PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAETe l : + 9 7 1 4 4 4 4 3 0 0 0
Web: http://www.itp.comOffices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London
& Mumbai
ITP MEDIA GROUP
CEOManaging Director A l i A k a w i Alex Reeve
Group Publishing DirectorEditorial Director G r e g W i l s o n Ian Stokes
EDITORIAL
Editor Te l : + 9 7 1 4 4 4 4 3 2 5 5 Rima Alsammarae
email: [email protected] Editor Aidan Imanova
Te l : + 9 7 1 4 4 4 4 3 4 9 7email: [email protected]
Published by and © 2019 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLCADVERTISING
Sales Manager Te l : + 9 7 1 4 4 4 4 3 3 9 6David Bentley
email: [email protected]
ITP DIGITAL
Advertising DirectorTe l : + 9 7 1 4 4 4 4 3 3 1 9 Riad Raad
email: [email protected]
ITP LIVE
General Manager Te l : + 9 7 1 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 9Ahmad Bashour
email:[email protected]
PHOTOGRAPHY
Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Adel RashidRajesh Raghav,Staff photographersAasiya Jagadeesh, Ajith Narendra,
Fritz John Asuro, Yuliya Petrovich, Jessica Samson
PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith
Production Manager Production Coordinator Basel Al KassemImad Aad
CIRCULATION
Director of Conferences, Circulation & Data Michael McGillHead of Circulation Vanessa D’Souza
MARKETING
Director of Awards & Marketing Daniel Fewtrell
ITP GROUP
CEOCFO A l i A k a w i To by J ay S p e n c e r-D av i e sSubscribe online at http://www.itp.com/subscriptionsThe publishers regret that theycannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication,
however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not
necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist
advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is
provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular
circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of
this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the
publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the
purpose of fair review.Last month, I spoke with Jordanian archi-
tect Omar Al Omari, founder of the Lon-
don-based OAOA practice, which recently
wrapped up the design of an office project in
Bahrain (pg 32).
In conversation, Omari stated that archi-
tecture in the GCC has “lost its direction”
due to recent hyper-development currently
occuring across the region.
“If I can generalise and group the build-
ings into three categories, the overwhelm-
ing majority aim to maximise area with very
low construction cost and no allowance for
design,” he added. “So the buildings end up
bulky, repetitive and lacking character.
“Some attempt to give a local flavour
and the successful ones are commendable.
However, if the traditional elements are ap-
plied incorrectly, such as outside of their
intended scale, function and context, then
they tend to appear pastiche and ‘decora-
tive’. Other buildings are contemporary,and there are a few good and forward-
thinking examples, such as the Four
Seasons in Bahrain Bay and the Bahrain
National Theatre.”
Omari also noted that, particularly
in Bahrain, traditional buildings dem-
onstrate the country’s strong cultural
routes and its rich history as a pearling
harbour. Built from mud and coral and
featuring distinct vernacular architec-
ture, many of these examples are pre-
served in Muharraq, the country’s old
capital. Such buildings reflect an era long
gone – one that was marked by architects
vying to create purposeful impact by
serving their communities and reflecting
their heritages.
Omari isn’t the first architect to make
such comments. Iraqi architect, author
and artist Maath Alousi also shared his
opinion on the rise of what he termed the
‘uneducated architect’.Is architecture in the region losing sight of
what it means to be purposeful?Losing sight?
RIMA ALSAMMARAE
Editor of Middle East ArchitectEDITOR’S COMMENT6 / COMMENT