Ink 2017

Company (ADNOC) was completed in
2014, with the 342 meter monolith rising
to become
the 2nd tallest
structure in
the city and a
monument to
the black gold
that established
the power of
The functions of
these buildings
are largely
economic not
political in
nature, therefore
confirming
the transfer of
military power to
economic power.
the Emirate.
Similarly, the
160 meter
C a p i t a l
Gateway
building further
demonstrates
the financial daring and enterprise of
the region, as its 18 degree lean to the
west that surpasses all current rivals in
this field, and is four-times that of the
Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Lying 130 km to the north-east, Dubai
has similarly embraced the use of
extravagant architecture and lavish
construction projects to project its
economic might. Dubai experienced a
far greater scramble to develop the once
remote desert trading post, resulting in
the city’s skyline being busier than that
of Abu Dhabi. The centrepiece of the
city’s newly towering silhouette is the
829 meter Burj Khalifa, Designed by
the noted American firm, Skidmore,
Owings and Merrill, this tribute to
the region’s economic significance
was opened to great acclaim in 2009
as the World’s tallest structure by
some margin. The state is also home
to another symbol of the Emirates’
wealth, the Burj al Arab Hotel. Opened
in 1999, the hotel has rapidly become
an icon of the city as, again, a symbol
of the prosperity and extravagance of
the autocracy. Thus, whilst inheriting
certain characteristics of their forebears
such as impressing the international
community, these new buildings have
been constructed at the behest of an
autocratic government – albeit making
a decidedly different political statement.
The functions of these buildings are
largely economic not political in nature,
therefore confirming the transfer of
military power to economic power.
However, far from merely being an
extravagant and often vulgar display
of wealth, many of the UAE’s
civic buildings possesses a far more
considered meaning and function. An
additional function
of the state’s
architecture is to
unite the disparate
groups that comprise
the nations. The
UAE is a relatively
young country,
and has a highly
federalised political
system, where each
Emirate is ruled by
an individual family
who possess great
power over their
Emirate. This has resulted in the use
of architecture to project a sense of
common ancestry and build unity
in the nation. The employment of
traditional, Arabic styles on prominent
buildings, such as the placement of
114 traditionally styled domes atop
the Emirates Palace Hotel, reflects the
use of architecture to create a sense of
heritage in a region that previously had
only a small permanent population and
a divided ancestry. Furthermore, the
inclusion of features such as traditional
Arabic wind towers on even mundane
projects, such as suburban housing
developments, further demonstrates
this notion.
Despite continuing complaints
surrounding the rights of migrant
workers and the true extent to which
the state has liberalised and opened up
to the west with restrictions remaining
in place on the ability of expats to own
property outside
of designated
‘’investment
areas’, the UAE
is recognised
as one of the
most liberal
and accepting
Muslim nations,
and this facet
of society is
recognised in
its architecture.
With only
around 10% of
the population
being Emirati,
25
Burj al Arab, Dubai
the UAE has used architecture to extol its
acceptance of secular religious practice
and other faiths and cultures within
their staunchly Islamic framework.
This notion of religious tolerance and
the promotion of acceptance of other
global cultures is a marked difference
between the UAE and much less
accepting neighbours such as Saudi
Arabia. This was evident during a visit
to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in
Abu Dhabi. The initial aim of the $500
million project was to promote unity
among the disparate Islamic cultures
and factions, thus cementing the UAE
as a place of acceptance and tolerance.
Also, the acceptance of western tourists
and visitors to this deeply holy place of
worship is indicative of how the ruling
regime aims to break with the precedent
of past dictatorships, promoting a
message of acceptance and tolerance
rather than division and factional
conflict. Through the promotion of its
newfound economic power as well as
the ruler’s celerity to promote a message
of acceptance, it was evident that the
architecture of the autocratic UAE has
been developed in a very different vein
to the Nazi regime. Far from aiming
to be a symbol of divisiveness and
exclusion as well as military might, the
architecture of the Emirates focuses
on the new equators of ‘soft power’.
UAE buildings promote a dialogue
of globalisation, of cross-border and
cross-cultural exchange, and also of the
economic wealth of this oil rich region.
Thus, the UAE represents a thoroughly
modern articulation of the architecture
of dictatorships and autocracies.