Building Arabia Expanding the Limits of Architecture

Description

The extent of development in the Arabian Peninsula has been phenomenal: this region now has some of the most advanced contemporary architecture in the world. During the last few years, in order to adjust to the imminent depletion of the natural resources that have provided the region's wealth for the past decades the countries on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf have restructured their economies, which were based on the export of hydrocarbons, towards finance and tourism, but without forgetting their cultural roots. Tradition and modernity either stunningly contrast or beautifully fuse in the architectural projects by the most important architects and design studios. These projects are inspired by Islamic architecture, incorporating Islamic decorative motifs and age-old structural solutions for coping with the extreme Arabian climate. The architectural plans also reinterpret the urban layouts of Arabian cities.

OSCAR EUGENIO BELLINI, born in 1965, is an architect and researcher at the Building Environment Science & Technology Department of the Politecnico of Milan. As a researcher he focuses on project-related themes addressing the relationship between technology and the constructability of architecture. In addition to his research activity he participates in national and international architecture competitions. LAURA DAGLIO, who was born in 1970, is an architect. She teaches Architectural Technology at the Faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico of Milan, where she is a researcher in the Building Environment Science & Technology Department. She also contributes to various magazines.