Noora Ali AL Hammadi 200881090 COL 145-013

Assignment 2
Architecture is one of the most important and necessary aspects of civilization. Architecture is structural

design or the style of decoration. Each state has a different design for its constructions and buildings. The style of

architecture mostly forms depending upon several factors such as the climate, land and the presence of the materials. You

can observe clearly that each civilization built its constructions relying on these factors. One of the most magnificent

architecture is the UAE’s architecture. In the UAE, the traditional architecture is mainly in the form of vernacular style. As

I mentioned before, the major causes for such kind of architecture were climate and availability of building materials;

furthermore, religion and custom have played an important role to form such kind of UAE architecture. Architecture in

the UAE has a very strong relation with the Islamic architecture. The Islamic architecture took most of its style from the

Romanian empire and the Persian Empire. For instance, when Muslims conquest Persia, the Islamic architecture borrowed

some traditional ways from Persia. The same thing happened when Islam arrived to Byzantine empire. Therefore, we can

say that by mixing these three architectures the Islamic architecture was formed. The UAE is one of the Muslim countries,

so it took its architecture from Islam design. At the present day, there has been a great concern about the phenomena of the

situation of the architecture in the UAE. Some people say that the UAE did not succeed in identifying and expressing the

Islamic and traditional design in the new enterprises. On the other hand, others who care about this issue argue that by

saying that the UAE’s architecture changed dramatically after the discovery of oil. In addition to this, they think that this

change is an important aspect for the UAE to keep pace with development and technology. I think that interest in our

Islamic and traditional architecture and the development projects that participate in making the UAE in the ranks of

developed countries are both important for my country. In this essay I will try to explain the opinions of the two categories

I have already mentioned above by explaining some details of the Islamic and modern architectural design in the UAE

and by giving some reasons and examples that help each group to prove their idea.

Every kind of architecture has unique features that makes the architecture different from others. At the

current time there has been concern about the traditional architecture of the UAE; so that many questions are raised. One

of these questions is , did the UAE fail in describing its traditional and Islamic design in the new commercial projects?, If

you look at the new buildings and constructions you will notice that the answer is yes. Although the Islamic architecture is

a necessary aspect for the UAE, it is not presented clearly at the twenty- first century. Additionally, you can see that
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although in some places such as museums there is Islamic design, these places are not built by the old traditional way.

Islamic architecture has some features that distinguish it from other designs. One of the most observable aspects of the

Islamic architectural design is the enclosed space. It is very popular design, especially in the Muslim houses, mosques and

palaces and tomb (Grube, 1978). But if you look at the new buildings you will notice that this feature is not presented.

Take for example Emirates palace in Abu Dhabi. It was finished in 2004. Although this building reflects some of the

Islamic style, it does not have this feature. Another feature is the dome, mostly you can see this dome over the religious

buildings palaces and tombs. Even though the domes can be seen not only in the Islamic architecture but also in other

architectures, the Islamic domes has hidden characteristics. According to Grube (1978), the Dome of the Rock in

Jerusalem is a clear example of the Islamic dome that everyone who sees it can notice that the builder were Muslims. That

is because the characteristics of the dome are similar to the Islamic design. For instance, in the Islamic architecture, the

dig dome is very common, and if you see the Dome of the Rock, you will observe that the dome is very big. Another

example, if you compare the dome of Sheikh Zayed mosque with the Tajmahal you will see some differences that

distinguish the dome that were built by Muslim and non-Muslim. But because the two buildings were built by Muslims,

there are no differences except in some tiny details (Mughal, Tajmahal and Sheikh Zayed grand mosque). In these days,

the domes and the enclosed space are built up and designed to the new constructions but not as much as in the past.

Therefore, we can say that the new commercial projects do not express the Islamic design.

Secondly, the Islamic architecture has depended upon the simple materials. Mud brick, dry stone, wood

and thatch were used a lot in building the construction. Each different area used different materials. For example, in the

mountains, houses were built by using irregular-shaped blocks laid without mortar. Also, people used mud that was put on

the wall. Fronds of the palm tree were used as the roofs of the house (Petersen, 1996). Another example is the buildings in

the oasis. In the oasis area such AL Aim, people built out the roof by the mud brick with palm beams. In addition to this,

they used strong blocks to make the houses able to face the strong storms and rains. If you compare this with the new

situation, you will see that these days they have used different materials such as cement, blocks insulating to the heat and

iron metal. Thirdly, the harsh and difficult life the people lived in participated in formatting the Islamic architecture in the

UAE. Also the weather in the UAE’s region has contributed to Islamic design. To explain, the humidity and the warmth

made the Bedouins build their houses with palm fronds in order to keep the weather inside the rooms cold and sometimes ,

they built some items that keep the weather cold. While during the winter people lived in the houses that were built by the

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blocks (Mahgoub, 1990). Take for example the house of Sheik Saeed Al Maktom, who was the ruler of Dubai. His house

was made from the coral stone lime and plaster. There are also Barjeel (windows) that were built at the top of the rooms to

catch the cold air. During the winter, they closed the Barjeel to keep the house warm. So, we can see from this example the

effect of the climate on the architecture. At the present time, the barjeel are not built in the building because people

already discovered air condition unit. Additionally, in the past the houses had a huge square yard in front of the house;

whereas, most houses today have a large villa with the small yard (Mahgoub, 1990). In the other word, the disappearing

of Barjeel and the huge yard are clear examples of failing in describing the UAE’s architecture. After the transfer of

Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) from Mecca to AL Medina , the Islamic architectural design has appeared. This

is because when Prophet Mohammad and his followers traveled to AL Medina city, they needed to build mosques, houses

and official administrative as there are important factors to start building the new empire (Getlen, 2005).

After the discoveries of oil, new aspects have appeared in the UAE including the economics, social-

culture and architecture. Because of the production of the oil in a large amount, the economics flourished. That has led to

significant influences on the UAE’s architecture (Mahgoub, 1999). The modern architectural style in the UAE has been

affected by the economic as well as social and cultural changes. First of all, the rapid growth of the economic allowed the

social and cultural values to change. As a result of this, people in the UAE tend to follow and imitate the western models.

Therefore, the urban region was changed to meet the new ambition of the local people. One of the imitations that the UAE

people did was in the architecture. The new houses are different from the previous buildings. Today, the majority of the

houses consist of two floors with courtyard in the center of the house. Inside the house, the rooms are decorated with

Inscriptions and grilles (Petersen, 1996). According to Mahgoub, the construction boom has destroyed the identity of the

Islamic and traditional architecture. These days the new modern architecture has encouraged people to used new

technology materials and tools. The usage of the air-condition units for example, has been common currently

(Mahgoub.1990). Also, the concern of the environment has increased, so most of the companies try to use technologies to

help the environment from the pollution. Additionally, people have used new materials that borrow from other parts of the

world such as glass, steel and concrete (Mahgoub.1990). If you go to Dubai for example, you can notice that there are

many buildings that are covered by glass. Last but not least, at the contemporary time and after the financial recession,

many markets have got benefits, especially those who are in the Middle East. To explain, because of this problem, people

tended to use materials that cost less money. And the old design costs less as it does not express the wealth of the owner.

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Tony Kettle mentioned the differences of the design after and before the financial downturn. One of the differences is that

before the financial crisis, the buildings were mostly tall, large, and grand which means that they represent the wealth of

the owners. Whereas, after that event, there has been a significant change. New buildings have been more socially and

environmentally responsible (Tony Kettle, 2009). Modern architecture has served the UAE and made it between the

developed countries. Although, it has many advantages, it destroyed the architectural identity of the UAE. Today, many

foreign architects come to the UAE to spread the western design within the UAE.

In conclusion, architecture is one of the important aspects to each civilization as it represents their taste.

Currently, several architectural designs have been lost because of the domination of the western architecture. The UAE is

one of the countries that have been affected by the modern architecture. So many people say that the UAE failed to

represent its Islamic and traditional architecture, while others do not agree with them. Those say that the modern and the

new design are important for the UAE to ensure that it took its place in the 21st century. In this essay I have mentioned

some features for both the Islamic and modern architecture, and also I gave some examples that might help each group to

prove their argument. At the end, I think in the few coming years, there will be a significant concern about the phenomena

of Islamic and traditional architecture that has been lost at the contemporary time.

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Noora Ali AL Hammadi 200881090 COL 145-013

Bibliography:

Grube, E.J. (1978). What is Islamic Architecture? In G. Michell, Architecture of the Islamic

World. (pp. 11-14). London: Thames & Hudson.

Grube in this article focused on some features of Islamic architecture such as the enclosed space and
domes. Then, the writer move on this point to another point which is the hidden architecture of Islamic
civilization. A additionally ,the functions of Islamic architecture are mentioned.

Comparing to the other resources this was one of the helpful one, it helps me a lot in finding information
about the characteristics of the Islamic architecture. So , I think that if you want to know some features
of Islamic designs, go to this reading.

The reading is very beneficial although the words were difficult little bit.

Getlen, M. (2005). Living with Art. New York: McGraw-Hill

Getlen talked about the Islam’s massage and prophet Mohammad. Then ,the author mentioned some of
the Islamic architecture such as palaces and mosques. Moreover, he/she mentioned some information
about prophet Muhammad’s houses that was in AL Medina.

This reading was really helpful as it contains a lot of information that suits my ideas. I think it was one of
the sources that I got many information from.

The reading was so easy since some information in this reading I was knowing them because it talks
about things we as Muslims knew them. So , personally , it was not so difficult reading. And the words
were easy to understand.

Damluji, S. S.(2006). The Architecture of the United Arab Emirates. Reading: Garnet Publishing

Ltd.

Dalmuji divided his article into two parts. The first part was about mosques; while the second part was
about AL- Ain forts. The writer defined the meaning of the mosque, then he mentioned the differences
between mosque and Jami. After that he talked about the forts and the way that people used to built it.

This resource does not include beneficial information. I did not use it but I looked over it. And since I
did not find information that I need, I left it a way.

Personally, The reading was not interesting. The information was reliable and it was useful but not for
my essay.

Petersen, A. (1996). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. Routledge: London & New York.

United Arab Emirates (pages 256 – 258)

Peterson wrote about the way of building constructions in the past. And then the writer moved on other
idea which is the architecture of the UAE in the past.

This reading was not useful as much as other resources. I did not use it a lot in writing my essay, since it
does not have information that I need. However, it has information about buildings in the UAE that may
help the one who wants to know more about the UAE’s old buildings and its heritages.

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Noora Ali AL Hammadi 200881090 COL 145-013
The reading was interesting although I did not use it a lot as the information does not suit the ideas I
wanted to write. The reading was so simple even the words, they were the easiest word comparing to
other resources.

Mahgoub, Y. (1999). Architecture of the United Arab Emirates. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from

The Architecture of the United Arab Emirates: from

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/dali/428/uaearch/uaarch1.htm

Mahgoub wrote a very loge article that describes at the beginning the traditional houses in the UAE .
after that the writer compared between architecture before and after the discovering of oil. Then the
author talked about the social and cultural changes and the lost of the identity after the discovery of oil.

The reading was so long and it has many examples of the old building that could be tough in the school
to the children to give them and inform them about some of the names of the UAE’s architecture. So
comparing to other sources, that reading was one of the beneficial source.

This reading helps me a lot in writing this essay. Additionally, I learned many things from this reading
that I have never listened to it at my life .

Kettle, T. (2009, september 15). Islamic architecture blooms from the geometry of nature. Retrieved 7 2009, november

from The National http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20090915/OPINION/709149894/1080/COMMENTARY?template=opinion

Tony Kettle gives some differences of design before and after financial downtown,
then he talks about the geometry and Islamic geometry.

The reading is useful because of the information it has. But comparing to the other
recourse, it was not beneficial so mach. I think that some information that
mentioned in this reading was not reliable. For example, it says that the Islamic
architecture based on the mathematic system only. However, I think that this is not
only factor that the Islamic architecture depend upon.

This reading was quite interesting. And it has few difficult words that I think must
be translated if the reader in not native.