jevo
MONT. New York
13h ALB.
Sofia
7h
路Izmir
Athens
Tbilisi ARMENIA AZ
Ankara
Bursa
GREECE
GEORGIA
London
BULGARIA 6h 路Istanbul Skopje
MACEDONIA
Tirana
cily
Black Sea
Frankfurt
Yerevan
TURKEY Konya
Adana
T.)
Nicosia
etta
diterranean Sea - Banghazi
Crete (GR.)
CYPRUS
Mosul Kirkuk
Aleppo Beirut LEB.
Beirut3h
SYRIA Damascus
IRAQ
Baghdad
Tel Aviv-Yafo ISRAEL Alexandria Jerusalem Amman
Al B
Gulf Atlas
JORDAN
Cairo
Gulf Survey IBYA Al Jizah
Edited by AMO
SAUDI
EGYPT
Casablanca
8.5h
Riy
Aswan Red Sea
Jiddah Mecca
A
Port Sudan
Omdurman
2006 UN Political Map
CHAD N'Djamena
ERITREA
Khartoum
Asmara A
SUDAN
DJI
D
68
Addis Ababa
Lagos
8h
CENTRAL 02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june468 68
ETHIOPIA 6/5/07 3:45:01 PM
Moscow Caspian 5h Sea
IA AZERBAIJAN
Baku
Bi KYR
9h
Tashkent
TURKMENISTAN
Shanghai
9h
Dushanbe TAJI
Ashgabat
¯ Tabriz ul k
Osaka
UZBEKISTAN
Tehran
Tehran
3h
Mashhad
Kabul
AQ
AFGHANISTAN Islam
Esfahan ¯ ¸
ad
IRAN
Al Basrah
Hong Kong
Kandahar ¯
8h La
Quetta
Persian BAHRAIN Gulf
Manama Doha Riyadh QATAR
ARABIA
Gulf Survey
KUWAIT
Kuwait
DI
1 Line o
Shiraz ¯
PAKISTAN OMAN
Abu Dhabi
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
¯ Karachi
Muscat AMO
OMAN Mumbai
2h
Mu (Bom
YEMEN
Sanaa
a
Aden DJIBOUTI
Gulf of Aden
Djibouti
Socotra
(YEMEN)
Arabian Sea
8.5h
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june469 69
(INDIA)
69
Johannesburg
7.5h
LAKSHADW
Berbera
PIA
Singapore
Sydney
15h 6/5/07 3:45:15 PM
Regional Statistics GDP per Capita
>25,000 25,000-15,000 15,000-5000 5000-1500 <1500
World Bank Statistics, 2004
In $US thousands
FDI flows to the GCC in $US millions
no data < 500 500 - 2000 2000 - 3000 3000 - 4600
UNCTAD FDi Magazine www.compiler.fi www.gasandoil.com
Gulf Atlas
Foreign Direct Investment
Transparency
<1 1-3 3-5 5-7 7-9
70 02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june470 70
Transparency International, 2005
Perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts
6/5/07 3:45:20 PM
Youth
> 35 31-35 26-30 21-25 < 20
CIA World Factbook, 2006
Average Age
Gulf Survey
Illiteracy
AMO
0% < 10 % 10-30 % 30-50 % > 50
CIA World Factbook, 2006
% of the population that is illiterate
Ecological Footprint per Capita
<1 1-5 5 - 10 10 - 15 > 15
71
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june471 71
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Hectares per person
6/5/07 3:45:23 PM
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.)
K5-Bubiyan Island
Gulf Atlas
K6-Failaka Island
K11-Madinat Al Hareer
K9-Subiya Causeway K17-Green Island
K15-Heritage Village
K13-Madinat Al Fahaheel K14-Khabary City K26-Kheiran Pearl City
K22-Kuwait Intâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Airport expansion K23-Kuwait Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new campus
KUWAIT
5 km
25 km
72
Venice, Italy
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june472 72
100 km
Beijing, China
Cairo, Egypt
6/5/07 3:45:27 PM
B40-Two Seas B12-Amwaj Islands
B7-Bahrain Bay
Gulf Survey
B11-Lulu Island
Q4-Lusail Development Q17-Al Khor Resort
B41-Marina West B29-Riffa Views
Q9-The Pearl-Qatar
QATAR
BAHRAIN B32-Bahrain Mega Equestrian Resort
Q20-New Doha Intâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Airport
B1-Al Areen Desert Spa B10-Durrat and Resort Al Bahrain Island
Mumbai, India
73
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june473 73
Paris, France
MDA Federal Inc.
AMO
Hong Kong, China
6/5/07 3:45:52 PM
Sizing the Gulf
D12-Dubai Waterfront A16-Reem Island
Gulf Atlas
A3-Central Market A6-Saadiyat Island
D7-Palm Jebel Ali
D9-The World
D1-Palm Jumeirah
A2-Al Gurm Resort
D63-Dubai Marina D66-The Lakes D15-Jumeirah Islands D11-Discovery Garden D16-Jumeirah Village D14-Jumeirah Golf Estates
Abu Dhabi Dubai
A1-Al Raha Beach Resort A14-Al Reef Villas
D75-Dubai Investments Park D73-Dubai World Central
D9 D35-Dubai
D13-Arabian Canal
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
5 km
25 km
74
Manhattan, New York
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june474 74
100 km
Moscow, Russia
D6 D5
Las Vegas, NV
6/5/07 3:46:02 PM
R2-Al Marjan Islands R1-Mina Al Arab
nds age es
Gulf Survey
D8-Palm Deira
R8-Saraya Islands
R15-Al Noor City
D71-Dubai Festival City D62-Downtown Burj Dubai D60-The Lagoons D56-Business Bay
Sharjah
R4-Ras Al Khaimah Gateway
R14-Mangrove Island
R5-Jebel Al Jais
Ras Al Khaimah
D18-International City D95-Dubai Silicon Oasis D35-Dubailand
London, UK
75
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june475 75
Barcelona, Spain
MDA Federal Inc.
AMO
Istanbul, Turkey
6/5/07 3:46:20 PM
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 (Abu Dhabi Cultural Center). The Gulf became a field of architectural experimentation, where vernacular 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 architectural 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.’ 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, expectations 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, especially compared to globalization’s past and future fireworks. – RK
80 02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june480 80
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Gulf Survey AMO
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81
Expectations of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;signatureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; will make deviation and surprise, let alone reinvention, difficult
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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 116 02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4116 116
6/5/07 3:52:14 PM
Gulf Survey 117
MDA Federal Inc.
AMO
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4117 117
6/5/07 3:52:28 PM
Snapshots
Gulf Histories 118
Al Ittihad Square
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4118 118
6/5/07 3:52:45 PM
Refl exive passive ventilation, when air conditioning is on too high
Corniche apartments
Parking before mosque
Port Zayed
Khalifa Street
Gulf Survey
In-between cities on road to Dubai
AMO
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119
Modern day dhows
6/5/07 3:52:49 PM
Wilfred Thesiger upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi, from Arabian Sands, 1950
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.
120
Sheikh Zayed: architect of a nation. Global Agenda, January 2006
Al-Zayed UAE Crown Prince Yearbook
Gulf Histories 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 sand again to arrive in Abu Dhabi about 150 km away
When Sheikh Zayed was young there was not a single school in the desperately poor Trucial States...
The Hobbyist 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.
1958. Abu Dhabi Fort
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4120 120
6/5/07 3:52:55 PM
www.sheikh-zayed.info
1961. Abu Dhabi airport terminal
Abu Dhabi â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gateway to the Gulf It is no longer of special interest when land blossoms where there was formerly a vast expanse of white sand; when a sleeping fi shing 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.
Gulf Survey
www.adnoc.co.ae/adnoc/english/images/new_community_uae.jpg
1960s. Abu Dhabi stamp
Advertisement that appeared in The Washington Post, December 16, 1970
1960s. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan with Sheikh Tahnoun planning Abu Dhabi National Oil Company buildings
AMO
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121
Discussions over the new road network
6/5/07 3:52:58 PM
Gulf Histories
Peter Hellyer / The Hutchinson Library
www.sheikh-zayed.info
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.
1970s. Abu Dhabi Corniche
122
1980s. Abu Dhabi Corniche
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4122 122
UAE Yearbook 2006
Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. UAE: Motivate Publishing, 1988
1950s. Abu Dhabi seafront
2006. Corniche redevelopment
6/5/07 3:53:00 PM
Gulf Survey
1980. Zayed Sports City Stadium. Seating capacity: 70,000
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.
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4123 123
The UAE is the largest water consuming country after the US and Canada
123
A fl eet of bulldozers dig into desert sand during the construction of canals and lakes in Abu Dhabi
6/5/07 3:53:02 PM
archnet.org
CORBIS / Christine Osborne
Single Vision Reinforcing the original fort within a new cultural compound, erecting sculptural stadiums for Olympic aspirations and transforming an obsolete airport into strolling gardens â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the 1980s saw the realization of Sheikh Zayedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision. Shopping centers, offices and residential towers pepper the vanishing desert, but all within the strict land use controls of the Sheikh.
Gulf Histories 1977. American Ambassador Residence John Harris archnet.org
1970. Colonnade at School
124
1988. Fish, Fruit and Vegetable Souks Abbad Al Radi and Nazar Ahmad
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6/5/07 3:53:05 PM
Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. UAE Motivate Publishing
archnet.org
Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. UAE Motivate Publishing
1988. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company www.shiekh-zayed.info
Brian J. McMorrow
1977. The Mastaba of Abu Dhabi proposed by Christo
Gulf Survey AMO
Old souk in Abu Dhabi, with 196 shops
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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
Sheikh Zayed reviews model for the ‘Zayed Mosque’
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
1962. Development plan with the Ruler’s palace and Governmental buildings
125
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
6/5/07 3:53:06 PM
Gulf Histories
Estimates of ADIA’s [Abu Dhabi Investment 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.
Foreman, Colin.’Abu Dhabi gets ready to step out of the shadow cast by Dubai.’ ITP Construction, June 25, 2005 www.itp.net/business/features/details.php?id=2832&category=construction
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 Middle East November 2005
‘The Gate,’ Saadiyat Island, Arquitectonica
126
2006. Yas Island development in Abu Dhabi showcased at Dubai Cityscape
02_volume12_amo_part1_CORR_june4126 126
1980s. Chamber Tower and Clock Tower
Collectively, Persian Gulf-based carriers are set to increase their passenger capacity 140% by 2011.
The Washington Post November 4, 1974
After a decade of living in Dubai’s shadow, Abu Dhabi – the UAE’s largest emirate – is now 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.
Abu Dhabi: Garden City of the Gulf. United Arab Emirates: Motivate Publishing, 1988
More Fortunes Than Degrees A local pastime is betting how much taller Abu Dhabi’s clock tower will be than Dubai’s most impressive local landmark, which is, of course a clock tower.
Reed, S. Mideast Airlines Soar onto Global Stage. Business Week April 19, 2006
An Awakened Giant In 2005 Sheikh Khalifa, Zayed’s son, single-handedly transforms Abu Dhabi with new laws opening emirate real estate to the free market. Overnight, Abu Dhabi experiences the avarice of investors wanting a piece of an unfailing success story. Huge developments would sell out in less than an hour. Made even stronger by the fact that its impressive development plans are not founded in desperation, Abu Dhabi brings stiffer competition to the region. 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 only investing in an extravagant building project, Abu Dhabi will also foot the bill for its own collection imprinted with Guggenheim endorsement.
6/5/07 3:53:12 PM
The Economist
1999 Ë 2006 Change of Plan Culture = Money
The Persian Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi said it will invest $730 million in ... developing a Gulf island into an international ‘capital and commodities center.’ The action... heats up a competition to be the region’s fi nancial hub. Wall Street Journal July 20, 1999
Abu Dhabi ... unveiled a new public joint stock company charged with developing ... its fl agship Saadiyat Island project ... into a strategic international tourism destination. www.saadiyat.ae
You should expect that all figures in paintings will be clothed.
www.saadiyat.ae
www.emiratespalace.com March 30, 2007
AP / Kamran Jebreili
AP / Kamran Jebreili
July 8, 2006. Thomas Krens, Guggenheim Director, and Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan www.skyscrapercity.com
Abu Dhabi ready to spend US$100b. UAE Internact News, August 4, 2006 www.uaeinteract.com/news
The Guggenheim Effect Bilbao’s Investment 1997: 80m euro Abu Dhabi Investment 2006: 155m euro
July, 8 2006. Frank Gehry at Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi
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Autopolis car center to be built in Abu Dhabi
127
About 100 new hotels over the next 10 years will be built in Abu Dhabi at the rate of 10 a year.
Transformation of Saadiyat Island. Plans include a franchised Louvre Museum
AMO
Collectively, Persian Gulf-based carriers are set to increase their passenger capacity 140% by 2011.
Emirates Palace literally glows with luxury. The hotel, owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, took more than three years and reportedly more than $3 billion to build, which would make it the most expensive hotel in the world
Gulf Survey
Reed, S. Mideast Airlines Soar onto Global Stage. Business Week April 19, 2006
Thomas Krens, Director of the Guggenheim Foundation.
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