Built to last

Damian Reilly talks high-rises and low-rises with the head men at BroadwayMalyan, leading architects in the UAE.

Leaving the building, in the rain, after the interview, I lost my footing on slippery tiles and went down heavily on my arse. People around me suppressed giggles. During my moments lying in a puddle, I thought this: that surface is not suitable for walking upon during inclement weather. An hour previously, I would have just sworn vocally and felt acute embarrassment.

It was only as recently as the end of the interview that we had been talking about the importance of selecting the right materials for construction in the Gulf. Metal balustrades, for example, are a no no when it comes to outdoor areas.

This is because, when the temperature hits the heights over 40 degrees, they can scald the unwary. Likewise, the expansion of materials in the heat must be thoroughly anticipated before construction commences. Otherwise, presumably, buildings would do their best to explode on cloudless days. There's a lot to think about, building in the heat.

Me falling on my arse, incidentally, was not the fault of the architects at BroadwayMalyan. They did not design the building in which their office sits. Had they, I am convinced - after spending an hour talking to them - they would have made sure that the surface outside the main doors was not an ice rink in the rain. To me, they seemed nothing if not a professional outfit.

And well they might. According to Melvin Davis, a Director at the company, BroadwayMalyan are the twentieth biggest firm of architects in the world, tenth biggest in Europe and probably third or fourth biggest in Britain.

In Abu Dhabi alone, they have about twenty projects on the go running into billions of pounds sterling in value, most notably the attractive Al Bandar series of apartment buildings on the Al Raha beach development. They are also busy in Dubai, where plans to build a tower some 400 metres high in the financial district are almost complete.

Melvin laughs about the last project: "It is funny in Dubai - buildings are getting bigger and bigger. This tower will be 400m high, which is bigger than anything in Britain. But people still say ‘it is only half the height of the Burj Dubai.' But it will be taller than Canary Wharf, or the Eiffel Tower."

How does the architecture compare in Dubai and Abu Dhabi? After all, you need only spend a short time in each city to see that they are markedly different.

Davis explains: "Abu Dhabi definitely has a different approach to Dubai. It is quite interesting if you compare them wealth wise; Dubai has borrowed money and Abu Dhabi has oil money. But I think it is important to compare the cultures. They are distinct, as distinct as Germany is from France. Abu Dhabi is more traditional, more considered. Lower-rise. They don't want to do a Dubai. I think that is important to know. There is a master plan, too, the 2030 vision, which we all have to work to. We have to fit within a context of an overall plan. You can't just put up what you want. If you get the Sheikh to agree it then that is fine."

So is it fair to say that architecture in Abu Dhabi is more tasteful than that in Dubai?

"I don't think it affects the individual building design, but because there is an overall design, perhaps the buildings become less competitive with each other. So they fit together as a collection. There isn't a situation where the next one is always the best and biggest."

How about the green push? People arriving in Dubai often feel that the city has missed a trick in terms of building in an environmentally friendly way, in the way that conurbations in places like Sweden and Norway have been created. Is Abu Dhabi trying harder to be greener?

Director Kevin Leahy, who also sits in on the interview is adamant that the UAE capital is trying extremely hard to be a close pal of the environment: "We are being pushed very hard to build in an environmentally friendly way, and to design buildings that are sustainable not just in terms of being there in 100 years time, but ensuring that things like their carbon footprint are minimal. Frankly, I love it."

But all this sounds terribly earnest. Can't we just be honest? Dubai and Abu Dhabi are really just enormous playgrounds for architects, where the budgets for projects are eye-popping and the lack of red tape in comparison with other cities means almost anything can be flung up in moments, especially given the low cost of labour. Right?

Davis smiles: "Well, in terms of this being a playground for architects, it is fair to say that all the big ones are here in numbers. Norman Foster is working on Al Raha beach for example. It is hugely exciting, yes. But the budgets? Well they are aiming high here, of course, because everything is being done on a huge scale. But square metre the cost is often cheaper than it is to build in Europe. Cost is very important, of course."

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM