Reflections On The Archtecture of The UAE

DETERMINANTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
SAMIR G MATTAR
Architecture of the United Arab Emirates
DETERMINMTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IN THE UNITED ARAB RMIRATES
SAMIR 0. MATTAR, LI ENG, P. ENG.
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maritime desert conditions, once regarded as one of the most unfavourable climates on earth. The sea, at once austere and attractive, had long provided sustenance to the inhabitants of these settlements whose traders and saiIors in their dhow& plied the trade routes while fishermen and pearldivers harvested its deep. Much of the land along the coast consists of low4ying sandf1ats, virtually devoid of vegetation although mangrove swamps can be found in some of the sheltered creeks and inlets. To the east, the gray limestone cliffs and folds of the Hajar
mountain with their caches of fossils and seashells stand as sentinels to the colossal pressures of the past. Boulders are piled at random or fused together in a vast dark brown mass. Rocks are slashed with ash gray, black or dark red and forged by the intense heat of ancient volcanoes. All reveal the massive pressures in primeval times that forced them up and jumbled them together so that the same hillside may have layers of limestone and sandstone among its volcanic rocks. Directly south, the mountains take on a different hue as the ridges confront the vast desert.
DEERMmTANT A
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Ad then on o he Empty Quarter with its 3tark Iand3cape f staggei n n menitv Its sand and the edging sea, its fauna and flora and the oases It is at once nysterous aizd enigmat The texture of its dunes, pai:ed by space ad iight gray and white near the coast or red fttrther inland cone s the !rnpriflt of cnanging dais, seasons and years. We feel instinctive1 that thIngs have remained constant for centuries and so must be intrinsically good They have stood the test of time. And yet, beneath ts endless surface the Empty Quarter concea1 energies that have turned dreams ini reality.
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E /CL today, in the rnoder oataI cities Abu Dhab1 Dubai, Sharjah and in A! kin, at the edge of the Emptj Quarter the sheer magnificence of the eect filters in the built en7i:onrnent. The ohaLg brought about by moerr progress has been abrupt and definite o n sharp contrast to the subtle flux of the desert, the endless panorama, the keen har3hness Df eternity in which the real and the imaginary become one. Stani.lng at the edge of the Emp Quarter a third f a century ago, who would ha ic predicted the scale and pace of the developments that haze caken place in the United Arab Emirates Who could have known that a teeming world would be xaiting tc reveal itself to hose who tcok the time to bserie. to question and to inderstand.
A BREF HISTORY OF THE BULT ENVIRONMENT N THE UNITED ARAB EMRATES

The built environment represents our efforts to create a pleasant, rnodet, efficietit. comfortable, and secure living and working space within or even, excluding the natural setting. It is the result not only of our efforts to overcome some of the
Architecture of the United Anib Emirates

adverse conditions wind, sand, sun, rain but also of our expectations of artistic creativity and our interpretation of contemporary culture. Insofar as the built environment is an expression of creative intentions, human activities, social institutions and cultural values, our history is engraved in the architecture as it represents evolution in society and culture. "if you do not think about the ftjture, you cannot have one" This cautionary statement, originally aimed at a world changing from the 19th to the 20th century, is appropriate the United Arab Emirates which is poised on the threshold of the friture. Vast and fast developments in technology and the information age are already transforming the country beyond recognition. Development will continue at an accelerated rate, bringing with it everincreasing changes of life patterns. To be able to think about the world of tomonow we must understand the world of today and we must also be able to !earn from the lessons of yesterday.
TRADTON AND CONTEXT Historically, the people of the Empty Quarter Fad an intimate knowledge of how to live in harmony with the land and the local environment. As such, their architectural heritage was dominated by stark aesthetics, thnctional requirements, materials offered by the land, the use *of handmade tools2 techniques and technologies handed down from generation to generation, and guided by indigenous abilities in *building as well as stringent economis. Thousands of years of accumulated expertise had led to the developrnent of economic building methods using locally available materials, passive climatic control methods :and an.arrangement of living and working spaces .in *consonance with their social requirements.
For many centuries, transformations and transitions in prevailing construction were
gradual because the pace of growth and the rate of development were slow. Up to thirty years ago, most people in the United Arab Emirates, like their .ancestors and their ancestors before them lived in traditional dwellings which were often mudbrick houses, or huts made of palm fronds, or desert tnts, Building was basically to provide shelter from the elements: the need, literally, for man to have a roof over his head. There were neither architects involved nor, even, builders or masons. Shelters were created mainly by people for themselves.
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Settlements were uniform in form and appearance, reflecting the geographical location and culture of the people. The traditional architecture of the United Arab Emirates reflected local and regional characteristics and reached a high degree of imagination and cultural expression. They used whatever material was available locally:

* * In the mountains, houses were invariably made of stone and caves were often used as dwellings; The palm tree played a vital role in oases where the fronds were used extensively as roofing material and for structural support in the walls; The nomads in the desert lived in tents often made of camel hair; In fortifications and dwe11ings openings were often arches of mud brick. Along the coast, solid buildings tended to he made from coral stone but palm fronds were used in the floors and for the roofs. Felia Fort ruins Ras Al Khciiinah Towers bara/ee1s which made effective use of the sea breezes to mitigate the extremes of temperature were developed on the coastal settlements while thick walls and minimal *fenestration, which were more common inland, were also used in coastal .regions. Building professionals, looking *hack to those times and settlements, remaik *on the ovenheirning dominance of the sun, the sea, the sand and the wind in determining the form, Drocesses and technologies of design and construction.
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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
The Sixties
With oil wealth, the original settlements, Abu Dhbi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Am mere trading posts burst into the modem era, and quickly very quickly became cities. Modem technology and materials started touring into the Emirates. The building envelope was freed from the constraints of a passive response to the environment and, gradually, the traditional homes were abandoned. There was a nish to produce dynamic buildings with novel designs and expression. One and two storied buildings changed to multistory structures as: * The use of concrete and steel became more prevalent, * A stable. supply of ftesh water and the convenience of indoor plumbing, electricity, ventilation and airconditioning, elevators and sanitation systems became more readily available, and * Major infrastructure works such as roads, water distribution and sewage systems were executed.
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DETERMINANT A

iVith improved security and promising political accords, there was less need for defensive towers and forts built of mud bricks. These, in turn, were abandoned and fell quickly into ruin. The arthitectural heritage of the land appeared to be in danger.
Photograph of Abu Dhabi with the Rulers fort in foreground Initially, the quality of construction left a lot to be desired. The transition years of the sixties were marked by a strong maniage between the traditional settlement ernacuiar and the Thovel" architecture made possible by aew" materais. The iayout of buildings was generally still traditional and functional but the materials were different. With progress the link with the past vas oecoming tenuous as the sixties" houses, with electricity and airconditioners and modern amenities, replaced he wind-towers with their outdoor kitchens and toilets. In this oeriod7 while new materials replaced the old, the buildings copied the form of the earlier construction but decoration became more uniform less carefree and with much tess imagination.
The Seventies
The se enties saw the introduction of the modern building er in the Untd ab Emirates with an explosive building boom that ieiy few countries have ever experienced. Cranes sprouted everywhere and, even though the most ad7anced technologies of the time were used, the sheer quantity of construction mitigated against any quality in design or in constniction. This, invariably, led to are1essness, mistakes and a building stock that has not been durable. Some seeds future architectural development were planted during thi3 period: In the capital, the Cultural Foundation formerly the Rulefs Fr stood out in the midst of the sur-ounding highrise structures as a modern yet traditional building. On the Abu Dhabi Corniche, the extensive use of steel and plate glass curtain wall faades confirmed the trend established by the Dubai Municipality building.
DETERMINANT A
Abu Dhabi Postcard c. 198O -Prior to large-scale development ofthe city. This scene corresponds to 1966 photoaph but from a different view. Note the rulers fort in the foreground that now houses the Cultural Foundation. * In Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, blocks of flats both medium and low rise, built to accommodate tne less affluent dominated the center of the cities while modern villas housed the more xe1I_todo on the outskirts. * During this period, a large number of houses and apartment blocks were built by the governments for their citizens and for the foreign work force who were pouring into the country to toil in the various fields of nation-building and infrastructure develooment. These buildings, placed in the middle of identical plots of land in neat rows conforming to "modern" town-planning "principles" dominated the centers of the cities. Some of these town planning principles anticipated the "new" towns with rw uoon row ol houses n fectilinear formation tha: still form tte basis or irban and community planning for new townships throughout the country. * The souk, traditionally the heart of the settlements, as replaced by shopping centers, where shoppers moved freely in relaive comfort Apart from tne Sharjah souk, there was little in these centers that was reminiscent of the traditional "souk" and its characteristic small shops with goods sprawling into the "streets" and inviting shoppers to "bargaining centers. However, tfle later shopping centers of Dubai2 in reinveliting the traditional soi. have maintained many of their social and ftinctional characteristics. Here, in a small but appreciable way, we can observe the intrusion of modern technology and the influence of changing requirements and needs into ationaI customs and culture and their reflection in architectural interpretations.
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DETER [NANT A
Many buildings built during the sixties and seventies have suffered from crumbling concrete and rusting steel as the high temperatures, the high humidity and the chlorides from the sea took their toll on the structures. As a result of poor technical and financial performance high maintenance costs and low monetary returns, a large number of these building are being razed and rebuilt.
Modern times
Throughout the eighties and nineties, the transformation of the cities in the United Arab Emirates into prosperous centers of industry and commerce has become more and more apparent, and more in line with the pattern of urban development around the world. Major infrastructure projects have ensured a strong future for sound development. The major cities are teeming with modern buildings and facilities skyscrapers, apartment blocks, villas, mosques and shopping centers, A conscious effort is also being made by governments, owners, designers and constructors to improve all aspects of building, from the urban environment to the minutest detail on the structure and the constructional systems.
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During this period, there has been a marked improvement in the quality of design and construction. Also, in an effort to capture the salient paradigms of the past, a number of architects are striving for a merger between modern architecture and traditional heritage. There have been deliberate attempts: * At evoking elements of past ages, both local and regional, * To adjust to the present with all its possibilities and problems, and * To anticipate the prospects of a challenging future.
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The Rulers Fort Cultural Foundation with modern Abu Dhabi beyond However, in entering the "race for the sky" with such projects as the 160-meter high Baynounah Tower in Abu Dhabi and the 321-meter Tower Hotel in Dubai, architecture in the United Arab Emirates has taken on new challenges in terms of
scale, quality and costs. A prelude to the 350-meter Emirates Tower, a project as tall as the Empire State building, these buildings represent the next frontier of architectural development in the United Arab Emirates. Design limits are being probed and tested. Specifications are becoming more demanding. New materials such as the Teflon-coated glass-fiber will be used as exterior cladding while fiberglass and unshielded twisted pair copper structured cabling form the backbone of the communications systems within the same building. For economic and logistic reasons, concrete, estimated to be 20 to 30% less expensive than steel and more readily available in the United Arab Emirates is being used, as a structural material instead of steel that is more prevalent worldwide. Soil and geological considerations such as subsidence and ground movement problems are placing structural limits on the heights of buildings.
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DETERMINANT A
Arc!, itecture of the United Arab Emirates

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE IN TRANSITfON
The change in social, cultural, economic and technological develbpment continues to increase, and to do so quickly. It is valuable, however, to put all these changes in perspective: While the development of the worlds major cities have takeii hundreds of years. equivalent changes in the United Arab Emirates have taken place over barely 25 to 30 years. The transition from passive response to the elemental forces which shaped the traditionally-built environment to the modern defiant diversity in the buildings in an urban milieu has been almost abrupt. Not unexpectedly, the transition period has been. in an architectural sense, turbulent. Hence, the need for reflection and effective action: Wither architecture in the United Arab Emirates? Architectural developments have been accomplished within the context of eclectic yet distinct but widely varied expressions. The design paradigms are continuing to undergo rapid transformations with little or no evidence of any emergent styles or idioms. WIz at an governments do? As the federal and local government authorities become increasingly aware of the irretrievable loss to the heritage and tradition, many major buildings are being salvaged and restored. Ho v can technology be managed? Industrialization and mechanization of the building industry have imposed vast changes in planning, design, method, technique, ability and possibility. To manage the impending change, technologys impacts must be understood implicitly. What about the impact of the environment? The climate affects the design of the building envelope and the mechanical systems directly. We are now beginning to see and understand the devastating effects of the environments aggressive action, over time, on buildings constructed in the past 25 years. This signals the need to understand the true causes of deterioration and for caution in the use of new materials or the use of existing materials in new ways. A 111 rapid change? Along with the challenge of rapid growth, we can detect changes in needs and requirements. Feedback mechanisms, in design, may effective in ensuring flexibility, provisions for growth and adaptability. The lack of durability of the building stock is becoming a cause for concern. "Is not the city without old buildings is like an old man without memories?" For many in the United Arab Emirates, developing an enduring and sustainable building stock has become an issue of some significance and high priority.
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DETERMINANT
Arc/iitecture of the United Arab Emirates ENSURING A FUTURE FOR THE PRESENT
Clearly, it does not do to rebuild buildings that have only recently been built. One of the best justifications for the skills of the architect and the building professionals is that they make possible the continuation into the future of valuable qualities of the environment, form, texture, material, and of detail and decoration, that would otherwise disappear. Equally clearly, it is not evident that new construction and re-construction are taking into account the lessons from the recent past.
BACK TO BASICS?
What, then, are the determinants of architectural design in the United Arab Emirates today? This is a question of considerable significance, and its answers depend on many related questions, such as: What do we mean by design, in general, and by architectural design, in particular? What are appropriate and adequate design strategies for the United Arab Emirates? What are the functions to be accommodated? What are the demands and needs of the users? The owners? What are the major conditions environmental, social, economic, technical. and so on which will influence architectural decisions? What socio-econornic and cultural factors exist? Predominate? Are desirable? How do they influence decisions made during design? How does heritage impact on contemporary design in the United Arab Emirates? What construction materials and techniques are available and how are they adapted to local needs?
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CONTEXT: TRADITIONAL VERSUS MoDERN

We tend to feel more secure as we touch history to have one foot in the past while stepping into the future. By examining architectural developments in the region from a historical perspective, it has been possible to capitalize on and to provide a context for understanding the nature of the problems facing building professionals, owners and users. Poised on the threshold of a promising future, architects and other professionals in related fields in the United Arab Emirates are beginning to adopt an attitude of informed open-mindedness about possibilities.
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The lessons of the recent past are all around us to see, to analyze and to understand. Each building, whether demolished, refurbished or still in use, provides us with a live laboratory setting for understanding the determinants of architectural design more fully. Rather than dwell on the pathology of failure, it is clearly more advantageous to state the lessons in terms of guidelines, options and possibilities which need to be considered, analyzed, evaluated, prior to making informed decisions, In exploring the history of the built environment in the United Arab Emirates, it is clear that the tension between traditional and modern will continue to play an
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important role in the development of architecture in the United Arab Emirates. These conflicting trends are significant for they are at the leading edge of the "architectural scene", as it were, even though they tend to be, quantitatively, a negligible part of the total output of the built environment. As we analyze the determinants of architectural design through the filters of history. of inherited opinion and various perspectives, we form images through these interpretative tools. We can begin to discern how context is one of the principal determinants of architectural design in the United Arab Emirates.
HISTORICAL CONTINUITY
In the United Arab Emirates, the sheer size and rate of development favours the modern at the expense of the traditional. The reality is that, while yve question our practice vis--vis tradition, the most developed tecimology is firmly at the heart of this society. The intrusion of the modern in the form of architectural styles and design forms, of technologies and amenities, of systems and procedures is ubiquitous and, as the economies worldwide become increasingly tied to one another, irreversible.
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At first sight, there appears to be no difficulty in using, say, elevators or airconditioning equipment as we build skyscrapers. However, implicit in these apparently straightforward decisions, made on the basis of amenity. function and utility, is the notion of modernity. This, and many other similar decisions with respect to systems, forms, materials and details, dictates further modern choices. Consequently, we are hard pressed to find much that is traditional ii the high-rises of Abu Dhabi or Dubai or Sharjah. Now, however, many designers are turning to traditional symbols and forms of cultural identity for guidance in design direction. This penchant to combine the modern with the traditional is promising but it has yet to achieve its full potential.
SHIFTfNG EMPHASIS
Notwithstanding this tendency towards integration, we still have to ionder the full context of technology as a prime determinant of the architecture. In this, the United Arab Emirates is not unlike recently industrialized societies; designers have yet to come to terms with the significance of the utterly inorganic aspect of industrialized products and materials. Moreover, the changes from a nomadic and rugged rural culture to an urban setting tend to be devoid of established conventions. The economies of use, too, add to the complexities of this context. At the core, the issue becomes one of behaviour and interaction as well as design and interpretation. How we use our buildings, how we infuse our meanings and intuitions into the novel contexts, into the forms and the details these are crucial in resolving the dichotomy between "traditional and modern". In a historical context, the crucial questions facing building design professionals are not unique to the United Arab Emirates. In America, in Africa. in Asia, design teams have considered appropriate methods to solve similar problems, using traditional symbols, forms and techniques as a basis for development. In this way, the dichotomy is transformed from a conflict between iraditional and modern to one of understanding and vision. Tradition thus becomes a living,
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D[TERMINANT A
Arc/i itecture of the United Arab Emirates

dynamic force that shapes us as much as we shape it. And the issues change; the questions, too, change. How do we give meaning to continuity with the nomadic, ruggedly rural, past in urban, architectural, spatial and formal terms? What constitutes tradition in architectural terms? Is it the local or regional vernacular? How do we come to terms with the variations through time and region? How do we ensure continuity in architectural terms? By our interpretations of different symbols into various styles? In the way we incorporate details, forms, etc.? Are the professionals sensitive enough? Are they capable of understanding the needs and requirements of the users? Increasingly, the trend in architectural design in the United Arab Emirates is one that seeks spiritual continuity with the past and not a formal one. The problem becomes not one of strict identity but one of interpretation. Hence, the efforts and initiatives by the municipalities
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to record, document and identify forms and details of the urban and architectural heritage; to restore and conserve the heritage in the midst of rapid urban development to develop guidelines for use, interpretation, and incorporation by designers into modern projects. If the past has a meaning for us, it should find a way to express itself into the present design of form and space as well as detail: Does it mean that architectural forms will be selected to provide spiritual continuity? Will the approach be conscious in the application of continuity from past to present? Will it be a matter of transmission of meaning from the past and integration into the present? The prospects for integrating the traditional and the modern make for great difficulties or unique opportunities in the genuine development of a singular, indigenous architecture in the United Arab Emirates. For professional designers, the past and the contemporary need not confront one another in the simple dialectic of the traditional versus the modern nor does the confrontation correspond to the rational justification of the present situation. It is important to understand the integration of tradition with the modern since it is a significant determinant of design. This integration is difficult to identify and analyze and use effectively. It is, in effect, a subtle Hegelian act of synthesis; an act, resulting from the reciprocity between the traditional thesis, as it were and the modern anti-thesis. In a recently completed building in Abu Dhabi the design team, fittingly, a consortium of international and local firms has attempted to combine modern artistic forms with archetypal imagery and symbols from tradition in a very
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DETERMINANT A
Arc/i itecture oft/i e Uii ited Arab Emirates

effective way. The plan for the twenty-three storey building was generated by two interlocking squares reminiscent of a pervasive symbol of Islam enclosing a central elevator core and atrium facing the Gulf Even with the service access and an adjacent 20,000 sq. im garage for 650 cars, the designers have attempted to maintain continuity through an effective landscape program linking the surrounding gardens through the building to roof gardens. The atrium "interprets" and reinforces the courtyard concept of traditional building by the effective use of mushrabiyah screens, made of wood mullions and cast aluminium and fixed behind a simple glazed window wall, to reduce glare while providing diffuse, reflected, filtered throughout the building. natural light Functionally, the lacey mushrabiyahs filter the reflective glare from the Gulf and the direct radiation from the sun effectively while, aesthetically, they form part of "Tree of Lift" a traditional metaphor from the a larger motif Mesopotamian cultures of the Gulf. This motif was used effectively to select the palette of materials and finishes and thus to integrate systems patterns, materials. colours, modules and details.
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Clearly, we have, in such projects, the stirrings of effective ways to synthesize the traditional and the modern in the United Arab Emirates. Equally clearly, the accumulated experiences, sensitivities, attitudes and inclinations of designers nationally, regionally and internationally constitute a natural base for dynamic cultural identity. This involves respect for the past, and lbr every phsc of luiman creativity. It realizes the potential in the existing elements of the sociI and national life; it also provides an understanding of the mass of scientitic knowledge and the impact of modern technological developments. Hence. onc of the principal determinants of architectural designs in the United Arab
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Emirates.
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DLTERMINANT A
DESIGN INTENT
Evidently, "context" is a prime determinant of architectural design. However, "design", by its very nature, is about the future. It is about perceiving possibilities that are available to us and, then, making optimum use of them. Essentially, design is an intellectual and intentional activity" that produces artifacts. In architecture, these "artifacts" are buildings and urban spaces. The word "design" encompasses the group of thought processes, activities and skills analytical, conceptual, creative, integrative, evaluative, decision-making, communicative by which the physical, technical and subjective attributes of a future building are determined and executed. Quality in architectural design is never an accident. It is, invariably, the result of sensitivity and response to the context, resolute intentions, considerable efforts. intelligent direction, close attention to detail and skillful execution. It represents the choice among many alternatives along a lengthy, iterative and often-difficult route.
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PROGRAM:
WHAT? WHY? WHERE? WHEN? WHO?
How? How MUCH?
There is considerable truth in the ancient adage: "If you do not know where you are going, it does not matter i/you get there." Clearly, in planning a journey, it is surer and easier to proceed with a road map than to rely on "hunches and a sense of direction" even though these are valuable and useful tools for the journey.
The more detailed and explicit the map, the more satisfying the journey. The "program" is the road map for that long, difficult journey: the architectural
design process. The program, however, is not like an "ordinance survey map" but more like an "explorers map". The bearings are known and so are some landmarks, albeit vaguely at this point; the road ahead is being surveyed as we proceed. The destination, however, is promising and often a compromise between wants, needs, resources and constraints. What? Why? Where? When? Who? How? How Much? Simple enough questions and, obviously, the bases for design. But, how often are the answers articulated clearly and unambiguously at the beginning of the project? How frequently are changes in scope and location made, decisions reversed and modified, schedules compressed and budgets slashed, without documentation, without examining their impact, without informing the designers or users until it is too late?
Apart from identifying and defining needs, the facility program, as a process, is an
essential tool of communication between the building owners, users and designers. As a document, the program is a statement of intent and an action plan made very early in the design process and, as such, becomes another major determinant of design solutions. It is an attempt to: state as clearly and in as much detail as possible the scope, needs and requirements of the owners, the users and the functions of the building;
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DETERMINANT

determine, very early in the project definition stage, some development plans and guidelines and, as such, define a baseline for monitoring and control; outline the resources money, manpower, milestones, etc. that will be needed at every stage of the project and, as such, alert the team owner, design professionals, users, etc. of the consequences of their decisions. For programming to be effective, it has to be simple and easy to develop and use even though the requirements themselves are complex and often conflicting. Figure 1 represents a typical set of factors considered in architectural design. Clearly, it would be difficult to deal with them comprehensively and effectively without an objective and systematic approach.
nteractions Activities
..ornrnun1eat1oI
Re1ationship ransier ot mateiiaI Customs / Beliefs C1irnae
Economy Political Forces HUMAN FACTORS Resource Availability Social Forces Attitudes I Values Objective / Goals Legal Restrictions Po1icies / Codes Organization Financing -Hierarch -Groups 3 Ecology Posions -C1assifiations5 EXTERNALFACTORS Leaderslup Te Codes /Standards / Location Systems E fl velo pe Regulations/Zoning Region Engineering Building Locality Communications ratioir Land use Conimunity Lightmg n iropm.n L1ULL -vstems Viemity Security omt 1is11Ct1U Energy --Vismal Environmeat Structure -ALOUUC i Materials Su ort Servic Safety PHYSICAL FACTORS -Storage Solar Access -Parhng Uses Building I Facility r Ufletions -Access Mtcri al I Finishe -Waste removal Costs I Benefit Energy Use / Conservation -Utilities water, sewage, Topography Operations Durability telephone Circulation Site Conditions Equipment / Furnishings
. . -- .
Behavior
Characteristics
Flexibility
FIGuRE
SoME FACTORS IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
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Determinant B
Architecture of 1/ic United Arub Emirates

There are many methods of organizing program information, each with its with pros and cons, and special applications. A program uses information processing tecimiques to develop elaborate and extensive analyses in the form of functional
matrices, bubble diagrams, schedules, interaction nets of
form/functionleconomy/ time against goals/facts/needs/concepts and problem statements, detailed tables of space requirements, or an exhaustive list stated in terms of scope, quality, cost and time with relationship matrices and graphs, as well as tables or functional breakdown structure. Ultimately, a program is an explicit and unambiguous statement of the scope and quality of the project, the detailed baseline against which the final product is measured. It is the prelude to good design. In the United Arab Emirates, as elsewhere in the world, the architectural "brief invariably a vague statement of purpose is being replaced by the more comprehensive "program". This involves programmers with various professional formation working closely with the owner over an extended period and many sessions to define requirements and objectives, explore possibilities, understand the consequences of alternative solutions, work out spaces and affinities and determine milestones and costs. In brief, then, good architectural design starts, at the beginning, with the owner defining realistic requirements clearly and unambiguously, and selecting a cadre of capable professionals for the
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design.
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DETERMINANTB
Architecture of the United Arub Emirates
DESIGN As PROCESS
If we attempt to frame a simple model of the major determinants of architectural design on a time axis, it quickly becomes evident that architecture is a continuum steeped in the past and reaching far into the future. We began with a review of historical context, and as we look forward to the future the past architectural outcomes, it is appropriate to explore the complexities the presem the design process itself as a major determinant.
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FROM ISOLATED ACTIVITIES TO TEAM EFFORT
With rapid growth continuing on all fronts in the United Arab Emirates economic. social, cultural, educational and technological design practices have begun to change to meet the new challenges of more demanding owners. The view of architectural design, prevalent in the early years of development in the United Arab Emirates, as an "intuitive, isolated set of activities" is gradually giving way to the more realistic view of design as an integration of partial solutions involving the efforts of a multi-disciplinary team and a clear understanding of the owners needs and requirements all within a specific, well-defined context. The design team is continuously confronted with conflicts and paradoxes that require analyses and judgements related to the specific situations, clashing values of decision-makers, and the satisfactory resolution of contrary goals.
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As developments in design practice are adopted more widely in the United Arab Emirates, effective, reliable and sustainable solutions will replace inefficient "subjective" ones of the past. Improvements in performance. economy, comfort and appearance become tangible as the process of archiectura1 design takes into account todays as well as future needs and requirements. The interaction of myriad "design" factors, the variety of design professionals and the increasing use of computer-aided-design CAD in the office and on site, however, continue to complicate the process.
INFLUENCE AND INFORMATION
Figure 1 demonstrates, on the common axis of time, the inverse relationship between influence of design decisions and the development of information scope. cost and time during the design process. Major design decisions are made in the context of little, if any, information. Clearly, this calls for a "designer" that is capable, experienced and professional.
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DETERMINANT

PROGRAM START CONCEPT APPROVAL
PRELIMINARY
DESIGN
FINAL DESIGN APPRkIWAL
RAPIDLY
INFLUENCE 9F DECISIONS
PROGRAMMING OF NEED DEFINITION OF
PRELIMINARY DESIGN PERFORMANCE SPECS PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE COST EsTIMATE 20%
DETAILED DESIGN WORKSHOP DRAWINGS PRESCRIPTIVE SPECS Ex1curIoN SCHEDULE COST ESTIMATE TIME
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SCoPE
CONCEPT DESIGN MILESTONES BUDGET
10%
FIGURE
1:
DESIGNDEVELOPMENT PROCESS:
LEVEL OFINFLUENCECONCEPT
INFLUENCE OF DECISIONS AND CONTROL OF INFORMATION
DESIGN AS A DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
The design of a building begins with total uncertainty and YSIS little information. The initial "ideas" or concepts" tend to 0 be amorphous, abstract, even nebulous and, by an iterative N of "successive series approximations" analysis synthesis-evaluation and decisions, the design E proceeds through stages where the original ideas are T expanded and given more ON E definite shape until, finally, the "concrete" details are decided. Building design is evidently an "ill-structured" problem. The everyday processes of design also involve the generation and integration of solutions via sketch designs, system selection, coordination of sub-consultants, etc. Design development involves making many sorts of decisions, gradually filling in the framework of the
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DETERMINANT C
Arc/i itecture oft/i e United Arab Emirates

schematic to final design, and communicating that conclusion for approval and on to construction and supervision. Building design involves planners, architects, several kinds of engineers structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, lighting, acoustical, etc. quantity surveyors and. frequently, landscape architects and interior designers. These professionals often have quite different responsibilities, traditions, attitudes, and interests. Design work in all the sub-systems involves questions from each professional of human factors, physical performance, coordination economics, aesthetics, etc. Building design is a multi-level, multi-process, multi-disciplinary yet integrated activity, requiring the association of all kinds of mental activities, modes of action, professional representations and decisions. At every level, consistency. harmony and compatibility must be evident in the manner by which spaces, materials, assemblies, components, equipment and everything else are integrated. one with another. This is of crucial significance to the success of the design. Throughout such integration, a difficulty, innately particular to building design, becomes apparent: How can totally different attributes, wi/li a variety of measures and no common bases of evaluating relative worth/priorities be integrated? Design decisions for one parameter affect other parameters too Ass uch, designers must optimize or satisfice" over a number of variables that comprise an environment, to produce complete solutions which, integrally, are the best that can be devised, while making the fewest compromises. Integrated solutions are not achieved by separate design of individual variables. The need to incorporate appropriate methods and techniques from decision theory e.g.. decision by exclusion, optimization, etc. into design processes is widely accepted by the
professionals
Insofar as design is conducted in the world of practical realities, it is necessary for designers to make the best decisions that are possible. In design, the translation of ideas into courses of action and three-dimensional reality progresses through a heuristic, rational, intuitive series of decisions blending knowledge with experience, theory with practice.
-
DEsIGN AS MATRIX
A useful insight into the complexities of the design process can be gleaned from the way the design process is integrated. The 3-D "generic" matrix of the design process Figure 3 is a useful mode! for describing the subsystems: processes, activities and concerns in design. Clearly, there are other ways more or less detailed of decomposing the design process. These vary from design team to design team or from project to project. In this model, however, the aim is not merely to describe an approach but to understand through the components and activities what are the parameters that determine architectural design and so to explore their possibilities and potentials for the future.
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Page 20
DLIERMINANT
Arc/iitecture of the United Arab Emirates
AXIS 2: TYPES OF DESI&N ACTIVITY FIGuRE 2: "GENERJc" MATRIX OF THE DESIGN PROCESS To understand better the significance of "process" as a determinant of architectural design, we should explore its dimensions in the context of actual attributes within a particular design. Table 1 illustrates a vertical two-dimensional slice through Figure 3: Level of Design Concerns Axis 1 and Design Sub-systems Axis 3. In building design, we attempt to proceed: From first things to last, from abstractions and concepts to the concrete and the detail; From awareness of need through program and design communication in preparation for realization; Among different design subsystems and their respective professions Also for illustration purposes, the conceptual level is developed further in Table 2 corresponding to a horizontal slice through Figure 3 At any level, for each design subsystem, it is important that the solutions developed aie appropnau, complete and consistent I lere, we note one of the basic mechanisms of the The design design process AnaIysisSynthestsEvaIuationDecision solutions are reviewed at this level for compatibility with at least one other solution in every other design subsystem They are also evaluated against the rcqutrements establishcd in the program for that design subsystem The types of actions shown in these tables permeate the entire design spectrum. The matrix and the tables demonstrate the processes, the sequences and complexities of decisions that need to be made in design. The interdependencies and conflicting requirements of building subsystems and professionai constituencies are illustrated extensively in the ranges of typical design issues in Tables 1 and 2.
Page 21
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DETERMINANT C
TABLE 1: PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SUBSYSTEMS FOR A COMPLETE DESIGN FOR A BUILDING
COTET
SP1RATIONS ITTENT1ONS
TECJINOLOG
ECOOIICS IAAG[IET
Conceptual Determining the context, Level Historical / Cultural context Environmental conditions Topographic Survey Soil investigation. Site Analysis & Development General Arrangement: Location, Orientation Contiguration. Access Circulation. Regulations: Codes / Standards I Zoning
Proramming needs, requirements Statement and definition of Maw Character and Quality of facility
-
Construction I Structural system Elevanon. Facades. Systems Fenestration Scheme Structural System: Frame. loadbearing. etc. Floor Plans, Slabs. Roots. etc. Materials: Masonry. Concrete. Steel. Wood. etc. Systems: ELVAC. Elevators Water supply, Sewaraue Safety. Security, Communications
System for Manain Project Contract Strategy Construction Method Buiidabilitvt Durabty Organization Total Schedule Order of MaLnitud Estimate Elemental Costs Payback Period. ROl Quality eveis. Standards Codes.
External/ Internal
Aesthetic & Cultural Distinction Massing, Grid system Environment and Ambience: Thermal, Aural. Visual Support and comfort conditions Type and level otarneneties and service systems
Preliminary Level
Integration into context Massing, Vertical! Horizontal Designing within historic aesthetic i cultural guidelines Structural Analysis, Loads Designing with climate Siting, Access. Circulation Parking. Orientation Topography, Landscape Subsurtace Surveys and Drainage. Utility Corridors
Articulation of Elevations: Prospects and Aspects Aesthetic / environmental Development and allocation of spaces and systems to accommodate activities and functions optimally. Optimize grossing factors, circulation adacencies, function, operation Kinds and qualities of lighting thermal / acoustical criteria
Definition of Systems and Components: Foundations. Walls, Roofs. Partitions. Floors, Windows. etc. Water Prootirnz Insulation Building services / systems Selection / Location of Main Equipment / systems Single tine diagrams: Electrical. Ar conditioning Ventilation. Water suppiv. Sewage, Communications
Budiiets for capitaL Buildabilitv anavss Durability anavss Operating costs: Energy estimates Manpower sourcir Equipnient. matenais Performance Sp.ciications Contratct Condwons Code checks
Detailed Level
Development of detail within overall historical. cultural and aesthetic scheme. Confirm climatic performance Refine siting, Levels. Contours Landscape details: Plant and hardscape, lighting. etc. Parkinu details. Access. etc. Emergency / Safety Utility! Service Connections
Further Articulation / Refinements of Elevations and Floor Plans. Furniture Selection and Layout.
Construcuonal details, joints. Selection: Materials. Fittings. Equipment. Fixtures, Finishes, Colours. Air Conditioning details Lighting details, Servicing Layout! Fttints
Tender/Contract Documerns: General/Particular Condidons Bills of Quantitie& Rates Prescriptive Specuications Cost Estimates: Capital Operation and Mawtenance Energy Consumption Project plannin and Scheduling CPM PERT
Verification and Access
Construction Sequencing Vork & Trade Consrucnon
Page 22
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DETERMINANT C

TABLE 2 DESIGN PROCESS AT CONCEPTUAL LEVEL
CONTEXT ASPIRATIONS TECUNOLOGY ECONOMICS MANAGEMENT
QWNE/ULtENT
ARCHIIE7 LANDX APE A/? HITE r
OWNER/L/ENT
USER.S jflOi/?AMfERS
OWNER/CLIENT
M&E EN;rnEER.v
OWNER/CLIENT
/ROIETMANAC;ER
A/? NITTXT STRUC7I/k4L ENGINEER

SPECULISTENGINEER
ON,TIUIT/ONMANAER SPECIFIER!
QIANTITYXURVE}OR ECONOMIC FACTORS.
CiVil, ENGINEER
.WIRVEYOR ANALYSIS PROGRAM 1l
ARCHITECT
HISTORICAL CONTEXT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SOCIAL ORGANIZATION CODES ISTANDARDS
AESTHETICS FUNCTIONS/ ACTIVITIES DESIGN QUAL1TES I CRITERIA SAFETY I SECuRrrY COMMUNICATIONS
CONSTRUCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS SEVICE REQUIREMENTS COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS
COST LIMITS; BUDGETS.

ACCOUNTING STAN DA ROS PAYBACK
P.2
DEFINmON OF CONTEXT ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURAL
PERFORMANCE CREA: AESTHETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTIONAU ACTIVITIES
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS, STRUCTURE. METHODS & MATERIALS SERVICE SYSTEMS
PROGRAM FOR MANAGING PROJECT COST / SCHEDULE CONTROL CONTRACT STRATEGY
p.3
REVIEW rROGRAM, ENSURE CONSISTENCY. COMPLETENESS, ADEQUACY OF OBJECTIVES. REQUIREMENTS. STANDARDS
YNTHESI,VJ DESIGN D.
DEVISE RANGE OF DIFFERENT SITE TREATMENTS. BUILDING ALIGNMENT & LOCATION CLIMATIC INFLUENCES ACCESS REQUIREMENTS SITE ANALYSIS
DEVISE RANGE OF DIFFERENT MASSING SCHMES, FORMS. AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS
DEVISE RANGE OF DIFFERENT CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS SYSTEMS, FRAME. ENCLOSURE. FENESTRATION. INSULATION. CLADDING. MATERIAL, ETC DEVISE RANGE OF DIFFERENT ENERGY SYSTEMS. ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES & SERVICES CONCEPTS
DEVISE RANGE OF DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES & COST & SCHEDULE CONTRACTING STRATEGIES IMILICATIONS
EVALUATION REVIEW ALTERNATIVE DESIGN CONCEPTS, ENSURE COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN SUBSYSTEMS DISCARD DESIGN CONCEPTS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH AT LEAST ONE ALTERNA11VE IN EACH OTHER SUBSYSTEM
E.2 EVALUATE REMAINING ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM
EVALUATE REMAININ3 ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM
EVALUATE REMAINING ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM
EVALUATE REMAINING ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM
E.3
FORM PERMUTATIONS SETS OF ALTERNATIVES FROM EACH SUBSYTEM USING DECISION BY EXCLUSION. EVALUATE EAC}1 PERMUTATLON AGAINST PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA
CONCEPTUAL LEVEL SELECT PERMUTATION THAT BEST SATISFIES PROGRAM lANE DEVELOP FURTHERI
FORMS SELECTED
DESIGN CONCEPT
BUILDING SYSTEM CONCEPTS
MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
REPEAT AT OThER LEVELS AND DEVELOP FURTHER
Page 23
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DETERMINANT C

In the United Arab Emirates, almost all buildings including housing are designed by a team of architects and engineers. As such the impact of design on the built environment is ubiquitous and any improvements in the design process will have an immediate and beneficial effect. In a number of the design practices in the country, as elsewhere in the world, there are still large elements of the ad hoc and the "intuitive". These practices will invariably sense a threat to their creativity" and inodus operandi. In exploring design processes, we have begun to: Understand the forces that are beginning to shape and improve the built environment, especially on large projects, Consolidate and present the issues and possibilities and Develop the bases for influencing design and for resolving decisions at critical stages in the design process. If, for example, we consider the potential for improvements in the concept design phase of the process, we know that design is substantially iterative and objective as opposed to subjective. Providing the major iterations are intelligible and clear, then there is evidently much room for the development of the irocesses and products of architectural design. Hence, by understanding the design process fully, the way is open for the large and important field of work that is making building design amenable to the benefits of computerization. The form that improvement will take in the United Arab Emirates will be greatly influenced by the growing interest in Computer-Aided Design CAD which appears, initially, to be a useful development for drafting and graphical presentation. In due course, as more expert systems are introduced and design professionals acquire the appropriate skills, attitudes, strategies and databases. these developments, too. will be adopted. Figure 4 demonstrates simply the relationship between effectiveness and effort at each phase of the design process. Clearly effective iutegiation occurs with
GRAM CONCEPT 1PRELIMINARDETA1LI CONSTRUCTION OCCUPANCY EFFECT1VE1ESS
EFFORT Ac
VIENT
ATLST
ALT/IA TIVES
DEMoLio1v
Ii,
PERF1AV1ANCE
LEVS
,,._./
S4
PHASES OFDEVELOPMENTI1
FIGURE
4: EFFORT VS EFFECTIVENESS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT comparatively little effort at the programming and concept design levels. It is at these stages, therefore, that we are likely to have maximum impact in improving design practices and products as quality levels and performance targets are agreed, alternatives are generated, their attributes analyzed, evaluated and integrated.
Page
-
24
DNlIRMlN,NT C

Clearly, the design process from the program and concept stages through to the final product is one a significant determinant of architectural design. Since the concept phase offers the greatest potential for effective solutions, it is evident that design strategies should optimize the potentials in this phase. Ideally, several concept designs would be developed incorporating the requirements identified in the program and an integrated analysis considering major construction subsystems, building configuration, orientation and zoning as well as capital and operating costs for each scheme.
-
Unlike our explorations into the historical context of architecture in the United Arab Emirates, our excursion through the design process has been tentative and fraught with concerns. To paraphrase T. S. Eliot: Is the context not both the starting point and the end of architectural design? The purpose of our exploration has been neither prescriptive nor normative. We have attempted to represent the feasibility of making the design of buildings as a conscious, professiohal, activity conducted in the open, without the mystery that tends, because of designers usual "black box" methods, to surround it. By modeling characteristics of design practices and processes emerging, permanent or ad hoc of architects, engineers and other design professionals in their everyday work as team members. we can begin to understand the bases and requirements appropriate to architectural design and to consider ways of improving them. Considering the significance of process as a determinant of architectural design, this is surely worthwhile.
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Page 25
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DETERMINANT C
DESIGN: PROCESS AND PRODUCT

In our quest to understand the determinants of architectural design in the United Arab Emirates, we explored context as history and milieu. We, then, proceeded to "deconstruct" the representation of design as process in order to reveal an evolutionary framework of reflection and action with allusion to a teleological enterprise the building as a product. We also attempted to expose the interaction between the panorama of choices and the active decisions that are taken all through the design period. Throughout, architecture involves processes heuristic, interactive and reflective that are evolving in a context of different, often conflicting, objectives but requiring synthesis and integration coherence and consistency in the final product. Design is not only the process but also the end product construing and constructing simultaneously a way of apprehending and a way of building. The two must be one, with "intention" or "aspiration" weaving the continuum for architectural excellence.
-
Significantly, design is holistic and open in the sense that it is the result of the continual and multiple actualization of systemic open-ended intentional choices among various alternatives. The sequence of decisions are so structured that the earlier decisions tend to be concerned with the most conceptual and most abstract issues and are most likely to have the greatest impact upon the resulting design. Gradually, the process cycles through decisions that become increasingly more specific and of smaller scale.
-
DESIGNERS SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES

Typically, a designers scope or work includes the following: * Analyze context to ascertain design constraints and possibilities; Establish criteria, with respect to such requirements as space, functional and aesthetic values, as design objectives and for performance evaluation; Conceive designs with particular emphasis upon integration of effectiveness and efficiency of space usage and layout with safety, security. technical feasibility, flexibility and potential for growth; * Co-ordinate closely with other design team professionals civil, mechanical and electrical engineers and other specialists integration and resolution of design conflicts;
-
structural. to ensure
* Prepare bidding documents with all relevant details, and give consultation in pre -qualification and evaluation of prospective contiactois * Supervise the execution of plans and designs
PROGRAM DESIGN INTENTIPURPOSE

There are as many ways of designing as there are designers and projects and no one way is right for all situations The word "design", though suggests deliberate intention and explicit purpose hence, design criteria as objective statements of derived from needs and goals and direction. Throughout the process, the criteria
-
Page 26
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DETERMINANT
Architecture of the United Arali Emirates

requirements, environmental constraints and conditions, established traditions of construction and technologies inform architectural design. They also evolve from the evocation of a design response to architectural generators that are sensitive to human and environmental needs and desires, to the context and to technological possibilities, to the managerial schedule, etc. and to financial guidelines and Constraints. Clearly, there are a number of design issues that are unique to the United Arab Emirates. However, many users and functional needs, that inform basic design intents and purposes, will coincide and be generally applicable worldwide because, in the particular use, the human use of the space is a principal function, In a museum, for example, there will be requirements for space to accommodate both humans and artifacts: the general public and specialists for inspection and work, and the artifacts for display and preservation. invariably, compliance with the criteria, for ensuring human convenience, comfort, effective and efficient performance, ensure that the requirements for most other functions are fulfilled as well.
*
Considerations of design issues vary from project to project, from design team to design team, from location to location, from function to function. It is important to understand how intentions inform and interact in the design process and, as such, they will be explored in the context of the following: 1. Site Analysis 2. Users and their Requirements 3. Aesthetics 4. Building Formliypology/Flexibility 5. Building Envelope
6. Eiivirorunent 7. Services
8. Legal 9. Managerial 10. Economic
1.
SITE ANALYSIS
In considerations of the design of buildings, the site is a matter of micro-geography that part of the landscape in which the building under consideration exists or will be placed. In the urban context of the United Arab Emirates, the landscape may be natural or manmade. Quite commonly, it is part natural and part artificial. The site constitutes the general context for the building to be designed: an external environment within which a brniding with an internal environment ts to emerge Interactions are two-directional The external environment the site and its context influences the design of the future building and its internal environment and, in turn, is affected by the changes that follow from the introduction of the new building. These influences physical, aesthetic, social, economic and so on which operate both at close range, and at longer-range, more extensively may be consequences of thc. history, society, culture, etc of the site or, more probably, the region coastal or desert or Emirate in which the site exists
-
Page -27
DFTERMNANT

Relationship to Urban Gontext Traditionally, the direction of the streets was carefully chosen to fit the topography while ensuring shade, capture of wind, the direction of Makkhah, contact between shops or houses in addition to well-sculpted open spaces. As such, site selection and design was within a well-understood context. With more buildings and much more complex building, it is clear that the issues are now much more intricate and require the resolution of many issues. Buildings have three levels of physical and climatic relationships with their urban context: the city as a whole, its image and systems, * the city-block level, and * the local pedestrian scale and existing patterns of life around, inside through the buildings lower floors. The impact of any new building on a vacant site is significant at the city-level in terms of the utilities: water supply, power, lighting, waste output and so on, provided by the city. Taking the city holistically as a system, tall buildings tend to have a significant impact that needs to be addressed: context and architectural character, land use, vehicular access, parking, infrastructure, environmental issues vistas, shading, orientation, security, etc. Invariably, these concerns are addressed by means of the zoning regulations as well as the building permit application procedures. At the city-block level, buildings affect the wind-flow around adjoining buildings at both the upper levels as well as at the lower levels. Clearly, the location of buildings affects several environmental factors that are important to the functioning, comfort and well-being of the inhabitants at this level such as the pattern of sun and shade, the degree of protection from radiation, the direction and pattern of rain and wind, the ventilation conditions. As such, careful consideration should be given to the dimensions, and particularly, the heights of buildings; the spacing between buildings: the variation in heights in any one section of a town; the orientation of the street network and the distribution and extent of open spaces and gardens. For the design of large structures, wind-tunnel tests should be carried out early on to ascertain the impact on the site and on the surrounds. In the coastal cities, planning should be directed towards optimization of ventilation conditions and providing the maximum protection from solar radiation. Inland, protection from dust entails planning for minimizing the impact of wind on buildings. Site P1annin Issues The designer must consider the position of the building that particular part of the site on which the building sits, together with those external appurtenances immediately related. The position constitutes the immediate context for the building: the intimate relation of building and landform, causing particular placing of window in relation to particular vista, position, direction or slope of approach path between access road and building. The positioning of a building upon a site influences both microclimate and drainage and these, in turn, influence the landscaping as well as the growth and variety of vegetation.
-
Page - 28
DETERMINANT D

Some of the major site planning issues relevant to the United Arab Emirates are listed below: Site Planning Issues: Locate building on site Principal Concerns in United Arab Emirates
-
Ensure privacy boundary walls Position for cooling breezes coastal Optimize vistas enhance/frame views Screen from intrusive views Locate windows to minimize solar radiation Optimize shading Screen undesirable sights Channel wind and dust away from buildings Reduce reflected glare into buildings Provide shade May obstruct/interrupt vistas May shield or accentuate noise May shield or funnel wind May screen radiation
Orientation * Topographical Features! Landscape/Planting
Future adjacent buildings
Privacy: Siting and P1anni,zi In the United Arab Emirates, the concern for privacy has resulted in a hierarchy of transitory spaces: [Public <::> Semi-public <::> Senil-private <::> Private that can have unique and subtle hut significant and felicitous effects on design outcomes. Examples of this effect range from the planning patterns of the traditional Islamic City to the use of the ma/U.s in homes and palaces. The structured hierarchy of public and private spaces is defined spatially and functionally. Boundary walls in excluding the clamour of public spaces of the streets, the souk. the mosque and the school define private retreats within. What is public and what is private are totally separate yet interdependent domains. What distinguishes the use of space in the Gulf region, in general. and in the United Arab Emirates, in particular. is the fluidity of levels of social contact and the clear demarcation between the public and private worlds. This, clearly, has major repercussions on several aspects of hui!din design. Ventilation: Siting and Plan,,inz For successful natural cooling, the wind must be given special consideration in site planning and selection. Also, the design of the buildings should take advantage of favourable cooling characteristics of ventilation while mitigating adverse effects e.g. dust storms and sand accumulations of the site and its microclimate. General guidelines for site selection and planning include: * * * Avoiding enclosed and sheltered locations and cul-de-sacs. Vhcnever possible, maintaining adequate building spacing to avoid shadows and wakes. Organizing the site to moderate interior air speeds while Page 29
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minimizing
heat gains.
DETERMNANT D
Architecture oft! e United Anib Emirates

When the wind strikes a building, a wake zone forms downwind. Ideally, buildings should be sited beyond the wake of other buildings in order to allow each building to act in isolation and maximize exposure to ventilation due to the wind. Effective land use requires close building spacing but to avoid wake effects, minimum distances have to be maintained. As such, staggering buildings in a checkerboard pattern perpendicular to the wind is an effective way of maintaining ventilation for all buildings even though this is rarely, if ever, possible. 2. USERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS One of the designers first tasks is to formulate amounts and kinds of space needed together with their special characteristics and relationships. For some building types. approximations of total building area and of certain kinds of spaces are obtained from the numbers and kinds of users as well as standards and norms for various kinds or categories of staff and their spatial relationships and contiguities. The characteristics of specific physiological needs for activities and tasks, that are culturally influenced, can have a significant effect on the quantity and quality of the spaces. As such, programming for spatial design to satisfy requirements may be considered as: Micro- or ergonomic activities or spatial needs for standing, walking, sitting. lying, reaching, etc. Spaces can be dimensioned on the basis of the activities of particular kinds of person occupations, ages. etc. allowing those people to perform their work and providing room for any necessary movements within them. * Macro-activities or spatial needs for social interaction and separation. Spaces may be shaped or related to allow for and encourage particular forms of human interaction and separation, responses and behaviours. As such, it is necessary to establish the functions that are to be housed in the building. Such functions include: i. Circulation e.g. people, equipment, materials, etc. ii. Organization e.g. private versus open offices, organization by discipline or by project, batch or line production, etc. iii. Provisions for specific activities e.g. staff networking, clinics, etc.
iv. Layouts of
equipment, machines, supplies, products, etc. and requirements for bringing services to equipment and activities
v. Requirements for maintenance, renewal or replacement of equipment Once these are known, the range of areas, heights, etc. of spaces and the standards e.g. space per person are determined. These usually determine minimum levels of spatial provision and set the lower limits of acceptability. Such matters as users preferences, economics or practicality determine upper limits of the range. Significant constraints on the amount of space provided in design are usually economic. Limitations on space for functional needs are fairly unusual and mostly confined to situations where other requirements e.g. in pedagogical instances limiting class size, for example are more pressing. Minimal solutions to spatial environments are normally the results of single-minded searches for just adequate
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Page -30
DETERMINANT D

solutions to functional needs which, in turn, are often interpreted in terms of lowest cost of provision. Functiona1 space tends to be the least practicable space in which the activities can be performed. In the United Arab Emirates, spaces tend to be more generous and they usually confer status and additional aesthetic advantages as such, the usable space functional needs tend to be ample. An essential feature of design standards for decision-making is to determine, where in the range of possible choices, between minimum and maximum, is the choice that optimizes function, human convenience and pleasantness, cost and all other programming considerations. In the past, however, there have been problems with inadequate programming identification of needs not being comprehensive enough and the grossing factors the ratio of net usable to total area have tended to be tight; hence, inadequate provisions of storage space in housing, for instance.
-
Design of the spatial environrnent has a factual basis that tends to be most relevant to the lower levels of acceptability. But, in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, design to minimal standards is rare; minimal standards are exceeded wherever they can be. Therefore, where space standards are set, the underlying basis of rationality has a larger superstructure of subjective cultural, perceptual, convenience, comfort, In the absence of firm directions or formalized space etc. considerations. standards, design decisions about the spatial environment are made largely on the basis of the designers judgernents of what is desirable and possible. Judgernent, of course, constitutes the essence of professional skill. Here, the honing of judgmental skills, like the exercise of any other kind of skill, tends to improve and mature over
-
time.
S.
STUD NT
50
1PIAL SP CE IND
40 30 20 10
Ag SPACE
ACA[ EMC
ACIUTI S
_
Erjj
I NOEX FOR
tvtu 1E SB
METERS
Nr
PER
-
3. N
STUDENT
Sj
SQUARE
BUILDINGS
IN UAE
1997
FIGURE
SPACE INDICES FOR ACADEMIC FACIUTIES
In design of spatial environments, as in the design of anything else there is no one answei whether based on the needs of the human users or the needs of the function that is necessarily "right". Many spatial arrangements are possible, each with a Page-31
DETERMINANT D

different combination of compromises and conflicts, each representing a different designers judgements of what is most appropriate for particular circumstances e.g. Figure 1 the space indices for academic facilities. Each arrargement is likely to create different conditions for the constructional and other sub-systems and, thereby. further possible influences upon the spatial environment. 3. AESTHETIC ASPIRATIONS Traditional building provided fundamental solutions to the basic environment problems protection from the climate, from the sun and from the wind. The goals development, however, have tended to be away from the traditional. Additionally. of with the loss of old ways of life, the resulting architecture locally has been the modern style buildings with a pastiche of pointed arches, false domes and stalactite ornaments cast in concrete or pressed in metal or moulded in plastic is often taken as a synonym for progress Change, in the form of increasing scale and impersonality of the environment, has been significant. The issue, now, is not a return to traditionalism most people do not hanker for a return to the whole package of traditional values. There is, though, an undertow of feeling that modern technology has been allowed to overshadow human values and accumulated wisdom. The issue is how to make better use of the improvements in technology. No clear aesthetic philosophy has yet emerged to guide regional, Arabic, Islamic development.
-
The principal aesthetic component of a buildings environment the character of the space is its "atmosphere or ambiance" or "mood". This corresponds to the subjective effect of the physical environment experienced through the senses upon the people who use the building. In the United Arab Emirates, there is a healthy dynamic tension between traditional values Arabic / Islamic architecture. historical and modern aspirations. This tension informs the motivations of the owner or designer and frames the expectations of tradition or fashion. It is in the resolution of the aesthetic dialectic that the aspirations for the space to possess a recognizable "appropriatet image and atmosphere, sensations of pleasantness, including a sense of beauty are expressed. Here, the reference plane for design is often ambiguous because the entire spectrum of regional Arabic and Islamic architecture is understood in dynamic opposition to the "international" and "modern styles. The response to the question "How is building to be experienced?" leads to more detailed considerations. such as: Scale: Harmony Style Symmetry Proportion Structure Hierarchy Arrangements of spaces for building functions, for example: Vertically: Arrangement of zones. Horizontally: Separation offunctions. Axially: Orientation towards qibla or in the procession of spaces Symbolism: Ambiguity, archetypal
-
Meaning Detail Functoii as leitmotif Spatial symboLism:
Inscriptions Calligraphy Lettering, Teture and Coloui Geometric Ornamentation/Decoration Arabesque Shading/Privacy e g Mushrabiyvahs Association of traditional building forms with functions.
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Institutional: Page -32
Madrassas, caravansaries
DETERMINANT
Architecture oft/ic United Arab Emirates

Religious and Monumental: Mosques, Palaces For some space types, such as commercial villas and housing, the conventional tends to provide the dominant direction. For example, the form given to a space may have a symbolism, associating the building with special purposes, in the way that the courtyard plan has long been associated with Arabian housing. Where should the designer pitch spatial standards? Between the frugal and the lavish? Between the traditional and the modern? Most intentions are subject to change; but aesthetic factors, more than most, are subject to changing expectations and standards, fashions and tastes. Special aesthetic features may be determined by such means as dimensions, shape, solidity or transparency, texture, colour, etc. In defining the desired features, designers seek responses to prescriptions of desired subjective character along such semantic dimensions as:
Monumental Horizontal Constricted Large Extended Movable
:::.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Restrained Vertical
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::::::
Spacious Small
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::-. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::::::::::::
Compact Fixed Polished
Conceated Open Deep Decorated Compact Symmetrical Regular Free
::::::;::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Displayed
Ctosed Shaflow Plain Dispersed
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Asymmetrical
Irregular
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Defined
I hese dimensions are rarely, if ever, absolute Invariably a graduated scale between
the extremcs helps prescribe the aesthetic requirements
BUILDING FORM /TvPot OGYI IFLEXIBILITY

-
"Planning the proccss of determining a buildings spatial vertical and horizontal develops from considerations identified to and determined form nd environment by those that plan The proccss embraces physical quantities and subjective qualities of built space and, as such is concerned with the physical space to serve human acflvitics and needs and to achieve human experiences of the spaces and their related environments In the planning process, the series of steps taken might include Decide general character and krnd of space,
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Page 33
DE FERMINANT 1

Determine plan type and overall building form; Determine principal separations of planning subdivisions of the building; Plan major spatial units and their inter-relationships; * * Establish general massing; Determine building volumes, shapes, orientations, number and height of floors; Determine main circulation routes; Determine general arrangement of fenestration; * Design individual room spaces in detail. Building Form Viewed in the overall perspective of human history and built settlements. the climate is the single most constant factor of the landscape apart from the basic geological structure. Whilst socio-economic and political conditions may change almost unrecognizably over time as may visual tastes and aesthetic sensibilities the climate of the region remains more or less unchanged. As such, building forms usually evolve to meet the challenges of the climate. This essential principle of architecture is largely neglected in some building types in the United Arab Emirates where housing, for example, is rarely based on the courtyard. The climate-responsive building has a greater fit with its geographical context. Buildings that are responsive to the environment inevitably have an impact on users, enhancing their well-being while enabling them to be aware of and to experience the diurnal and seasonal changes i.e. the external climate over a significant part of their day.
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* Locate buildings entrances, exits;
Building Typology In the urban economies of the coastal cities of the United Arab Emirates, the trend towards ta11" buildings is also a function of land costs hence, building economics, the locational preferences of users, the desire forflagship status and assertive image associated with high-rise construction and architectural and engineering design. Obviously, as building height and depth increase, built space is intensified over a small site area or over a small footprint. This permits more usable floor-space to go higher, to make more cash from the land, put more goods, more people. more rents in one place. In Abu Dhabi, high-rise economies derive more from the geographical limitations of land available on the island, while in Dubai, accessibility, proximity to the airport and the central business districts are more significant factors in defining zoning heights In both cities road services parking constiaints and limited prime land are conducive to high rise developments. In Al Am, zoning restrictions govern the building height and type. Building height is also a function of advances and developments in foundations, structural framing and wind-bracing, high-speed elevators, water supply and plumbing systems, glazing and window-framing systems, indoor lighting, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, cleaning technologies and telecommunications and electronics systems all technological factors.
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Page-34
DETERMINANTD
__________
Building Height The fundamental principles of designing low-rise and medium-rise buildings in hot climates are reasonably well understood. However, adapting these principles to highrise construction is not a matter of mere extrapolation. It is necessary to re-examine these principles in the context of additional user requirements and greater exposure of the structure to the full impact of the external elements stronger winds, more extreme temperatures and humidities and direct radiation and, then, to develop valuable local and regional guidelines. Unless important views lie elsewhere, windows in conjunction with curtain-walling, if deemed aesthetically desirable should face the direction of the least direct insolation i.e. north and south sides. Minimizing insolation reduces the buildings airconditioning load. If the site does not align with the suns geometry on jts east-west path, it becomes necessary to provide building elements, forms, shape adjustments or shading devices such as balconies or overhangs. Service Cores In buildings, there is a need for service-cores to accommodate the elevator shafts and lobbies, the main and escape stairways, riser-ducts, toilets and other service rooms. The services-cores should follow the geometry of the site to optimize column grids, basement car-parking layouts, etc. Wherever possible, the design of service zones should consider temperature regimes Figure 2 natural ventilation, sunlight and good views all key considerations in determining their configuration and location.
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ACTIVITIESNITH COO LINGNEEDS

I
WARM
<
-
uJ z 0
N.J
>-J
I LU
CORE ACTIVITIES WITH NO DAYLIGHTING NEEDS ACTIV1rtEVITH COO LINGNEEDS
NJ
LU U
CooL
HOT TEMPERATURE ZONES
ACTIVITY ZONES
FIGURF:
2: IMPACT 01 TEMPERATURE ZONES ON SPACE ALLOCATION
Clearly, the west wall has the highest intensity at the hottest time of the day. If required for aesthetic reasons, glazed curtain-walls may be used on the non-solar facing facades hut on the hot east and west sides, some form of solar-shading would be required to make allowance for glare and the quality of light entering the spaces. Page -35
DETERMINANT D
Arc/zjtecture of the United Arab Emirates

Essentially there are two possible types of service core positions: central-core and double-cores. Apart from their obvious structural ramifications, service-cores influence such decisions as type and location of openings in external walls in terms of thermal performance and orienting views to the outside.
Central Service Core

Central location of service core internal lobbies / passageways.
Double Service Cores

Double cores located on the hot sides east or west along solar path.
requires
Higher air-conditioning costs because of heat gain in user and service spaces that are conditioned. Central location provides no thermal protection to building. Abrupt transition from building interior to natural environment Artificial lighting; Mechanical ventilation; Pressurization ofducts for fire-protection to service core Internal views only Atria and Terraces
Significant savings in air-conditioning as service cores buffer internal spaces providing spatial thermal insulation on the buildings hot sides. Building users experience transition to natural environment
Minimum artificial lighting; No mechanical ventilation or pressurization to service core.
Pleasant external and internal views possible
Atria and terraces offer some possibilities for mitigating the more demanding environmental loads. It is possible to reduce solar heat gain through windows by shading the hot sides of the building using deep recesses in the external wall, e.g., totally recessed windows, balconies or small-scale courtyards in the upper floors of tall buildings. Apart from providing shade, recessed terraces can be used as: emergency evacuation spaces, terraces for planting and landscaping, * flexible zones to permit the future addition, and semi-enclosed transitional spaces for the building users to experience and enjoy the view of the external environment. Terraces or atria, located either centrally or peripherally, perform the same transitional role between inside and outside as do traditional porches in low-rise buildings in which the external natural environment is experienced under semienclosed conditions In many parts of the world, the indoor atrium is often sealed and air-conditioned However, atria shielded by louvered roofs or "Mushrabiyyahs" to encourage wind-flow to the inner areas of the building provide other means of integrating interior and exterior environments Multi-storey atlia also act as windscoops to direct natural ventilation to the inner parts of the building as well as for the exit of hot air resulting from the Venturi effect By organizing the buildings internal corridors perpendicular to the atrium space, they can act as conduits toi ventilation and breezes into the internal spaces. Airflow can be controlled by adjustable louvers at the openings.
Page-36
DETERMINANT D
Architecture of lie United Arab Emirates

Flexibility The need for flexibility or adaptability includes provision for change of use, change of methods and change of user. Here, a critical interpolation has to be made somewhere between extreme solutions such as the infinitely flexible adaptable or general-purpose building, on the one hand, and the one-use, short-life, disposable building, on the other. Decisions require assessments of need for and value of the provision of adaptability, the needed life of the building: physical, functional, and economic. 5. BUILDING ENVELOPE In the United Arab Emirates and in hot climates, the principal functions of the building envelope are: 1. Filter of the environment to control light and solar radiation, heat flow, air flow, N rain and dust penetration noise 2. Strength, safety structural and fire and security 3. Durability and serviceability
4.
Aesthetic
5. Economic In controlling the environment, the building envelope functions more as a sieve or filter than as a sealed skin. The walls perform as a permeable membrane with adjustable openings to control good cross-ventilation, ensure solar protection and prevent the entry of dust, sand and rain while ensuring effective and efficient surface drainage. Roofs prevent water ingress and provide thermal insulation from intense radiation. Clearly, the systems, products and materials selected in designing the envelope have a dramatic effect on the buildings performance. especially with respect to thermal conditions. Designing each building surface implies determining the imposed environmental loads and selecting which products and materials are used to provide the optimum combination of charactenstics to both reduce heat gain and meet other design objectives It is difficult to determine intuitively the optimum combination of materials and products for optimal building performance and as such, designers frequently use multi-attribute decision processes during the schematic and design development phases to help decide which alternative offers the best overall performance characteristics Walls: Systems As designers take major decisions with respect to wall systems at a relatively early stage these will not only have a significant influence on the buildings appearance but will determine to a considerable degree its environmental performance: Page -37
DETERMtNANT

Size, shape and position of openings.
-
Access and egress Light and view Appearance
Treatment of openings, e.g. in-fill type, opening arrangements and protection from light, heat, dust and water penetration
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Heat gain/loss Ventilation Sound transmission Safety
Durability
Wall as a whole
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Form: thickness, shape, size, edge profile, support attachment. joints, dimensional coordination, tolerances for construction and movement Control air. dust and water Fire control Incorporation of services
In the United Arab Emirates, the major source of heat gain can be radiant heat through windows east and west walls, south walls, roofs, and north walls usually in that order. It is important to remember that the radiant environment is much more than the direct radiation from the sun; the effect of specular reflected radiation can be substantial. To reduce the amount of heat that penetrates a buildings exterior envelope, the materials selected should be capable of reducing both conductive and radiant heat, hence considerations of insulation, reflectivity, transniissivity are paramount in selection of materials and systems for the building envelope.
-
Shading wall surfaces, especially the east and west sides. is effective both environmentally and economically. The selection of cladding systems such as effective heat-sinks e.g. aluminium composites or walls with double layered ventilating space should take into consideration the products insulation and time lag characteristics. Materials that reflect rather than absorb radiation, and which release the absorbed heat as thermal radiation more readily, bring about lower temperatures within the building. As such, materials that provide effective protection against the impact of radiation should be selected for appropriate absorptivity and emissivity characteristics. A judicious use of insulation and thermal mass in construction systems can result in thermal time-lag and mitigation of temperature extremes. Moreover, the convective heat impact that depends on air movement may dilute the effect of radiation. Form also affects thermal performance as curved surfaces are used as vaults, domes, atria,
Page -38
DETERMINANT

louvered or irregular-surfaced roofs convection transfer over a large areas.
-
shapes that tend to increase the rate of
Curtain walls- non-load bearing external walls supported on structural frame are becoming more popular in the United Arab Emirates. Manufacturers get involved in both the design and the installation of curtain walls to ensure that the product fulfills the functional requirements effectively. In evaluating curtain wall systems, the following aspects should be reviewed and evaluated: * Visual and aesthetic suitability * * Structural requirements lateral loads function of building location, degree of exposure, height above ground, etc.
-
Capability of system to screen rain and exclude/divert dust and sand Solar control reflective non-absorptive glass/double glazing tends to be reasonably effective Constructional requirements modular coordination, construction and assembly, joints and connections
-
Acoustical control
For many months of the year October to April it is possible, even desirable, to use good natural cross-ventilation. To be effective as a substitute for air-conditioning, up to 30 air-changes per hour are needed. Ideally, openings should be as large as possible, and so, the best arrangement to achieve the required ventilation rates is to have windows with full wall-openings on both the windward and leeward sides. The windows should be equipped with adjustable opening/closing devices that can assist in channeling the airflow in the required direction following wind changes. Stack effect pressures resulting from inside to outside temperature differences can be neglected. However, the high velocity of winds at the upper floors of the tall building could make this impractical. As such, recessed windows with mechanisms for adjusting the through-flow of wind and diverting wind-swept rain and providing adequate drainage should be considered seriously as an alternative to air-conditioning during the "winter" months. Walls: Colour The effect of surface colour on heat gain into a building can be quite pronounced under the intense sun of the United Arab Emirates. Any solar radiation not reflected by the roof and walls is absorbed or transmitted thereby raising the surface and the room temperatures As a general rule, the darker the surface colour, the more solar radiation that the envelope will absorb and the hotter it will become Typical reflectance values for various shades of gray are shown below
COLOUR
White
Light
REFLECTANCE 8O85% 45-70% 2O-25% 10% Page -39

DETERMINANT D
Gray
Dark Gray Black

Clearly, the effect of the increased surface temperatures on comfort and air conditioning loads depends on the construction and the amount of insulation in the wall or roof systems. In the desert, the surface temperature of a niedium gray colored roof may be as much as 30C above a silver reflective roof. This constitutes a significant heat load. The effect of orientation and colour on the surface temperature of walls is important the greatest temperature swings occurring on walls facing east and west. Surface temperatures of gray colored walls facing east and west show an increase of up to 25C above the ambient air temperature of 35C. On white walls under the same conditions the increase is only about 5C above ambient.
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Fenestration and Glazing The size and location of windows and the type of glass are generally the major determinants of a buildings performance with respect to energy and comfort. As such, glazing, which also impacts the bui1dings aesthetics, interior envirnment, and long term maintenance and operating cleaning costs, is one of the most important building material selections that a designer makes. From an energy performance standpoint, glazing should have a high daylight transmission and a high infra-red shading coefficient, particularly if the glass is unshaded. Clear glass has both high daylight transmittance and low shading coefficient, making it most useful in combination with exterior shading systems. Highly reflective and dark solar bronze glazings exclude heat effectively, yet limit the amount of daylight penetrating the buildings interior. Some green tinted glazings offer a good compromise between solar control and dayl ighting. As the temperature difference between a buildings interior and exterior surface in the United Arab Emirates is generally substantial, double-glazing is often required for comfort and economic reasons. In fact double glazing with low enhissivity Low-E coatings is becoming a standard in many types of buildings. Payback periods for the substitutions of double-glazing for single glazing in this climate are quite favourable. Fenestration and Daylighting To some extent a window provides controlled daylight to a space reducing the demand for electric lighting. Various devices are commonly used to bounce or diffuse light deep into a space. Diffuse daylight can be four times as efficient as fluorescent fixtures in terms of providing usable light without the associated heat gain As such, a well designed system incorporating automatic lighting controls can provide daylighting 3 5 meters deep into a buildingts perimeter zone which can achieve up to 50% savings in electric power This is an important consideration for thermal comfort and energy savings in both naturally ventilated and air-conditioned buildings where the maximum potential for energy savings from daylighting occurs when ambient light levels, solar heat gain and electric power consumption are all at their peaks For daylighting to save energy, the lights must be dimmed or turned off automatically, with manual over-rides Without controls the Iai ge areas of windows or skylights have an adverse effect on operating costs since large areas of glazing can increase solar heat gain thereby raising the air conditioning load
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Direct radiation can cause unwanted heat gain and uncomfortable glare in the form of excessive differences in brightness As such, for daylighting to be useful in interior spaces this involves re-directing and reflecting direct sunshine off several surfaces Page -40
DETERMNANT D

and minimizing direct radiation. Although, the intensity of light is reduced, light reflecting off many surfaces will even brightness patterns and reduce glare. The amount of light bouncing off the surface is proportional to its reflectance, and so light colored walls and ceilings work best for daylighting while the colour of the flooring is not as important. In order to maintain even distribution and quantity of light, the height of a window is more important than its width. The proportions of a space ceiling height to depth are also important for even illumination. As a rule of thumb for spaces with windows on one side, the depth should not be greater than 2.5 times the height.
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There are many types of devices used to bring light in high and deep into a bui1dings interior: skylights, clerestories, atria, light shafts, and fabric structures. In United Arab Emirates, clear skylights in offices, classrooms and other critical task areas should be avoided as much as possible as they are much brighter than the surrounding ceiling and the resulting glare and radiative heat gains tends to be uncomfortable. Diffuse white skylights, popular in industrial and commercial applications, provide a good amount of light and minimize the amount of heat gain and cost. For easier control of heat gain and waterproofing, designers tend to use clerestories with light shelves for distributing light and shielding direct views of the sky. In hot climates, these have all the lighting advantages of skylights but fewer problems.
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Clustering spaces around atria is useful for bringing light into a buildings interior as well as creating dramatic spatial relationships. When a covered atrium is used in the United Arab Emirates, particular care must be paid to the solar geometry, light transmissivity, and size of the opening to prevent overheating. In general, direct sunlight should not be allowed into a covered atrium, especially if it is over an airconditioned space. Design strategies involving landscaping, shading devices, curtains, blinds and solar control devices should be used to filter daylight, control glare and ensure more even light distribution. Ventilation: Openings When bui1dins are exposed to winds, a high-pressure zone is created in on the windward side while the leeward side is subjected to a negative pressure. Windows located on the windward and leeward side of the building tend to be most effective to achieve cross ventilation. In some cases, however, buildings in severe winds may be subjected to excessive structural loads, whistling noise through loose as opposed to airtight constructions, dust, sand accumulations and rain leakage problems. The pressure difference across the building fabric and the resistance of the openings size. shape, type, and location to air flow determines the rate of airflow across the envelope as well as the deposition of dust and sand and rain leakage. Airflow through a building with the windows located on the leeward and side-walls results in poor ventilation as the pressure differences across the windows will he very small. When windows are restricted to only one surface, ventilation is usually weak and independent otthe wind direction. Consequently, when designing and placing windows for effective cross ventilation, the following should be taken into consideration: * wind direction, speed and distribution pattern; Page -41
DETERMINANT D
Architecture ofthe United Arab Emirates

building envelope and landscaping configuration facilitate natural ventilation of the interior spaces as they hinder or
the location and type of inlets and outlets, baffles and their effect on air flow patterns Observations and research findings show that the average internal wind speeds does not change significantly with increasing window size. For wind-driven ventilation. though, the height of the inlet has a considerable effect on the airflow pattern in a room while the height of the outlet has little influence on interior airflow. For body cooling, the best location for windows is at or below body level which changes with space use e.g. bedroom or office. Roofs Insulation of one form or another reduces conductive heat flow and, as such, is desirable in roofs and walls that are heavily exposed to solar radiation. Clearly. insulation will be most effective in low-rise roof dominated buildings and have less effect in high rise buildings as their cooling loads are generated primarily by solar gain through glazing and by internal heat gain. For low- and medium-rise buildings in the United Arab Emirates, rigid insulation of 50mm thickness above the roof deck is effective in providing thermal comfort economically. In tall buildings, the ratio of roof area to external wall area is very small compared to low-rise and medium-rise buildings. Also, the buildings height reduces the effectiveness of any overhangs of the roof to the upper few floors only. Invariably. much of the roof is usually occupied by mechanical equipment, a space that offers some insulation from direct solar-heat absorption. As such. the priorities in roof design tend to be given to planning of equipment location, weather-proofing of structural openings as well as aesthetic considerations. In low- to medium-rise buildings, the colour of roofs affects interior heat gain especially in uninsulated roofs. Rough surface textures can reduce the heat gain through the roof significantly perhaps because rough surfaces such as gravel tend to increase the surface area and, thus, the cooling potential of breezes blowing over the surface of the roof. Constructing roofs and walls of low-thermal-capacity materials with reflective outside surfaces where these are not shaded is advantageous. Built-up insulated inverse roofs with highly reflective upper surfaces and ceilings are often used to mitigate the impact of radiation and thermal loads. Ground Floor The relation of the ground floor to the street is very important It invai iably acts as a transitional space between the hot outside and the cooler inteiioi As such the ground floor deserves special consideration. In hot climates, it may be entirely open to the outside as a naturally-ventilating space. As such, the space does not need to be enclosed or air-conditioned but care has to be taken to keep out wind-swept rain and Clearly, these wind-turbulence which invariably deposits dust and sand. considerations are appropriate to tall buildings and to the periphery of buildings with large floor plates e.g. shopping centers. Page-42
LETERMINANTD

Vcrtical Lwids.?uping A1thouh soft1andscaping strategies using plantcr--boxes and roof planting for low and medium-rise buildings arc relatively well devcloped for hot climates, they need to be developed for ti11 buiIdiiig. The use of planting arid soft-1ndscapirtg on the face of tall buidingc or integrated into the inner terraces can have aesthetic and ecological benefits as well a PrOvidi1 effective climatic responses. The use of tropical pIantig can enbnce the aesthtcs of the building and besidcs providing shading to th.e internal spaces and to the external walt, can minimize heat absorption kind glare into tile building. Also the plants evaporation can prnvide effective cooLing to the build ing Vertical landscaping in the talL building cati he achieved h a systeLn of steppcd planter-boxes mid balconies organized as continuous planting zones up.the fes of the building thus providing a link to tile ecosystrn at the rouud level. In the hai-h summer climaic of the United Arab Emirates. thc planling would definitely need intensive and rciu1ar irri at ion and maintenmce. Floor Con/ifuration J1i layout C floor is a Con1p1x process indeed. Ifl tall hUi!difl!S. the tloor 1avo apart from responding to coninierial considerauons should take into ac Count human modalities and local cultural patterns Ut living and working. of privacy and commumlv, all cf wWcli have dveoped iu re1aton to the kcaJty s climate. invariably the issue n th Unitcd Arab Emru.c eonhinUes to be the dftticultv in effecting the tr.insitioll from thc horizontal to the vertical. I-io can this he retlec.i.cd in the bui1diicZ s contigurauon. in its floor-depth, thc posiuoIwlg of its entrances avid cx its. ti proviioi i fbr Iiumaii movement through and btwcii sptcs. its orientation and in t cxiernaI views ind still maintain privacy and ensure continuity with natuL. The biu1din plan should provide humanity. interest and scale, as well as allowing Thr ur-movemrit through spaces. th provision of sunlight and shade nternaflv. adequate ventilation, rd so on.
6.
rhe
ICSIGNING WitH ENVmONEN U phvsiolo ica1 charactcristics and. heiiee, the building rcquireuients. vary
throughout the year as the seasonaj climatic variations are considerable. Cear!y. it is important for designers to examine all the climauc information for the region See the ease study for sornc typical data These arc importanT. for example u determining
the orientation and size of openings. for calculating air-eonditioiing loads, for designiri shading devices and selecting insulation. In "designing with climate". every attempt should be made to keep conditions in facilities within the eomtort zone. Iji the summer months in the United Arab Emirates, na.ure is much too demanding and elcctro-mechanical conditioning is a definite requirement. Inland, the fllWfl problem in the decign of both interm.d and external spaces in a hot, dr desert climate i one of achieving protection from the harsh environment. Comfortable conditions require the screening of the intense glare and radiation from thc sun, the ground and from surrounding huildings as well as piotection frow hot, dUStY Winds. Because of the aI1year round use likely to be made of facilities, designs cater tb tl.ic worst summer conditions.
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Page 43
-
DLTEIMNANT

On the coast, the hot humid zone present two problems to designers: * * avoidance of excessive solar radiation, and provision for moisture evaporation by breezes
since the main cause of discomfort is the subjective feeling of skin wetness. Continuous ventilation is therefore required to ensure a perspiration evaporation rate sufficient to maintain thermal equilibrium and minimum perspiration accumulation of the skin. Solar heat gain from radiation should be prevented. As such, it is desirable that the buildings and neighbourhoods allow free air movement, that the roofs be insulated and that large overhangs be provided for shade and to protect against sun. Under hot conditions, the thermal control in buildings should: 1. prevent heat gain 2. maximize heat loss. 3. remove any excess heat by mechanical cooling. Microclimatic control mechanisms are used to achieve the first two objectives and to achieve significant energy savings. These include: 1. through-site layout and internal space-planning, 2. controlling and planning air-movements, 3. external wall/fenestration and space orientation such as configuring the building and the selective placement of the various functional parts of the building and 4. the use of structural and constructional passive means of control Because of the demanding summer conditions, excess heat has to be removed by active energy input or by mechanical means of control. Ecological Design of Buildings There are many well-tried traditional precedents of buildings in hot climates that have provided their occupants environmental comforts with passive controls and maximum economy. We can learn the salient lessons from their success and apply them today; the possibilities offered by new designs, technologies and systems are attractive. Clearly buildings should be designed integrally and fundamentally correct in all aspects. Equally clearly, subsequent specialist intervention cannot make buildings function satisfactorily. It is neither practical nor effective to design a building exclusively on economic, functional or aesthetic grounds alone and then expect a few minor adjustments to give a good indoor climate. As we examine some of the issues that are considered in design: * the overall concept of the project, * the layout and orientation of buildings, * the shape and character of structures * the spaces to be enclosed, and the spaces allowed between buildings Page 44
-
DETERMINANT
Architecture oft/i e United Arab Emirates

it is clear that low- and mediumrise construction in hot climates provide us with a useful starting set of "principles of building" as it were, that can be studied, understood, extrapolated and explored further in high-rise construction. Clearly, in the United Arab Emirates, there is a considerable range of climatic criteria to consider and the users, themselves, are at the center of these design decisions. Would they, for example, really want a building that is: * * totally naturally ventilated and sunlit and ecologically efficient?
Would they understand and accept: * * * less consistent comfort levels. a more variable working environment, and the inconvenience of having to manipulate external devices to respond to changing climate conditions?
What about historical and contextual continuity and tradition: * traditional ventilation mechanisms as a fall back position
Obviously, answers to these questions determine the design unequivocally. Initially, the issues appear to be simply concerns about conservation and sustainable environments and the choices are clear. Seasonal variations in the United Arab Emirates and the variety of sites make for interesting potentials in terms of efficiencies, savings in capital costs and possibilities in built forms and ecological building aesthetics. Furthermore, adopting the ecological approach to design is justified on grounds of continual savings both in lifecycle cost and energy consumption. The idea of climatically-responsive buildings may well direct a gradual tut phased change in user behaviour and preferences away from the present fully artificial working and living environments to environments that are naturally or partially naturally ventilated, perhaps supplemented by lower-energy mechanical means. Notwithstanding these concerns, buildings, designed with climate in mind, are viable without significant lowering of comfort standards
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However, the users response may not be so straightforward especially when the consequences of design decisions are compared to the convenience of constant artificially controlled internalized environments of air-conditioned apartments or artificially lit offices Social anterdictions and financia drawbacks may also prove to be a dismcentive In reality, the issues tend to be more soclo-economic values which in turn depend upon image, the level of affluence and the standards of comfort that are acceptable rather than their ecological and aestheticjustifications
7.
SERVICES
Design Considerations Air Conditioning A properly designed, naturally ventilated building can provide comfortable climatic conditions throughout only a portion of the year in the United Arab Emirates When supplemented by mecharncal system, such as mechanical ventilation and air conditioning, comfort can be provided for most people and situations throughout the Page -45
DETERMtNANT P

entire year. With the harsh summer conditions and the desire for optimal comfort, air conditioning is used extensively the United Arab Emirates, particularly for institutional, commercial, and high-rise residential occupancie. Air conditioning systems are designed for the summer extremes even though the occupancy then is reduced e.g. in schools and, as such, capital cost savings tend to be minimal. An architectural compromise to design a building both for part-time air conditioned use and part-time non-air conditioned use is generally not energy efficient. However, a naturally ventilated building can provide significant savings in energy and operating costs since the air conditioning system will not be operated all the time. Successful use of natural ventilation requires detailed design analysis during the early phases of a project.
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Air conditioning is required for areas with high internal heat generation, dense occupancy, poor orientation, lack of external sun shading, the need for teiflperature or humidity control, or occupant preference. Air conditioning systems should be sized to * remove internal heat gains from lights, people and equipment; * remove heat gain from solar radiation; and * to cool and dehumidify outdoor air required for ventilation. If occupants neither need nor want air-conditioning some of the time, supplemental cooling such as room air conditioners or ventilation fresh air circulation can be effective. Selection of air conditioning equipment is based on maximum heat gains, but it needs to be sufficiently flexible to operate effectively and efficiently at low-load times. With sufficient thermal zones in the building separate temperature-controlled areas to match load variations due to changes in sun position, occupancy, lighting, or equipment operation, further efficiencies can be obtained. Building Management Systems With the standardization of digital control, building management systems are being installed in institutional and laige commercial facilities in the United Aiab Emirates An effective building to manage all mechanical and electrical subsystems management system along with a competent operating and maintenance program can improve performance and save far more energy than almost all design refinements introduced to save energy. The ultimate success of any design strategy depends on how well the individual sub systems are integrated into the complex design process. It is the designers responsibility as a professional to ensure proper integration of the subsystems and the integrity of the building. Effective integration occurs when all performance issues are considered at each phase of the design process in relation to one another and as a whole.
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A united team effort on many levels in the building design process is vital to the design of a successful building This team effort must involve planning, patience, action and a commitment to the team approach We should not be reluctant to share the fruits of individual experiments, successes, and failures Sharing new ideas identifying practical, proven design strategies in a cooperative framework will ultimately translate into unique, diverse and interesting design solutions. Page-46
DETERMINANTD
Architecture of/lie United Arab Emirates

Design Considerations: Water Supply In the United Arab Emirates, water is an extremely valuable resource and, as such, poses stringent requirements in terms of preservation. In the major coastal cities, supply from desalination plants tends to be continuous and the design for water supply and fire fighting provisions are based on international standards. Inland, the water supply is time-controlled and this necessitates the provision of storage facilities in the form, usually, of water tanks on the ground and on the roof along with a pumping system. The impact on land use and building form is conspicuous. The scarcity of water has a dramatic impact on landscaping in terms of decisions about soft and hard landscape, methods of irrigation sprinkler, drip, channel, surface or subsurface, maintenance, type of planting, etc.
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Design Considerations: Sewerage and Rain Water Drainage The presence of trunk sewer lines in all major cities obviates the need to build septic tanks on site or in the event of major developments to have sewage treatment plants. Rainwater drainage networks are also available as part of the city-wide infrastructure. 8. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS Building Regulations Most legislated requirements of building design are intended to ensure safety from such contingencies as unhealthy conditions, fire, structural failure and so on, which are not commonly intentions of purposive design. In the United Arab Emirates, international standards International Standards Organization, British Standards and Codes of Practice, American Standards for Testing and Materials, National Fire Protection Agency, and other reputable standards German, French and Japanese underpin the design decision making process. The additional local codes and regulations that are also enforced tend to modify specific aspects of the international standards by take local constraints into consideration e.g. availability of water for fire Code checks are usually undertaken during fighting and the use of dry risers. concept design to ensure compliance and consistency. It is important to note, however, that the only function that these standards perform is to ensure rock-bottom worst case minimum standards. Nevertheless, legislated requirements. whatever they may be, need to be identified and stated in order to ensure that they have been met or exceeded.
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Zoning Regulations The municipalities in urban areas in the United Arab Emirates zone land for different uses; and building permits are issued only after compliance to specific zoning regulations. The tendency is to sub-divide the land, generally in grid-iron for streets with back-to-back street-front plots with adequate space allocated for the uti1ities. It let alone an is difficult in this layout to develop the concept of any community in the social orgarnzatlon of neighbourhoods pedestrian Islamic community movement and distribution of facilities In this method of land sub-division there is a tendency to develop lots in a random manner as these are allotted to or purchased by various individuals. This sort of development results in sporadic in-fill of space with
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DETERMINANTD

inherent probems of lack of central facilities, under-used expensive road networks and utility runs and unfinished appearance. The method of land subdivision in residential areas resuts in udividuaI freestanding units, each in its own lot. This tends to be reinforced by building rcgulation that relate to building height, ctbucks ratio of area of building to land coverage. Ihe tendency is for these regulations to mitigate against the traditional courtyard houses and ultimately reinforces the provision of the ubiquitous 2xn. high boundary walls. With the villa style residential development, it is clear that climate control is difficult especially if poor building orientation is dictated by zoning and street direction. Privacy is difficuft to achieve in spite of the regulations about fenstration. The designs tend to be awkward spatially as the external expression is extrovert rather than hidden and private. in high rise construction, the 1 .5m cantilever permitted over the mezzanine floor has a major financial and economic as well as aesthetic impact on buildings in Abu Dhabi and Al Am. Zoning regulation also involve height limitations, floor areas, cantilever arrangements, provisions direct access to sky foi bathrooms, tire escape stairs. etc., stipulations about minimum external distances between spaces, and so on.
9. MANAGERIAL
A team effort on many levels in the design process is vital to the successful design of an aethetica1!y pleasing. efficient and effective building. This team fort i1vo1vcs more than rheoric; it involves management at various levels, Without p1arning. patience, action, monitoring and control, little will be accomplished. In effcctivc design, there has to be a commitment to team effort, to sharing new ideas, to identifying practical. proven design strategies in a cooperative framework, and to creativity in order to render unique, diverse and interesting solutions. scoptJqu411t/ For piojeut succLss the tnad ot prolect management fundamuitals have to be in equilibrium. The criterion fir success is a1i schedule and cost appropriate budget with sufficient time to deliver the scope of works at th peIiin1nt level of quality with minimum problems and mecimnisms for their swift and felicitous resolution whenever they occur. Some of the major rntnagerii! issues that impact on arcliiteetural design arc: Scope/Quality The quality spectrum rtnge from the "quahtyth iven sk it1i-1uuit type of plojcct as in prestige buildings at one end to the hcap temporary utilitarian sheds at the other ihe impact on architectuiul design Is evtdcnt Schedule IO short a schedule tends to "crash" the project while a project that drags on and on also increases costs. in both instances, the quality i also affected Strtking tht right bdlance ino1es a iiumbr of other considerations such as financial risks opertiona1 neces$ltles inanageincnt ty1es, adequacy ot times for cubnnssions and applo41s tactical plarming etc.
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Pge.48
EHFERMNANTI
Architecture oft/i e United Arab Emirates

* Cost In a vast number of projects, budget limitations affect scope and quality decisions significantly. In some instances, because of annual budget limitations, projects are phased to ensure their feasibility over a period of years but within annual allocations of funds. In these cases, phasing has major effect on the concept and design, especially, when each stage has to operate in an autonomous way and, yet, upon completion, would be totally integrated.
Contracting Strategies the works, "planning" involves the time and cost dimensions in addition to that of the scope of works. As such, contracting strategies have to be considered early on in the project for they determine the temporary multiorganizational enterprise that executes the project effectively and they also ensure disbursements of funds in a legal and orderly manner. Project delivery and success depend on the selection of the appropriate contracting strategy for the owner, the designers and specialists, the constructors and the vendors.
For execution of
In terms of contracting strategies, there is range of possibilities from the conventional to the project management method of project delivery. Conventional competitive bid projects work on the premise that each phase of the project must be completed before going on to the next phase, while the project management approach tends to fast track projects by integrating and overlapping the various types of work and schedules. In the United Arab Emirates, the trend towards designlbuild contracts is promising. DesignlBuild, a classical notion of single source responsibility, is a process that has been embraced by the worlds great civilizations. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi fixed absolute accountability upon master builders for both design and construction. Design/build hails back to these ancient traditions of master builders who had complete accountability for their construction In recent years, designlbuild has gained interest internationally and is a fast-rising project delivery method. The design-build method works well because it is more flexible than conventional and more interactive than the project management approach. The time frame to complete a project is compressed since design and construction activities are concurrent. Project costs are identified at an earlier stage than in other project delivery systems and budgetary concerns can be addressed in the concept design and not at completion of design as in other methods DesignlBuild inherently provides higher quality than other methods since the team s iesources are orientated towards the goal of a successful project for the owner and not dwelling on adverse relationships that are present in other methods. All of these factors make Design/Build a feasible project delivery method In design/build, the Owners needs are developed with the designer, constructor, vendors and suppliers, thereby optimizing current trends and practices Greater constructor involvement in the pre-construction phase results in a coordinated design with practical means and methods with fewer adversarial relationships and less hassles Designlbuild demands streamlined contract administration
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DETERMINANTD

Issues for design firms involved in the designlbuild method include contract type and fee structure, staffing, project leadership prime versus sub-consultants, etc. For contractors, issues encompass selection process, bonding, pthfessional liability, insurance, etc.
10.
BUILDING
EcoNoMIcs
The economic requirements or cost constraints depending on the designers attitude are invariably defined simultaneously with the program for space planning, siting, etc. Most building projects begin with some overall budget or total cost limit. Sometimes, perhaps no more than an though, economic standards for major elements are vague expectation of value-for-money. In terms of space, the unrealistic search may be for most space for the least cost. A design team has to pitch its search for space standards somewhere between the frugal and the lavish. An appropriate level for a particular project will depend on expectations and common standards; fashions; changing tastes; status of the project eg. whether to be a utilitarian building or a prestige public relations building. Significant constraints upon space are usually economic. Sometimes, measurable criteria may be used e.g. maximum cost per sq. m. or conversely, the most or best or optimal space that can be obtained for a stipulated cost.
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There are no "correct" standards for space and, if no standards are imposed by convention or practice, in the form of space norms or cost standards, there is common tendency for design to become lavish or even extravagant or uneconomic. Usually, there no economic absolutes the general tendency is to achie e foi given performance requirements, least possible capital and operating costs and, therefore. minimum costs-in-use. This, though, is only the building component of the overall building economics equation. Other components, which may not necessarily be served by minimal building costs, are other operational costs. If we consider travel time, we could, for example: * minimize circulation distances to save time and effort; *
relate costs of circulation vertically by stairs or elevators to the cost of circulation on a continuous level; assess the costs of circulation on different surfaces, evaluate the value and possible criticality of time spent in travel by different kinds of people as in hospitals by doctors, nurses and patients.
For certain building types, there are, in the United Arab Emirates, criteria of space planning efficiency are beginning to emerge. These will form guidelines that inform economic design decisions. Building Efficiency In seeking to optimize investment benefits, in the United Arab Emirates as elsewhere in the world, designers take measures to optimize economic returns on investment
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DETERMINANT D

ISSUE Zoning Benefits DESIGN MEASURES Maximize land area usage Minimize setbacks, maximize total height/cantilever provisions Minimize net-to-gross ratios Maximize net usable floor areas Minimize external wall thickness Optimize column sizes/beam spans Lower structural cost / area of external cladding Optimize planning efficiency! effectiveness Lower floorto-floor height structural, cladding, services
Floor Areas
Efficient/effective use of space Slab thickness Circulation/service core area Capital and operating costs Tradeoffs/Conflict Resolution
Invariably, the optimal design of buildings involves the resolution of conflicts between objectives e.g. capital versus life cycle costs, etc.. Unfortunately, in the United Arab Emirates, design decisions are rarely made on the basis of multiattributes considerations. Designers, typically, propose buildings that optimize internal environmental conditions highly reflective tinted glass, external lift-cores, rather than minimize operational costs or improve and over-sized services
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efficiency.
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DETERMINANT

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CASE STUDY
So far, our investigation into the determinants of architectural design has been manifestly one of deconstruction and analysis. However, in our journey of exploration, it is imperative to recognize that, in the United Arab Emirates, we are standing at the beginning of promising developments and to accept the partial and incomplete nature of the inquiry itself. We have delved into the historical, the cultural and the environmental context. We have looked into the processes and techniques of design and designers. We have explored design aspirations and functional requirements. We have considered Clearly, descriptions of the management techniques and building technologies. determinants, by their very dynamic and interrelated characteristics, defy precision and definition. As such, it is important to be practical and to be aware of the intiinsic limits of the descriptors. Furthermore, architectural design is graphical and we do need to consider a realistic context. Throughout our inquiry, any reference to the creative process has been implicit rather than explicit: the creative process has been, as it were, tangential, cautious, almost diffuse. Yet, creativity is at the core of our investigation. Clearly, a constant relationship exists between analysis and synthesis, between solutions and evaluations, between architecture and creativity. The result of creativity is an original design. an unpredicted solution, a unique pattern, or a novel configuration. The creative process, however, is highly personal and subjective; as such, it is open to a variety of approaches, interpretations and expressions. Creativity is a mental process, and the abstract reasoning required is closely associated with intellectual ability. But intelligence is not enough. A second ingredient of creativity is knowledge: knowledge of the factors and processes involved in a problem, usually resulting from experience. A third essential is motivation: a strong urge or desire to find a solution to a challenging or perplexing problem. In teams, moreover, the synergies of different creative efforts pose additional issues that are beyond the scope of these considerations. The design of the Library/Information Center for the United Arab Emirates University in Al Am provides a unique opportunity, another dimension, to help us understand how architectural design determinants interact and affect the process itself. In this case study, at work. It is we attempt to illustrate the pertinent determinants of architectural design our intention to show, with considerations of each determinant, a progression towards understanding the vocabulary and language of architectural design.
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CONTEXT
GEOGRAPHY OFAL AIN OASIS The context for the design of the Library/Information Center is the University Town site in Al Am. For design purposes, the latitude is 24N and longitudes 54E. The oasis of Al Am is adjacent to the Buraimi Oasis in Oman and except for Jebel Hafeet and the nearby Omani mountains, the land is generally flat with elevations between 250m to 300m. Al Am experiences some seasonal variation in day length and is exposed to high Page 52
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CAsE STuDY

sun angles for most of the year. These factors result in a varying, but generally intensive, amount of incoming solar energy over the year and partially explain the seasonal change in temperature. TEMPERA TURE / RADIATION With little or no cloud cover over the Emirates all year round, the amount of incoming solar radiation is significant. This, in turn, governs daily and annual temperature variations. The impact of radiation on design is not only in terms of air temperature but also as the greenhouse effect and performance of materials sol-air temperatures, UV hence, the need to know the suns path throughout the year. effects
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There are different systems of projecting the sun paths on a plane. Sun path diagram are useful graphical aids which designers use to determine the angles at which sunlight will fall on buildings at diffeient locales, times and seasons. See the solar chart for 24N, a good approximation for the Al Am Region in the environmental component of the drawing, Figure IA Determinants of Architectural Design. The sun path diagram shows that from March 21st until September 23rd, the sun rises north of east and sets north of west. By June 21st, the suns trajectory is most northerly, becoming almost overhead at midday. The sun path diagram allows the designer to plan the orientation of the building and to estimate visually shading or insolation effects. It is also appropriate to note that the sun path diagram is ingrained in the daily life of the Emirates. With each call to prayer whose timings change daily, the muezzin acknowledge implicitly the small yet definite daily With shifts in the suns trajectory which amount to substantial seasonal variations. practices enhancing and reinforcing the natural forces that influence building religious performance, it is easy to understand, in retrospect, how design concepts and details developed in vernacular architecture and how they still have a major impact on current designs. Radiant heat which arrives at the earth directly from the sun ranges from a maximum of 1,400 W/rn2 when it is closest to the sun in June to 1,310 W/m2 when it is the furthest away in December As it passes through the atmosphere, the radiation is reflected scattered and absorbed by dust, smoke, gas molecules, ozone, carbon dioxide and water vapour, hence, the familiar blue colour of the sky Clearly, then, radiation from. the sun is both direct not scattered or absorbed and diffuse scattered and re-emitted The total quantity of radiation on any surface consists of * Unshaded direct radiation * Unobstructed diffuse radiation from the sky
* Radiation reflected from adjacent surfaces specular or diffuse The solar heat in buildings depends on the location of the windows , the time of day, the time of year and the direction they face, It is important to note that the direct radiation component results in heat gain to the conditioned space only when the window is in the path of the direct rays of the sun With the diffuse radiation component, heat is gained even when the window is not facing the sun With Al Am situated just above the Tropic of Cancer, It is interesting to note that the maximum radiative heat gain takes place in
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CASE STUDY

winter through a southern exposure and in summer on the east and west. In both summer and winter, the heat gain on horizontal surfaces is highest. TEMPERA TURE / HUMIDITY The climate in the Al Am region tends to be hot and dry in summer June September with design temperatures in excess of 50C and warm and pleasant in winter October May. Although, the temperatures in summer are generally higher than in the coastal cities, Al Ala tends to be, relatively, more comfortable because of the much lower
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relative humidities. The lower relative humidities in summer which make for better thermal comfort also affect the evaporation process and, in Al Am, the effect can be both hostile and favourable. Evaporation rate is a function of both temperature and humidity. The minimum daily evaporation levels in the winter months of December and January equivalent to the maximum evaporation rates in summer in are around 4 mm!day, London. Not unexpectedly for a desert environment, extremely high evaporation losses occur in the summer, the highest values being in June, July and August approximately 14mm/day coinciding with the absolute maximum temperatures.
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RAINFALL Total annual rainfall varies substantially from year to year ranging from lows of 40 to 275 mm mm/year. The average number of annual rain days is 13, but there is a one in four probability that half the total annual rainfall might fall in a single day putting a severe strain on the storm water drainage systems. The heaviest rains generally occur in January, February and March, but summer storms are not unknown. The occurrence of
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rain days usually coincides with unstable air conditions over the Arabian Gulf. Hail with hailstones of a size that could cause pitting to waU storms occur occasionally
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construction. WIND
Maximum wind movement occurs in the summer months of July, although winds of a
similar velocity have also been recorded in February, which has the highest overall mean daily wind speed. During June and July, a persistent light southwest and southeast wind blows which occasionally develops into a full storm. In such conditions, gale force winds of 100 km/hour 28 meters/second is usually accompanied by a dust storm, the "Toz", and the visibility can be reduced to about 50 meters. CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT Most of the buildings on the University Town site Maqam the early 1980s. These concrete structure buildings, with from one to four storeys generally ow in height Recent additions reflect secondary schools in Al Am.
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campus were constructed in block and stucco infihl, are similar in style to existing a dramatic departure in the
philosophy and delivery of education programs. These recent buildings were designed with courtyards providing an inward focus. The external walls make extensive use of
split-face calcium silicate bricks for stable, durable construction and recessed long strip
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CASE STUDY

windows for shade and solar control. Apart from the recent additions, the development has been small scale with buildings grouped around garden courts. Corridors are iii general open and have buildings on one side and garden courts on the other. The Long-Range Development Plan, a recent upgrade of the Master Plan, has integrated the existing construction into the future framework for development. ASPIRATIONS The design aspirations are articulated in the "Long Range Development Plan" for the United Arab Emirates University, a blueprint for the future of the campus, with provisions for phased short- and long-term development of new facilities to meet the ultimate requirements of the University. The principal goals of the campus development plan are: ACADEMIC: Organize Campus Development on the University Town Site to * Promote facilities and environments for learning and excellence Buildings, Educational Resources as well as Information Technology and Networks * Develop and sustain facilities for academic and research programs * Develop sports programs and facilities SPA TIAL Respect cultural and functional imperatives: Promote local and regional Arab/Islamic aesthetic values * Minimize duplication of resources Ensure potential for expansion and flexibility * Ensure segregation of male and female students * Develop arrival concepts/Enhance pedestrian circulation * Minimize vehicular/pedestrian/parking conflicts! RESIDENTIAL Develop residential facilities: Hostels with support catering, laundry, etc. facilities Indoor recreational facilities CONSTRUCTION Promote Development of University Town in planned phases * Develop road network and zoned infrastructure distributionl capacities * Optimize contracting strategy in terms of Scope/Quality/Schedule/Budget * Organize and improve utilization of existing spaces * Configure classroom for computer networks The planning aspirations summarized above have guided the design development Some of the salient features are shown graphically in the Figure 1 "Determinants of Architectural Design"
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CASE STUDY
Architecture of the United Arub Emirates

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR AL AIN
SOLAR ORIENTATION It is clear from the context that solar radiation can be a constraint on design development. During the development of the concept, the opportunities for daylighting appeared to conflict with the requirements for minimum radiation which particularly important in protecting books from deterioration and solar heating load in terms of air conditioning loads. A variety of forms and orientations were explored. It is clear from analysis of the solar chart that a symmetrical form, with windows/glazing facing North-South and with solid walls East-West, would be optimal. The architectural solution permits full glazed walls with zero solar penetration Figure 2A and 2B " Architectural Design Solution" DUST Protected courtyards that have been introduced throughout the Long-Range Development Plan have become the setting for the Library/Information Center. Courtyards provide shelter from the sun through planting and arcades and from the frequent sandstorrns. TEMPERA TURE AND HUMIDITY As noted above, the evaporation rates in A! Am are excessive in summer when it is hot and dry. If we consider wind effects, evaporation would increase: the higher the wind speed, the higher the evaporation rate. The high evaporation rates in addition to the high
summer temperatures result in crazing and surface cracking of concrete. There are a number of other hot-weather concreting issues that have to he addressed ind resolved in
the design of concrete mixes and during the management of the placement ol the concrete such as using iced water to keep the temperature of concrete niixcs at acceptable levels, providing adequate cover. On the favourable side. there are no problems with rust of reinforcement or steel structures or with suiphates and chlorides the affliction of coastal cities. Also because of the lowerin of the water concrete mix desins in the table, ordinary Portland cement may used throughout the building.
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TEcHNoLoGIcAL/INDusTRIAL CONSIDERATIONS
MODULAR COORDINATION Access to, and extensive use of a variety of recent cchno1ogics and industrialized products induces designers to consider modular coordination. En order to permit economical installation of modular industrial components, for example. a lighting/ceiling grid of 300 centimeters was chosen. The orthogonal grid permits an orderly, efficient disposition of furniture and furnishings Figure ID Determinants of Architectural Design". Consequently, the planning module becomes 4.8 meters and the structural module 9.6 meters both derivatives of the 300 centimeters module.
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CASE STUDY

CuL TURAL CONSIDERATIONS QIBLA The Qibla orientation 26220 or 740 south of west not oniy determines the orientation of the university mosque but provides one of the basic orientations of the overall campus development Figure 1C Determinants of Architectural Design and Figure 2A Architectural Design Solution. COURTYARDS Protected courtyards part of the environmental protection considerations figure prominently in the Islamic tradition as part of the urban environment. In the University campus, it is intended that they will become part of the pedestrian system as well as a planning determinant of the campus buildings Figure IC Determinants of Architectural Design".
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FUNCTIONS: Notwithstanding the functional requirements of libraries and information centers, the overriding concern with flexibility complements the Developers Approach" that informed the development of the concept design. In this approach, international space standards and programming guidelines were used to develop generous total space requirements and to guide the design of shell space that would meet the general requirements of the specific functions which will be accommodated within. LIBRARY[INFORMATION CENTER The principal functions of the space and facilities of the Library Information Center are: * Traditional Library Functions Books, Stacks, Periodicals, Reference desks, Cataloguing, Storage, Book Processing, etc. * Virtual Library Digital Information Network * Computer Center facilities * Interactive functions knowledge acquisition and dissemination SEGREGATION With total separation of male and female students, two separate distinct facilities would have to be built. With segregation, however, there are some facilities which are shared and some which are dedicated. On the campus, the numbers of male and female students are sufficiently large to warrant some dedicated spaces but the expensive stacks or reference material can be accessed at different times and, as such, need not be duplicated. Circulation and access to these common areas need to be separate and time controlled At the campus core, where common or shared facilities are located, ground level circulation is dedicated to male students, while the first floor is dedicated to female students. In the two level shaded circulation spine male students are on the lower level, female students on the upper level Figure lB Determinants of Architectural Design". Separate entrances for men ground floor and women first floor are provided in the Library / Information Center, with a ceremonial entrance to the atrium at ground level. The upper floors are commonlshared floors for separate use by men or women at scheduled times Figure 2D "Architectural Design Solution".
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CAsE STUDY
Architecture of the United Arab Emirates ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTION

CHARACTER: FORM: PLAN The semi-circular plan is contextual. It is reminiscent of the solar chart and it "works" with the rest of the campus, becoming an ordering element in the urban design. In addition, the articulation of the form allows for windows fully glazed walls on all orientations without solar penetration Figure 2 Architectural Design Solution.
TRADITIONAL MOTIFS
The arched window/entrance to the atrium recalls the formal portals of the Islamic tradition Figure 2C Architectural Design Solution while symmetry in each of the buildings surrounding the plaza/courtyard is maintained Figure 2A Architectural Design Solution.
SITE PLANNING/URBAN DESIGN

RESOLUTION OF MULTIPLE ORIENTATIONS
A brief examination of the problem of orientation reveals a number of issues requiring the designers skillful resolution. * The 22.5 deviation off true north of the campus orientation campus-north of the Library/Information Center, * The south of west Qibla direction for the mosque and * The west side of the plazalcourtyard and complementary north of east orientation for the east side of the plazalcourtyard and * The campus-north orientation straight up in the plans for the north side of the plazalcourtyard Figure 2A Architectural Design Solution. The dynamic relationships of the enclosing buildings, their individual symmetries and the resulting shape of the p!azalcourtyard itself should be noted. The space derives its formality from the buildings facing it, but its dynamic informality leaves it incapable of being seen in its totality from any single point on its surface. Thus, there remains the mystery of further space always around the corner. It might be noted as well that the choice of the semi-circular building components maintains the axial relationships and the resulting formality of the overall campus plan Figure 2A Architectural Design Solution.
ECONOMICS/MANAGEMENT
BUDGET CONSTRAINTS
With this approach to development, it has been necessary to consider a variety of options for phased development, mixed used, partial development, flexible space utilization. The flexibility for future decisions on fixed networking versus raised floor is accommodated in selection of floor to floor heights and also in cost estimates.
MANAGEMENT
Again flexibility in contracting, space use and development has been considered and the design-build option is being considered seriously, especially from the point of view of speed and optimization of costs/quality/and schedule tradeoffs. Page - 58
CASE STUDY
sT
SOLAR CHART FOR 24 NORTH LATITUDE FLEXIBILITY SEPARATION
1A
ENVIRONMENTAL
18
FUNCTIONAL
MUSHRABIYAS
TRADITIONAL DETAILS
1C
CULTURAL
10
TECHNOLOGICAL
Fig. 1
DETERMINANTS OF ARCHITECTURALDESiGN
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CASE STUDY
Typical FLoor Plan

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Floor OUNO
tradUlonal Arch to Atnum
Ioor
2C VIEW FROM PLAZA
2D
8ULDNG COMPONENTS
Lbrary/hiformaflon Center
Fg 2 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN SOLUTION

Courtesy: Direct or:
Design Architect:
Project Team:
Campus Development Department United Arab Emirates University Al Air? Samir G. Mattar, DEng.. P Eng Kenneth 08. Carruthers, A/A Mohammed Al-Rawi Sheahia Farooqi

IN CONCLUSION:
DETERMINANTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES In exploring the systems, the processes and the activities involved in design, it is clear that Context, Aspirations, Technology and Economics/Management are major determinants that together generate architecture. In the United Arab Emirates, the response to the demands of the context has been to produce an architecture, which is regional and attempts to be Arabic and Islamic. This has come about in two different ways: Transference and Transformation. Transference: In this approach, designers attempt, in the course of their routine work, to design Arabic- or Islamic- looking buildings that will "fit" superficially into the context of the United Arab Emirates. They do so by combining images .and symbols within the constraints of specific requirements, budgets and schedules to obtain suitable arrangements of built form. Here, the context acts merely as a repository of symbols and images which are used almost as decoration. Topology and climate are considered more as constraints or obstacles to be overcome the result has invariably been humdrum. To illustrate this point, let us consider some of the ramifications of grid-iron plan form in urban sites. We have seen how it flies in the face of traditional regional Arabian courtyard housing. It is not easy to mitigate against this fundamental deviation from the traditional. The designer has an uphill battle from the beginning. Any treatment of this problem has to be superficial. At the other extreme of the design spectrum, consider also the substitution of concrete as a basic construction material. With concrete, the need for arches and domes as a structural form is no longer needed since reinforced concrete can span large distances without resorting to curved forms. However, the current widespread use of the arch forms as decoration without thinking through their ramifications in the plans, elevations, performance of the building envelope, etc. is merely a superficial transfer of symbols. If we think about some issues of air-conditioning, it is clear that we have abandoned an ecological, healthy, economical, fall all considerations of natural ventilation option that was used in traditional building With six months of the year when back ventilation can provide a comfortable environment, it is clear that there many benefits to be gained from a re-evaluation of our design assumptions with respect to thermal comfort Clearly, transference is essentially facile and has adverse long-term cultural effects Transformation In this method, the forms, symbols and images are re-invented within the vibrant interplay between Context and Aspiration In this mode, the context acts not only as a repository of history and culture that is at once serene and profound, but it also includes considerations of climate and topography, both of which exert a significant influence on the architecture cf case study Clearly, in terms of the context, both climate and topography have conditioned the culture itself Both forces exert a continuing, fundamental and unchanging influence
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DETERMINANT E

on design. As such, it is important that the designers learn to master their practical implications. It is the interaction between the dynamic and uncertain Aspirations and the Context that make the process of transformation such a vital force in design. Context and Aspirations, though very different: from one another, interact continuously. While some Aspirations may be ephemeral, others become an integral part of the context. The process of transformation demands a thorough understanding of the architectural design process. It would indeed be myopic to design a building and then paste some "art" or "symbol" on its facade. It is important that we understand and clarify the roles of all the participants in the design and construction process Architecture is affected profoundly by dynamic shifts along the axis between Aspirations and Context. Yet, two other forces exert powerful, determining influences on architectural design. One of these is Technology and the other is Economics/Management. Within the context, the compliment of culture. climate and topography are fundamental and relatively constant. With Technology and Economics/Management, however, the influence on architecture is direct more so than for any other art form. Here, the prevailing technology and economic conditions change, relatively speaking, more often and, whenever these changes take place, the
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design is influenced.
The frequency and decisiveness of technological and economic changes are unique to architecture. It is at the point of resolution of these four determinants that architectural design takes place. The exigencies of the pragmatic and commercial world are dealt with on the Technology Economics/Management axis but it is the confluence of these determinants that make architecture unique to a country or a region or society.
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ECONOMICS
ASPIRATIONS
z
C
ii ii
z m z
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DETERMINANT E

It is from this vantage point that architecture is a barometer of the diverse forces at work within a society. Clearly, the cities, towns and villages of the United Arab Emirates as repositories of form, symbols and images take on a decisive importance to the cultural historian and the future designer. In many of the cities of the country, the extent of the urban renewal is vast it feels that a total re-invention of the basic archetypes is under way. As materials are substituted and new products are introduced, forms, symbols and images are transformed, thereby reinventing the architectural expression of the culture. The transformation process challenges and renews society with each project, with every time there are technological or economic changes hence, the constant evolution of culture and the increasing diversity in Context as a repository of forms, symbols and images. For architectural design to be successftil, it important that the ba1ancebetween the forces exerted by the leterminants be maintained in equilibrium. In the early years of the United Arab Emirates, the forces in the Technology Economics/Management axis have been so dramatic that they have all but dominated the Context Aspirations axis. When there is an imbalance, the consequences can be serious and costly. * There was little time for the early designers to understand the context: the intangible and delicate culture of the indigenous people,
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the harsh and demanding range of climatic conditions, and
the subtle topography at the edge of the Empty Quarter. The clients and owners, too, had difficulties in expressing their requirements and
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needs:
the newness of many of the ftanctional requirements the varieties and types of needs the multitude of methods and approaches the inability to express and discern qualitative differences In brief, then, there appeared to be little, if any, interplay between Gon text and Aspirations. Moreover, the exposure of the design team to the clients/owners was remote and often mediated. It should come as no surprise to anyone that a considerable proportion of the buildings constructed in the boom years is being demolished. The reconstruction of many buildings in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sha1jah provides clear evidence of the failure to balance the forces at play in design. On the Technology Economics/Management axis, the forces at play in the early years of nation building were clearly dominant. It is important that the balance of forces be restored. Insisting on dialogue between the various participants in the design team programmers, architects, engineers, etc and the owner will begin to ensure the restoration of the balance. By participating in the design process, the owner will articulate his aspirations within the context and understand the implications of the forces of the Technology Economics/Management axis. Given the confluence of these determinants, it is clear that architecture has to be regional. Looking back through the history of the region, we note that Islam spread
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DETERMINANT E
Architecture of the Uiiited Arab Emirates

out from the Arabian desert, full of confidence, and in the process absorbed, ingested and made its own the architecture, thereby enriching its context. Effective courtyard housing typologies and wind catching forms were assimilated and absorbed with selfconfidence and, in due course, these have come to be associated with this region as
Today, we have a juxtaposition of interesting possibilities Islamic and Arabic. offered by the dynamic economy of the United Arab Emirates and the potentials of
technology. The United Arab Emirates is gradually developing the confidence for assimilating and absorbing the potentials offered within the Technology Ecoizomics/Managernent axis. When we look at the range and beauty of the regional Arabic/Islamic architecture down the centuries, we see, in the domes and vaults, an architecture of an incredibly high order produced with the limited resources which masonry affords. We note a continuum of deve1opent, a Context transformed by Aspirations, Technologies and Economies. The process of transformation and re-invention is slower and fraught with difficulties. In the process, the transformation of forms, symbols and images that result from the confluence of all the determinants of design will, in turn, become future precedents and Context. If the history of the architecture of the region is a
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guide, the potential is enormous.
Page 64
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DETERMINANT E

REFERENCES AND GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture: Designing in Islamic Cultures Series a Adaptive Reuse b Continuity and Change c Design for High Intensity Development d Higher Education Facilities e Large Housing Projects f Urban Housing
2. Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture: "Conservation as Cultural Survival" Proceedings of Seminar 2, Istanbul 1978: Papers consulted include: a Biddle, M. The experience of the Past: Archeology and History in Conservation and Development" pp. 9 - 14 b Damais, S. 1The Development of a Conservation Program pp. 46 49 c Kuban, D. "Conservation of the Historical Environment for Cultural Survival. pp. 1 8
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Makiya. M. A Practicing Architect Looks at Conservation pp. 1 7
21
3. Al Am Municipality and Town Planning Department Nations in Bloom 199T Government of Abu Dhabi 1997 4. Al Rostomani, A. H. "Dubai and its Architectural Heritage" 199 5. American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers 1997 Fundamentals" ASHRAE, Atlanta 1997 ASHRAE Handbook
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6. Ardalan, N. "Innovation and Tradition" Arts and the Islamic World No. 23 Architecture, Archeology and the Arts in the United Arab Emirates pp. 36 40
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7. Bokhari, A. V. IsIamic versus Western European Architecture: Some notes on Contemporary Architecture in Islamic Countries Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 7 No. 2, April 1982, pp. 81 94
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8. Bradshaw, V. "Building Control Systems" John Wiley and Sons, Toronto, 1985. 9. Bukhash, F. The Wind Tower Houses of Dubai, World of Engineering 10. Carruthers, K. D. B. tArchitecture in Space: The Space Positive Tradition" Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 39, No.3 Spring 1986 ii. CIRIA, "Hot Weather Concrete" CIRIA Special Publication 31 12 Cochrane, T and J Brown, eds Landscape Design for the Middle East RIBA London, 1978.
1
REFERENCES

13. Coles, A. and P. Jackson "A wind Tower House in Dubai" Research Papers. London, 1975. Art and Archeology 52
14. Cooper P. "Race for theSky" Gulf Business Vol. 2, No. 1 May 1997, pp. 46
15. Correa C. "Transfers and Transformations" in Design for High Density Development 1985. Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. 16. Darby, M, "The Islamic Perspective: An Aspect of British Architecture and Design in the 19t1 Century" A World of Islam Festival Trust Publication, 1983. 17. Dc Waal, H. B. "New Recommendations for Building in Tropical Climates" Building and Environment Vol. 28, No.3 pp. 271 285, 1993.
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18. Dubai Municipality General Projects and Maintenance Department, Historical Buildings Section "Elements of Traditional Architecture in Dubai Reference Book" Dec. 1996
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19. Gabriel, P. and D. Garda "Climatic Response of Vernacular Architecture: A case Study from a Maritime Desert Climateu Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 14 No. 1, January 1989. pp. 18
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20. El Dali, T. and M. Abdel Latif "Al Am Desert Community: Preserving Local Environmental Character" Arts and the Islamic World No. 23 Architecture, Archeology and the Arts in the United Arab Emirates pp. 19 26
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21. Hakim, Besiin, S. "Islamic Architecture and Urbanism Wilkes Encyclopedia of Architecture, Design, Engineering and Construction, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 1989 22. Hakim, Besirn, S. "Arabic-Islamic Cities: Building and Planning Principles" Kegan Paul International London 1986 23. Hakim, Besim, S. "Arab-sIarnic Urban Structure" Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 7 No. 2, April 1982, pp. 69 80
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24. Hillenbrand R. "Islamic Architecture" Edinburgh University Press, 1994 25. Hourani, A. and S. M. Stern, Eds. "The Islamic City Cassirer, Oxford, 1970 26. Ishteaque, E. tA Designers Notes on the Environmental Approach to Building Design for Hot-Arid Zones" Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 13 No. 3, September 1988, pp. 287 299
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27. Ishteaque, E. M. "Paradigms and Styles: Saudi Native Architecturet Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 15 No. 1, January 1990, pp. 3 15
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28. Kay, S. and D. Zandi "Architectural Heritage of the Gulf Arabian Heritage Series, Motivate Publishing, 1991 29, Kay, S. "Domestic Architecture" Arts and the Islamic World No. 23 Architecture, Archeology and the Arts in the United Arab Emirates pp. 33 35
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REFERENCES
Architecture of lie United Arab Emirates

30. Koenigsberger, 0. H. T. G. Ingersoll, A. Mayhew and S. V. Szokolay. "Manual of Tropical Housing Design, Part One: Climatic Designu, Longman London 1974 31. Konya, Allan Design Primer for Hot Climates, The Architectural Press, London, 1980 32. Kultermann, U. Contemporary Arab Architecture", Mirnar 3 January March 1982: pp. 74 76
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33. Manning P. and S. G. Mattar "A Preliminary to Development of Expert Systems for Total Design of Entire Buildings" Chapter 13 in "Evaluating and Predicting Design Performance" Y. Kalay ed. John Wiley and Sons 1992 34. Manning, P. "Environmental Aesthetic Design" Building and Environient, Vol. 26, pp. 331 -340, 1991 35. Manning, P. "Environmental Design as a Routine" Building and Environment, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 181 196, 1995
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36. Mattar, S. et al, A Decision Model for the Design of Building Enclosures, Building and Environment, Vol. 13, pp. 201 -216, 1978 37. Mattar, S. et al. "Application of the Decision by Exclusion Rule: The Design of External Walls", Building and Environment, Vol. 13, pp. 217 232, 1978 38. McCloskey. B. "Lessons from Neighbors: Recycling Islamic Environments" Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 7 No. 2, April 1982, pp. 123 130
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39. MIMAR: Architecture in Development: Issue dedicated to "Buildings for Higher Education and Research", Mimar No. 37 December1990" 40. Mitchell, G.. ed. tThe Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History, and Social Meaning, with a Complete Survey of its Key Monuments" Thames and Hudson, London, 1978 41. Olgyay, V. Design with Cimate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism" Princeton University Press, 1976 42. Ozkan, S. "Complexity, Coexistence and Plurality" in Architecture for Islamic Societies" 1984 43. Palmer, M. A. "The Architects Guide to Facility Planning" The American Institute of Architects 44. Pena, W. "Problem Seeking: An Architectural Programming Primer" AlA Press 1977 45. Simon, H. A. "The Sciences of the Artificial" M. I. T. Press Cambridge MA 1970 46. Sultan, Ghazi "Criteria for Design in the Arabian Gulf Region" Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, Vol. 7 No. 2, April 1982, pp. 165 171
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111
REFERENCES

47. SWECO "The United Arab Emirates University Am" 1987
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Master Plan University Town Al
48. United Arab Emirates University "The National Atlas of the United Arab Emirates", Al Am, 1993 49. United Arab Emirates University "General Specification for Construction Contracts". Various 50. United Nations Center for Human Settlements HABITAT "Corrosion Damage to Concrete Structures in Western Asia, Nairobi 1990 ISBN 92-1-131122-5 51. Uthman, F. A. "Exporting Architectural Education to the Arab World" Journal of Architectural Education, Vol. 31, No.3 1978 pp. 26 30
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52. Yousuf N. "The Changing Pattern" Arts and the Islamic World No. 23 Architecture, Archeology and the Arts in the United Arab Emirates pp. 27 53. Zandi, D "Development of Architecture in the Gulf Arts and the Islamic World No. 23 Architecture, Archeology and the Arts in the United Arab Emirates pp. 28 35
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54. Zandi D. and S. Kay, "Restoration of Shaikh Saced House in Dubai" Arts and the Islamic World, Vol. 4 NO. 4 Autumn Winter 1987/8 pp. 26 29
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IV
REFERENCES
Architecture of the United A nib Emirates

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe much, directly or indirectly, to many sources and authors the references are indicative of that considerable debt of gratitude. Although all debts carmot be acknowledged here, I wish to express my thanks to
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Dr. Au Al Sharhan, for encouraging me to write about the practical issues that face designers and builders in the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Peter Manning, my mentor and friend, whose philosophical outlook permeate the entire article, * inspiration and
Mr. Kenneth Carruthers, my professional colleague and friend, for the considerable assistance he has given me throughout the project and encouraging the during difficult times with ideas and concepts as well as acting effectively as my conscience, My colleagues in the Campus Development at the United Arab University for their encouragement, critical discussions and support
Mr. Nassouh Al Ameen for suggesting the idea of writing the article, Dr. Salma Saiwa Darniuji for giving me the opportunity and time to do so.
It is my sincere hope that the ideas presented here although oniy exploratory in nature will open new insights into the various factors that determine architectural design in the United Arab Emirates. Ideally, the points raised will contribute positively to the by shedding light on the architecture of this nation to whom I dedicate this chapter continuing debate about the role of context, environment, aspirations, technology. economics and management in design both as process and product.
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REFERENCES

Reflections On The Archtecture of The UAE

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DETERMINANTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

DETERMINMTS OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IN THE UNITED ARAB RMIRATES

SAMIR 0. MATTAR, LI ENG, P. ENG.

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

uircnuecntre of me u,weu iruv

A BREF HISTORY OF THE BULT ENVIRONMENT N THE UNITED ARAB EMRATES

Architecture of the United Anib Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Arc!, itecture of the United Arab Emirates

CONTEXT: TRADITIONAL VERSUS MoDERN

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Arc/i itecture of the United Arab Emirates

Arc/i itecture oft/i e Uii ited Arab Emirates

Arc/i itecture of the United Arab Emirates

WHAT? WHY? WHERE? WHEN? WHO?

How? How MUCH?

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Re1ationship ransier ot mateiiaI Customs / Beliefs C1irnae

SoME FACTORS IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Architecture of 1/ic United Arub Emirates

Architecture of the United Arub Emirates

FROM ISOLATED ACTIVITIES TO TEAM EFFORT

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

FINAL DESIGN APPRkIWAL

PROGRAMMING OF NEED DEFINITION OF

PRELIMINARY DESIGN PERFORMANCE SPECS PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE COST EsTIMATE 20%

CONCEPT DESIGN MILESTONES BUDGET

INFLUENCE OF DECISIONS AND CONTROL OF INFORMATION

DESIGN AS A DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Arc/i itecture oft/i e United Arab Emirates

Arc/iitecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Anib Emirates

TABLE 1: PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SUBSYSTEMS FOR A COMPLETE DESIGN FOR A BUILDING

Verification and Access

Construction Sequencing Vork & Trade Consrucnon

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

A/? NITTXT STRUC7I/k4L ENGINEER

HISTORICAL CONTEXT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SOCIAL ORGANIZATION CODES ISTANDARDS

AESTHETICS FUNCTIONS/ ACTIVITIES DESIGN QUAL1TES I CRITERIA SAFETY I SECuRrrY COMMUNICATIONS

CONSTRUCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS SEVICE REQUIREMENTS COMMUNICATIONS NEEDS

COST LIMITS; BUDGETS.

DEFINmON OF CONTEXT ENVIRONMENTAL CULTURAL

PERFORMANCE CREA: AESTHETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTIONAU ACTIVITIES

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS, STRUCTURE. METHODS & MATERIALS SERVICE SYSTEMS

PROGRAM FOR MANAGING PROJECT COST / SCHEDULE CONTROL CONTRACT STRATEGY

REVIEW rROGRAM, ENSURE CONSISTENCY. COMPLETENESS, ADEQUACY OF OBJECTIVES. REQUIREMENTS. STANDARDS

DEVISE RANGE OF DIFFERENT MASSING SCHMES, FORMS. AESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS

E.2 EVALUATE REMAINING ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM

EVALUATE REMAININ3 ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM

EVALUATE REMAINING ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM

EVALUATE REMAINING ALTERNATIVES AGAINST PROGRAM

BUILDING SYSTEM CONCEPTS

REPEAT AT OThER LEVELS AND DEVELOP FURTHER

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

Architecture of the United Arab Emirates

DESIGN: PROCESS AND PRODUCT