Importing the Desert into the Urban: Architectural Narratives from the Middle East

Multiple perceptions about the desert suggest that it is an empty space. Hence, no real valuable contribution can be extracted from calling for a deeper understanding of the desert. This chapter argues for an alternative perception where the desert is seen as not only an appropriate context for urbanism but also a source of inspiration for architects and city designer working in the Middle East. This chapter aims at initiating a discussion concerning desert development including developers and environmentalists to planners, community leaders, and those who dwell in desert regions. This chapter contests the significance of the desert in the contemporary architectural and urban environment in the context of Middle East and Gulf. The contestation is shedding light on the different approaches to the exploitation of the desert in creating a spectacle within the fabric of the unprecedently urbanized city. The chapter investigates different desert ecologies and the various ways in which they are used, misused, and navigated by the different actors. Using the trilogy of the desert, museum and contemporary Gulf cities, this chapter argues that with the current pace of development and urbanization, a new perception of the desert as a developmental context is needed. It concludes with a conceptual approach to articulate the role of the desert as a host for architecture and urbanism and as an inspirational matrix for urbanizing contemporary Middle Eastern cities.