Cultural and Environmental influence on Tall buildings in the Middle East

Abstract

Nowadays Tall buildings are being portrayed as saviours of the world's cities problems of rocketing population densities, need for rapid expansions, scarcity of land for development, sprawling growth, heat island phenomena etc., Whereas the presence of Tall buildings in Historical or antiquity context is subjected to more scrutiny than in any other prevailing context in cities around the world. The good news is that the ingenuity of architects in striking the balance between the need to cope with current pressing issues (i.e., normally requiring advanced modern technology) without losing the spirit or essence of a particular historical context. That is normally achieved with conceiving cultural Iconography out of Tall buildings by employing symbols or elements from very intrinsic and/or indicative cultural dispositions within a given context and reproducing it through, form, texture, light, art, material, etc. producing an elegantly proportionate master piece of tall buildings that often transcend the dilemma of coping with the tradition and tackling successfully its intended goals. The main aim of this article is to exhibit globalisation trends in tall buildings that can adapt to local contexts through successful examples in the Middle East. Having said that, it is crucially imperative to emphasise that this trend doesn't lead to extinction of the local cultural influence. But present an amicable continuation to values, traditions and identity of a given place.