What will UAE towns and cities look like in 100 years?

A view from inside the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation building's covered walkway. The first plaque marking 'modern heritage sites' in Abu Dhabi was installed here in 2024. Christopher Pike / The NationShow more

When French architect Jean Nouvel said "each new situation requires a new architecture”, he could have been talking about the UAE. The Louvre Abu Dhabi designer, who won the 1989 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Arab World Institute building in Paris, would surely appreciate how the Emirates’ rapid development since 1971 – its “new situation” – led to a riot of architectural creativity.

The roll-call of local and foreign talent that helped shape the UAE’s modern towns and cities is long and distinguished. British architect John R Harris designed Dubai's World Trade Centre and the British ambassador's residence in Abu Dhabi. Katsuhiko Takahashi, a pioneering Japanese designer, devised Abu Dhabi’s first urban master plan in close consultation with UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Another contemporary of Sheikh Zayed, Emirati urban planner Ahmed Alkhoori, was responsible for drawing up plans for Al Ain’s development and Bulgarian architect Georgi Kolarov’s contribution – Abu Dhabi’s Central Bus Station – remains a prime example of early architectural diversity in the UAE.

This approach came into focus when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday announced a new National Policy for Preserving the UAE’s Modern Architectural Heritage at a Cabinet meeting in Abu Dhabi. According to Sheikh Mohammed, 130 sites and buildings have been identified “with plans to expand this to 1,000 in the coming years”.

It is an intriguing initiative from a young, future-focused country that recently celebrated the 53rd year since its unification. The policy essentially asks the question: what does the UAE want its towns and cities to look like in 100 years? Buildings may come and go, but what is truly of value?

It’s a perceptive question to ask. Preserving architectural heritage is about connecting people to the past, rooting their cultural identity in bricks and mortar and enhancing urban landscapes by curating previous achievements and developments. Preserving landmarks, especially in a county like the Emirates that went through such a startling transformation create a route map of sorts that says: this is how we got here.

But preserving valuable architecture is about more than aesthetics. It is a proven tourism draw, preserves the value of surrounding properties and enables valuable social and historical research. Such landmarks have been described as “living classrooms” in which student and young people can learn more about their personal and collective pasts.

The policy announced this week also complements similar programmes introduced by individual emirates. In February, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi said more than 60 plaques would be installed at landmarks across the emirate to mark their status as modern heritage sites. The list did not consist just of grand buildings; it included parks, water tanks, a health complex, one of the city’s early residential towers and even a cluster of ghaf trees – communal and social sites where generations of people who helped build this country interacted. The first plaque was installed on the facade of the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation, a building that went through 10 years of careful renovation before re-opening in 2019.

For the UAE to invest in identifying and preserving culturally important buildings and sites during a period of rapid economic growth and urbanisation is significant. Some cities in other countries experiencing similarly rapid growth have lost significant amounts of heritage sites and special architecture. Often this is due to neglect, poor planning laws and the pressures of urgently needed development.

The Emirates’ rapid pace of change means that it will frequently encounter one of Nouvel’s “new situations”. By preserving its unique mix of buildings and sites, it can keep welcoming the new while keeping the best of the old.