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The Impact of Dubai's Architectural Wonders on the Daily Indigenous Performance in Light of Cultural Modernity

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The Impact of Dubai's Architectural Wonders on the Daily Indigenous Performance in Light of Cultural Modernity United Arab Emirates University Scholarworks@UAEU Theses Electronic Theses and Dissertations 4-2016 The impact of Dubai’s architectural wonders on the daily indigenous performance in light of cultural modernity: A comparative case study between Burj Khalifa and Burj Al-Arab Zulfat S. Al Kassim Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uaeu.ac.ae/all_theses Part of the Architectural Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Al Kassim, Zulfat S., "The impact of Dubai’s architectural wonders on the daily indigenous performance in light of cultural modernity: A comparative case study between Burj Khalifa and Burj Al-Arab" (2016). Theses. 339. https://scholarworks.uaeu.ac.ae/all_theses/339 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Scholarworks@UAEU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarworks@UAEU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ii Declaration of Original Work I, Zulfat S. Al Kassim, the undersigned, a graduate student at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), and the author of this thesis entitled “The Impact of Dubai’s Architectural Wonders on the Daily Indigenous Performance in light of Cultural Modernity: A Comparative Case Study between Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab”, hereby, solemnly declare that this thesis is my own original research work that has been done and prepared by me under the supervision of Dr. Sahera Bleibleh, in the College of Engineering at UAEU. This work has not previously been presented or published, or formed the basis for the award of any academic degree, diploma or a similar title at this or any other university. Any materials borrowed from other sources (whether published or unpublished) and relied upon or included in my thesis have been properly cited and acknowledged in accordance with appropriate academic conventions. I further declare that there is no potential conflict of interest with respect to the research, data collection, authorship, presentation and/or publication of this thesis. Student‟s Signature: Date: ________________ iii Copyright © 2016 Zulfat S. Al Kassim All Rights Reserved vi Abstract In order to decrease the reliance on oil and create more economic opportunities, the UAE has witnessed a development boom over the last few decades in an effort to promote tourism. Dubai specifically has purposefully undergone dramatic architectural evolutions with the aim of transforming the city into a tourist hub and a global attraction. Over the last few years, iconic buildings including Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa have been built at different times to become prominent landmarks that promote the city‟s global image and combine traditional/local elements in such a way as to form completely new unrecognizable forms i.e. a new genre of design. Those architectural spectacles attract not only visitors from outside but also Emirati citizens/residents as well. However, one is bound to ask: How does the indigenous Emirati population „receive‟ and „perceive‟ these major architectural developments and what kind of identity implications do they pose on the Emirati on a daily basis? This research is a qualitative ethnographic comparative case study that explores the Emirati voices and feedback on Burj Al Arab. Based on the findings of Bleibleh‟s and Al-Saber‟s (2014) previous research on Burj Khalifa titled Cultural Modernity in Urban Space: Indigenous Performance of the Everyday in Dubai’s Architectural Wonders, this research borrows the methodology, theoretical framework and explores the same research question in an attempt to compare the perception of the indigenous Emiratis of the two sites of Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa in the light of cultural modernity. Relying on the Driving Forces of Everyday Life as a base for comparison, the study explores the similarities, differences and patterns between the two sites. The study also examines whether the research outcome could be extended and generalized to other iconic buildings in Dubai or elsewhere. Keywords: Dubai, identity, indigenous Emirati, architectural wonders, Burj Al Arab, Burj Khalifa. vii Title and Abstract (in Arabic) تأثير عجائة دتي المعمارية على أداء السكان اﻷصلييه اليومي في ضوء الحذاثة الثقافية: دراسة مقاروة تيه ترج خليفة و ترج العرب الملخص يٍ أخم ذقهٛم اﻻػرًاد ػهٗ انُفظ ٔ خهق يضٚذ يٍ انفشص اﻹقرصادٚح، شٓذخ دٔنح اﻹياساخ انؼشتٛح انًرحذج طفشج فٙ انرًُٛح ػهٗ يذٖ انؼقٕد انقهٛهح انًاضٛح فٙ يحأنح نرشدٛغ انسٛاحح. دتٙ ذحذٚذاً شٓذخ ذطٕساخ يؼًاسٚح دسايٛح تٓذف ذحٕٚم انًذُٚح إنٗ يشكض سٛاحٙ ٔيُطقح خزب ػانًٛح. ػهٗ يذٖ انسُٕاخ انقهٛهح انًاضٛح، تُٛد انًثاَٙ انثاسصج يثم تشج انؼشب ٔ تشج خهٛفح فٙ أٔقاخ يخرهفح نرؼضٚض انصٕسج انؼانًٛح نهًذُٚح ٔانًثُٛح ػهٗ إدخال انؼُاصش انرقهٛذٚح / انًحهٛح فٙ ذشكٛم ًَارج ﻻ ًٚكٍ انرؼشف ػهٛٓا ذًايا، أ٘ ػَٕاً خذٚذاً يٍ انرصًٛى. ْٔكزا، ذهك اﻷٚكَٕاخ انؼًًاسٚح ذدزب انضٔاس يٍ انخاسج ٔكزنك انًٕاطٍُٛ اﻹياساذٍٛٛ /انسكاٌ يٍ انذاخم. ٔيغ رنك، فانٕاحذ ٚرسائم: كٛف ٚرى "ذهقٙ" ٔ "ذصٕس" ْزِ انرطٕساخ انؼًًاسٚح انكثشٖ يٍ قِثم انسكاٌ اﻷصهٍٛٛ اﻹياساذٍٛٛ ٔ أ٘ َٕع يٍ اٜثاس انثقافٛح ذشكم ْزِ انرطٕساخ ػهٗ اﻹياساذػ ٔ ٍٛٛهٗ ًَظ انحٛاج انٕٛيٛح ؟ ْزا انثحث ْٕ ٙػَٕ، إثُٕغشافٙ، ٔ حانح يقاسَح ٔ ٚقٕو تئسركشاف اﻷصٕاخ ٔاٜساء اﻹياساذٛح تخصٕص تشج انؼشب. اسرُادا ً إنٗ انُرائح انرٙ ذٕصم إنٛٓا انثاحثٌٕ فٙ تحثٓى انساتق ػهٗ تشج خهٛفح تؼُٕاٌ انحذاثح انثقافٛح فٙ انفضاء انحضش٘ : اداء انسكاٌ اﻻصهٍٛ نذٔنح اﻻياساخ انؼشتٛح انًرحذِ ٕٚيٛا حٕل ػدائة دتٙ انؼًًاسٚح )تهٛثهّ ٔ انصاتش، ٚ ،)2012سرٛؼش ْزا انثحث انًُٓدٛح ، اﻹطاس انُظش٘ ٔ ٚسركشف َفس انسؤال فٙ يحأنح نهًقاسَح تٍٛ يذٖ قاتهٛح انًٕاطٍُٛ اﻷصهٍٛٛ نثشج انؼشب ٔتشج خهٛفح فٙ ضٕء انحذاثح انثقافٛح .إػرًادا ً ػهٗ انقٕٖ انًحشكح نهحٛاج انٕٛيٛح كقاػذج نهًقاسَح، ذسركشف انذساسح أٔخّ انرشاتّ ٔاﻻخرﻻف ٔ أًَاط تٍٛ انًٕقٛؼٍ. ٔذثحث انذساسح أٚضا يا إرا كاَد َرائح انثحث ًٚكٍ أٌ ذًرذ ٔ ذؼًى ػهٗ انًثاَٙ انثاسصج فٙ دتٙ أٔ فٙ أ٘ يكاٌ آخش. مفاهيم الثحث الرئيسية: دتْٕٚ ،ٙح، اﻹياساذٙ اﻷصهػ ،ٙدائة انُٓذسح انؼًًاسٚح، تشج انؼشب، تشج خهٛفح. viii Acknowledgments I express sincere appreciation to my thesis supervisor and academic advisor, Dr. Sahera Bleibleh for her guidance and insight throughout my journey. I acknowledge the support of the entire United Arab Emirates University community and extend my gratitude to all those I sought for help and advice including instructors and batch-mates. I am grateful to all research participants without whom my research would have not been possible. I deeply thank the informants at the Architectural Heritage Department of Dubai Municipality, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and other heritage-related institutions that generously cooperated in facilitating my research. My heartiest appreciation goes to my beloved Prince Mohammed University, Al-Khobar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A special „thank you‟ goes to my little sister Zeenat for always believing in me. I thank each and every one who made this research possible. ix Dedication To all those who lit my path and made the journey merrier x Table of Contents Title…………………………………………………………………………….. i Declaration of Original Work………………………………………………….. ii Copyright………………………………………………………………………. iii Approval of the Master Thesis……….…………………...…………………… iv Abstract …………...………………………………………………………….... vi Title and Abstract (in Arabic)………………………………………………….. vii Acknowledgements…………...………………………………...……………… viii Dedication……….……………………………………………………………... ix Table of Contents……………………………………………………………… x List of Tables…………………………………………………………………... xii List of Figures………………………………………………………………….. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………… 1 1.1 Research Background…………………...……………………….. 3 1.1.1 The Significance of Burj Khalifa ……………….………... 4 1.1.2 Previous Research at Burj Khalifa………………….…...… 5 1.2 Research Problem Statement……………………………….…….. 6 1.2.1 The Significance of Burj Al Arab………………………….. 7 1.3 Research Scope and Objective ………….………………………... 9 1.4 Research Structure………………………………………………... 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review.......………………………...…….……………… 13 2.1 Globalization and Modernity Versus Dubai‟s Architectural Wonders…………………………………………………………... 13 2.2 The Indigenous Emiratis……………………..………………..….. 22 2.3 Theoretical Framework………………………..……..….………... 32 2.3.1 Modernity and Cultural Resilience……………………….... 33 2.3.2 Driving Forces of Everyday Life…………………………... 36 Chapter 3: Methods…………………………………………………………….. 45 3.1 Research Design……………....……………………...…………… 45 3.1.1 Qualitative Ethnographic Comparative Case Study Research……………………………………………………. 46 3.1.2 Narrative Format and Communicating through Stories….… 49 xi 3.1.3 Inductive Analysis through Cultural Studies….…………… 49 3.1.4 Pilot Study………………………………………………….. 50 3.2 Mechanism for Management and Analysis of Data……….......…. 50 3.3 Sample Selection...…………………...…………………………… 58 3.4 Research Tools and Fieldwork………………….………………… 61 3.5 Research Limitations and Opportunities………………………….. 67 Chapter 4: Data Description and Findings …………………………………...... 70 4.1 Interviews………...……………………………………………..… 70 4.2 Surveys…………...…………………………………………...…... 72 4.3 Archival Materials…………...…………………..…………........... 75 4.4 Field Observations……………………..…………...…………….. 76 Chapter 5: Discussion and Interpretations………………...………………...…. 77 5.1 Adaptation ………………………………………...………...……. 77 5.2 Authenticity……………………………………..……………........ 81 5.3 Activism…………………………………………………………... 84 5.4 Ambivalence………………...………………………………….… 88 5.5 Agency……………………….………………………………........ 95 5.6 Summary of Comparison……………………………………...….. 106 Chapter 6: Research Impact and Conclusion…..………………………………. 109 6.1
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