Windtower: The Merchant Houses of Dubai

Windtower offers a unique insight into a past way of life, exploring Dubai's rich and storied past and heritage. This new and extended edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the formation of the United Arab Emirates, diving deeper into the merchant community's central role in Dubai's pre-oil economy and social life. This new edition also considers the lessons to be learned from Dubai's traditional windtowers at a time of global warming and climate crisis, and how this knowledge might benefit contemporary urban design. The title features a foreword from His Highness, Charles, Prince of Wales, who writes: "I do hope this book will enable other people to join in appreciating the unique nature of these buildings and that it will encourage an awareness of how relevant many of their distinctive features are to the modern challenges of building sustainable communities in a way that maximizes the use of renewable energy." With exclusive archival photography, custom maps, as well as original architectural plans and diagrams, Windtower is a must-have book for anyone interested in Dubai's architecture, culture and fascinating historical development.

About the Author :
Peter Jackson is an author and a historian. He first worked in the UAE with John R Harris Architects in the early 1970s. His research for Windtower began in 1974, with his detailed measured survey of a windtower house in Dubai. Through a long and varied career, he ran an architectural partnership in Zimbabwe for 22 years, and has also worked in Oman, Jordan, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique. For many years he was Historic Buildings Advisor to the City of Harare and was author of Historic Buildings of Harare (Quest 1986). He lectures and has written numerous articles on architectural history. Peter returned to the UAE in 2002, and as Architect Advisor in HH the Ruler's Office, has been involved with the planning and design of award-winning museums and visitor centres in the Emirate of Sharjah. In 2020 Peter was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Dr. Anne Coles is a social geographer, who has lived and worked widely in the Middle East. From 1968 to 1971, while in Dubai, she became fascinated by its windtowers. She was a senior social development adviser in Britain's Department for International Development from 1994-1998 and has chaired two development NGOs. Before her recent retirement she was a research associate at the International Gender Studies Centre, Oxford University. Her research interests include migration, people's responses to harsh environments, public health and domestic/ vernacular architecture. Her recent publications include 'The Routledge Handbook of Gender and Development' (as co-editor and contributor) (Routledge 2015).

Review :
''I do hope this book will enable other people to join in appreciating the unique nature of these buildings and that it will encourage an awareness of how relevant many of their distinctive features are to the modern challenges of building sustainable communities in a way that maximises the use of renewable energy.'' HRH Charles, Prince of Wales