Open House International: Volume 38 Issue 4

Editorial: Evolving Urbanism of Cities on the Arabian Peninsula

Ashraf M. Salama, Florian Wiedmann

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…

Manufacturing the Image of Doha: From the Public Face of Architecture to the Printed Media

Ashraf M. Salama

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…

The Spatial Development Potentials of Business Districts in Doha: The Case of the West Bay

Velina Mirincheva, Florian Wiedmann, Ashraf M. Salama

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…

Urban Reconfiguration and Revitalisation: Public Mega Projects in Doha's Historic Centre

Florian Wiedmann, Velina Mirincheva, Ashraf M. Salama

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…

Understanding Inhabitants' Spatial Experience of the City of Doha Through Cognitive Mapping

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

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…

Experiential Assessment of Urban Open Spaces in Doha

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

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…

From Souqs to Emporiums: The Urban Transformation of Abu Dhabi

Yasser Elsheshtawy

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…

Urban Transformation in the City of Riyadh: A Study of Plural Urban Identity

Mashary A. Al Naim

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…

Tracing the Evolution of Urbanism in Kuwait

Yasser Mahgoub

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…

The Verticalization of Manama's Urban Periphery

Florian Wiedmann

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…

Importing Exceptional Buildings: Transforming Urban Arabian Peninsula Into Skyscraper Cities

Kheir Al-Kodmany, Mir M. Ali

Globalization has supported the exportation of exotic design and construction of many buildings including skyscrapers. In the past two decades skyscrapers have proliferated across…