Sustainable design has a long history in the region, but growing populations and rising temperatures demand even more inventive approaches. Andy Shaw and Sandra Woodall on a new RIBA exhibition that shows where we are now
Designing sustainable buildings in the Gulf comes with challenges, but it is critically important. The region is undergoing rapid transformation from emerging market status, with increasing global significance for its expanding cities. Growing populations require the low-energy buildings and urban infrastructure to support high-quality modern life in a hot, arid climate.
Our exhibition on sustainable architecture in the Gulf – on show at RIBA’s London headquarters and digitally at RIBA North in Liverpool – was conceived to show the importance of the topic, to challenge preconceptions and to showcase the impact of RIBA members’ work over 50 years. Its subtitle, ‘Past, Present and Future’, shows how the context of both place and time informs designers’ thinking.
People have been living in the Gulf for millennia and have developed various passive methods for addressing the climate, such as courtyards, wind towers for cooling and facades that limit solar gain. Works displayed include architect Peter Jackson’s studies of Dubai’s Al Bastakiya windtower houses from the early 1970s, the adaptive reuse of mid-century Chedi Al Bait in Sharjah by Godwin Austen Johnson, and the renovation of Qasr Al Hosn, the oldest standing building in the UAE.
Buildings such as these have informed many projects over recent decades and are explored in the exhibition alongside modern work that adopts similar principles. These range from micro-climate creation to contemporary reinterpretations of traditional desert urbanism, such as the newly complete Msheireb neighbourhood in Doha, masterplanned by Allies and Morrison. The vernacular informs new versions of barahaat community spaces, fareej neighbourhood design and sikkas for community connectivity. On the more technical side, baghdeer and mashrabiya wind movement systems help to create natural burjeel cooling and ventilation through urban areas and within buildings constructed from modern materials in place of the more traditional adobe, coral stone and Indian teak.
Tradition is accompanied by dramatic change. Since the 1960s the population of Dubai, for example, has multiplied 80 times and its built footprint increased more than 170 times. The 2040 Dubai Urban Plan anticipates that the population will double again in the next 15 years. Those of us working in built environment today know how critical it is to design to reduce our environmental impact, and that we must create safe, resilient, human-centric cities for the future.
Through RIBA members’ work that is showcased in the exhibition we highlight just how this has been achieved, in projects by renowned RIBA chartered practices, home-grown Gulf-based firms, individual members and students from RIBA-accredited courses at local universities. The diverse set of architects reflects the broad cosmopolitan society valued in the Gulf and includes RIBA Royal Gold Medal winners such as Zaha Hadid Architects and Foster + Partners, and locally based practices including Dabbagh Architects, Binchy & Binchy, Design Tomorrow, NOA, AMA and many more.
Another fascinating aspect of working in the Gulf is the bold intent to make a mark through innovation. Technologies such as 3D printing, modern methods of construction, solar energy and AI are embraced and tested, being seen as tools to deliver a better future. Several projects in the exhibition demonstrate this, and buildings such as those by Grimshaw and Hopkins Architects at Expo 2020 in Dubai have acted as large-scale test-beds. The exhibition also features major works now on site and speculative future projects such as tangramGulf’s Hospital of the Future.
Our hope is that the visitors will leave with two important reflections. The first is an understanding of the ambition in the Gulf countries to improve their societies and built environment through architecture. Second is how RIBA architects have contributed to this and continue to do so by learning from history, by applying technology, and through the skill of making places. Given our region’s proximity to sources of abundant clean energy, low-cost fabrication and trade routes, the models for sustainable, high-quality architecture we develop in the Gulf will inform the waves of growth in other frontier markets such as Africa, and ultimately the rest of the world.
Andy Shaw RIBA is managing partner of Dubai-based AMA and RIBA Gulf Chapter chair; Sandra Woodall FRIBA is design principal of tangramGulf and UAE representative, RIBA Gulf Chapter Committee.
Sustainable Design in the Gulf: Past, Present and Future is at RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, until 29 November 2024