IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section B

Abstract

In the decades following the discovery of oil in the 1950s, the Trucial States—now the United Arab Emirates—underwent a dramatic transformation from modest settlements shaped by indigenous materials and Bedouin ingenuity into modern cities characterized by rapid urban development. This transition was not only infrastructural but also intellectual, marked by the return of Arab architects who had studied in Europe, North America, and the Far East. These architects brought with them the language of modernism, acquired abroad, and adapted it to respond to the Gulf’s climate, culture, and social structures. This presentation explores how these Western-trained Arab architects served as cultural mediators, embedding regional values into modernist frameworks. A central case study is the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi, a seminal project designed between 1974 and 1981. Though officially attributed to The Architects Collaborative (TAC)—the Boston-based firm founded by Walter Gropius—its authorship is closely linked to Iraqi architect Hisham Ashkouri, who worked under TAC and is often considered a “local” figure. This complex narrative of authorship reflects broader questions about identity, legacy, and influence in the architecture of the Gulf. By examining the Cultural Foundation and the wider context of architectural production in the post-oil Gulf, the paper challenges simplistic binaries between “Western” and “local” architecture. It underscores the hybrid modernism that emerged when Arab architects, educated abroad, returned to reinterpret modernity through the lens of regional specificity.