Timeframe: Abu Dhabi's modernist aspirations take Al Ibrahimi building full circle

The striking structure, officially the Saeed Al Kalili Building, is one of 64 sites listed as worthy of protection

Abu Dhabi's Al Ibrahimi Building is one of the capital's most striking structures. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National.

The 16-storey structure's official name is the Saeed Al Kalili Building. Ravindranath K / The National

The tower, a concrete cylinder of interlocking squares, was completed in 1983. Delores Johnson / The National

Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism has listed it as one of 64 sites requiring 'immediate and unconditional protection'. Brian Kerrigan / The National

Designed by Egyptian architect Farouk El Gohary, it embodies Abu Dhabi's modernist aspirations of the 1980s. Fatima Al Marzooqi / The National

El Gohary, former head of the urban planning department at Ain Shams University, died in November 2020, aged 83. Ravindranath K / The National

No demolition will be allowed at the site under the DCT Abu Dhabi's Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative. Photo: DCT Abu Dhabi

The Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative is part of a mission to preserve the capital's culture and identity. Photo: DCT Abu Dhabi

One of the UAE capital’s most striking buildings is the 16-storey concrete cylinder of interlocking squares colloquially known as Al Ibrahimi building, which takes its name from the restaurant on the ground floor.

Its official name, however, is the Saeed Al Kalili Building. Designed by Egyptian architect Farouk El Gohary and built in 1983, it perfectly embodies Abu Dhabi's modernist aspirations of the time.

This week, the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT) listed it among 64 sites in the capital that require "immediate and unconditional protection". Under the authority's Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative, no demolition applications will be allowed at the listed sites. Instead, priority will be given for them to be maintained and rehabilitated in accordance with their designated grade.

"A major landmark of the city’s collective memory as well as an iconic local and regional structure, it is a historical testimony to an important phase of urban growth of the city and the changing Abu Dhabi skyline," the department said of the Saeed Al Kalili Building.

El Gohary, a Modernist architect, was the former head of the urban planning department at Ain Shams University. He died in Cairo in November 2020 at the age of 83.

Known for integrating Egyptian heritage and historical references with post-Modern and contemporary design and technologies, El Gohary's eclectic work demonstrated a fusion of various styles, often extending beyond Modernism and post-Modernism, writes architect and researcher Reem Khorshid in her tribute in The National.

"The complex facade of the Saeed Al Kalili Building continues to be one of the most renowned structures he designed, as well as his greatest imprint on the UAE’s capital," she writes.

In 2014, four people, including a firefighter, were injured when the top floor of the building caught fire. The fire started in a bunk-bed in an apartment on the 16th floor, authorities said.

Firefighting teams from the metropolitan, Al Falah and Al Bateen stations contained the fire within 10 minutes, authorities said. Traffic officers, ambulances and crime-scene experts also responded.

Electra Street, where the building is located, is now known as Zayed the First Street.

The Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative is part of a mission to preserve the capital's culture and identity, said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi.

"Our architectural and urban heritage is an extremely important element of our recent history, which deserves to be recognised and protected," he said.

“It is our civic responsibility to guard this modern heritage, not only because of the value it holds in our collective memory as residents of this emirate, but because of the historical testimony it has in telling Abu Dhabi’s story through architectural and urban identity between the traditional past and our aspirations for the future.”