A New Book!
Vertical Horizontal: A Critical Account of High-Rise Architecture in Abu Dhabi
This has been an unprecedented voyage, especially for a school of architecture as young as ours in Abu Dhabi University. A voyage that claimed many – undocumented – hours of personal work from the authors. A team effort in which every member was vital to its success. It began as a chain of events initiated within the classrooms of our school of architecture and culminated in this book. During this voyage, we crossed paths with many people from diverse backgrounds and positions. They have left an indelible impact on this journey, and we would like to thank them for their contribution.
In the past few decades, Abu Dhabi has emerged as a new site for vertical urbanism in the Gulf. This book responds to the growing trend of building tall in the UAE. It is based on our research and teaching efforts to highlight and critically analyse the formal, urban, and social implications of such phenomena. For us, our architecture students, and our colleagues in academia and practice, this subject is becoming more and more critical. There is an urgent need to consider how our cities are changing, the future of tall urbanism and its impact on our environments while maintaining the balance of social, economic, and environmental circumstances.
This book results from a multifaceted research endeavour grounded in the scholarship of teaching and spanning from the design studio to workshops, international exhibitions, teamwork, lab work, and research. Twenty six students in total lie at the epicentre of the overall project as they contributed with their efforts, ideas, and work. Two Teaching Assistants that provided priceless help in organizing and managing workshops, events, 3D-printing and resources.
We would like to thank the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge for funding this voyage (through the ASPIRE Program) and for their generous flexibility during the Covid19 pandemic. We would also like to thank the ADU leadership for their facilitating actions throughout the pathway, the ECC for their hospitality in Venice, the service providers that assisted us in the most professional way and our Publishers for believing in us and allowing us to materialize our vision. And lastly, our families for their patience and priceless support.
To Cite this book: Kyriazis A., Mounajjed N. (2023), Vertical Horizontal: a critical account of high-rise architecture in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi: Motivate. ISBN: 978-1-86063-560-1
