dubai Housing and recreational project to reflect traditional 1,000,000 TBA 10,100
Municipality heritage of Dubai

88 Uptown Mirdiff Union Variety of residential properties, with the retail area 230,000 Retail 1,000
Properties arranged around a Grand Piazza with a covered complete/
colonnade leading to the open-styled walkways, cafés 2007 85 86 87
and restaurants

89 Motor City Union Business park for motor and motor-related industries 3,530,000 2005 / 2009 TBA
Properties with a residential district; the first of the kind
50-hectare Ferrari World theme park incorporating
a museum, restaurants and exclusive shops

90 The Park KM Business, commercial, residential, leisure and 130,000 TBA TBA
Square Properties entertainment development
364

365
88 89 90
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai

91 DWTC: Dubai - Enhanced central business district offering a 200,000 Phase I: 3600
Trade Centre significant amount of highly sought-after office space (office accom- 2010
District available at a time when Dubai is reaching capacity modation)

92 DWTC: Dubai - Campus style office park, a major retail destination, 3,000,000 TBA N/A
Exhibition City 8 international standard hotels, and a trade hub for
international companies to showcase products
91 92 93
93 Dubai Multi Dubai Free zone offering 100% ownership to resident 3,000,000 2006 N/A
commodities Government companies with industry-specific market infrastructure
Centre (DMCC) and a full range of facilities for the gold and precious
metals, diamonds and coloured stones, energy and
other commodities industries (previously called ‘Dubai
Metal and Commodity Centre’)

94 Dubai - The world’s newest international financial centre with 445,000 2004 10,000
International 6 primary sectors of focus: Banking Services; Capital
Financial Markets; Asset Management and Fund Registration;
Centre (DIFC) Reinsurance; Islamic Finance and Back Operations

95 Dubai Silicon Dubai Purpose-built high-technology park for 7,200,000 2007, 2025 N/A
Oasis (DSO) Government microelectronics and semiconductor research,
development and production 94 95 96
96 Dubai Silicon Al Derea For Residential freehold property of residential TBA 2008 1,500
Oasis (DSO): Real Estate apartments
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
Silicon Gates Development

97 Dubai Aid and Dubai The world’s first free trade zone offering support 1,000,000 TBA N/A
Humanitarian Holding; through warehouses, land, office buildings combined
Cities (DHC) Ports, with value added services for humanitarian and
Customs and development organizations, UN agencies, suppliers,
Freezones service providers and donors in humanitarian sector
Corp.

98 Intl Media - Cluster environment for media production companies 3,995,000 TBA N/A
Production in the 3P industries: Printing, Publishing and Packaging
Zone (IMPZ)
97 98 99
99 Acacia Abyaar Residential gated community of apartment buildings 94,000 2009 600
Avenues Real Estate and villas
Development

100 Dubailand: - Facilities for the promotion, understanding and 180,000 2010 N/A
Islamic Culture research of Space, Natural and Human Sciences,
& Science as well as Islamic Culture, Arts and Literature
World

101 Dubailand: - Immersive entertainment environment based 130,000 2009 N/A

Astrolabe on education themes in the Middle East. The

AMO
entertainment themes will also highlight the golden
age of Islam, as well as leading figures in different
fields of science during that prosperous period
100 101 102
102 Dubailand: - Education based space themed project, comprising 153,000 TBA N/A
Planetarium a planetarium, an education and entertainment centre,
and several space themed hotels

103 Dubailand: - A Polo and Equestrian club with international standards. 1,858,000 2010 N/A
Plantation Components: 3 Polo fields, 5-star Hotel & Spa,
Veterinary for horses and Polo Academy

104 Dubailand: - 5 themed signature courses, a golf academy, a six- 5,110,000 2011 N/A
Dubai Golf City star resort hotel & spa, golf villages and retail souks.

105 Dubailand: - Lush habitat of desert vegetation and gardens from 1,319,000 2008 N/A
Al Bararri around the world, with a spa of natural therapies, and
academic and cultural facilities.

106 Dubailand: - Complex of international brand beauty-themed spas, 323,000 2010 N/A
103 104 105
Beautyland also featuring a Beauty Museum, a Beauty Academy,
a Boutique Hotel and a boulevard with an exclusive
selection of cosmetic and luxury brands

107 Dubailand: - The Islamic architectural design will capture the 186,000 2009 N/A
Dubai Bazar spirit of traditional Islamic marketplaces. Among the
countless attractions, musical and artistic activities
will be included.

108 Dubailand: - One of its kind ‘World Class’ IMG Sports Academy in 386,000 2009 N/A
Dubai Life the region. It will be home to an exclusive boutique
Style seven-star hotel with a destination spa and a premium
retail walkway to cater for exclusive sports and
366

367
wellness products and services
106 107 108
 Project Name Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Dubai

109 Dubailand: - One of the biggest wheels in the world (bigger than 46,000 2009 N/A
Dubai Great London Eye). During the exciting journey on the
Wheel wheel, the visitor will be able to view distances of up
to 50 kilometres and hence will be able to see all the
wonders of Dubai

110 Dubailand: - Wellness resort (health farm) with its unique blend of 232,000 2012 N/A
Riverside traditional and advanced therapies will ensure that 109 110 111
the visitors can leave feeling relaxed, refreshed and
rejuvenated

111 Taaleem Tatweer The principal components of the Flagship School 249,000 2012 TBA
Beacon will include early childhood facilities, a primary/
Education elementary school, two secondary/middle and high
schools and a Junior College. The schools will offer
day and boarding placements and there will be a
youth hostel to accommodate visiting students

112 DubaiLand: - Arabian fantasy world that weaves together the 4,645,000 2010 N/A
Sahara excitement, adventure, charm and beauty of a 1001
Kingdom Nights tales that happened in scores of places
(Future Scope) across the civilized world (alf layla wa layla, Shahriyar
and Shahrazad). It is mix of complimentary retail, 112
hospitality and entertainment. Each of the Resort
components relates to the comprehensive storyline of
the development, which sets the tone for the thematic
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
approach to the development, and scripts the guest
experience for the resort – Sahara Kingdom

TOTAL 875,640,931 3,845,100

AMO
368

369
 Project Name by Developer Project Description Area /sqm Expected Expected
Country Completion Population
Date /ppl.

Ras Al Khaimah

1 Mina Al Arab Rakeen Mixed-use leisure and holiday beach resort featuring 9,000,000 2011 7,000
hotels, a theme park, a water park, a marina, a heritage
village and cluster of residential units and villas

2 Al Marjan Rakeen First man-made island in RAK developed as an 2,700,000 2009 TBA
Islands offshore destination for tourism, with waterfront homes,
floating villas, resorts, sporting facilities, a marina, 1 2 3
a water theme park and commercial areas

3 Al Marjan Khoie Waterfront development with 725 studios and 1-, 2- 130,000 2008 1,300
Islands: La Properties and 3-bedroom freehold apartments
Hoya Bay
Residence

4 Ras Al Khaimah Rakeen Compact urbanised area, where work and living form 13,000,000 2012 200,000
Gateway a single integrated whole, creating proximity between
one’s home to variable cultural and social provisions.

5 Jebal Al Jais Rakeen Mountain Resort offering a landmark 5-star hotel and 4,220,000 2009 20,000
conference centre, a cable car, luxurious residential
units, a climbing and abseiling center, paragliding
facilities, and a Falconry Centre. 4 5 6
6 RAK Offshore Rakeen Hub for offshore financial operations of the regional 750,000 TBA 1000
business community, including uniquely designed
Development Atlas

Gulf Survey
towers, offices, residential apartments, hotels,
commercial areas and related services

7 Banyan Tree Rakeen Nature enclave of 30 deluxe villas, a 70-block hotel 1,000,000 2007 120
Resort and an outdoor activity centre, among other facilities

8 Saraya Islands Saudi Oger Tourism development project containing 3 five-star 1,000,000 2010 1,000
Ltd (Saraya hotels, 200 villas and cultural and commercial venues
Real Estate)

9 The Cove Orascom Beach resort of 134 Nubian styled chalets and a 5-star 202,300 2007 N/A
Hotels & beach hotel
Development 7 8 9

10 Global Space Commercial spaceport with plans to expand globally: TBA TBA N/A
Spaceport Adventures & ‘the site where suborbital commercial space travel will
Development Government begin and flourish…’
Project of Ras Al
Khaimah

11 Al Hamra Al Hamra Exclusive seaside resort with luxury apartments, 214 ,000 2007 3,000
Village Real Estate villas, and townhouses, an 18-hole golf course
Development designed by Peter Harradine, a purpose-built marina
and the 5-star Al Hamra Palace Hotel

AMO
12 Yasmin Village Binna Real Rural residential and commercial project with a hotel 427,000 TBA 3,500
Estate overlooking lakeside or valley mountain views; solar
energy will be used for lighting the development 10 11 12

13 Emirates Flag - Seven 5-star hotels each being the centrepieces of 2,100,000 TBA 5,000
Project seven blocks themed on each Emirate, which together
will resemble the flag of the UAE

14 Mangrove - Residential apartments, town houses and 800,000 TBA TBA

Island condominiums, with entertainment and leisure
facilities set in villages. The Harbour Village; Khor
Marina Villages including Mangrove Waterfront,
Lagoon and Pearl Island; Pearl Island Ranch,
Eco-Tourism Park and a Discovery Centre

15 Al Noor City - Residential development on a man-made islands off 4,000,000 TBA TBA
the coast from Ras Al Khaimah’s old town
13 14 15
TOTAL 39,413,000 242,000

Sources for Development Atlas www.angletechnology.com/ www.hotelsmag.com/

www.ameinfo.com i11.photobucket.com/ www.nakheel.com/ www.bahrainbay.com/
www.designbuild-network.com/ www.investorsprovident.com/ www.gotodubai.net/ www.dwtc.com/
www.bornrich.org/ medgadget.com/ funhouse.bubble.ro/286/Dubai_Projects/ www.keoic.com/
www.bahrainairport.com/ www.lera.com/ www.internationalhotelarchitect.com/ www.albawaba.com/
www.answers.com/ www.qatartourism.gov.qa/ www.bahraintribune.com/ www.moh.gov.bh/
www.skyscrapercity.com/ www.highrise-re.com/ Courtesy of KEO www.idcarchitects.com/
archive.gulfnews.com/ Ammar magasine_aug_06 www.bfharbour.com/ forum.skyscraperpage.com/
www.tamdeenrealestate.com/ Ammar magasine_nov_06 Brian Fisher SSH_brochure
www.rta.gov.ae/ uaeinteract.com/ www.dubaiindustrialcity.ae/ www.alareenresort.com/
www.pbase.com/t www.shelteroffshore.com/ www.dubaiaerospaceenterprise.com/ www.ossisonline.com/
www.gulfconstructionworldwide.com/ www.dubaiinternetcity.com/ www.uaehits.com/ realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/
www.urbanplanet.org/ www.kuwait-airport.com.kw/ www.ifahotelsresorts.com/ www.emaar.com/
www.weidleplan.de/ doz.ae/ www.alshindagah.com/ www.dubai-properties.ae
370

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www.martinmideast.net/ www.fahad.com/ www.bahraingateway.org/ www.altijaria.com/
www.alhamravillage.com/ www.bahiw.com/ www.gulfconsult.net/ en.wikipedia.org/
 January 30, 2007
Final presentation of our design for a new city of 150.000 inhabitants… Suddenly we are
summoned. The Dutch minister of Transport, accompanied by a delegation of Dutch
businessmen, is visiting the emirate. An opportunity not to be wasted.
But, who is actually the minister? One of the local delegate members politely offers
a young blonde woman from the Dutch delegation directions to the bathroom so she can
freshen up and fix her appearance. It is the minister.
We get to attend the talks that take place on the same sofa that was used at our first
introduction. The talks largely amount to an overall promotion of the emirate as the
place in the Gulf to do business and to invest. The emirate contains a large free zone,
where foreign companies that choose to settle here are exempt from tax. The emirate
annual economic growth amounts to 18%.
Then the conversation turns to sustainability. The emirate is presented as the
sustainable alternative to other emirates. The Dutch minister interrupts and the following
conversation ensues:

Dutch Minister: ‘But I hear you have the largest per capita water consumption
of the whole region…’
HH: ‘It’s not true.’
[Silence]

Gulf Survey
HH: ‘You looked at statistics…You should never look at statistics…’
Dutch Minister: ‘Yes, yes, I know… I was a consultant once, I know you can manipulate
statistics, but I thought th…’
HH: ‘What we want is… a holistic approach, in which everything comes together: business,
investment and sustainability… we want to be a place where everybody can feel at home.
What we want to create is what I call the city.’
Dutch Minister: ‘That is of course why you work with Mr. Koolhaas…’
HH: ‘Let’s have lunch.’

The lunch that follows is animated and constructive. His Highness and the minister talk
about the latest developments in communication technology, leading to the comparing
of their personal mobile phones and the exchange of numbers.
In the evening of the same day I browse the internet to find pictures of Madeleine
Albright and Condoleezza Rice trapped on the same palace sofa. Leaving me to wonder
just how extensive HH’s phone directory might be. – RdG

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 Ole Bouman

What Must be Done:

An Agenda for Design
Everything mankind needs for its reproduction and realization has spatial
implications. Responses to these needs occupy, organize and shape space.
As a consequence, as long as mankind is deciding the fate of the planet
there is a job for architecture.
It may sound like a truism, really, but if we specify the needs answering
them becomes imperative. Imagine that the majority of mankind lives in slums
(a fact in the making) and architecture’s job to provide shelter acquires epic
proportions. Imagine that the majority of mankind is threatened by violence,
modernization and abuse; providing security then becomes a messianic challenge.
Imagine the majority of mankind effected by climate change; imagine the
majority of mankind suffering from profound inequality; imagine a world in which
individualism, segregation, zoning and other shifts allow individuals to turn
their back on one another. Providing sustainable environments, space for justice
and dialogue then become such obvious opportunities for architecture that
they may even be overlooked.
The To Do list for architecture and design is short. The planetary action list
for architects and designers is endless however. Of course design can aspire
to innovate form, express power, cater to formal expectations, sanction regulations,
and add value. In sum, it can be useful. But design can also be absolutely
necessary. It can draw its legitimacy not from making things nice for certain
people, but from making things livable for everyone.
The ultimate question for design is whether you want to choose for what must
be done. Sidelining that question means either sinking into oblivion or becoming
a superstar. Both can be avoided: agenda enclosed...

Global Agenda
Introduction

Global Agenda
Edited by Archis

www.flickr.com uploaded by Gareth Owens

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374
 Looking at

Shelter
Almost all discussions of design today focus on what it means, what
it sells or what it entails. But, first and foremost, there is the question
of what design does. To understand and intervene in the performativity
of design is to understand the challenges to design, the legitimacy
of design, the intelligence of design, and to do something with them.

For instance: provide shelter

UN Habitat recently predicted that within 30 years every third person on
this planet will be a slum dweller. Can this be a mission for design today?

Kyrgystan
Azerbaijan
513 426
Syria
10,511 Iraq
245 Nepal
1,506

Chad Eritrea Yemen

Ghana
32,353 54 13,222
13,591 Benin
Sierra Leone
25,506
56 Uganda
23867 Rwanda
Rwan
9886
Dem. Rep of the Congo Tanzania Burundi
67 1459 1518
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Global Agenda
Zambia
92

Archis
2005 ASR
Major new arrivals: countries in the world, which received

377
376

displaced persons in groups bigger than 50 individuals.

 Armavir-Hoktemberjan Erewan-Artashat
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Global Agenda
Archis
Echiniadzin-Erewan

Ursula Schulz-Dornburg

379
378

All images are Gelatin Silverprints, 50.5 x 40 cm, made between 1997–2004 Gymri-Erewan
 Erewan-Mezamor Goris-Tatev
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Erewan-Yegnward Erewan-Parakar
 CRIT
Slum as Real Estate
If authorities or private individuals have concluded that certain housing
conditions for the poor can no longer be tolerated, it all starts with finding
generalizable concepts or strategies to deal with the problem. But sometimes
this work is not just about coping. It can also be about seeing opportunities
where others didn’t.
While about 50,000 houses are required in Mumbai every year, only 25,000 are
built by formal systems of housing production. The rest must resort to informal
housing. Hence more than 55 percent of people in Mumbai end up living in slums.
With high housing demand and very low supply the price of real estate in Mumbai
has skyrocketed.
Discourses dealing with the housing shortage issue have formulated three reasons
to explain it. First, there is an acute shortage of land due to obsolete environmental
and land-holding-ceiling regulations. Second, there is a shortage of land due to
sub-optimal use such as industrial parks and slums. And third, there are regulatory
restrictions restricting land for higher development. ‘Slum as Real Estate’ is a
concept which, following the second formulation above, attempts to solve the land
shortage (and hence the housing shortage) problem in Mumbai by releasing land
currently trapped under slums.
While the slum upgrading schemes and the site and services of the nineteen-
eighties and early nineties provided better living conditions, they were not able to
free up the land trapped under slums. In the early nineteen-nineties the government
implemented a new strategy to use private enterprise to provide free housing to
slum dwellers. The idea was that land under slums could be redeveloped such that
every slum family would be relocated into a 25 square meter tenement. The strategy
also involved building additional tenements to be sold on the free market. Profits
generated from the sale of the additional tenements were to be used to provide
housing to the slum families free of cost. With this master stroke the government
was not only able to rehouse the slum dwellers, but could also use the land trapped
under the slums for additional housing. The government also provided concessions
such as open spaces, set-backs, fire regulations, etc., throughout the expected
Shelter | Real Estate
high density areas.
The main problems with this new strategy, however, were management and
capital expenditure. The ‘contractor’ then took center stage in this strategy to
mobilize management and capital. An examination of schemes executed under this
strategy shows that they were mostly implemented in areas with high land value.
Slums in areas with lower land values remained untouched.
By the beginning of 2000 the government also started building several roads in
the city. These roads invariably cut through slum pockets. The government came up
with another strategy to release land for the construction of important infrastructure:
everyone affected by infrastructure projects would be relocated into free tenements
built by the contractors. In return contractors received a ‘transferable development
right’. With this ‘transferable development right’ they could build on additional real-
estate in any other part of the city. The consequence was that slum dwellers were
moved from their original locations and resettled in areas with very low land value
(generally at the outskirts of the city); contractors, of course, got to build more real-
estate in areas with high land value.
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In both cases slum dwellers were relocated into typical eight-story buildings set
three meters apart, devoid of adequate light, ventilation, water or solid construction.
These relocation schemes create a kind of vertical slum, more dangerous than
the original one. Moreover, in slums families used space for economic activities.
Such activities seem impossible within the framework of these relocation schemes.
Hence the economic rehabilitation of slum dwellers remains unaddressed.
Also in both cases we see the operationalization of the ‘Slum as Real Estate’
concept. However, ambiguity remains as to whether this concept was articulated
to address the housing or the land problem. Although they are related, the people
affected are different; while the housing problem belongs to the slum dwellers, the
land problem belongs to the contractors who either do not have enough land or are
unable to exploit the available land properly.
Strong Resolve
In order to implement the concept of ‘Slum as Real Estate’ yet also provide relevant
redevelopment for slum dwellers, CRIT1 (along with the Slum Rehabilitation Society
and the Tenants Federation) decided to support efforts that revolved around the
idea of Self Development.
Although the government’s strategy of rehabilitation was used, promoters of
Self Development articulated three important measures: first, no contractors – the
management and capital required were to be mobilized by other means; second,
rehabilitation design was very critical and efforts were to be made to maintain open
spaces, provide economic activities, etc; and third, all profits generated from the
scheme were to remain with the new residents in order to maintain and sustain
the projects.
Hence while the model of Self Development managed to provide both relevant
rehabilitation to slum dwellers as well as more housing for the city, it also did
one more important thing: it brought the profits of this enterprise to the poorest.
A further benefit is that the price and the amount of real-estate for sale were not
left to speculative contractors.
The efforts of various forces were required to execute the ideas of Self Devel-
opment. Slum dwellers had to be mobilized and organized to manage the develop-
ment. While large and diverse communities required considerable effort to form
organizational integrity, smaller, homogenous groups were mobilized easily. Capital
had to be mobilized from relevant sources. This required several kinds of innovative
Global Agenda
mechanisms including the securitization of profits with financial institutions, pre-selling
of built-up space to large companies, and innovative loans. Technical support had
to be mobilized to create appropriate designs and execute the project.
CRIT has taken up many such housing projects in various stages of development;
some at the stage of mobilizing the community and engaging it in the process
of land acquisition and society formation, others at the stage of putting together
the requisite documents to self develop. One such scheme, the ‘Betwala Sadan’,
is currently being reviewed by authorities for permission to develop.
The residents of Betwala Chawl are a community of migrants from North India
who have squatted a plot of land in Central Mumbai for more than 75 years.
Betwala Chawl would qualify as a heritage slum, if criteria to earmark heritage
buildings were any different! With some activists’ help, the community has acquired
the land. Betwala Chawl is CRIT’s first experiment with this model of self-developed,
community-oriented housing practice. Architecturally, our attempts here are to
Archis
modulate the built structure to achieve a comprehensible urban form, carving out
as large an open space as possible, in a high density settlement (782 people per
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hectare) with a perimeter building typology that defies the rubber stamped tower
Global Agenda Archis 385
Shelter | Real Estate 384
 type popularized by city builders. We shall seek to tweak existing building bylaws
and policies in order to maximize programmatic space for low income users. Large
empty spaces in the rehabilitation building, distributed as double height punctures
in the building mass, are designed to work as community work spaces. Urban
housing policies, while addressing the issue of shelter, fail to connect it to the
fundamental right to work. This design and community intervention will institutionalize
a cooperative society with its own corpus financed from the sale and commercial
components of their self-development project – empowering the community with
new housing on its existing tenured land.
Another project, part of the infrastructure-related rehabilitation program, is the
Milan Society which is located on a proposed link in eastern Mumbai. The community
that has lived here for more than 45 years is endowed with considerable infrastructure
in the form of open spaces, fresh water and adequate sewage facilities. Moving into
rehabilitation housing would be an anathema to them. They realized they would
be left with some space after the expressway was accommodated so with the help
of a local housing activist, they started negotiating with the state for the remaining
space to develop their own housing. They realized that if they chose self development
they could not only get the housing designed to their needs, but also deflect profits
the contractor would otherwise make to their own society to help them maintain
and sustain their premises. Accordingly, CRIT designed both a building for the
community and another to be sold to generate funds. The initial design drawings
became a bargaining tool for the community to negotiate for land from the
relevant authorities.

1. CRIT: Collective Research Initiatives Trust

www.crit.org.in / Prasad Shetty, Rupali Gupte,
Aneerudha Paul, Aditya Potluri

Creative Design Agenda

No 1
• Invent Program…

Stop thinking that all shelter design is about accommo-

Shelter | Real Estate

Global Agenda
dating a given program. You can also design to change
a program, to invent program, to campaign on a program.

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 Urban Think Tank
Co-Ownership
It seems hard to learn any general lesson from the grassroots practice of
the average urban neighborhood. How can you derive universal principles
from situations that are always unique and specific? Perhaps we must
shift our attention from the design of rules or forms to the promotion
of a certain attitude of suggestive power.
Strictly speaking, a barrio is a city district; in Latin America it refers to squatter
settlements – what our North American neighbors call slums. At the Urban Think
Tank in Caracas, we use barrio as a synonym for the ‘informal city’, a condition
of extra-legal and perpetual transformation that has changed the historic face of the
Hispano-American city. As the barrio has grown in size and longevity, it has given
birth to its own particular urban and architectural typology; this is neither good nor
bad, but simply a fact with which planners and architects must contend.
Squatter settlements are not new, nor are they unique to Latin America. Nearly
every megalopolis has its version. They differ in cultural conditions and expectations,
in the geography that dictates their form and building materials, in the abundance
or scarcity of basic resources such as water, and in the factors that drive people
from rural areas to cities – poverty, famine, natural disaster, war.
What we have found in Caracas, and might well see elsewhere, is a genuine
community, one that is rapidly moving from resistance to action to gradual accep-
tance.
The Power of Powerlessness
If you look at the map of a typical mega-city you will not find evidence of these
squatter communities. To draw them up on city plans would mean acknowledging
their existence and permanence; it would also be an enormously difficult and costly
effort, nearly impossible to justify. There is as well the underlying assumption on
the part of modern urban planners that these settlements could simply be erased
by relocating the inhabitants to public housing. Such an effort is, in fact, currently
underway in Mumbai where its ultimate success is very much in question.
In Caracas today the sheer size of the squatter community and the paradox
Shelter | Barrio
of the stability that underlies its perpetual transformation have compelled a different
way of thinking among planners and politicians. Recent constitutional reforms in
Venezuela have made the barrio community a force to be reckoned with in urban
development, shifting the balance of power away from historical top-town planning,
management, and control.
Negotiation for space is a constant in the barrio. Unlike modern urban development,
these settlements upgrade their services – water, sewers, transportation, and the
like – over comparatively long periods of time and in small increments. Once land
has been occupied, settlers recognize the authority of their own committee or
association to act as developer and coordinator. These groups are fairly formal,
organized by district within the barrio and holding what amount to town meetings.
The upgrading process is the product of group decisions.
Inverse Development
To borrow from Michel de Certeau’s theory, conventional, formal ownership proceeds
strategically, from plan to execution. Lacking recognized ownership, barrio-dwellers
388
proceed tactically, executing small, specific, and essential projects whose aim is the
short-term alleviation of a problem or need.
Thus, conventional urban development follows a top-down process:
Ownership – the acquisition, usually by purchase, of a piece of land
Infrastructure – the identification and/or construction of public roads, gas and
power supply, water service, and sewers
Construction – the drawing up of plans, securing of a mortgage, hiring of architects
and contactors
Occupation – move-in following the issuing of a legal permit or certificate of occupancy
Development in the barrios turns convention on its head:
Occupation – typically a matter of moving in overnight, often under cover of darkness
Construction – accomplished incrementally over a period of 20 years or so
Infrastructure – through government assistance, either legally or by ‘borrowing’
from public utilities, especially power and, where available, water
Ownership – requires intense collective lobbying efforts to obtain legal title to the land
Although we refer to the barrios as ‘informal’, their establishment is frequently
a well-planned and carefully orchestrated undertaking. Acting on political contacts
and/or on information passed along by city planning office insiders and others, the
leader of a group identifies a site and rallies his followers – not by word-of-mouth,
but with modern technology, especially cell phones, which have proven invaluable
for initiating swift overnight occupations. ‘Outside’ assistance, although covert, is
essential: political campaigns often encourage the occupation of a particular piece
of land according to their own agenda, or promise to make construction material
available. Cars and trucks, too, may be made available to bring in people and
materials quickly.
The Growing House in the Growing Village
Housing in the barrio is as informal in its design as it is in its financing. Most units
are built without the guidance of architects and engineers and without the support
of lending institutions. There are conventions, but no codes. Materials are chosen
for their availability and only secondarily for their inherent aesthetics or structural
soundness. Nevertheless, these planning and building methods advance gradually
by trial and error and produce a distinctive informal modernism in which the whole
is more than the sum of its parts and buildings in the aggregate are more significant
and valuable than each component unit.
Global Agenda
As a barrio grows horizontally, creating ‘urban sprawl’, individual units grow
vertically, impelled or constrained not by zoning regulations or building codes, but
by the needs of the occupants. Despite the compact shape of the barrio, each
individual volume is a distinct unit of property stretching over several floors, even
branching out over neighboring buildings. The variety of architectural elements is
remarkable, full of details reflecting a common culture and an individual builder.
The development of individual units also reflects conditions within the barrio,
particularly its density, which inhibits ventilation and blocks natural light. To overcome
such problems, barrio developers have adopted singular tactics that involve the
appropriation of public space: cantilevering floors over public stairs and covered
passages, and incorporating lampposts and power lines.
Local Technologies / Global Solutions
As we noted earlier, their differences notwithstanding, cities such as Caracas, Mexico
Archis
City, Mumbai, Lagos and Abuja share this informal urbanization. It exists; it is a fact
of 21st-century life; it is global. And it is time for professionals – architects, urban
389
planners, social activists, and others – to confront the future by helping to build the
 common, social spaces of their cities from the bottom up. It is time for them to
interact forcefully but productively with politicians, policy-makers, and community
groups and participate collaboratively in the construction of more equitable,
workable, and sustainable cities.
To these ends, we believe that architecture in particular needs a profoundly
different concept of ‘innovation’, one that has almost nothing to do with the latest
design ‘-ism’ and everything to do with purpose. Thus at the Urban Think Tank
we have deliberately shifted our attention from the formal city of master plans,
commissions, and clients to the informal city of slums, millions of impoverished
‘clients’, isolation from global capital, and illegal status. Because Caracas is our
home and the ‘global South’ our culture, we have been seeking a new set of design
tools specifically tailored to create social spaces that are meaningful in this context.
In so doing, and in conjunction with conversations with colleagues around the
world, we hope to help shift the focus of contemporary architectural practice away
from its preoccupation with form, toward a marriage of design with social impact.
As large as our goals may be, we deliberately employ micro-tactics, identifying
small projects, working within communities and with their leaders, testing particular
solutions to arrive at more general principles applicable to any informal city. Our
approach, like that of the barrio dwellers themselves, is bottom-up: reusing, adapting,
and modifying the existing infrastructure, and retrofitting and stacking generatively.
Ultimately, we are seeking to develop an industrially-produced, interchangeable
collection of tools that will serve as essential first-aid, an urban survival system for
developing informal cities in urgent need of viable, affordable solutions.
In our work with community leaders in the Caracas barrios we have identified
three fundamental development problems in the informal city:
A. The lack of ventilation, lighting, sanitation and potable water promotes physical
and emotional debilitation and disease.
B. The absence of safe and inviting public gathering and recreational spaces has a
deleterious effect on individual and group psychology, impedes community organi-
zation and cohesion, and inhibits the dissemination of knowledge and information.
C. Although centralized infrastructure – sewers, drains, stairs, and the like – do
address some issues, particularly health, it is very costly, may have a negative
environmental impact, and does little to address issues of density.
We propose a variety of alternatives, simple to design and implement, that save
energy and reduce waste. A roof, for example, typically represents 30 percent of
Shelter | Barrio

Global Agenda
the cost of an economical house. We have been studying solutions that use roof
gardens to reduce heat transference, filter rain water, and promote urban agriculture.
The latter may consist of vegetables and medicinal herbs for a family, plants to feed
urban livestock, typically rabbits and chickens, or – as in one especially successful
pilot project – orchids grown in a greenhouse and sold, providing income to the
homeowner. We have found, too, that it is vital to create a program that teaches
barrio-dwellers to build, install, and manage solar panels. Since stolen electricity
is an enormous cost to Caracas’ electric company, we hope to persuade them to
finance such an endeavor.
Whether characterized by its absence or abundance, water is almost certainly
the single greatest issue for the world’s informal cities. Distribution, equitable sharing,
potability, sewage disposal, decaying aqueducts and mains are all systemic problems,
exacerbated by lack of money and political will. At present, barrio dwellers improvise
by tapping illegally into the public waterworks; sewage disposal has no such simple

Archis
solution, however. In another pilot study we found that lost-cost dry toilets would
both produce ‘sanitized’ fertilizer for urban agriculture and save up to 40 percent of
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the water now ‘stolen’ from the city.
 It is beyond the scope of architects to deter urban violence directly, but we can
and should address ourselves to projects that mitigate its underlying causes. The
Urban Think Tank developed a 4,000-square-meter Vertical Gymnasium® community
center in heart of the dense inner city. The prototype, built on the site of a dangerous
dirt soccer pitch, was the first installation of its kind and has attracted some
15,000 users a month. Not coincidentally, since it opened the area crime rate has
dropped by 35%.
All such solutions must, of course, be specific to site, conditions, and culture.
Yet since these are inherently simple, inexpensive, environmentally intelligent, and
adaptable solutions, their general applicability is wide-spread. Taken together, they
offer integrated solutions to the growing dilemmas of the growing informal city.

Urban Think Tank is led by Alfredo Brillembourg

and Hubert Klumpner.

Creative Design Agenda

No 2
• Invent Program
• Empower…

Stop thinking that all shelter design is about following

the given rules and processes. You can also design alterna-
tive procedures, to empower people and give them pride
in their own habitat.
Shelter | Barrio

Global Agenda
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 Bart Goldhoorn

Wild Dwelling
There are many ways architecture has tried to free itself from the
regime of the ‘building’. By concentrating on the façade, for instance,
or by animating that façade, or by focusing on entirely new domains
for design intelligence. But of course the most obvious exemplum of this
desire to be free is to be found in the emphasis on the interior.

In Moscow all expensive apartments are built without interior walls. Svobodnaya
planirovka – free plan is the term that is used to advertise these so-called ‘elite’
apartments in Moscow. To architects this sounds familiar – wasn’t this the term
Le Corbusier used in his ‘5 points’: Le plan libre, with its interior walls independent
of the column structure? At that time, this architectural concept was meant for
internal use only: to free the architect from the harness of the load-bearing walls,
enabling him to make free flowing spaces. It was not until the late 1960’s that the
idea occurred that this concept could actually be used to give the inhabitant of the
dwelling more to say about his environment. Architects would develop ‘construction
kits’, giving the inhabitants ample choice of room-sizes, placement of doors and
even windows. Notwithstanding the unmistakably political agenda, architects would
not surrender their position as the ones to emancipate the people. Actually, an
organization of architects with the name Open Building still exists, promoting the
principle of the division of a ‘bearer’ and ‘infill’.
So what is propagated by the idealistic architects in Europe and America is
realized by project developers in Moscow who have no interest in improving the
world, but just follow the demands of the market. When they started to develop
apartment complexes for the new rich in the beginning of the 1990’s, they found
out that the moment they would hand over the key to the new owner construction
workers would move in to remove not only kitchens and bathroom fittings, but also
all interior walls. Seventy years of Soviet housing design, with standardized floor
plans across the Soviet Union, had led clients to believe that any apartment layout
that was not custom made would not befit their individual taste or life style. Once
developers understood this, they built all their apartments without interior layout.
As a result, a huge demand for interior design developed; someone had to decide
Shelter | Condo

Global Agenda
how the interior walls should be placed. Young architects, whose career opportunities
were limited by a conservative construction industry, saw their portfolio’s filling up
with interior design projects. A new type of architect was born.
The Russian model of Casco apartment construction has solved the problem
of collective space and individual use formulated by the Open Building movement.
It realizes on a grand scale what has been tried in the West only in experimental
projects. Of course this solution has a price: in Moscow, the price of an interior fit
out including furniture can be close the price of the apartment proper. Also, the
freedom to realize one’s own interior might very well be limited to the first user.
Considering the investment made by the first owner, the price of a finished apartment
will be much higher than an empty one, meaning that it will less likely be destroyed
and replaced by a lay-out of one’s own. In any case the free plan principle leads
to the solution of another problem – that of diversification: if all apartment interiors

Archis
are designed by different architects, the consumer will have an enormous choice,
one of which will certainly fit to his taste. In fact it can lead to a market for apartments
that will have more similarities to the art market then to the real estate market.
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 The name of the designer will decide the price of an apartment interior as much
as the name of the artist is decisive for the price of a work of art.

Creative Design Agenda

No 3
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice…

Stop thinking that all shelter design is about providing

homes. You can also design a system that leaves ample
room for people’s own plans. Design the preconditions,
by focusing on superstructure for maximum-free choice.
Shelter | Condo

Global Agenda
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 Looking at

Security
Almost all discussions of design today focus on what it means, what
it sells or what it entails. But, first and foremost, there is the question
of what design does. To understand and intervene in the performativity
of design is to understand the challenges to design, the legitimacy
of design, the intelligence of design, and to do something with them.

For instance: provide security

In an age of growing secularization, fanaticism, surveillance, crime, and
the liquefaction of old patterns of social cohesion, there is a growing
need for devices that make people feel more secure. Can this be a mission
for design today?

Sweden
80.51

Guernsey
80.42 Switzerland
80.51
Andorra
83.51
San Marino
Japan
81.71 81.25

Hong Kong
81.59
Macau
82.19

Sierra Leone
40.22 Liberia
39.65 Singapore
81.71
Security

Global Agenda
Angola Zambia
38.62 40.03 Malawi
Zimbabwe Mozambique 41.70
39.29 39.82 Australia
Botswana
33.74 Swaziland 80.50
South Africa
Lesotho 32.62
42.73 34.40

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OECD Factbook 2007

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398

Countries with the highest and the lowest life expectancy

Security

Global Agenda
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Arleta Sh. Principal: Linda Ann Calvo, 14200 Van Nuys Blvd., Arleta, CA 91331

Monica Nouwens
400

401
Security

Global Agenda
Archis
Miguel Contreras Learning Complex. Principal: Heather Daims, 322 S. Lucas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90017

403
402
 Jeroen Mensink
Public Space Regained
It is one thing to make things that help people protect themselves:
walls, gates, corridors, road blocks, barbed wire, security posts. This
is the booming business of today. But is it also possible to design safety
by cleverly organizing time, event, act and experience?
The release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 after 27 years’ imprisonment marked
the end of apartheid in South Africa, and in 1994 Mandela’s ANC went on to win
the country’s first democratic elections. The transformation of South African society
is being hampered in particular by the problems in the cities. For years it was
standard practice to keep the various population groups strictly separated. In ‘new’
South Africa the boundaries between the groups are no longer specifically determined
by political decisions – economic inequality is now the main reason for the largely
unchanged divisions in urban space. Although the contrast between rich and poor
no longer entirely coincides with the distinction between white, colored and black1,
the differences are still extreme. And that is one of the reasons why South African
cities like Cape Town are among the most dangerous in the world.
Cape Town is still, more than ten years after apartheid ended, a relatively white
city compared with others in South Africa. The gap between rich and poor,
between white and non-white generates tension that is, for instance, apparent
in the city’s public space and public life. Streets, deserted after dark, and houses
surrounded with high railings topped with barbed wire form the cityscape. The
more wealthy neighborhoods are strictly separated from the townships and
squatter camps, however much they are starting to approach each other in parts
of the city’s periphery.
Since Europeans landed in Cape Town in the 17th century there has been
segregation between the white and non-white population. From the start of the
20th century it was also laid down by law. For example, the 1913 Land Act forbade
black inhabitants to own or rent land. Apartheid became an official, active policy
after 1948. Not only were marriage and sexual relations forbidden between the
various races, but spatial segregation of the groups was decreed in the Group Areas
Act (1950). The zones assigned to the different categories were marked on the map
Security | Apartheid
and anyone living in the wrong place was obliged to move. It meant that all non-
whites were forced to move to the homelands or, if they had work, they had to live
in townships on the fringes of the city. Perhaps the most infamous example is the
expulsion of 60,000 people from District Six to Cape Flats. Even today District Six
is an emotive, barren spot in the center of the city.
Interestingly, the official racial segregation in South Africa’s urban planning coin-
cided with the then prevailing worldwide ideas on functional divisions propagated
by the CIAM’s Modernist urban planning.2 The modernists’ separation of the various
urban functions, such as dwelling and work, was adopted by the apartheid regime
and translated into the rigid segregation of various population categories.
One of the consequences of the Group Areas Act was that the poorest groups
were suddenly obliged to travel great distances to work – or look for work. There
was hardly any transport available, or it was too expensive, and many were forced
to walk many kilometers from township to work (opportunity), and back. This is still
a great problem. Some township inhabitants have never once been in the center of
Cape Town.
404
South Africa can today be seen as the First World crossed with the Third. The
country is fairly successful economically, compared with other African nations, but
only part of the population benefits. In the United Nations’ recent Human Development
Report, South Africa ranks very high on the Gini index, which expresses a country’s
income inequality as a percentage. In addition, the economic boom has generated
a great influx of poor immigrants from neighboring African countries.
The tension produced by the gap between the group with money and the group
without, aggravated by the differences in culture, language and origin, is decisive
for public life in ‘new’ Cape Town. Differences in wealth have, for example, resulted
in gated communities, protected, private shopping malls and high fences and walls
around all the homes of the rich. Also, the tension between rich and poor has made
an enormous impact on how the city’s public space is used. As soon as darkness
starts to fall, public life comes to a halt. Trains and buses no longer run and the
streets are practically empty. Hardly anyone dares to go out, unless they are going
by car, with locked doors, from one safe place to another. Only those with nothing
to lose will venture into the street on foot. The rest take refuge behind their fences
with electric wiring and guard dogs. During the weekend many go to their second
homes far outside the city.
Yet the haves and the have-nots are closely interlinked. For instance, Imizamo
Yethu township is sandwiched between two upmarket residential areas on the
hillside of Hout Bay, a luxury Cape Town suburb. It is convenient for the wealthy
group, as it means there is sufficient cheap labor for housework and garden
upkeep, and essential for the poor group because they do not have the money or
the possibility to travel far (by public transport). Even a bus ticket to the city center
(8 rand, 1 euro) is too expensive for most. And so, in the daytime the poor people
from the township build the fences behind which the rich hide at night. Rich and
poor need one another and live close together in this residential district. Every morning
a procession of large German SUVs wends its way out of the prosperous area to
the white school, over the crossroads where the black day laborers from the township
stand waiting to be picked up by minibus or pick-up truck for casual job.
Despite cautious rapprochement, the spatial division between the housing areas
continues largely unabated. The city’s public space is potentially where the various
categories could get together. Apart from a few areas which are reasonably safe
to enter during the day, encounters are hampered by fear of mugging (or worse).
Those with money are afraid of those without, and those without money are afraid
Global Agenda
of those who might be even worse off.
It would be possible, with relatively minor measures to reinforce existing, spon-
taneous initiatives, to increase the use of public space in Cape Town – and thus
substantially augment the quality of life for both rich and poor. If there were more
wardens in the public domain, more and cheaper public transport and more citizens’
initiatives, the paralyzing effect of fear might slowly be averted.
Car Guard Strategy
When darkness falls, the wealthy only venture forth in their cars. They then park
at their destination and the car has to remain there intact until they return. Wherever
you want to park in a public place there are official and unofficial parking wardens.
Some work for security firms, for example at shopping malls, but most are ‘self-
employed’. Some can be identified by their (hired) fluorescent vests, some are
identifiable only from their greeting to the driver to indicate they will keep an eye
Archis
on the car while he is away. When he returns to the car, the driver is expected
to give the guard a small tip and receives well-intentioned, but often unnecessary
405
instructions on how to maneuver out of the parking place!
 To start with, people are amazed that they are expected to pay a few coins to
someone who is hanging round the car. But this form of ‘surveillance’ has a number
of positive effects. It provides work, income and a degree of self-respect for a large
group, some of whom are uneducated, others well-educated African migrants.
At the same time these parking marshals populate the public space even at times
Capetonians consider unsafe. If the vehicle is looked after, the car owner is more
likely to go out in the evening, and so make use of public space than if the car were
to be left unattended in the street. The Cape Town car guards are the true public
space pioneers. This existing strategy of recovering public space and reducing fear
might be extended to include the following means.

Mass Public Transport

If public space is to become more accessible at night for those who cannot afford
a car, there will have to be a wider network of public transport. The upcoming World
Soccer Cup in 2010 is an excellent opportunity to address that. The townships of
Cape Flats, located between the airport and the city, would benefit greatly from a
new public transport link between the airport terminal and the center of Cape Town.
The government should make the outlying townships and low-income housing
areas more accessible by extending the existing railroad network and some bus
lines. More railroad lines, buses or a variant on the existing taxi buses (which today
are considered unsafe) to transport smaller groups, would serve that purpose.
The accessibility of the city’s public space will only improve if that system is used
by large numbers of the population. Nowadays, for instance, no-one goes by train
once it is dark, because the absence of other passengers makes you easy prey for
robbery. The station area is even seen as the most dangerous of part of the inner
city. But if large numbers of people were to use public transport in the evening – for
example if it were cheaper or even free after dark and there were guards on all
platforms and in station concourses – large areas of the city could be rid of the
prevailing feeling of insecurity. Big crowds of soccer fans for the World Cup might
illustrate how Cape Town’s public space could work if there were enough people
on the streets, at night time too.

Neighborhood Watch
If Cape Town is ultimately to be freed from the alarming streetscape of high fences
topped with razor wire, the fear of burglaries will first have to be reduced. Although
Security | Apartheid

Global Agenda
it will never entirely disappear as long as there are such great differences between
rich and poor, it would certainly be worth designating public space pioneers. Local
neighborhood watch initiatives demonstrably reduce the number of burglaries
drastically and also make streets somewhat safer at night. The neighborhood watch
formula could be intensified, for instance by employing people from the poorer
categories for that citizen initiative, for which the more affluent residents currently
forego their sleep. It could be a way of providing more people with work and
self-respect, would ensure the presence of more people in public space and so
increase social control. But it can only be successful if public transport is also
available at night and people from the poorer neighborhoods can get to other parts
of the city.
Fear occasioned by crime resulting from the gap between rich and poor, often
between white and non-white, serves to immobilize public life in Cape Town.
Almost all population groups retreat to their own enclaves after dark, whether it is

Archis
the gated community or the township. If you do not barricade yourself behind a wall
or fence, you risk mugging, burglary or car theft, only the most violent of which are
406

407
reported in all their gory details in the newspapers.
 Car guards have given Cape Town’s car owners a degree of freedom and made
a start in recapturing public space. Comparable initiatives could help to break
through the vicious circle of fear and crime. The rest of the city still remains to be
liberated. Appropriate strategies will have to be devised to make public space
attractive for as many people as possible, day and night.

1. A lthough these racial categories are completely outdated
and the direct product of decades of apartheid policy,
they are still used in Cape Town society. And that is why
they are also used in this text. Black relates to the group
of South Africans who are now officially termed ‘African’;
Coloreds are those of mixed origin, while whites are those
with a predominantly European background.
2. Simon C. Nicks refers to the role of modern urban design
in the policy of apartheid in his article ‘Designing the inter-
face, the role of urban design in reconstructing apartheid
villages, towns and cities’ in Urban Design International,
#8, 2003.

Creative Design Agenda

No 4
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice
• Focus on Trust…

Stop thinking that all security design is about keeping

people out. You can also design moments in which people
can encounter one another beyond fear. Design a place
where people do not just meet, but also synchronize.
Security | Apartheid

Global Agenda
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409
408
 Ricardo Devesa This year alone the Ministerio del Interior Español (Spanish Interior Ministry) has

Safety or Security
Thousands of refugees seeking safety, and others seeking prosperity
attempting to reach the so-called developed world is a ubiquitous fact of
our globalizing world. If you want to get rid of them, design ways to police
them. If you want to help first, that is altogether a different task.
More than 35,000 African immigrants reached the Canary Islands clandestinely
in 2006. In parallel and in the same space, more than 10 million tourists a year
spend their holidays on these same islands. This paradoxical situation, in which
tourism and immigration converge in one place, that is to say, the beach, is a
characteristic and at the same time an ambivalence of overmodernity.1 In the holiday
areas of the Canaries, tourists, immigrants who have arrived in precarious craft,
native workers and already legalized immigrants coexist. Their beaches are incessant
public spaces, if we accept that ‘public spaces are places where strangers coin-
cide’, as defined by Zygmunt Bauman.2 Under these circumstances solidarity with
the immigrant becomes evident. Yet tourism entrepreneurs, politicians, some
tourists and, lastly, the citizens of the Canaries see the arrival of these immigrants
on ‘their’ beaches as worrying.
Last October 29th at least 2,000 people – the organizers spoke of 20,000 – staged
a demonstration in Santa Cruz de Tenerife against the arrival of immigrants. Control
of the population, a residency law, measures to eradicate the trade in human beings
and the defense of ‘the identity of our homeland’ were some of the demonstrators’
demands. Regrettably, a disturbing increase of racism and xenophobia has taken
place in the Canary Islands, although not there alone. On one hand, it is easy to
forget that only 15 years ago this was still a land of emigrants. On the other hand,
we do not acknowledge that we need ‘others’ to determine who or what we are.
‘We need to identify’ the clandestine immigrant who arrives from Africa ‘as the Evil
so that the Good becomes apparent. Some do it in order to exploit them, others
to sate their racist anger, others to display Christian or parachristian philanthropy,
others to delight in and unite a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural world, and
others to turn them into an attractive field of academic research. We all need to
identify them,’ as the anthropologist Fernando Estévez shrewdly points out.3
Security | Fortress
sent back more than 8,000 irregular immigrants on 130 flights. These repatriations
are meant to show the immigrant that his or her journey can finish where it started.
Other fates which he or she might face along the journey are: death, disappearance,
imprisonment, abandonment, marginalisation or, at the very best, hope for a future.
The conditions of immigrants’ vulnerability6, as individuals with human and labour
rights, are what are really in question. Solutions must be sought which ensure
their safety and their rights along each point of their exodus, finding both concrete,
immediate solutions and measures of a general nature for the long term.
Concrete, immediate solutions are already being implemented, but everyone
should more intensively utilize the wide-ranging experience in ephemeral, low cost,
portable structures offered by military architecture and technology. Clandestine
immigrants have urgent needs: a roof over their heads, basic infrastructure
(health, school, social), rescue facilities, and mobility apparatus. Furthermore,
towns must take on the responsibility of serving as refuge areas for those who
need short-term shelter.
Long-term solutions involve eradicating hunger, canceling the foreign debt of
underdeveloped countries and securing democratization. We should recognize and
fight against ‘the relationship of cause and effect between debt and hunger, these
weapons of mass destruction deployed against the most weak’.7 However, no solution
is both total and definitive; the problem of immigration is complex and global.
As Le Corbusier would advise: the architecture and town planning of spaces
destined for ‘vulnerable immigration groups’ should not accentuate how they differ
from us, identifying them as being different; neither should they be based on
a design of exclusion, but rather they should integrate these differences without
eradicating them.
Phases
The following table details the 5 phases through which the African immigrant passes,
the dangers entailed and possible social, political, legal and financial solutions.
Furthermore, immediate, concrete suggestions for actions are added to prevent
the future suffering of these irregular immigrants. Some have already been set up,
but others could be carried out without considerable investment.
Points on the Circuit Dangers General Solutions Immediate Action

Global Agenda
1 –Departure from the –Malnutrition –The eradication of hunger –The construction of infra-
Immigration is the primary concern of most Spanish citizens, leading unemployment home country –Foreign debt and malnutrition structure: education, health,
–Pandemic diseases –Democratisation trade, agriculture, fishing,
and terrorism, and the Spanish government is putting forward socio-labour solutions, –Corruption –Abolition of the foreign debt stock raising, manufactur-
taking into account the needs of the labor market and the existence and coming –Absolutism and exploitation –The opening of EU unemploy- ing, etc.
–No anticipation of a future ment offices –Ownership of minimum
arrival of vast numbers of immigrants ‘without papers’.4 That the Spanish economy –Lack of work –The building of decent housing
–Illegal immigration mafias housing
– and that of the Canaries in particular – needs these immigrants to continue –Continuous plundering of –The guarantee of education,
developing was as much as admitted by Adán Martín, President of the Regional natural resources public health, work
–Investment in infrastructures
Government of the Canary Islands5, when he warned that ‘we cannot omit legally –The granting of micro-credits
channeling immigration that, on the other hand, is necessary for the first world. 2 –Journey on open –Hypothermia –Eradication of organized crime –Provisions kit
It’s a different story now. We must turn around what is today the fear of an intense sea –Lack of water and food
–Currents, tides and storms
–Information campaigns
–Safer craft
–Thermal clothing
–Life jackets
wave of illegal immigration into Europe through the Canaries and turn it into an –Not knowing how to swim –Provisioning –Lifeboats
–Unstable boats –Navigation assistance –Satellite watch
opportunity for the Canaries.’ –Lack of safety precautions –Learning how to swim
Security is seen mainly in terms of repression. More specifically, the architectural –FRONTEX, European Border
Agency
and urban development response prompted by security in developed countries is –SIVE, Security Centers

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usually directed towards resolving ‘insecurity’, the dangers and the risks, preventing
access by strangers. It is the architecture of fear and intimidation that is being offered
as a solution. This has led to a barrier to protect us from the ‘others’.
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 Points on the Circuit Dangers General Solutions Immediate Action

3 –A rrival in the –D isembarkation and flight –ARGOS, EU programme –Immediate emergency
Canaries from the law –Protection of internal borders response equipment
–Diseases from point of origin –Internment in reception –Internment centers
–Language centers for refugees –Refugee camps
–Lack of papers –Psychological and health –Temporary housing
–Race and colour assistance
–Physical and psychological –Identification
problems –Registration in the census
–Social and labour integration

4 –Transfer to the –Precarious employment –Sheltered rental housing –Internment centers

mainland (overflow situation –Access to public services: –Temporary housing
due to limited –Marginalisation and segrega- education, health, etc. –Infrastructures
capacity in the tion –Work integration
Canary Islands) –Racialism –Residence permit
–Cultural exclusion –A pplication of current
–Vulnerability of their human legislation
and labour rights –Access to bank micro-credits
–Hostility
–Uprooting

5 –Repatriation to the –A bandonment in no-man’s- –Repatriation agreements –Refugee camps

country of origin land –Return journey assistance –Minimum housing
–Reprisals and punishment –Vehicles
–Stigmatisation

Concrete Solutions
With regard to immediate action that could be undertaken to improve the safety of
clandestine immigrants, we should utilize varied solutions to construct temporary,
low-cost areas to be used at any point along their journey, conceptualised as follows:

A. Minimum Housing
­– Technically refined version of the primitive tent, associated with nomadism.
The union of textile companies and pneumatic structures, supported by constant
air pressure, would permit temporary, easily transported structures.
– Cardboard tube structures like those used by Shigeru Ban for the Rwanda
refugee camp in 1999 for UNHCR. Previously aluminum posts and plastic had
been used, but refugees ended up selling them. Nearby tree trunks were then
used, but deforestation was a very serious concern. At that point a low-cost
alternative was sought: cardboard tubes that could be constructed cheaply with
simple machinery, reducing transport costs.
– The use of interwoven recycled material would permit the use of any type of
plastic, plant fibers, old cloth, dry branches, metal, etcetera, generated by first
world recycling operations or extant locally.
Security | Fortress

Global Agenda
– The recycling of shipping containers which can be turned into housing with
minimum investment.

B. Infrastructure: Health, Police, Shelter, Workshop, School or Social

– Immediate Emergency Response Equipment for the arrival of immigrants on
Canarian coasts to consist of three vehicles: an ambulance, one transport
vehicle with a field hospital and another with assistance equipment. The inflatable
field hospital covers 50 square meters when open, but less than one cubic meter
when deflated; two people can transport it and it is operational in 10 minutes.
It consists of four props inflated by an electric motor and holds 20 stretchers
plus a first-aid kit.
– Internment centers for immigrants in the Canaries – capacity for 250 detainees
guarded by 32 policemen. The outer protection wall of prefabricated concrete is

Archis
4 meters in height. Two meters away another 6-meter high metal fence is placed
with sensors every meter.
– Recovery of industrial warehouses, factories, obsolete infrastructures

413
412

or containers.
 – Given their light construction, flexibility, transient nature and protection green-
houses, familiar across the Canaries for the mass cultivation of bananas, could
CLANDESTINE IMMIGRATION IN THE CANARY ISLANDS be utilized as temporary reception centers, low-cost housing – as the French
architects Lacaton & Vassal have already done – or as sanitary installations.
CANARY ISLANDS
Lanzarote
C. Survival and provisioning equipment
La Palma Tenerife – Rucksacks with a basic survival and provisions kit like those used by the military.
Fuerteventura
– Self-inflating rescue craft like those on planes or boats.
La Gomera – Thermal, waterproof clothing.
El Hierro Tarfaya
920 Gran Canaria – Lifejackets.
Km 130
Km
MOROCCO

El Aaiun D. Mobility apparatus

SAHARA – First world recycled vehicles: bicycles, motorcycles, cars, buses, motorboats, etc.
Portugal Spain – Alternative prototypes to the use of fuel, by means of solar and other energy
From Cape Verde 4 Balearic 1. ‘Overmodernity would be the combined effect of the immigrants and (…) the tension close on a ‘cold’ war with
Islands acceleration of history, the shrinking of spaces and the Morocco led the new government of José Luís Zapatero to
35000 individualization of journeys or destinations’. Marc Augé, quickly react (…)’. Sami Naïr, Y Vendrán… Las migraciones
30000 ‘On the Subject of Tourism’, BASA nº 28. Las Palmas de en tiempos hostiles, Barcelona (Planeta) 2006.
Ceuta Gran Canaria (Colegio de Arquitectos de Canarias) 2005. 5. Felicitación del Día de Canarias (Canary Islands Day
25000 Melilla 2. Zygmunt Bauman, Vida Líquida. Barcelona (Paidós Ibérica) Address), 30 May, 2006.
20000 2006. English translation: Liquid Life, Cambridge 6. Jorge A. Bustamante, ‘Construcción social de la
15000
Number of illegal Canary Morocco 5 (Polity Press) 2005.
3. Fernando Estévez, ‘Inmigrantes o la identificación del Mal’,
vulnerabilidad de los migrantes’. In: VVAA. ‘La inmigración
irregular. Aproximación multidisciplinar’. Cabildo Insular
10000
immigrants come Islands Disenso nº 38. November 2002. de Tenerife, 2003.
5000
to Canaries last 3 4. ‘The Madrid attacks of 11 March by Islamic fundamentalism,
the belligerent use that the previous conservative government
7. Jean Zieler, El imperio de la vergüenza, Madrid (Taurus)
2006.
0
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 years. made of immigration, the increase in the demands of

Spain, in
Spain, in collaboration
collaboration withwith otherother
member EUcountries
members, of 2 Algeria
the European Union, will confront a situation on bor-
confronts a border situation that will continue to be
ders that will continue to be critical because of the vast 1 Creative Design Agenda
No 5
critical
numberbecause
of candidatesof the vast number
for entrance of people from
from Sub-Saharan
Sub-Saharan
Africa. After theAfrica seeking
mission entry.
coordinated After intervention
by FRONTEX,
bythethe EU’s
border border
control control
agency agency
of the EU, in the FRONTEX
Canary Mauritania
consisting
Islands - whichof 2consists
planes of and 4 boats,
2 planes the- number
and 4 boats the Mali
ofnumber of immigrants
immigrants in the month
in October fell inof comparison
October has to
now fallen inHowever
September. comparison‘creating’
with September. Howeverfortress
a maritime • Invent Program
off“creating” a maritime fortress off the extensive African
the extensive African coast – immigrants make Cape Verde Senegal
• Empower
coastline - the voyages in cayucos, the boats used by
these
immigrants, now of
voyages 1,000
cover kilometers
distances or more in
of 1,000 kilometres Guinea Bissau
cayucos – only
- only causes slightlyofdiverts
a diversion the accessaccess and certainly
routes and • Provide Choice
stimulates the search fortoalternatives: Ceuta, Melilla, Guinea
sharpens the
Malta
Ceuta,andMelilla,
inventiveness
the Malta
Italianand
search for alternatives:
coastline.
the Italian More willMore
coastlines. be needed • Focus on Trust
Sierra Costa de Ghana Nigeria
tomeans
controlwillthese
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all, it will betonecessary
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borders
changetothe
butborders;
change
abovebut, all above
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it will be
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these
Leone Marfil • Engage…
Security | Fortress

Global Agenda
the waves of immigrants are prejudicial to the recipient
waves of immigrants are detrimental to the recipient
countries.

countries.
Stop thinking that all security design is keeping people
out. It may be possible to draft a system of rescue, reha-
T emporary internment centres for bilitation and integration that will ultimately be beneficial
immigrants in Canary Islands
to society.
Chamber of alertness
Lighs
Prefabricated plates of
concrete. Height of 4 m.
80000
70000
60000
50000 Number of im-
40000 migrants come
30000 to Spain in 2005 Fences with sensors Rampart

Archis
20000 for countries of movement in walk Detail of the exterior wall
10000 every meter.
0 Height of 6 m.
Mauritania
Argentina
Colombia

Romania
Morocco
Pakistan

Bulgaria
Ecuador

Senegal

Ucrania
Nigeria

Argelia

Poland
China

Requests of regularization 63.170

Brasil

415
414

Favorable resolutions 32.229

 Looking at

Sustainability
Almost every discussion of design today focuses on what it means,
what it sells or what it entails. But, first and foremost, there is the question
of what design does. To understand and intervene in the performativity
of design is to understand the challenges to design, the legitimacy of design,
the intelligence of design, and to do something with them.

For instance: provide sustainability

The process has taken many years, but finally it seems the discourse
on the Inconvenient Truth of pollution, waste and climate change has
matured. Even the ‘powers that be’ have adopted a rhetoric of immediate
action to prevent disaster. What is still lacking is action. Can this be
a mission for design today?

Canada 15.61
Sustainability

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Africa 1,1
Asia-Pacific 1,3
Latin America 2,0
Middle East and Central Asia 2,2
North America 9,4

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EU 4,8

OECD Factbook 2006

Rest of Europe 3,8
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417
World Total Energy Consumption by Region in 2010
 Reservoir (concrete rundown) 2005, lamda print 125 cm x 155 cm Domino 2003, lamda print 100 cm x 125 cm
Sustainability

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 Valley (Sicilia) 2001, lamda print 125 cm x 155 cm Blvrd. (Wilshire) 2005, lamda print 100 cm x 125 cm
Sustainability

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 Nader Ardalan
Re-conceived Gulf
Architecture
The issue of energy has been on the political agenda for decades.
Geopolitics has been defined by it. New technologies have been invented
to overcome the predicament of dependence on oil. The ultimate challenge,
however, is to find ways to incorporate the long-term and holistic view as
part of our daily practice. How does one design a new mentality?
The Gulf Region seriously needs an applied research program to develop new
prototypes of urban design and architecture. The region also needs thorough
research to produce documentation guidelines and innovations in environmentally
and culturally more sustainable designs than provided by the planning, design,
construction and real estate practices and models currently being used, which for
the most part demonstrate serious shortcomings due to high resource consumption,
urban pollution, loss of quality and urban cohesion. They also lack an indigenous
sense of cultural identity.
In almost every field of urban life Middle Eastern countries are at a critical
threshold, particularly the oil rich countries surrounding the Gulf region.
The Downside of Development
Spurred by great windfall wealth and generally stimulated by current political
events, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula along the Gulf are deep in the grip of
vast developments that could be greatly improved to better service the environment
and cultures of this highest radiant energy gain region of the world.
Although, significant advancement in technology and visual design thinking can
be seen in currently proposed or recently built designs and there is good will on the
part of all concerned, the troubling problem is that the development and building
models being used are based mainly upon obsolete and irrelevant prototypes of
Urban Design and Architecture that compromise their cost effectiveness, longevity
and historical value. Furthermore, they will burden their governments with long-term
Sustainability | Post Oil
urban infrastructure energy waste, high operation and maintenance costs and
generate significant urban pollution.
Sustainable?
On a regional scale, the Gulf waters pose an ecological concern due to extensive
offshore oil and gas drilling, not to mention the massive oil tanker and merchant
shipping traffic, which constitute the economic life of the region. As prosperity
propels population growth along its shores and recreational tourism increases,
the ecological well-being of the inter-tidal zones and their sea life need to be
safeguarded. Global warming and the predicted rise in water levels will also impact
coastal developments. There is therefore an urgent need for an integrated land/sea
strategy of sustainable growth along regional/global dimensions.
Interestingly enough, the region is not alone in this dilemma as the American
Institute of Architects (AIA) recently took a bold step in releasing the following policy
statements:
‘The AIA recognizes a growing body of evidence that demonstrates current
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planning, design, construction and real estate practice contribute to patterns of
resource consumption that seriously jeopardize the future of the Earth’s population
… We must alter our professions actions and encourage our clients and the entire
design and construction industry to join with us to change the course of the
planet’s future’.
The AIA’s Board of Directors set a goal of slashing the fossil fuel consumption of
buildings by 50% in four years and expressed strong support for consensus-based
standards for sustainable design. Yet the Gulf region buildings currently under
design imitate much of these same obsolete ‘jeopardizing patterns’ of resource
consumption.
Undefined Identity
Coincident with these ‘hardware’ short comings will be the ‘software’ social
disadvantages of congested urban settlements that lack a sense of urban cohesion,
human scale and cultural identity. Of specific concern to some of the eastern
Arabian peninsular states, such as the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, with small indigenous
populations compared to their large expatriate communities, will be the socio-
political concerns related to ‘whose country is this, anyway?’. With the recent
growth of democratic institutions and consciousness in the region, expatriates and
their offspring born in these countries already outnumber the native populations.
They will in time naturally demand their fair representation in these societies’ decision-
making structures and seek to express their respective world views and cultural
identities. The economic, social and cultural institutions and symbolic signs of this
region needed to accommodate these demographic trends within the larger
parameters of national goals will have to be boldly, yet sensitively and intelligently
addressed.
Such demographic considerations have been slow to come about or are non-
existent in current development plans. They may foster, if left unheeded, social
problems that could impact these countries’ future stability. As the majority of the
world’s fossil fuel resources are found in this region, the stability of the Gulf is of
global and national importance.
For some of the above stated reasons, there are compelling justifications to
undertake research to develop potentially new Design Prototypes that can generate
more sustainable human settlements and urban systems in this region. It might
also be demonstrated that such sustainable approaches are also smart business
investments, offering long-term profits and documenting a new set of iconic images
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of greater relevance and substance.
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 Creative Design Agenda
No 6
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice
• Focus on Trust
• Engage
• Design an Attitude…

Stop thinking that all design is ultimately about trans-

forming resources into form. You can conceive of a design
which is not an intervention, but becomes a manifestation
of a larger ecology, possibly ultimately generating new
resources as well.

Abu Dhabi’s evolving landscape from 1968 to the present

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 Sharjah Biennial
Obesity is a threat to one’s health and shortens life expectations.
Unrestricted energy consumption is a threat to the future of the world.
Informing people and raising awareness about sustainability is a huge
task, changing people’s behavior a serious challenge. Even then, sustain-
ability can only be achieved when aims are the same across the board.

Rirkrit Tiravanija
Sustainability | Awareness

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 Global Warming
and Other Matters
Everyone studying the fate of the globe has reason to worry: global
warming, desertification, decimation of fish populations, lack of fresh
water, etcetera. Yet whatever disaster is looming, there are always people
who, by virtue of the power of their boundless fantasy, come up with
proposals to solve global problems with a stroke of genius.
Rain Man
One of the major problems facing our environment is the lack of water in many
parts of the world. Man has tried to tackle this problem with dams and canals,
artificial lakes and a diversity of irrigation systems. Magnetic Technologies L.L.C.
is confident that they can solve it by making it rain. The company was founded in
1995 in the United Arab Emirates, an area where the desert runs right up to the
sea. The technology they propose is based on the natural formation of negatively
charged water drops. By magnetizing water this process is intensified several fold.
The negatively charged mini drops (mist) are pushed up because of the repulsion
from the surface of the earth, which is also negatively charged. The drops attract
more water molecules and form a cloud. An additional positive effect is that the
magnetized water drops supposedly attract air pollution thereby contributing to a
healthier climate. Other efforts to create artificial rain are mainly done by shooting
small rockets with silver iodine into the sky, as China’s technicians at the Beijing
Weather Modification Office frequently do when the country suffers form exceptional
drought. Apart from doubts about its effectiveness, this method is criticized because
of the health danger it probably poses.
The Magnetization system is not commonly accepted yet, but Magnetic Tech-
nologies LLC has installed Magnetic systems to cover a total area of 8,100 km2,
one-tenth of the entire United Arab Emirates.
That the method is still dependent on many geographical, climatological and
spiritual factors was made clear by the inventor, Prof. Yuri Tkachenko:
‘These would be man-made clouds and rain, created by knowledge, human
Sustainability | Planet
activities and Allah’s will. We’ll see further, that our success and intentions would
very much depend on the strength and direction of the winds, the place and area
of distributing of ascending and descending air flows, and also on the temperature
in the lower atmosphere layers and its changes. But should it be Allah’s will and
should He send us still and quiet weather down, then we’ll gain success.’
Sun Power
Our rapid exhaustion of energy sources is one of the major concerns of the coming
decades. Whoever still doubts the potential of the sun to solve this problem will be
convinced by the advocates of CSP, Concentrating Solar Power. The idea is to have
plants in areas with an abundance of sunlight, like deserts in North Africa and the
Middle East. Large fields of parabolic mirrors ‘catch’ the heat of the sun and convert
it into electrical energy by various methods. For example, it can be stored in melted
salt permitting energy production to continue at night.
The amount of energy provided by the sun should cover our needs: ‘Every year,
each square kilometer of hot desert receives solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million
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barrels of oil. Multiplying by the area of deserts world-wide, this is nearly a thousand
times the entire current energy consumption of the world. The cost of collecting
solar thermal energy equivalent to one barrel of oil is about US $50 right now
(already less than the current world price) and is likely to come down to around
US $20 in the future.’ 1
Electricity from the concentrating solar power plants may be transmitted to
where it is needed using high-voltage transmission and some of these are already
in place in populated parts of the world. The Trans-Mediterranean Renewable
Energy Cooperation (TREC) argues that CSP plants – and wind farms – in North
Africa and the Middle East can provide electrical power to those areas and to
Europe with less than a 15% transmission loss. That compares extremely favourably
with the 50% to 70% losses that have been accepted for many years from conven-
tional coal-fired power stations where the fuel is far from free.
Fix It
In response to the Kyoto climate protocol which specifies serious CO2 transmission
reduction, Rini Reynhout, one of the researchers at Shell Global Solutions in
Amsterdam, had a brainstorm: a revolutionary new type of building material called
‘carbon concrete’ or C-Fix. The C-Fix team supplied the creativity needed to get
the project up and running. They created interest in C-Fix throughout the top ranks
of Shell by planting a ‘C-Fix tree’ on Shell’s Amsterdam site and laying a C-Fix stone
floor on the 22nd floor of Shell’s London office during a meeting of the top management.
The material is made from an oil residue. What is left after crude oil has been
refined is a very hard, heavy and carbon-rich fraction. Normally this material is used
as fuel for power stations and big ocean vessels, for example. The burning of such
fractions results in considerable CO2 emissions. C-Fix uses the adhesive qualities
of this fraction and not only fixates much of the carbon thereby preventing the
emission of vast quantities of CO2, but the energy consumption during manufacture
is low and the material is 100% recyclable.
The applications for C-Fix are innumerable: road surfaces, bricks, embankment
sections, roofing tiles, baffle-boards, etcetera.
1. See www.trec-uk.org.uk/. TREC is an initiative of The Club
of Rome, the Hamburg Climate Protection Foundation and
security for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa
(EU-MENA) and cooperate on the development of
the National Energy Research Center of Jordan (NERC). renewable energies.
The aim of TREC is to establish energy, water and climate
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 Creative Design Agenda
No 7
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice
• Focus on Trust
• Engage
• Design an Attitude
• Dare to be an Amateur…

Stop thinking that innovation design means speaking the
language of ‘the new’. A history of avant-garde may have
become the domain of creative professionals, but there has
always been the culture of naive explorers who, by sheer
perseverance or utter serendipity, might suddenly become
mankind’s saviors.

Break water at IJmuiden, The Netherlands

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CSP Plans at Kramer Junction, California
 Looking at

Fairness
Almost every discussion of design today focuses on what it means,
what it sells or what it entails. But, first and foremost, there is the question
of what design does. To understand and intervene in the performativity of
design is to understand the challenges to design, the legitimacy of design,
the intelligence of design, and to do something with them.

For instance: provide fairness

In the wake of globalization and other contemporary manifestations
of capitalism, it is hard to deny the growing gap between rich and poor,
between people with or without opportunities, between education and
child labor. The abyss must be addressed. Can this be a mission for
design today?

Scotland
N. Ireland
Ireland London

USA
France
California CA
Florida FL
Georgia GA Spain
Illinois IL
Kansas KA Japan
Massachusetts MA Kobe
Michigan MI Osaka
Nebraska NE
Nevada NV
New Jersey NJ
New York NY
North Carolina NC
Ohio OH
Oregon OR
Pennsylvania PA
South Carolina SC
Texas TX
Fairness

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Wisconsin WI

Australia
Melbourne

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WWF
Global ecological footprints
Global Agenda Archis 435
Martin Roemers
Fairness 434
Global Agenda Archis 437
Fairness 436
Global Agenda Archis 439
Fairness 438
 March 5, 2007
Yesterday Kareem (the only local on the project) had dinner with the chairman.
The chairman wants a New York grid, but radial... He loves the idea of the square, but
would like it to be less square... In close proximity to the tallest tower there should be a
large number of other tall buildings... The tallest tower should have a view to all sides...
Furthermore the chairman likes geometrical forms that are organic and basically wants
lots of water everywhere...
Hausmannian patterns emerge on the flip-over, accompanied by numbers that are the
outcome of incomprehensible formulas. Apparently we (they) are all going to get rich.
We are keen to participate, but are not entirely sure which recommendations to follow. – RdG

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 Emiliano Gandolfi
Empowerment
The materialization of meaning, design’s most common characteristic,
is very often considered the implementation of the status quo. Its apparent
inertness cannot but solidify the way things are. Nevertheless, there is a
practice of design which is not about solidifying, but about reformatting
the organization of life with hope and curiosity.
There are some questions that get under the skin of things and stay there, too
substantial to emerge into the open except during extreme upheavals. Today we
are living through one of those periods and, perhaps in the whirligig of history,
we now find ourselves in a position in which we must question ourselves and the
role of architecture in our society.
Presently architecture is commonly understood as the profession responsible
for designing buildings with a concern for their aesthetic effect. We can identify
a critical moment: the 1997 opening of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Frank
Gehry’s museum was, at least in media terms, the high point of form as the vehicle
of ‘value’ in architecture and conversely it was also the moment when an alternative
began to develop with progressive momentum.1 A generation of designers, largely
European, began to advance other priorities for architecture: urban integration,
social factors and political context all became keys points in their work.
As an alternative to architecture as formal design, the mantra is the need to
be ‘involved.’ The architect must get out of his office and investigate first hand the
issues of the city, listen to and get involved with the local population, and try to
grasp all possible interpretations. Aldo Van Eyck’s words resound like a distant echo:
‘Can architects meet society’s plural demand? […] In what are people to participate
in fashioning their own immediate surroundings within a conceived overall frame-
work? You see, when one says, ‘city’ one implies the ‘people’ in it, not just ‘population’.
This is the first problem confronting the architect-urbanist today.’2 But those same
questions are being given different answers today. Collectives like the Italian Stalker
group and the Greek Maria Papadimitriou are beginning to question their context
and the people who inhabit it in order to understand the priorities they need to
concentrate on. These investigations are embodied in projects in terms of construction
Fairness | Hope
and immaterial action, events aimed at affecting people’s sensibility and taking a
first step towards change. They are engaged in projects in which they consider
involvement with the local community a resource in defining new connections and
creating bridges. They create a variety of opinions thanks to the involvement of
people who represent other disciplines. And projects may even take the form of simple
educational programs capable of stimulating a new sensibility to and understanding
of the urban dynamics (a good example is the CUP’s work in New York).
Among these groups, the work of Jeanne van Heeswijk is most interesting,
an example of the how to define a methodological alternative to the present order
of things. Van Heeswijk is a singular case. She is an artist who collaborates with
architects and deals mainly with ‘architecture’ and the evolutionary processes of
urban contexts. It should not surprise us that in contrast to the crisis of architecture’s
role when faced with rapid urban metamorphosis, art tends to give an immediate
response to the emergencies of everyday life. Conversely, it is interesting to note that
architects such as Raul Cardenas (Torolab) or Santiago Cirugeda have chosen the
territory of art and the museum as platforms to express their position as activists,
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part of their quest for a podium to reconsider architecture’s position in society.
Van Heeswijk sees herself as a mediator, an intermediary between situations,
places and the people who inhabit them. Immersion, confrontation and communi-
cation are key concepts in her method of work. Her purpose is not so much to find
solutions as ‘to generate cultural models that do justice to, for instance, the complexity
of the integration issue’. Every place must be approached anew. What is unchanging
is the need to create an understanding of a given place and its dynamics as well as
to identify certain questions capable of creating a ‘performative action’. It is because
of this idealistic and committed character that Van Heeswijk’s projects are generally
extremely stratified and lengthy. Her purpose is to identify a model, in many cases
one that can be replicated, capable of supplying the tools with which people can
develop their perceptions and initiate change.
In 2002 Van Heeswijk began work on a project called Face Your World, a program
which offers children a collective learning environment and was developed in
collaboration with philosopher Maaike Engelen. It is designed to teach children where
they can learn how to investigate and alter their living environment. ‘Face Your
World also provides a practical model for an urban planning process stemming from
the profound involvement of local residents, and it strives to invest urban renewal
tasks, usually realized on the basis of economic principles, with existing social and
cultural capital.’3 The project, developed at first in Columbus, Ohio (USA), stimulated
children to engineer their surroundings, combining and re-using existing components
in order to devise new and innovative visions of their city. A city bus was transformed
into a fully equipped digital lab and made available to children. Participants could
download images they made of their districts and alter them using software called
Interactor developed in partnership with the V2_Lab in Rotterdam. This program
enabled the children to perceive their city as a shared space in which they all live
together, but also as an intricate network of different visions they must negotiate.
A second phase of Face Your World was subsequently developed in Slotervaart
(Amsterdam) and a third in Rotterdam’s Museumpark; both operations are still
underway. In these two phases Van Heeswijk began to work actively with an architect,
Dennis Kaspori, who was already interested in developing theoretical open-source
models for architecture4 and is currently a front-line activist seeking to test his
theories. Recurrent features of these projects are that they encourage adolescents
to develop critical opinions of their own environment and show them that their
opinion is relevant. At the same time they also seek to stimulate young people to
Global Agenda
influence and participate in a process of urban renewal open to all citizens. Theirs
is not an antagonistic model, but endeavors to apply a ‘shared creative practice’
in which existing reality is questioned through different interpretations of it and a
model of ‘Creative Urbanism’ is established. This is a step beyond the examples
of participatory architecture (much in vogue in the sixties and seventies), in which
architects asked citizens for their ideas, or a form of participation practiced by local
authorities, who developed three alternative versions of a project based on surveys.
Face Your World is understood as a collective project in which architect, urban
planner, artist, psycho-geographer and designer are simply people in a position to
supply certain instruments and mediate the relations between participants.
Slotervaart is a suburb of Amsterdam largely inhabited by immigrants from
Morocco and Turkey and their Dutch-born children. The idea is to develop a project
for a park covering some 13,500 m2 with the participation of students from two
local schools and the residents of the Staalmanplein (a square in Slotervaart).
Archis
A high school adjacent to the area was transformed into an operations center and
designated the ‘StedelijkLab Slotervaart’ (Slotervaart Urban Lab). The design stage
443
was divided into three phases covering 27 weeks: Exploring (getting to know the
 neighborhood and its users), Sketching (devising ideas and ideas for change) and Creative Design Agenda
Consulting (discussions with others to create a collective understanding of place).
In addition to personal contact with specialists, various instruments were developed
No 8
to enable everyone to express their intuitions spatially. As in Ohio, Interactor was
used to enable youngsters to rebuild their world with their imagination, creativity • Invent Program
and arguments and compare their various ideas. Other, more direct, methods were • Empower
also used including drawing the surface of the park on the floor on a 1:5 scale and
using a 30-centimeter ruler to represent the size of the children. • Provide Choice
On March 1st, 2006 the District Council approved the plan developed by Face • Focus on Trust
Your World Slotervaart and scheduled completion for mid-2009. The project is an • Engage
interesting fusion of a multitude of different spaces and functions. The first level is
landscape, divided into three sectors by a running track: the first sector is a play- • Design an Attitude
ground zone adjacent to a school, the second sector is the rest zone, a quiet section • Dare to be an Amateur
with ornamental greenery, benches and a fountain, and the third sector is the • Never Give up Hope
activity zone. To these are added a series of ‘urban objects’, multifunctional elements
capable of satisfying the children’s different needs (Multi-Podium, Climbing Wall,
Chilling Area, a Supervisor Post to ensure safety, To-Do Trees, and many other items). Stop thinking that all design that is ultimately convincing
The final project is an intriguing garden of wonders in which everyone can find can only be based on a profound understanding of the
space, but above all it is a park of inventions, where each wish is fulfilled by being
fused with the wishes of others. The project is proceeding as part of the Stedelijke human condition. Although it is true that very little of the
Werkplaats Slotervaart (Slotervaart Urban Workshop). The final phase will follow the creative destruction occurring in the last century was not
construction and maintenance of the park, but is above all devised as a prototype influenced by superposition of the Nietzschean worldview,
based on education and work to stimulate cultural self-awareness.
Basically, the process is endless; each time begins again with a new ‘immersion, a tradition of grassroots initiative may now be emerging
followed by sketching, discussing, merging’, in a sort of loop. Van Heeswijk defines as the treasure chest of hope.
this model an ‘entropic field of action’ which seeks to stimulate the imagination in
relation to the real world in contrast with fantasy. But she promptly adds: ‘The field
can be perfectly concrete, it can even be a football field!’ In this case the architect’s
function is like that of an enzyme – a protein that catalyzes (i.e., accelerates) chemical
reactions – stimulates a process, or as Van Heeswijk would say, ‘challenges the
process’. We might compare the complexity of our society to biological processes.
Almost every process in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at significant
rates. Since enzymes are extremely selective and speed up only a few of many
possible reactions, the set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic
pathways are selected in that cell. Yet society is more than an enzyme, for it installs
Fairness | Hope

Global Agenda
a form of reciprocity, an exchange of knowledge, collectivization and cohabitation
of process. The result depends on trusting people, respecting their interpretations,
and considering them active players as well as stimulating them and giving them
the right role. Ultimately, there is an important lesson to be learned from the work
of those engaged in redefining the role of architecture such as Jeanne and Dennis:
architecture is an instrument for legitimizing people’s role in society. Like an enzyme
inside the human body, the architect must identify the processes which need to
be stimulated in order to correct its general functioning. Architecture is no longer
just form.

1. See Markus Miessen, ‘Spatial Practices in the Margin 3 Dennis Kaspori, Face Your World, in: www.skor.nl/article-
of Opportunity’, in: Markus Miessen and Shumon Bazar 2640-en.html
(eds.), Did Someone Say Participate? Frankfurt am Main 4. Dennis Kaspori, ‘A Communism of Ideas. Towards an
(Revolver) 2006, p. 273. open source architectural practice’, in: Archis no 3, 2003,
2. A ldo van Eyck in Alison Smithson (ed.), ‘Team 10 Primer pp. 13-17, also on www.archis.org.
1953-62’, Architectural Design (Dec. 1962), p. 564.

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 Jose Maria Torres Nadal

Feminist Sustainability
Building is an act of power, the glorious moment of creation, the
manifestation of one’s existence here and now. Building has been a boy’s
toy through the ages, the male chauvinist thing. Maybe it is time to
allow the feminine side of culture express itself. A new strategy to lead
the future. Is a matriarchic architecture conceivable; is it possible?

For some time there has been an incessant process of self-definition within
architectural production as if this would guarantee learning more about ourselves.
The social practice of architecture as it is established keeps asking the architect
how s/he defines him/herself. How do you dress? With whom do you hang out?
Instead of asking ‘what you are compromised of,’ or, ‘what would you like to change’,
or, ‘what are you against’, architecture must also have a chance to talk to the
‘other’. Without this, we would end up being little more than rebels incapable of
real action. We would be, in the words of Albert Camus, ‘some handsome insur-
rectionaries who end up as cops or ‘accomplices’’. This possibility, the necessity
of locating ‘architecture outside architecture’ is the vehicle that will end up tracing
the routes interdisciplinary architectural travel will take towards the humanities.
And if we desire to go further, much, much further, architecture must define; it is
obliged to define, to frame a new way of living. Given the deficiencies and vices of
their own architecture, this definition implies a domain in which performance enables
the possibility of transformation. Discovering a system that allows for continuous
representation of the experience means finding a procedure to redefine reality.

1. Theory, or the Performance of Thinking

There is no doubt that all feminist theory would be THEORY-LIGHT. In the same way,
developing a strong political program in favor of gender equality is not necessary
to know the feminist subject (feminism can be harmed if it insists that justice and
egalitarian policies are based on an ontology of the feminine). Neither is it necessary
to develop a strong political program in favor of a new way of living on and using
Wilhelmina Druckerstraat

the planet from its possible instrumentals, among them architecture. Architecture
must centralize the discussion by defining the conditions, the times and the nego-
Fairness | Emancipate

Global Agenda
tiation agenda for the dialogue with the ‘other’ or the ‘other’ of architecture. A good
example is the urgent need to redefine sustainability, for it is not a precise concept.
Sustainability itself appears in a way such that we cannot distinguish the future’s
subject. This demand would be a technocratic position, ‘useless’ because of the
Ottho Heldringstraat

ambiguity of its own content and one which appropriates its own capital as it defines
its own political investment.
Only those political and architectural practices that parody and represent the
conflict in their own radical way can generate useful, critical data about transition
and the future. Feminist theory is theory-light because of its radicalism; it approaches
toekomstige nieuwbouw
the key of human transformation. It obliges, in practice and theory, a redefinition
of the word (language) and freedom. This pushing and pulling is simultaneously
Boddeartstraat
Elisabeth

0m 5m 20m
position and combat.
boom lichtmast 4.00m asfalt met belijning drinkfonteintje trafohuisje vaste planten N

Archis
schaal 1:200
gazon met heuvels valondergrond bank, type A speeltoestellen fontein fontein

speelzone, zand bank, type B standbeeld bijzonder speelobject bijzonder speelobject

2. Standard, or the Redefinition of One’s Own Experience and that of Other’s
LEGENDA

verbindingspaden n.t.b. schetsontwerp

multifunctioneel sportveld hondenrooster tribune hekwerk chillplek chillplek
buurtpark Staalmanpleinbuurt
Given the decision to move within this transition, it cannot be performed without
45cm verdiept

the support and collaboration of the whole community and as impetus towards
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447
 a continuous restructuring of power and knowledge relationships. THE OTHER
may be this: if architecture is in fact a coding system that cannot enter the system
of philosophical considerations that define the new habitability, its patterns must be
invented until it has been duplicated, until it is susceptible to being understood as
something that parodies the established positions while simultaneously proposing
radical performing systems of the other… The performance of architecture does not
go along with the suitability of old stereotypes to prototypes, does not go through
advanced recognition of what is not up-dateable. It is a matter of undoing, of
decoding those conditions and regulations that undermine a long life. The fight
to remake norms via this new way of living is experimental and crucial.

3. Fantasy, or how to redefine reality

Fantasy is part of the articulation of the possible: it takes us from what it is merely
current or present towards the kingdom of possibilities: what is not yet updated or
up-gradable. The fight for survival cannot be separated from cultural life or fantasy.
The end of fantasy by censorship, degradation or otherwise is a strategy which can
only result in social death. Fantasy is not the opposite of reality. It is what reality
does not allow us and, as a result, it is what defines reality, its exterior consistency.
The crucial promise of fantasy, where and when it exists, is to challenge the limits
of the contingent, of what will and will not be designated as reality. Fantasy is what
allows us to imagine ourselves and others in different ways; it is what makes the
possible exceed the real.
In these new urban policies the city’s primary role would be not only one of
questioning what is and what ‘must’ be real, but also to show by action how the
norms that rule contemporary notions of reality could be questioned and how
these new models of reality are constituted.

Creative Design Agenda

No 9
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice
Fairness | Emancipate

Global Agenda
• Focus on Trust
• Engage
• Design an Attitude
• Dare to be an Amateur
• Never Give up Hope
• Emancipate

Stop thinking that all design is either the vehicle of

honesty and understandable interest, or, on the contrary,
the manifestation of the abuse of power. We can design

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a tactic that starts from greed and finishes in new means
of human emancipation.
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 Ilka & Andreas Ruby
The Stockholm Syndrome
There used to be a discourse about architecture as an act of compre-
hensive designing, taking into account as many programmatic parameters
as possible and trying to accommodate function in all its layers. Yet
discourse about the design of grand gestures, solidifying and expressing
certain brands or clear messages, and reducing design to the provision of a
single, unique shape subject to the client’s interests is much more popular.
So, perhaps our discourse should now shift to the position of those clients.
Which play is fair anyway?
Architecture today is obsessed with icons. To be iconic or not to be seems the
question for more and more architects, or even more pressingly so for their clients.
This quest for iconicity reveals a subtle power shift from the city to architecture.
At least in the western cultural context, icons were less incorporated by individual
buildings as by the city. Think of New York (the grid with Central Park as a kind
of a green super-plaza), Barcelona (the grid with chopped-off corners turning each
street-crossing into a square), Paris (Haussmannian boulevards forming one
continuous network), or L.A. (the highway system filled with low-density housing
fabric) – each of these cities entails a structural iconicity that instantly conjures up
a mental image merely when its name is mentioned. It’s an image that does not
need any individual pieces of architecture to be iconic, the city itself is the icon. This
urban iconicity is emblematic of an understanding of social space in which the city
itself is seen and celebrated as a representation of the community. Public space
is invested as a public good to affirm the superiority of shared collective values over
the randomness of individual interests.
With globalization taking command of our world in recent decades, this relation-
ship between public and private domains has visibly changed. By means of the
privatization of national corporations and deregulation of economic relationships, the
nation-state has by and by surrendered its historic privilege of power to an intangible
alliance of trans-national corporations. With a GDP equaling at times that of whole
countries, some of these large corporations have become undercover agents in a
Fairness | Icon Architecture
political power play that is only symbolically led by democratic national governments.
What would appear to be the political will of a national government is often nothing
but the cleverly disguised action plan of private corporations who infuse their interests
with powerful lobby-networks into the political decision-making process. Since
global corporations are primarily responsible to the economic community of their
shareholders however, they exceed the reach of national politics anyway. Hence
their sphere of influence is no longer bound by the historically defined territory of the
nation-state, but constitutes a new global territory. This territory has to be branded
with landmarks of power and as one can tell from the current boom of corporate
cathedrals designed by a select league of brand architects, star architecture has
become the crucial medium of this architectural iconization of power.
Star architects are obviously well suited for this task, having been trained in this
capacity during the boom in museum architecture during the 1980s and 1990s.
Cities then called upon famous architects to forge a clearly recognizable urban profile
to score high in the growing national and international competition of cities spurred
by new leisure-dominated urban life-styles. The city of Frankfurt is a clear case-study
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of this image-relaunch; in founding half a dozen museums between 1980 and 1990
(using prominent architects such as O. M. Ungers, Hans Hollein, Richard Meier etc.)
it upgraded its identity from a mere banking city to a genuine capital of culture.
Starting in the mid-eighties, Vitra-CEO Rolf Fehlbaum utilized the same image
building strategy by hiring architects of international acclaim such as Frank Gehry,
Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Alvaro Siza and Nicholas Grimshaw to put his furniture
brand on the global map of design awareness. And yet a little later, in the mid-nineties,
the Guggenheim foundation, merging the sides of commerce and culture, applied
the same model to a global scale by proliferating itself through franchised museum
dependencies sprouting like mushrooms in different cities across the world. The
crucial prerequisite for the success of that strategy was clearly the shock-and-awe
efficiency of the Guggenheim Bilbao, also known as the Bilbao Effect. The Guggen-
heim Bilbao showed how a highly spectacular piece of architecture is able to turn
an entire city into the mere background of the isolated figure of that building.
Furthermore, it revealed how previously separate identities such as client, location,
and architect can be made to converge by a highly calculated architectural branding
strategy – since stating the name of any part of this alliance inevitably evokes
the other identities as well; Gehry is now synonymous with the Guggenheim, Bilbao
or both.
Guggenheims convergence of city, architecture and brand has become, in the
course of the last decade, a blueprint for a whole series architectural projects of
cities which equally wanted nothing but to put themselves on the map of global
recognition with the help of a piece of signature architecture. Seeing the results of the
invited architecture competition for the new Gazprom headquarter in St. Petersburg
in November 2006, it seems that the former Soviet gas company (now a stock-listed
but still state-controlled corporation) has taken Guggenheim’s very model of usurping
an entire city as material support for its own brand to yet a higher level.
Bilbao was a city of regional importance when Guggenheim decided to situate
its museum there; as a consequence annexing the city’s identity to the Guggenheim’s
global profile was relatively easy. St. Petersburg by contrast is the incorporation of
an iconic city, with its European urban plan imported by Peter the Great and the
memorable low skyline of its golden cupolas. Yet Gazprom could not care less and
simply wanted to exceed this urban iconicity of St. Petersburg with a building even
more iconic. Hence it really needed architects like Daniel Libeskind, Jean Nouvel,
Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, and Massimiliano Fuksas who are all proven
icon makers. And sure enough all passed the plate (as if they needed it). Narcissisti-
Global Agenda
cally in love with their success, they have no idea how to transform it into influence.
The unique asset of real stars was once their ability to use their prominence to
divert or surpass the otherwise unquestionable authority of power. Utterly lacking
this kind of ambition and courage, the star architects of Gazprom star as public
relation actors in an effervescent propaganda campaign that sends out a clear
political message: it is possible to be a corporation that acts as the extended arm
of the Russian government, a corporation that abuses its gas monopoly to punish
disobedient neighbor states like Georgia by raising energy prices to impudent levels,
or taking over competing companies whose leaders dared to support oppositional
political movements and still get the iconic absolution of the avant-garde (or what
is left of it).
The fact that the first prize was awarded to none of the famous stars, but to
RMJM – the only non-Star, but corporate office in the competition line-up – confirms
the impression that the actual mission of Koolhaas, Nouvel & Co. in this farce of a
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competition was nothing else than conjuring up a shining image of beauty that will
help Gazprom polish up its contested reputation. You really can’t say they did not
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do their job beautifully.
 Two of the Designs for the Gazprom city competition
Fairness | Icon Architecture

Global Agenda
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452

OMA, Partner in charge: Rem Koolhaas Associate: Fernando Donis RMJM, lead architect: Tony Kettle (winning plan)
 Open Letter to Rem Koolhaas 1. Ian Buruma, ‘Don’t be fooled – China is not squeaky clean’, corporations (the nation-states having disappeared in the

World Fairness Icon Architecture

The Guardian, July 30, 2002. Also on: www.guardian.co.uk/ last war), which manipulate the population to best serve
2. ‘Rollerball’ is a science fiction film directed by Norman the interests of the corporate world. To keep the masses
Jewison and starring James Caan. Made in 1975 the film obedient, ‘Rollerball’ was installed, a cruel and deadly
Dear Mr. Koolhaas, is a speculation about the world at the beginning of the game ‘whose social purpose is to show the futility of any
21st century, a world controlled by a handful of private individual effort’.

Why did you participate in the Gazprom competition?

We have grown accustomed in recent years to see reputable architects ready to trade
their values for others if the commission calls for it. Hence it seems coherent to see a Creative DesignAgenda
number of world-class architects lining up to design the new Gazprom Headquarter in
St. Petersburg. We are not too surprised that most of them seem to have no second thoughts
No 10
about the imperial gesture of placing a 300 m corporate high-rise against the low-rise
fabric of St. Petersburg, nor about the dubious attempt of a ruthless energy monopolist to • Invent Program
cleanse its stained reputation by capitalizing on the acquired cultural capital of the city.
It’s not too much unlike them, but it’s quite unlike you. Or are you tricking the world • Empower
this time for real? Were we all too naïve to give your famous mind game of ‘suspending • Provide Choice
judgment’ credit as a means to help us confront those aspects of reality that otherwise
would have been wiped out of our conscience by the censorship of judgment, and was it • Focus on Trust
indeed a disguised means to suspend morality, as some have said? For the longest time • Engage
your work seemed to harbor an irreducible residue of morality: a belief in the responsibility
of the architect to commit to the unfinished project of modernity despite or precisely
• Design an Attitude
because of its birth-faults; to react to the social transformations and counteract some of • Dare to be an Amateur

Gulf
their dramatic developments such as the disappearance of public space: the libraries in
Paris (Jussieu) and Seattle are both touching monuments to this vanishing collective sphere
• Never Give up Hope
of the contemporary city. To all who did not quite know how to locate CCTV in Beijing • Emancipate
with respect to this kind of work – and Ian Buruma has said about it all there is to say1 –
Gazprom must seem like another step in the consolidation of a new street-smartness of
• Resist the Icon…
OMA with regard to power.
Do you mean to say that to reject the call of power would be heroic but pointless, Stop thinking that all design is just about highlighting
because architecture deprives itself of the last remaining bit of influence it may still exert?
Granted. Should we read your compliance such that you have come to terms with the brilliance. It might be a smokescreen for a power play that
new political world order, an order which Heiner Müller once described as the dilemma needs your creativity as an alibi. Never stop analyzing
of capitalism having no alternative to itself after to the breakdown of socialism? Does the
irresistible rise of neo-liberalism then beam us into an era of neo-absolutism? And how do your client’s tricks.
you see the role of the architect in a future world dominated by absolute rulers imposing
their will as they please?
If we take this mono-central organization of power as a possible description of our
world – an uneasy reverberation of the dystopian scenarios evoked by many science-fiction
movies such as ‘Rollerball’2 – then the only position left for a star architect to invest his
or her stardom for a transformation of society would be the one of the court jester: the
Fairness | Icon Architecture

Global
one and only figure in the medieval court allowed to contradict the king under the guise

DubaiAgenda
of humor, the blessed idiot kept alive to symbolically transgress the omnipotence of the
ruler. One could claim that only as court jester, i.e., in a position of empowered weakness,
is there a possibility for the architect to still make a critical contribution, but that this
critique needs to be well-disguised in order not to kill the project before it has been born.
In other words: you have to play along with the icon economy in order to be able to under-
mine it later. We would like to think that there was a scenario embedded in your Gazprom
design, a subversive plot lurking behind what looks like a hushed allusion to Malewitch’s
Tectons, dressed up just enough to make it through the beauty contest of the competition
while unfolding its transformative potential only later. As you did not win, we will never
know. If this speculation were correct, your resistance to an architecture of rejection that
only wants to keep its hands clean would make sense. But it’s a resistance that entails
an equally heroic hubris, the hubris to declare yourself to be capable to F… the System.
A posture for which we would openly applaud you, as it entails the risk of the opposite
turnout as well.

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Sincerely,
Ilka & Andreas Ruby
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 Looking at

Dialogue
Almost every discussion of design today focuses on what it means,
what it sells or what it entails. But, first and foremost, there is the question
of what design does. To understand and intervene in the performativity
of design is to understand the challenges to design, the legitimacy of
design, the intelligence of design, and to do something with them.

For instance: facilitate dialogue

In a ‘society of the spectacle’ or the ‘capsule civilization’, in which it is not
the conversation that counts, but the airtime in which you manage to
broadcast your message, the end of a lively public domain as the podium
of democracy is in sight. Without a substantial exchange and the tolerance
it requires, culture is becoming a monoculture of power that fails to regen-
erate itself by finding new forms of legitimacy. We need new modalities
for human interaction.
Can this be a mission for design today? Russian Federation
United Kingdom 276
16756
Germany
12992

United States
49611 China Japan
Iran 531 6494
Israel 4
178

United Arab Emirates

20 India
424

Uganda
4
Indonesia
82
Dialogue

Global Agenda
Brazil
1634

South Africa
Argentina 384
443

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www.jiwire.com
456

457
WiFi locations in the world
Dialogue

Global Agenda
Israel, Hebron, Al Aroub, March 3 rd, 2006

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Roger Cremers
458

459
Poland, Warsaw, April 29 th, 2004
Global Agenda Archis 461
Poland, Warsaw, 30 April 2004
Dialogue 460
Dialogue

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Poland, Warsaw, October 23 rd 2003

 Markus Miessen
Conflict as Practice
We have become used to architecture telling us something by way of
form. The architect’s choice of this or that geometry, style, specific signs
or colors, is the key to understanding what he or she intended to say with
the design. But in an age in which the architect is becoming more and more
a strategist rather than a formalist, and in which he is more a contributor
to meaning than the author of meaning, the message of architecture might
be interpreted as the subtle organization of the program in a process in
which we all participate.
The disappearance of class identities and the end of the bipolar system of
confrontation have rendered conventional politics obsolete. Consensus finally
reigns with respect to the basic institutions of society, and the lack of any
legitimate alternative means that this consensus will not be challenged.
Chantal Mouffe1
In contrast to cooperation, collaboration is driven by complex realities rather
than romantic notions of a common ground or commonality. It is an ambivalent
process constituted by a set of paradoxical relationships between co-producers
who affect each other.
Florian Schneider2
When humans assemble, spatial conflicts arise. Spatial planning is often considered
the management of spatial conflicts. To deal with conflicts, critical decision-making
must evolve. The city – and, indeed, the progressive institution – exist as social and
spatial conflict zones, re-negotiating their limits through constant transformation.
Participation is war. Any form of participation is already a form of conflict. In war,
enemy and adversary usually hold territory, which they can gain or lose, while
each has a spokesman or authority that governs, submits or collapses. In order
to participate in any environment or given situation, one needs to understand the
forces of conflict that act upon that environment. In physics, a spatial vector is a
Dialogue | Conflict
concept described by scale and direction: in a field of forces, it is the individual
vectors that participate in its becoming. However, if one wants to participate in any
given field of forces, it is crucial to identify the conflicting forces at play.
Participation is often understood as a means of becoming part of something
through pro-active contribution and the occupation of a particular role. However,
it seems that this role is rarely understood as a critical platform of engagement, but
rather based on romantic conceptions of harmony and solidarity. In this context,
I would like to promote an understanding of conflictual participation, one that acts
as an uninvited irritant, a forced entry into fields of knowledge that could arguably
benefit from spatial thinking.
Conflict for Creativity
From the beginning of Sex and the City, Charlotte York is portrayed as the most
innocent of the four protagonists. Throughout the series, she is the only one who
follows ‘dating rules’ and expresses a serious desire to marry and have children. In
episode 55, Charlotte decides to quit her job as a curator in a Manhattan art gallery.
When she reveals her intentions to her disapproving friends, she explains why she
464
wants to stay home. In order to not feel ‘bad’ about her real motives (wanting to
be pregnant and redecorating the house), she justifies her decision by stating that
she want to ‘volunteer at Trey’s hospital and raise money for the pediatric wing’. In
Charlotte’s case, doing volunteering work for an important social cause is portrayed
as her voluntary participation in a good cause that prevents her from being judged
for quitting her job.
Isn’t this kind of practice precisely the modus operandi that we can find in so
many ‘socially relevant’ practices today? There is an interesting similarity between
the way of arguing and the way in which particular practices have hijacked the
notion of participation as a positive, unquestionable means of engagement, which
forms their economy.
In such a context, there seems to exist an urgent need to ask how it might
be possible to ‘participate’ in a given environment or situation without having to
compromise one’s role as a critical and operative initiator is interrogating conventional
expertise while attempting to inform critical spatial practices by means of conflictual
scenarios rather than fostering consensual models of philanthropy or what is
known as ‘best practice’. Becoming a vector in the matrix of conflicts raises the
question of how one participates without catering for pre-established needs or tasks,
or – from the point of view of the traditional architect – how is it possible to participate
in, for example, urban micro-politics by consciously inserting friction and asking
questions rather than falling into well-established registers of local community work
through legally-binding agreement or planning obligations?
In architecture there are frequent examples of critical engagement conflicting
with the realities of business interests. In 2006, London-based architect Richard
Rogers was sent to New York by a number of clients, who had read that he let his
office be used by a group of architects connected to Architects and Planners for
Justice in Palestine. Lord Rogers was called to the offices of the Empire State
Development Corporation (who are overseeing the re-design of New York’s 1.7 billion
dollar Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of which Rogers is in charge) to explain
his connection to the group, who were holding a meeting at Roger’s London office
on February 2, 2006. As a result, several New York officials urged that Rogers be
removed from the publicly funded project. Architects are often used by power
structures, yet from the perspective of the power structure itself the architect is not
welcome as a participating vector or enabler in this forcefield, but understood as a
service-provider who delivers a product. As Rem Koolhaas argued in a conversation
Global Agenda
recently: ‘I would say that particularly in America political obliviousness is considered
part of the role of the architect.’3 It is this chasm I attempt to tackle.
Collaboration Beyond Consensus
Conflict refers to a condition of antagonism or state of opposition between two or more
groups of people. It can also be described as a clash of interests, aims, or targets.
When we look at conflict as opposed to innocent forms of participation, conflict is not
to be understood as a form of protest or contrary provocation, but rather as a micro-
political practice through which the participant become an active agent insisting on
being an actor in the forcefield they are facing. Thus, participation becomes a form
of critical engagement. When participation becomes conflict, conflict becomes
space. Re-inserting friction and differences into both the scale of the institution and
the city bears the potential of micro-political forces that render conflict as practice.
In this context, participation becomes a form of non-physical, productive violence.
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Micro-political action can be as effective as traditional state political action.
In July 2006, Rem Koolhaas and Hans Ulrich Obrist interviewed more than
465
50 people over the course of 24 hours. Their so-called ‘Interview Marathon’ at the
 Serpentine Gallery London was set up as a model to deliver a cross-section of
practitioners that, in one way or another, define what London is today. Although the
event was interesting and successful in many ways, one could also sense a certain
frustration amongst the more critically oriented audience. Surely, one would think,
if one sets out to trace some kind of cross-section, one would include a multitude
of dissimilar voices. Now, in order for this not to be misunderstood, it needs to
mentioned that I am not trying to argue for a more inclusive model or one based on
political correctness. On the contrary: what was missing was precisely the conflict
that ‘is’ the city. The Marathon was set up as a ‘stimulating set of discussions’.
However, every participant was either part of existing networks of cultural practitioners,
thinkers or commentators or at least originated from the same cultural milieu.
Now, I would argue that in order to include the complexity of the city, one needs
to involve the conflicting forces of that city. Consensus is only achieved through
established relationships of powers. One could argue that if such relationality were
broken, another kind of knowledge would have been produced; one that helps us
to understand the composite realities of the contemporary city and forces at play.
In this context, it could be useful to re-think the concept of conflict as an enabler,
a producer of a productive environment rather than an understanding of conflict
as direct, physical violence. Although a more diverse set of conflicting voices could
potentially inhabit risks, it allows for heterogeneous agencies and discourses that –
through the re-calibration of power structures by means of critical altercations –
could produce ancillary and unexpected knowledge.
In order for any kind of participation to reach a political dimension, the engagement
needs to be based on a distant critical voice. Through this kind of ‘conflictual partici-
pation’, the exchange of knowledge in a post-disciplinary field of forces starts to produce
new forms of knowledge. As a starting point for such model of ‘conflictual partici-
pation’, one could make use of the concept of collaboration as opposed to coop-
eration that Florian Schneider distinguishes in ‘The Dark Site of the Multitude’4: ‘as a
pejorative term, collaboration stands for willingly assisting an enemy of one’s country
and especially an occupying force or malevolent power. It means working together
with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected.’5
Since such a notion of collaboration is also based on an idea of the inside and
the outside (if you are inside you are part of an existing discourse which is to be
agreed with and fostered), it will increasingly be the outsider who manages to add
critically to pre-established power-relations of expertise. Although the outsider will
Dialogue | Conflict

Global Agenda
be understood as someone who does not threaten the internal system due to lack
of knowledge of its structure, it is precisely this condition that allows one to fully
immerse in its depth in a dilettante manner. What we need today are more dilettantes
who neither worry about making the wrong shift nor prevent friction between
certain agents in the existing forcefield if necessary, a means to – as Claire Doherty
calls it – ’circumnavigate predictability’.6
One could therefore argue that instead of breading the next generation of
facilitators and mediators, we should aim for the encouragement of the ‘uninterested
outsider’, the person who is unaware of pre-requisites and existing protocols,
entering the arena with nothing but creative intellect. Running down the corridor
with no fear of causing friction or destabilizing existing power-relations, he is opening
up space for change, one that enables an arena for ‘political politics’.
Given the increasing fragmentation of identities and the complexities of the
contemporary city, we are now facing a situation in which it is crucial to think about

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a form of commonality, which allows for conflict as a form of productive engagement:
a model of bohemian participation in the sense of an outsider’s point of entry,
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467
accessing existing debates and discourses untroubled by their disapproval. These images introduce the project’s strategic framework design for an alternative health
structure as a result of an architect’s participation in the socio-political environment
 1. Chantal Mouffe, ‘Introduction’, in: Chantal Mouffe (ed.),
The Challenge of Carl Schmitt. London (Verso) 1999, p.3.
2. Florian Schneider, ‘The Dark Site of the Multitude’. In:
theory kit (http://kit.kein.org/node/1).
3. Rem Koolhaas in conversation with Markus Miessen,
interview published in Bidoun magazine (no. 8, Fall 2006).
4. Florian Schneider, ‘The Dark Site of the Multitude’.
Theory kit (http://kit.kein.org/node/1).
5. Ibid.
6. Claire Doherty, ‘The New Situationists’. In: Claire Doherty,
Contemporary Art – From Studio to Situation, London
(Black Dog) 2004, p.11.

Creative Design Agenda

No 11
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice
• Focus on Trust
• Engage
• Design an Attitude
• Dare to be an Amateur
• Never Give up Hope
• Emancipate
• Resist the Icon
• Collaborate…

Stop thinking that all design is the imposition of a

choice of form upon a reality on the ground. Sometimes it
defies such an abstraction by engaging deeply with a given
program that amounts to permanent collaboration.
Dialogue | Conflict

Global Agenda
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 Jiang Jun
Slogan Urbanism
We all know how our language and our experiential world can be
annexed by slogans, simplisms and truisms that serve power and vested
interests. Sometimes we are hardly aware of the omnipresence of catch-
words, soundbites, mission statements, and so on, just because of their
ubiquity. Can we resist propaganda?
If a slogan is something used for communication, Slogan Urbanism is the regime
of communications in which slogans are no longer fragments of single requests,
scattered ideas or isolated impulses, but the micro-components of a macro-structure
of will. It broadcasts the text within the context.
Slogan Urbanism is not ruled by the city, it rules the city. It imports slogans into
the city to constantly reformat it with their messages.
1. Communism & Communicationism
– Power as Ideological Disseminator
Although Slogan Urbanism seems to be the invention of a hierarchical system to
exert top-down discipline, the fact that it has only recently been widely used in China
during the past half-century proves the indiscreetness of the assumption.
China is a civilization characterized by central control systems: Confucianism
and Communism. These two hierarchical systems are theoretically different, however.
In Confucianism every individual is systematically located at a certain point in the
social network, while in Communism everyone is declared equal; Confucianism
invented a discrete social relationship in which the space of self-organization is made
possible by clarified economic relationships, while Communism is not essentially
driven by self-organization at all, but by state planning in which every individual
must be driven not by his own demand, but by state command. Confucianism is
about permanent knowledge imparted to society, while Communism is about
capriciously revised and updated information leading to a higher social order, that
is to say, a belief communicated to society. Slogan Urbanism is thus born within
the network of Communism as a communicative device, one might even consider it
a missionary, designed to constantly promote the essence of the latest movement,
Dialogue | Chaos
disseminate Communist ideology, and clarify identity.
2. Revolutionary & Anti-Revolutionary
– Inherited Strategy in an Inversed Context
Ever since Communism was interpreted by Marx-Lenin-Stalin-Mao as a doctrine
promoting the belief that property belongs to everyone and advocating the overthrow
of capitalism by a revolution of the proletariat, slogans have been widely used as
verbal, violent propaganda to communicate belief and label believers as revolutionary
or anti-revolutionary. That is how Chinese slogans evolved into a sensitive discourse,
always with a definite attitude that is either good or bad. That is also how the
Communist Party transformed itself from a revolutionary to a reigning party, using its
propaganda to re-classify the old society and re-erect the new order as a new ruler.
There was an inertia of revolution after the CPC transformed itself into a reigning
party. In a series of utopia movements launched by Mao, billions of people were
mobilized to revolt, first against their capitalist economic rivals and then against
themselves in politics and culture. During the Great Leap Forward people were
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forced forward by slogans characterized by excessive optimism and enthusiasm;
during the Cultural Revolution people were empowered to write hate-filled slogans
themselves, described as ‘verbal struggle’, which always resulted in ‘physical struggle’.
Slogans represented revolution, slogan space was revolution space.
Slogans were not an instrument to control chaos, but the stimulator of chaos,
that is until China was convulsed by Deng’s laissez-faire revolution in the 1980s.
The revolution continues, monopolized, as are its slogans. As heritage it is an inverse
context in which it no longer freely belongs to the people (as was the case during
the Cultural Revolution), but exists under strict supervision and censorship. The
revolutionary forces which struggled against slogans such as ‘CPC – May You Live
Ten Thousand Years!’ and ‘100 Years Without Change!’ are now seen as anti-
revolutionary. The term had been borrowed from the French Revolution, indicating
mild social reform instead of radical reconstruction, or, chaos under control instead
of being stimulated. While today revolution and anti-revolution are dramatically
mistaken for each other in CPC discourse and slogans, slogans which still claim to
be revolutionary are actually anti-revolutionary acts, for their role is to control chaos.
3. Hierarchy of Commands & Meshwork of Decipherings
– Abusage in the Difference of Will
Behind the apparently fragmentized slogans is a pyramid of bureaucracy. Commands
from the peak are communicated down to every tiny urban space. During its history
of revolutions the CPC successfully set up a gigantic propaganda machine to
disseminate instructions from on high – always in grand narrative so as to be abstract
enough to meet different demands from diverse local contexts. Every government
department must study and comprehend the supreme messages, then interpret
them for the people by means of disciplinary slogans in public spaces. This is how
tributes, quotations, instructions, and injunctions are simultaneously presented in
different cities, and why they are always a little bit different despite their generic format.
For example, when ‘To Build a Harmonious Society’ was advanced as ‘a princi-
pal mission of the new era’, it was instantly translated by different departments into
‘Harmonious School’, ‘Harmonious Train Station’, ‘Harmonious Community’, and
‘Harmonious Hospital’. In the meantime, further appeals are appended to the slogan
in order to support interpretations such as ‘To Build a Harmonious Hospital, Serve
the Patients as if they were your Relatives’ and ‘In order to Construct a Harmonious
School, Supply a Qualified Education’. Sometimes a quotation is similarly misinter-
Global Agenda
preted: ‘Education should be taken hold of from the Wawa (baby)’, a quotation from
Deng in his Sichuan accent, was interpreted as ‘Education of Football should be
taken hold of from the Wawa’ and ‘Education of No Drugs should be taken hold of
from the Wawa’. The grammar clearly indicates a principal and subordinate structure:
the abstract central meaning is accompanied by detailed peri-central sub-meanings,
just like the small stars around the bigger one on the national flag.
Thus there is a meshwork of decipherings within the Chinese hierarchy. The
meshwork has easily evolved into competition between administratively parallel
departments to fully live up to the true essence of the planned Zeitgeist. The
agitprop campaigns launched by rivals within the one-party system have always
resulted in abuse and over-explanation, and thus the overrunning slogans.
4. In the Air & On the Façade
Archis
– Public Space as Media
For a long time in the history of Communist China, the nation was not modernized
but mobilized, not urbanized but sloganized. Slogans, presented on banners,
471
 chalkboards, enormous posters, and TV as well as in newspapers and magazines,
were projected into public space in the air, on building façades and into the workings
of daily life. The ubiquity of propaganda is not at all history – it is still at work even
today. However, as China has been multi-mediatized, we no longer have to read
People Daily or watch CCTV if we so choose, nor do we have chance to hear the
political avant-garde sound from The East is Red satellite remotely in the air. What
is still at work, physically, is the façade.
In Slogan Urbanism, the façade is where the superstructure of a society is mapped
onto the city. Slogan Urbanism planning is actually planning by the regime. As the
Party family tree unfolded into physical space, public space was automatically
colonized into media space. The most important locations in Chinese cities are not
occupied by Coca Cola or Nokia, but by enormous, red, glossy, bright slogans,
always bearing portraits of the leaders. Although most other spaces are congested
with global and local advertisements, you can always find within them Slogan
Urbanism sectional messages, functioning as an indifferent, but dutiful policeman.
Sometimes there are events – festivals, conferences, celebrations, ordinations – just
before a monumental act takes place, these are Slogan Urbanism climaxes, as the
whole city is covered in slogans beforehand. Public space is where slogans are
amplified and the situation managed.

5. High & Low
– Dialogue between the Formal and the Informal
Slogans are always formal, sublime and purified, until they are interfered with and
submerged by their surroundings: high text is swallowed by low context.
The low context is a literal world out of control: uncensored stories, unadopted
appeals, unexpected advertisements, underground graffiti, and all those unascertained
secret professions and social relationships that are underestimated, presenting a
dirty but colorful biodiversity of low society. As slogans occupy the most prestigious
locations in the city, they simply reoccupy these locations by means of surroundings
and overlappings: hung up in trees, hand-written on the ground, stuck onto billboards,
and even foisted into your hands.
They are also site-oriented, linking the specific urban program precisely together
with Slogan Urbanism. In a hospital ‘Treat Patients’ Heart and Soul’ hangs in the
hall while ‘Will Sell My Liver Cheap’ is scrawled in the toilet; at a wrecking site ‘Thank
You for your Understanding, Support and Cooperation during the Dismantling Work’
Dialogue | Chaos

Global Agenda
is officially posted while ‘Return my Bloody Homestead!!’ appears unofficially.
These are the real rivals of Slogan Urbanism, claiming the right to speak for them-
selves and the grass roots that are weeded out now and revived then. They are the
virus inside Slogan Urbanism, a micro-terrorism against the colonized public space,
where Slogan Urbanism forces high and low to coexist, a dialogue between top-
down calligraphy and bottom-up graffiti – the formal and the informal.
Here is where negotiation becomes possible, despite the overwhelming odds.
Here is also where Slogan Urbanism could start to revise its dictatorial planning into
something more comprehensive, with room for the low where the grass roots could
find space and speak for themselves, and where chaos could be managed without
being damaged.

Archis
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472
Global Agenda Archis 475
Dialogue | Chaos 474
 Creative Design Agenda Stefano Boeri
No 12 Meta Domus,


•
•
Invent Program
Empower
Meta Abitare
• Provide Choice As so much design today facilitates the smooth and uncontested exertion
• Focus on Trust of power, much design publicity legitimizes this cultural role, trying to
prevent you from thinking. Conversely, the question is whether a design
• Engage publicity is conceivable that enables you to think critically, and inspires
• Design an Attitude you to contribute to a design culture challenging that same power.
• Dare to be an Amateur
• Never Give up Hope We believe that today’s architecture is an instrument, both useful and necessary,
for looking at the world. We think that the act of observing, describing, interpreting
• Emancipate space and the built environment is one of architecture’s resources and helps us
• Resist the Icon understand the community we inhabit.
• Collaborate We believe that the landscape – the territories continually defined by our move-
ments, re-invented by our desires, punctuated by our buildings – is an excellent
• Challenge Propaganda… metaphor for our society. Why? Because the local is a treasure-chest rich in details
and clues that can tell us about the forces that permeate our daily lives. Forces that
Of course as a designer you think about the realization at times are manifest only in the space that surrounds us, perhaps just for a few
instants, like footsteps in the snow.
of the given. But as a citizen who professionally performs Architecture’s political dimension is not to be found in the labels we attach
as a designer, you may have other options. You may design to our projects, nor in our magniloquent political declarations; rather it lies in the
the language of the not yet given, or even the explicitly production of useful and critical knowledge about the world that surrounds us.
In the coming years, the symbolic future of the world will be decided. Today,
forbidden. however, we see that there are only two competitors. On the one hand, there is the
metaphor of a smooth and continuous world that is totally visible and whose length
and breadth can be traveled by an unstoppable flow, a world which has the Net
as its icon and Google Earth as its simulacrum. The other view – constructed by
the media – is one of a world punctuated by a few insatiable and solitary antennae,
a world where a few giants stand out in the collective imagination and check the
flow of and catalyze our symbolic energy.
It is up to us – those who describe, represent and design the space we inhabit –
Dialogue | Meta Domus

Global Agenda
whether or not to content ourselves with the rhetoric of these two powerful strategies
of representing globalization. Both are actually arrogant and oversimplified; they
reduce the richness of the world by pretending to represent the whole of it. Both fail
to capture the local dimension of globalization: the first by treating local space
simply as a ‘portion’ of the whole; the second by taking it into consideration only
when it manifests itself as an excessive, monothematic caricature of the world.
Yet we know that the material flow that runs around the world – of goods and
people – in fact runs inevitably in a universe of local spaces endowed with unevenness
and wrinkles that register and absorb them. And the immaterial flow of images
and information – or the flow of money – also inevitably passes through the eye of
local space. They have physical and tangible terminals where the flow takes shape,
lands, and remains entangled. Both encounter confines, borders, and barriers;
they both get stuck in funnels and bottlenecks; they both propagate in clearings
and openings in the physical places of the inhabited world. Local space is today

Archis
an extraordinary treasure-chest for deciphering the energies that run throughout
the world, energies that interweave, curl up, huddle and cling around buildings,

477
476

public spaces and cities. But one shouldn’t content oneself merely with looking at
 the spaces where energy presents itself in a pure and simplified form. We need to
look for it in the everydayness of our spatial behavior, beyond symbolic monuments
in the shared sense, beyond architecture’s star system, beyond the mythology of
the media. To understand and describe globalization we must examine events from
our daily news, uncover places ‘loaded with world’ and describe them, in other
words we must explore geopolitics in design. That is what we’ve tried to do in the
pages of Domus these last three years; that is what we’ll seek to do in the pages
of Abitare in the coming months.
With Domus in the recent past and Abitare in the onrushing future, we’re
proposing three main approaches to ‘geo-design’. Three main ways to conceive
tomorrow’s architectural challenges.

Designing Objects and Spaces Communicating

An initial form, typical of the opulent society and new economy of the globalized
world, sees design manifest itself today primarily as a process of communication.
As a meta-language that has implications in the sphere of information, human
interaction, recollection and desire. Design projects virtually. In an economic cycle
that increasingly consists of services, creativity, knowledge and experience, design
is the symbolic and semiotic plus value of the object to render it more desirable and
more efficient. It is not by chance that this paradigm is accompanied by formidable
advances in applied design (interaction design, strategic design, design of processes,
etc.). Design is only a communication practice; it strengthens corporate images
and visualizes marketing strategies.

Designing Objects and Spaces Manufacturing

A second form is the persistence of design practice linked to manufacturing and
the mass production of everyday objects. Design traditionally adds aesthetic and
functional value to the production process dedicated to developing large numbers
along a Fordist model. In this case design is at the source of strong production
specialization, still present in the chains of small and medium-sized European
manufacturers and increasingly widespread in the industrial districts that have risen
up in developing countries such as China and India as a result of decentralizing
processes and outsourcing. They are the territories where design is closely linked
to the production process, working in symbiosis towards innovation in the narrow
sense of the everyday object.
Dialogue | Meta Domus

Global Agenda
Designing Objects and Spaces Surviving
Design that grows in the poorest societies, in communities of immigrants, in niches
of social and cultural marginalization in the great Western metropolises, is an
activity that combines bricolage and self-organization. It produces in limited series,
with cheap technology, thanks to informal and/or illegal economies, but often has
a high symbolic content. Communities of users are transformed into suppliers of
services or minorities in semi-artisan practices who find a way to represent and
give value to their own identity by producing everyday objects. These are places
and environments where design manifests itself as human capital, in the form of
life’s basics: working to survive, to eat, to keep warm, to move around.

Archis
479
478
 Creative Design Agenda
No 13
• Invent Program
• Empower
• Provide Choice
• Focus on Trust
• Engage
• Design an Attitude
• Dare to be an Amateur
• Never Give up Hope
• Emancipate
• Resist the Icon
• Collaborate
• Challenge Propaganda
• Polemicize…

You can design the confirmation of success with the

well-known formats of publicity and propaganda. But the
moment you become aware of this power to design fame,
you may start to use the same power to defame. There
is an almost forgotten tradition of polemics that transfers
criticism in new forms of literature and journalism.
Dialogue | Meta Domus

Global Agenda
Archis
480

481

Further Reading
Alternative Ways of Reading the City
Amin, Ash and Nigel Thrift, Cities: Reimagining
the Urban (Polity Press, Cambridge 2002).
Amin and Thrift give accounts of a focus on
memory, imagination and the unconscious for
understanding urban developments. They outline
an innovative sociology of the city that scatters
urban life along a series of sites and circulations,
reinstating previously suppressed areas of contem-
porary urban life.
Jong, Alex de, and Marc Schuilenburg, Mediapolis:
Popular Culture and the City, (010 Publishers,
Rotterdam 2006)
Rethinking the reality of what used to be known
as ‘the city’, the authors explore popular culture
(games, music, communication) ‘that is taking
an ever firmer grip on our living environment and
on our lives.’ They introduce a pop philosophy
where technological, political, cultural, economic
and even military developments meet head-on,
influencing our notion of city.
Mbembe, Achille and Sarah Nutall, ‘Writing the
world from an African metropolis’, in: Public Culture
16 (2004) 347-373.
Mbembe and Nuttall criticize the dominant gaze
at the city, which is derived from the Western
metanarrative of urbanization, modernization, and
crisis. They argue instead that the city always
operates as a site of fantasy, desire and imagination.
Sassen, Saskia (ed.), Global Networks, Linked Cities
(Routledge, New York 2002).
Sassen unfolds how the gap between centre and
Bibliography
periphery is characterized by a difference in culture
of language, fashion and urban design. Although
the pedantic culture of power creates a façade of
cultural homogenization, the underlying social
landscape is characterized by a diversity of partial
and conflicting cultures.
Shelter
Oomen, T.K., Development Discourse: Issues and
Concerns (Regency Park 2004).
Criticizing development discourse this books
show that concepts as ‘sustainability’, ‘equity’ and
‘participation’ are disputed. The analysis of the
‘counter-hegemonic movements’ has been co-opted
in the dominant development discourse focused
on economic growth.
482
UN-HABITAT, Financing urban shelter. Global
report on human settlement 2005.
The report examines the challenges of financing
urban shelter development, focusing on the shelter
needs of the poor and within the overall context
of the United Nations Millennium Development
target on slums.
Davis, Mike, Planet of Slums (Verso, London/
New York 2006).
Davis argues that the exponential growth of slums
is no accident but the result of a perfect storm of
corrupt leadership, institutional failure, and IMF-
imposed Structural Adjustment Programs leading
to a massive transfer of wealth from poor to rich.
Security
Cauter, Lieven De, The Capsular Civilization:
On the City in the Age of Fear (NAi Publishers,
Rotterdam 2004).
De Cauter describes a society dominated by fear,
exclusion, and simulation. As such, he gives a real-
istic and alarming account of the new world order
that is an everyday concern for the architects and
planners of the contemporary city as well as for its
inhabitants and users
Trüby, Stephan en Gerd de Bruyn (eds.),
5 Codes – Architecture, Paranoia and Risk
in Times of Terror (Birkhäuser 2006)
After the Twin Towers collapsed, the US govern-
ment created the Department of Homeland
Security. Its primary task is to keep the terrorist
threat in permanent view. To do this, it developed
a five-stage warning system based on the colors
green, blue, yellow, orange, and red: 5 codes. For
the fifth anniversary of September 11, the book
investigates the entanglements and connections
between culture and fear, which determine our
lives more than ever today. Throughout the world,
architecture and urbanism are increasingly
manipulated by this culture of fear.
Boutellier, Hans, The Safety Utopia: Contemporary
Discontent and Desire as to Crime and Punishment
(Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004)
The Safety Utopia describes the implicit hope that
vitality and safety can come together. This longing
is an illusion and it is not without danger – a utopia
is also a power fantasy in which control and
punishment play a major role. A great deal is
expected from criminal law, but that can hardly
bring a safety utopia any closer. The utopian desire
gives an impulse to moral renewal and community
forming. Safety unites, but how?
Sustainability
John L. Mcknight and John P. Kretzmann,
The Careless Society: Community and Its Counterfeits
(Basic Books 1995)
According to Kretzmann and Mcknight, the key
to neighborhood regeneration, then, is to locate all
of the available local assets, to begin connecting
them with one another in ways that multiply their
power and effectiveness, and to begin harnessing
those local institutions that are not yet available
for local development purposes
Sousa Santos, Boaventura de (ed.), Another
Production is Possible: Beyond the Capitalist Canon
(Reinventing Social Emancipation: Towards New
Manifestoes, Volume 2) (Verso, London/New York
2006).
De Sousa Santos presents alternative models
to capitalist development through case studies
of collective land management, cooperatives
of garbage collectors and women’s agricultural
cooperatives.
Peet, Richard and Michael Watt (eds.), Liberation
Ecologies: Environment, Development, Social
Movements (Routledge, London/New York 1996).
Peet and Watt bring together some of the most
exciting theorists in the field to explore the impact
of political ecology in today’s developing world.
Ultimately, Liberation Ecologies questions what
we understand by ‘development’, be it mainstream
or alternative, and seeks to renew our sense of
nature’s range of possibilities.
Fairness
Ruthven, O., ‘Money Mosaics: Financial Choice
& Strategy in a West Delhi Squatter Settlement’
Journal of International Development 14 (2002),
249-271.
The diaries provided by Ruthven give a view on
how the poor, the very poor and the near-poor use
financial services and devices. Ruthven looks at
a small number of households over an extended
period of one year, and at all the households in
one village or one slum at one moment in time.
Schafhausen, Nicolaus and Vanessa Joan Mueller,
Walther Koenig (eds.), European Kunsthalle – Under
Construction: Perspectives on Institutional Practice
(Cologne 2006).
The publication documents an event series of the
same name produced by the European Kunsthalle
in Cologne, 2006. Essays, lectures, discussions,
and images focus on current issues such as the
politics of urban marketing and the different ways
of financing culture, as well as contemporary art
movements and their presentation in various
spaces. Looking beyond the boundaries of Cologne,
these questions examine possible paths of action
institutions might take today.
Murray, Noeleën and Nick Shepherd, Desire Lines.
Space, Memory and Identity in the Post-apartheid
City (Routledge, New York forthcoming).
The articles in this collection, which adds to the
literature on public culture in Africa, unravel cities
as sites of memory and desire, yet also as spaces
of power, privilege, identity and difference. The
two editors introduce as emblematic figure of
African modernity in Cape Town: the victim of
forced removal.
Dialogue
Bevan, Robert, The Destruction of Memory.
Architecture at War (Reaktion Books, London 2006).
Bevan reveals the extent to which a nation weds
itself to its landscape; he argues that such destruc-
tion not only shatters a nation’s culture and
morale but is also a deliberate act of eradicating a
culture’s memory and, ultimately, its existence.
Hall, Stuart (ed.), Representation. Cultural Repre-
sentation and Signifying Practices (Sage Publications
& Open University 1997).
Hall points out that the same discourse can be
used by groups with different, even contradictory
(class) interests. The impact of discursive forma-
tions can be varied, subtle and diffuse. Neverthe-
less, the knowledge which a discourse produces
always constitutes a kind of power, exercised by
those who know over those who are known.
Global Agenda
Iain Borden et al (eds.), The Unknown City:
Contesting Architecture and Social Space
(MIT Press, Cambridge Mass. 2002).
Borden et al presents a critique of capitalism and
a thought experiment about how designers and city
dwellers working together can shape the cities of
tomorrow. The editors explore how the inhabitant
of the city perceives urban images and symbols
and constructs the urban experience, relating this
discussion to their interest in the triad of space,
time, and the human subject.
Archis
483

Biographies
Dubai
Ahmed Ebrahim Al-Ali is architect-entrepreneur in
U.A.E. He graduated from the American University of
Sharjah with a degree in Architecture and has since
established his own firm – X-Architects, a versatile and
innovative design studio. He has exhibited his designs
in various international venues and events.
Khalid Al Malik is the CEO of Tatweer. He joined the
Dubai Development and Investment Authority (DDIA) in
December 2003 as Operations Director. At the end of 2004,
he launched Dubai Industrial City. He holds a Masters
in Business Administration (MBA), with a specialization
in managing e-commerce.
Elie Domit is the creative Director for Middle East Arts,
a Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery in Dubai.
Rodney Fitch is chairman and CEO of Fitch Design
Company, UK. He is Deputy Chairman of the London
Institute. He has served as a member of the Council of the
Royal College of Art; and has been a Trustee of the Victoria
and Albert Museum and now Chairman of V&A Enterprises,
the museum’s commercial business.
Atelier Hapsitus is a multi-disciplinary group founded
and led by Nadim Karam. Atelier Hapsitus is a think-tank
focused on the creation of an original urban vocabulary.
Based in Beirut, they have created large-scale temporary
and permanent project for various cities. www.hapsitus.com
Nadim Karam is an architect and artist; He holds a
position as principal at the Atelier Hapsitus in Lebanon.
George Katodrytis is an architect (R.I.B.A.) and currently
Associate Professor of Architecture at the American
University of Sharjah, UAE. His current work addresses
issues of contemporary architecture, urbanism and cultural
theory, with a focus on experimentation and writings on
contemporary design methods and the ‘city’, especially as
it is evolving in the 21st century.
Mark Kirchner is Facilities Director and University
Architect at the American University of Sharjah. Previously,
he worked as consultant for MWK Design in Honolulu.
Jerry Kolo is a visiting Professor in the School of Architec-
ture and Design at the American University of Sharjah in
the UAE for the 2006-07 academic year. His teachings and
research comprise urban economic and land development,
sustainable community development process, and planning
theory.
Kevin Mitchell is associate Dean for Academic Affairs and
Associate Professor American University of Sharjah.
Amer A. Moustafa teaches architecture, urban design,
and planning at the American University of Sharjah.
He is the Director of the Institute of Urban and Regional
Planning and Design and holds an MS in Architecture
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D
from the University of Southern California.
Samia Rab is an architect from Pakistan currently residing
in the United Arab Emirates. In her practice she has
focused on architectural and urban conservation of historic
484
districts in Cairo, Lahore and Sana’a. At present, she is
developing the first post-graduate program in Heritage
Management in the United Arab Emirates.
Fatih Rif ki holds a position as Professor in Architecture
and Dean at the School of Architecture and Design of the
American University of Sharjah. He holds professionals
degrees in architecture from the American University of
Beirut and the University of Oregon and a doctorate degree
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
SMAQ is a collaborative studio for architecture, urbanism
and research. It was established by Sabine Müller and
Andreas Quednau in New York in 1998. www.smaq.net
X-Architects is an architectural practice based in Dubai.
www.x-architects.com
Gulf
Sheikh Majed Al Sabah launched Villa Moda in 2002
in a glittering glass box in Kuwait’s industrial port district,
setting the fashion world alight with the audacity of his
vision. A branch was opened in Dubai in 2003, in Qatar
in 2004, and in Damascus in 2006. Al Sabah is the nephew
of H.H. Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the late
Emir of Kuwait.
Rasem Badran is an architect trained in Germany. He was
involved in many projects in West Germany such as Munich
Olympic Stadium Complex. Badran’s current works are
based on a methodological approach in defining architecture
as a continuous dialogue between contemporary needs and
historical inherited cultural values.
Jatin Chopra is International Business Manager at the
Development Planning & Architecture department of the
Halcrow Group Limited, based in London.
Izzat Dajani is Chief Executive of the Investment
& Development Office, Government of Ras Al Khaimah.
Having led many of the major economic initiatives
in the Emirate, Dr. Dajani’s role evolved to become the
de facto Economic Ambassador of Ras Al Khaimah.
He is also Chairman of the Board of Governors of George
Mason University, RAK Campus.
Jeff de Lange is Deputy Managing Director of Gulf
Consult. He has worked in the Gulf for 31 of the last 33 years
in both the government sector – Kuwait Municipality from
1974, Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works from 1983, and the
Bahrain Government as Senior Projects Advisor from 1990 –
and the private sector, Gulf Consult, since 1994. His current
projects include the master plan studies for the Bubiyan Island
and the redevelopment master plan for Ahmadi.
John Elliott is Senior Vice President of WATG (Wimberly
Allison Tong & Goo). As a highly creative planner and
architect, he has continued his work in the Middle East
with a new era of hospitality projects in Jordan, Egypt,
and the Gulf as well as Europe and Africa. Elliott graduated
from the AA School in London and is a member of RIBA.
Rory Trevor Hopkins is Associate of WATG (Wimberly
Allison Tong & Goo). He was the project architect for the
Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. His recent projects also
include Palm Crescent Resort in Dubai and the Presidential
Palace in Abu Dhabi. He obtained National Diploma in
Architecture, WITS, Johannesburg.
Yasser Mahgoub is Assistant Professor of Architecture at
the Department of Architecture, College of Engineering
and Petroleum of the Kuwait University. Mahgoub studied
architecture in Egypt and the USA and worked as an architect
on several projects in Egypt. Since then he has held several
teaching positions at the universities of UAE and Kuwait.
Carlos Ott graduated in architecture and urban design
at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1983, he won the
international design competition for the Bastille Opera
House in Paris, which inaugurated in 1989. In 1997, he won
the Jiang Su Opera House competition in China. Ott is
currently working on prestigious projects in Brazil,
Argentina, China, UAE, Uruguay, and Canada.
Babji Rao is Vice President and Senior Architect at KEO
International Consultants, an international architecture,
urban planning and infrastructural consultancy based
in Kuwait.
Mohammed Sadiyyah is Director and Head of Design in
the UAE offices of Khatib & Alami, Consolidated Engineering
company based in Beirut.
Waleed Ishaq Muhammed Saffy is General Manager
of Al Areen Holding Company. He was instrumental in the
development of several significant international projects
including Bahrain International Airport and Al Areen
development project. Saffy served as Director of Engineering
and Maintenance in Civil Aviation Affairs in Bahrain’s
Ministry of Transportation.
John Smith is Resident Director of the Consulting
Business group of the Halcrow Group Limited, based
in Dubai.
Majdoleen Till is Managing Director of Fitch Design
Company, Qatar.
World
Nader Ardalan is a fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern
Studies, Harvard University.
Stefano Boeri is an architect and currently editor-in-chief
of Abitare, an architectural magazine based in Italy. He is
also director of the Multiplicity Foundation.
Roger Cremers is a free lance photo journalist based in
Amsterdam.
CRIT / The Collective Research Initiatives Trust is a group
of architects, scholars, technicians and artists. The work
together in undertaking research, pedagogy and intervention
on urban spaces and contemporary cultural practices in the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The housing team consists
of Rupali Gupte, Prasad Shetty, Aditya Potluri, and
Aneerudha Paul. www.crit.org.in
Ricardo Devesa is an architect, and co-editor of BASA,
magazine of Canary Islands Architects Association,
assistant professor at ESARQ and is developing his thesis
at the UPC. In 2000 found the studio MRD arquitectura
with Marina Romero. www.mrdarquitectura.com
Emiliano Gandolfi is an architect and currently Curator of
the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam, where
he developed several exhibitions and public events such as
Newer Orleans, DynamiCity, Spectacular City and A Better
World. He is contributor of several magazines, such as
Artforum (New York) and L’espresso (Rome).
Bart Goldhoorn is an architect, graduated at Delft
University. He is editor-in-chief and publisher of amongst
others Project Russia.
Jiang Jun, designer and critic, has been exploring the inter-
relationship between design phenomena and the urban
dynamic. He founded Underline Office in Guangzhou in
2003, and has been the editor-in-chief of Urban China
Magazine since the end of 2004.
Tea Makipaa is a London based Finnish artist with a
critical view on everyday society.
Jeroen Mensink is an Amsterdam-based architect, who
works in cooperation with ABT Delft. With ABT Delft he
designed the Imizamo Yethu Township Museum in Hout
Bay (Cape Town). He is co-authoring the Vinex Atlas.
Markus Miessen is a spatial consultant, cultural producer,
and writer teaching at the Architectural Association in
London. He is also a doctoral candidate at Goldsmiths.
www.studiomiessen.com, www.didsomeonesayparticipate.
com
Monica Nouwens is a photographer based in Los Angeles.
The constant change brought about by migration into and
within Los Angeles is Nouwens’s main focus. Her work
often forms a photographic series.
Bas Princen is a designer and photographer of public
spaces based in Rotterdam. He studied at the Design
Academy Eindhoven and the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam.
He contributed to the research project ‘Shrinking Cities’
and the art project Atelier HSL.
Martin Roemers is a photojournalist based in Delft. He
won the 2nd prize at World Press Photo 2006
in the category portrait stories. In 2005 he published
The Never-Ending War at QV Publishers.
Ruby: Ilka Ruby studied Architecture at RWTH Aachen.
She now works as an editor, writer and graphic designer. In
2001, Andreas and Ilka Ruby set up their joint agency as a
production facility for both publishing architectural books,
magazines, essays, curating exhibitions and consulting
architects.
Ursula Schulz-Dornburg is based in Dusseldorf and
curated numerous exhibitionist and publication related to
the themes of architecture, landscape and art.
Rirkrit Tiravanija is often said to be the ‘founder’ of an art
practice that became known as the ‘relational art’ in the
80s. Works of Tiravanija vary from video and painting to
parties, meals and commercial shops.
Torres Nadal: Jose M. Torres Nadal is an architect and
Professor at the Arquitectura Politecnica Universidad de
Alicante. His office Arquitecturas is based in Murcia, Spain.
Urban-Think Tank (U-TT) architecture and urban design
office is aligned with designing the ‘metropolitan social
space’ and incorporating environmentally sustainable
architecture in the developing world city. U-TT was founded
in 1993 by architect Alfredo Brillembourg and, in 1998,
architect Hubert Klumpner joined as co-director.
www.u-tt.com
485
 April 23, 2007
We have been informed that the tallest tower is no longer part of our project. Suddenly,
as if an act of God, the tallest tower has been struck from the development. Right in the
flight path of the runways of the future airport next door, the tower would have been a
hazardous feature. The symbolic charge of an accident, involving a plane and a highrise
building would be too much to handle – even for this ‘mad part of the world’. – RdG

The Design Advisory Board is a community of leading personalities from different design-related
fields who work with Moutamarat on the creation, international positioning and strategy-making of
the International Design Initiative. Members of the Board act as global ambassadors of the Initiative
and as a source of legitimacy for Moutamarat’s work on design.

The Design Advisory Board convened in Dubai and other locations prior to the International Design
Forum, due to take place in May 2007, in order to brainstorm on issues related to both the Initiative and
the Forum. Throughout the year, Board members were in regular contact with Moutamarat to discuss:

• Specific areas of the program where they will hold individual responsibilities
• Long-term initiatives in which they would like to be involved
• Publications to which they would like to contribute
• Participation in special events

Members

• Rasem J. Badran, Architect, Founding Partner, Dar Al Omran, Jordan.

• Stefano Boeri, Editor-in-Chief, Domus, Italy.
• Tyler Brûlé, CEO, Winkreative, UK.
• Joan Busquets, Architect, Spain; Professor in Practice, Graduate School of Design, Harvard
University, USA.
• Farhan Faraidooni, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sama Dubai, UAE.
• Rodney Fitch, Chairman and CEO, Fitch, UK.
• Zaha Hadid, Architect, UK.
• George Katodrytis, Assistant Professor of Architecture, American University of Sharjah, UAE.
• Nadim Karam, Architect; Artist; Principal Atelier Hapsitus, Lebanon.
• Bernard Khoury, Architect, Lebanon.
• Rem Koolhaas, Architect and Founder of The Office for Metropolitan Architecture,
Netherlands.
• Khalid Al-Malik, Chief Executive Officer, Tatweer, UAE.
• Khalid Al-Najjar, Architect, [dxb] Lab, UAE.
• Karim Rashid, Designer, USA.
• Sheikh Majed J. Hamoud Al-Sabah, Chairman, Villa Moda, Kuwait.
• Peter Zec, President, International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, Canada and
President, Red Dot, Germany.
486

487
489
488

Tatweer is one of the region’s most promising enterprises,
comprising eight market-leading companies and managing an
ambitious business development plan. Launched in December
2005, Tatweer consolidated a group of life-improving sectors
including the following: energy, healthcare, tourism, entertainment,
industry and knowledge.
& +
Its remarkable portfolio includes:
The Tiger Woods Dubai
Dubai Healthcare City
Dubailand
Bawadi
Mizin
Global Village
Moutamarat
Dubai Energy
Dubai Industrial City
Dubai Mercantile Exchange
Tatweer will continuously strive for world-class performance,
implementing leadership development to drive and sustain
business excellence, quality and high performance.
The first-ever Tiger Woods designed golf course and community
will be created on 25.3 million square feet (574 acres) of land
within Dubailand. The Tiger Woods Dubai will feature 20 palaces,
75 mansions and 190 luxury villas offering the perfect blend
of exclusivity and luxurious community living in contemporary
Mediterranean architecture.
' (
Clusters of homes will include a mix of 100,000
square-foot palaces, 50,000-square-foot mansions and
30,000-square-foot and 20,000-square-foot villas to
provide each homeowner with a sense of community
while maintaining privacy. The Tiger Woods Dubai
will also include a club house, a golf academy and a
boutique hotel.
Residents will also have access to an extensive trail
system, incorporating more than 8 kilometers of
walking and biking trails within the confines of the
lushly vegetated environment.
490
:kXW_>WhlWhZ<ekdZWj_ed\ehC[Z_YWbH[i[WhY^
The DHFMR, in support of Dubai Healthcare City and the Harvard
Medical School, will create leaders in medicine and the life sciences
and advance scientific knowledge. It will:
Generate and award resources to fund scientific investigation
Guide the development of academic programs
Foster collaborations between scientists the world over
Address regional medical care needs
A regional gateway for world-class healthcare, DHCC will cluster
world-class healthcare professionals and service providers in the
heart of Dubai.
DHCC will provide state-of-the-art medical care in selected
disciplines relevant to the region. >WhlWhZC[Z_YWbIY^eeb:kXW_9[dj[h
) *
DHCC is comprised of the Harvard Medical School Dubai The HMSDC will address the regional
Center (HMSDC) Institute for Postgraduate Education and need for professional development
Medical Research, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) across the full spectrum of medicine
and the Dubai Harvard Foundation for Medical Research through Continuing Medical Education.
(DHFMR).
Courses will provide a supply of
updated knowledge and practices
9[dj[h\eh>[Wbj^YWh[FbWdd_d]GkWb_jo HMSDC will develop an internationally recognized academic
medical center
A joint initiative between Harvard Medical International and DHCC, the CPQ
Structured postgraduate medical education will broaden
will enhance health systems and professional development throughout
regional learning opportunities
the Gulf.
The HMSDC will position Dubai as a regional medical
education leader
The CPQ’s functions within DHCC include:
Establishing benchmarks for quality care
Support mechanisms for monitoring standards
Licensing healthcare professionals
Clinical master planning for DHCC
The world’s most ambitious tourism, leisure and
entertainment destination, and home to some of the
world’s premier and unique attractions, Dubailand
has been designed to appeal to tourist segments
across genders, age groups, world regions and activity
preferences. Dubailand will build on the phenomenal
growth of Dubai’s tourism over the past decade and its
world-class infrastructure.
,
Dubailand comprises seven experience-based attractions:
Theme Parks
Culture & Art
Science & Planetariums
Sports & Sports Academies
Wellbeing & Health
Shopping & Retail
Resorts & Hotels
Spanning a stretch of over 10km, Bawadi will be the largest
hospitality and leisure development in the world, with:
More than 35 themed hotels, each with its own theatre
More than 100 simultaneous plays and shows at
different venues
More than 1,500 restaurants
- .
Bawadi will set new standards in hospitality with its culturally
themed experiences. Take a big bite out of the Big Apple with
America Hotels and Resorts’ Broadway acts and a shopping
boulevard modeled on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue. Savor European
gastronomic delights at Europa Hotels and Towers’ gourmet food
market. And visit Wedding Village to make your special evening
even more memorable.
Experience warm Arabian hospitality first-hand at Land of Arabia
Hotels and Resorts, with its traditional and cultural Arabian
entertainment. And wander the wide-open spaces that are the
hallmark of Arabian architecture in the day and night souq, Spice
Market and Date Gardens.
Bawadi will also host the world’s largest hotel – Asia-Asia, an Asian-
themed hotel.
With all this and more, you can experience the world at a new
standard.
491
 Mizin is a specialized real estate developer and facility management
company.
Mizin’s vision is to be one of the leading regional real estate
companies, by creating different projects with unique value
propostions.
&%
During a short period of time, Mizin launched three of its
leading projects: Liwan, Majan and Arjan.
Global Village is a unique international destination for tourism,
entertainment, leisure and culture. Different cultures showcase
their architecture, products, local outfits and cuisines in country
pavilions. It is probably the only place where you can buy an
intricately woven pashmina shawl, a Japanese bonsai tree and
fresh Canadian maple syrup. Parents can take in enriching
folkloric plays and entertaining cultural performances, while kids
enjoy the Entertainment Fun Fair Area with its exciting games and
&'
adventurous rides.
Global Village has had a rich and successful history since its
opening back in 1996, now hosting more than 40 countries.
Managing conferences and exhibitions that bring the latest trends
in knowledge to the Arab world, Moutamarat is a joint venture
between Tatweer and the Saudi Research and Publishing Company
(SRPC).
Moutamarat has successfully organized and expanded
&) the reach of existing prestigious events such as the Arab
Strategy Forum 2006 and the Annual Meeting of the Young
Arab Leaders in 2005.
492
Dubai Energy is building a diversified global energy investment
portfolio and strengthening regional and international alliances.
Dubai Energy is concentrating on strategic opportunities
that broaden trade relationships and develop Dubai and the
UAE’s importance in global energy.
&& &+ &,
Dubai Industrial City is a productive and efficient environment for
industry and related manufacturing sectors, logistics and ware-
housing. Strategically located close to Jebel Ali Airport City, the
Jebel Ali Port and trans-emirate highways such as Sheikh Zayed
Road and Emirates Road, Dubai Industrial City provides easy and
convenient access to global transportation points via road, air and
sea. But it is also a complete city, with a downtown area, hotels,
entertainment venues and residential complexes for employees.
&( &- &.
In an effort to implement and continuously improve Quality, Health,
Safety and Environmental performance standards (QHSE), DIC has
launched MAQAYEES, Dubai Centre for Industrial Standards. Dubai
Quality Mark will be the industrial QHSE excellence standard that
organizations will comply with.
Aiming to become the premier energy and commodity futures
exchange in the Middle East, Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) is
a 50/50 joint venture between the New York Mercantile Exchange
Inc. (NYMEX), and Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding.
DME will bridge the gap between trading hours in London
&* '% '&
and the Far East and will be a fully electronic exchange.
DME is located within the Dubai International Financial
Centre (DIFC), a free zone designed to promote financial
services within the UAE.
DME will be regulated by the Dubai Financial Services
Authority (DFSA), a world-class, independent regulator.
493
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494

495
Colophon
Al Manakh is produced as a special issue of Volume on the occasion of the
International Design Forum Dubai, May 27-29, 2007
organized by Moutamarat
VOLUME / Al Manakh is a project by
ARCHIS + AMO + C-Lab + Moutamarat + …
Editors Ole Bouman, Mitra Khoubrou,
Rem Koolhaas
Managing editor Arjen Oosterman
Materialized by Irma Boom,
Natasha Chandani, Sonja Haller
Moutamarat with Mitra Khoubrou,
Daniel Camara, Salem K. Al Qassimi –
with a contribution of George Katodrytis
(American University of Sharjah)
ARCHIS with Ole Bouman, Lilet Breddels,
Joos van den Dool, Christian Ernsten,
Edwin Gardner, Bart Goldhoorn, Niloufar Tajeri,
Thomas Daniell, Markus Miessen, Kai Vöckler
AMO with Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf,
Natalie Al Shami, Jason Atkins, Tomek Bartczak,
Lily Jencks, Sara Kassa, Sara Martin, Kayoko Ota,
Daniel Rabin, Todd Reisz, Guillaume Yersin
C-Lab with Mark Wigley, Jeffrey Inaba,
Benedict Clouette
AMO would like to especially thank Aga Khan Foundation,
Dr. Khaled Adham, Ameena Ahmadi, Sheikh Majed Al Sabah,
John and Jill Harris, Mark Harris, Arata Isozaki, Kuwait University
Department of Architecture, Jeff de Lange, Dr. Yasser Mahgoub,
Jasem Nadoum, Carlos Ott, RAK National Museum, Abeer Seikaly,
Anna Shefelbine, Faiysal Tabbara
AMO/OMA team Hausatu Abdul-Karim, Anna Baltschun,
Andrea Bertassi, Katrin Betschinger, Ezra Block, Fernando Donís,
Adam Frampton, Joyce Hsiang, Beth Hughes, Ravi Kamisetti,
Julie Kaufman, Daniel Klos, Jan Knikker, Barend Koolhaas,
Moira Lascelles, Miho Mazereeuw, Bimal Mendis, Cristina Murphy,
Banah Mustafa, Stephan Petermann, Marieke Rietbergen,
Kengo Skorick
VOLUME / Al Manakh is published by Stichting Archis,
The Netherlands and printed by Spectrum Digital Print
Solutions, Dubai
English copy editing David Lee, Wendy van Os-Thompson
Administrative coordination Edith Smulders, Jessica Braun
Editorial office Volume PO Box 14702, 1001 LE Amsterdam,
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Subscriptions Volume Bruil & Van de Staaij, Postbus 75,
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Cancellations policy Cancellation of subscription to be
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Back-issues Back-issues of Volume and forerunner Archis
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Advertising Niloufar Tajeri, marketing@archis.org
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This VOLUME has been made possible with the support of
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ISSN 1574-9401, ISBN 978-90-77966-12-9
Copyright 2007, Stichting Archis
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