The impact of implementing heritage elements in contemporary buildings in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Due to the rapid growth and development which occurred during the last century the United Arab Emirates witnessed dramatic changes after oil discovery and the economic boom. This affected the building and construction sector that formed the urban fabric of the country. The four fundamental architectural heritage elements of the UAE are the mashrabiya, the wind tower, the courtyard and the broken entrance, these essential architectural heritage elements were efficiently implemented in traditional buildings. In the context of the contemporary; preservation challenges are experienced particularly when foreign architectural design is seen to be increasing dominating the cityscape and the architectural heritage elements are being misused neglecting their functionalities. This research aims to analyze and compare the efficiency of architectural heritage elements in the contemporary buildings and seeks to gather thorough rationale and logical interpretation in heritage elements. In order to investigate these four architectural heritage elements further, ‘case study ‘methodology has been used to inspect the performance of four local contemporary buildings and a comparison technique ( Comparative Analysis ) was conducted to better understand the outcomes of the analysis. The case study research is being preferable as a strategy due to the exploratory nature of the research and it essentially responds to research questions that seek explanation rather than experimentation. This research diverse from the usual traditional and contemporary comparison of heritage elements and focuses on comparing their reliability and functionality when addressed in contemporary buildings. It asserts that preservation must be in mind as a pre-requisite towards interpretation of heritage elements and ensures that currently more advanced technologies can be fully exploited to embrace traditional elements to achieve development requirements.