Open House International

Salama, Ashraf M.; Wiedmann, Florian

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0001

Covering about three million square kilometres, the Arabian Peninsula is mainly a diverse landscape of hot humid sandy coasts, arid desert, sparse scrubland, stone-strewn plains, and lush oases, as well as rocky and sometimes fertile mountain highlands and valleys. In addition to the indigenous local populace, the population is composed of large groups of expatriate Arabs and Asians, in addition to smaller groups of Europeans and North Americans; these expatriate groups represent a major workforce community of skilled professionals and semi-skilled or unskilled labourers from over sixty countries. The region's contemporary economy, dominated by the production of oil and natural gas has created unprecedented wealth, which in turn has led to a momentous surge in intensive infrastructural development and the construction of new environments (Wiedmann, 2012). The ensuing impact of this fast track development on the built environment, in conjunction with the continuous and seemingly frantic quest for establishing unique urban identities (Salama, 2012), is seen as a trigger for introducing this special edition of Open House International.

Salama, Ashraf M.

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0002

This paper explores image-making efforts in the city of Doha. A multi-layered critical discussion is employed and articulated in a number of procedures that include conceptualizing theoretical underpinnings for understanding image making in terms of contextual and critical approaches, identifying the types of efforts that took place and that are currently taking place towards image making, mapping the contextual and critical approaches on actual examples from the city, and examining the printed media by conducting a content analysis study of two widely acknowledged magazines in an attempt to answer the question of how the country wants to portray its capital city through image-making to the global community. The results of this exploration convey a commitment toward image making, presenting an image of Doha as an emerging international hub. The paper concludes by arguing for the need of critical consciousness in response to that fact that image making practices in Doha continue to subdue the profession to client aspirations through oversimplified imaging while ignoring the professional discourse that scrutinizes the quality of those images and the meanings they convey.

Mirincheva, Velina; Wiedmann, Florian; Salama, Ashraf M.

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0003

Recent efforts to formulate strategies that will turn Qatar's capital city into a global hub have given rise to a debate about the morphological and functional composition of one of Doha's most prominent areas - West Bay. At the end of the 20th century West Bay, also known as Diplomatic Quarter, was chosen by public initiatives to become the new Central Business District of Doha. Today, the appeal of West Bay as a business hub is contested by other emerging urban centres – such as the highly integrated Al Sadd area, which has attracted a wide range of advanced producer service sectors. It is therefore the objective of this paper to investigate the spatial configuration of Doha's West Bay, which arguably lays the foundations for the socio-economic interdependencies necessary for its vitality and sustenance. In order to quantify its intrinsic urban complexities, Bill Hillier's space syntax methodology is applied, which elucidates, in various scales, global and local grid conditions, and thus can be used for assessments regarding the distribution of land use patterns and infrastructural networks.

Wiedmann, Florian; Mirincheva, Velina; Salama, Ashraf M.

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0004

This paper aims to offers an assessment of the current transformation process of Doha's historic centre, which has become a major focus of public development strategies. While the historic centre was neglected during most of the second half of the 20th century, recent public initiatives have been leading to new urban morphologies and typologies. In addition to the redevelopment of the historic market and the investments in museums, a large scale mixed use development, known as Msheireb project, has been launched, which will replace an entire district. The objective of this paper is therefore to clarify how these public initiatives are modifying existing urban structures and to which extent this spatial reconfiguration contributes to major revitalisation objectives, such as diversity, consolidation and identity. The methodologies include a GIS survey to analyse the shift in urban densities, land uses and typologies as well as a Space Syntax study assessing the various levels of spatial integration in the case of the Msheireb project.

Salama, Ashraf M.; Al-Maimani, Ahood; Khalfani, Fatma

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0005

Despite the current fast track urban development process that characterizes the city of Doha, very few studies have addressed several important growth aspects, including the examination of the way in which its inhabitants comprehend and react to its built environment and the resulting spatial experience. This paper examines inhabitants' spatial experience in the city by applying cognitive mapping procedures coupled with an attitude survey. 108 responses were received, analyzed, and classified in three categories a) living, working, and visiting patterns; b) comprehension of home range, home zone, and movement; and c) ethnic affiliation: Qataris and other Arab expatriates. The findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of the inhabitants' spatial experience. The study concludes with an emphasis that by establishing knowledge generated from research findings that are derived from direct experience of inhabitants including movement patterns and the rhythm of geographical locations within the city, the various aspects of how certain areas work within the urban structure of the city can be elucidated.

Salama, Ashraf M.; Khalfani, Fatma; Al-Maimani, Ahood

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0006

The current fast track urban development process is an important characteristic of the city of Doha. No exploration or examination of its urban spaces, however, has been done before. This paper offers an experiential assessment of three key urban open spaces by examining their spatial and physical characteristics while implementing direct systematic observation and behavioural mapping procedure. Assessment results reveal important outcomes that include absence of physical aspects amenable for effective use while offering a pleasant experience for visitors. The findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of the qualities of the three spaces and the resulting use, activities, and behaviour representative of the inhabitants' spatial experience in those spaces. While the overall experience of users appear to be satisfactory, the results convey that there is an absence of landscape features and a dearth of green spaces and appropriate outdoor furniture, absence of adequate shaded areas and shading devices and a lack of children's facilities or specially designated areas for children. Addressing the lack of features that enhance people's activities and use of these spaces would contribute to making the spaces more conducive for use by different types of users and at different days and times.

Elsheshtawy, Yasser

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0007

This paper in its first part aims at contextualizing Abu Dhabi's urban development and understanding the factors that have governed its urban growth through a historical case study approach. Relying on archival records and primary sources five stages of urban growth are identified. Data mining of media archives allows for a first hand account of developments taking place thus grounding the depictions. The second part contextualizes this review through a case study of the Central Market project — also known as Abu Dhabi's World Trade Center. The paper concludes by elaborating on the significance of such a historical analysis as it shifts the discourse away from a focus on the ‘artificiality’ of cities in the Gulf to one that is based on a recognition about the historicity of its urban centers, however recent it may be. Additionally the pertinence of such an analysis for cities worldwide is discussed as well.

Al Naim, Mashary A.

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0008

Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, has been witnessing rapid urban transformation processes during the 20th century, which have had various kinds of impact on the evolution of its urban identity. This paper therefore attempts to investigate how the new urban concepts, which were introduced by modernization and globalization, caused a conflict of identities and how this has resulted in dividing Riyadh into opposing urban entities. The main challenge in establishing a cohesive urban identity in Riyadh is based on the long-term conflict between traditional forms of urbanism and modern ways of urban development. The paper thus investigates the urban transformation of Riyadh from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present day. The main objective of this historic analysis is to capture the various ways inhabitants have perceived surrounding urban environments and how this has been influencing urban planning activities. The applied methodologies include the evaluation of historic documents, such as official reports and plans.

Mahgoub, Yasser

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0009

This paper hypothesizes that contemporary Gulf cities are not an evolution of traditional settlements but rather forms of modern cities that emerged during the second half of the 20th century after the discovery of oil, the economic boom following the mid 1970s oil crisis and finally political, economic, technological and communication globalization that swept this region since the beginning of the 21st century. While focusing on the case of Kuwait city, the paper reflects on several examples from the Gulf region cities to discuss their development as hybrid forms of modern cities. The paper adopts the theoretical framework proposed by Appadurai in 1996 to understand the flow of modernity through the Gulf cities' scapes. This theoretical framework provides an adequate understanding of Gulf cities evolution and modifications required to make them more adequate to the Gulf region conditions.

Wiedmann, Florian

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0010

This paper explores the various roots and characteristics of current high-rise clusters emerging in new city districts along the coast of Manama and the resulting challenges to urban planning. Like many other Gulf cities Bahrain's capital Manama has witnessed rapid urban growth since local real-estate markets were liberalized in 2003. The recent developments have particularly focused on newly reclaimed areas along the periphery of Manama's city center. These new districts are mainly occupied by residential and commercial high-rises, which have been transforming previous urban morphologies. Today, the public sector is witnessing a wide range of planning challenges to integrate urban consolidation processes and to prevent infrastructural collapse. This paper therefore examines the evolution of urban planning that has led to the construction of high-rise buildings. In addition, the paper is based on GIS calculations and field studies regarding the increase of built densities, particularly between 2003 and 2008, when most developments were launched. In this regard, two case studies, Juffair and Seef District, were selected due to their main roles in recent development tendencies.

Al-Kodmany, Kheir; Ali, Mir M.

2013 Open House International

doi: 10.1108/OHI-04-2013-B0011

Globalization has supported the exportation of exotic design and construction of many buildings including skyscrapers. In the past two decades skyscrapers have proliferated across cities all over the world, particularly those in the Arabian Peninsula. Because of their massive bulk and soaring height, these skyscrapers have dramatically altered the urban landscape and city identity. This paper examines the role of skyscrapers in supporting place identity in the Arabian Peninsula. Through case studies, the paper describes and evaluates skyscraper projects. While the “imported” iconic skyscrapers with their flamboyant forms have been transformative in re-imaging cities and their skylines, many of these have been transplanted to these cities with little consideration for local heritage and culture.