LOS ANGELES, 25 September 2007 — The new wave of dazzling buildings rising up across the Gulf region represents a historic moment in the history of architecture that will have an impact far beyond the region, according to one of America’s leading architects.
“There is no other place in the world today that rivals the Gulf region in terms of architectural innovation,” Herb Nadel, the founder of the Los Angeles-based Nadel Architects, Inc. told Arab News. “I would compare it to the architectural innovation of New York and Chicago at the height of their booms. The difference is that we have better technology today.”
Nadel spoke to Arab News before departing on a visit to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh. The King Faisal Foundation recently selected Nadel in an international competition to design the new mixed-use retail and residential complex intended to complement the iconic Faisaliah Tower.
“The King Faisal Foundation seeks iconic, world-class architecture,” Nadel said. “By doing that, they are giving back to their city, their country, and even the world, because architecture and construction not only employ people and create new opportunities for commerce, but they help define cities and regions.”
The new development near Faisaliah will house office, exhibition, and retail space and will be interconnected by pedestrian bridges. The development features four curved stainless steel and glass office towers that converge at a retail base. The curved towers are intended to resemble a lotus flower, representing eternal life, with the Faisaliah tower as a centerpiece. “The building needs to be extraordinary because it is intended to complement the already extraordinary Faisaliah Tower,” Nadel said.
Nadel came in second place nearly 15 years ago when the foundation sought an architect to design the Faisaliah tower. He won this latest round of competition and is eager to contribute to what he calls “the rise of the Gulf states as a center of architectural innovation.”
The multiple award-winning Nadel Architects, the largest architectural design house in Los Angeles, also recently won a design bid for luxury residential properties in Abu Dhabi.
The string of high-profile architectural buildings, centered in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar has, according to Nadel, “raised the bar for architecture in the region and in the world.”
The architectural boom in the Gulf is also attracting major real estate players in the United States. Aria Mehrabi, director of Los Angeles-based Pacific Star Capital, a private equity fund that invests across the United States and Europe, is currently reviewing projects in the Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. “We see a strong mix of elements from population growth to high liquidity to private sector growth that will support a range of retail, residential, and commercial properties,” Mehrabi told Arab News.
Mehrabi is particularly bullish on Riyadh, though he points out that the financial infrastructure, particularly mortgage market laws, need to be updated before major American players will push into the residential market. “The residential market is the most interesting,” he said, “because of the population growth and the youthful demographics, so as soon as the laws are refined and updated, you will see more Western real estate players entering that segment.”
Mehrabi has partnered with Nadel in the United States and will continue that partnership in the Gulf region. “Nadel is a superb architect and widely admired here in Los Angeles,” Mehrabi said. “I’m eager to see what he will produce along with the King Faisal Foundation. I’m sure it will be an extraordinary building.”
