• (FILES) In this file photo taken on November 19, 2007 British architect Richard Rogers, one of the two architects of the French cultural Centre "Georges Pompidou", poses in front of the building in Paris. - British architect Richard Rogers, known for designing some of the world's most famous buildings including Paris' Pompidou Centre, has died aged 88, according to media reports. Rogers, who changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and the 'Cheesegrater', "passed away quietly" on December 18, 2021, Freud communications agency's Matthew Freud told the Press Association. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP)
    (FILES) In this file photo taken on November 19, 2007 British architect Richard Rogers, one of the two architects of the French cultural Centre "Georges Pompidou", poses in front of the building in Paris. - British architect Richard Rogers, known for designing some of the world's most famous buildings including Paris' Pompidou Centre, has died aged 88, according to media reports. Rogers, who changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and the 'Cheesegrater', "passed away quietly" on December 18, 2021, Freud communications agency's Matthew Freud told the Press Association. (Photo by MARTIN BUREAU / AFP)
  • Rogers changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and The Leadenhall Building, popularly known as the 'Cheesegrater'. AFP
    Rogers changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and The Leadenhall Building, popularly known as the 'Cheesegrater'. AFP
  • Italian and British architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, third from left, with Sue Rogers, Ted Happold and British engineer Peter Rice in Paris, in front of the plan of their most famous joint project, the Pompidou Centre, during a press conference in 1971. AFP
    Italian and British architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, third from left, with Sue Rogers, Ted Happold and British engineer Peter Rice in Paris, in front of the plan of their most famous joint project, the Pompidou Centre, during a press conference in 1971. AFP
  • French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing congratulating Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers during the official inauguration of the Pompidou Centre in Paris in 1977. AFP
    French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing congratulating Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers during the official inauguration of the Pompidou Centre in Paris in 1977. AFP
  • British architect Richard Rogers in his studio, UK, 8th October 1979. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
    British architect Richard Rogers in his studio, UK, 8th October 1979. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
  • 3 World Trade Centre, the third skyscraper to be built on the site of the original Twin Towers, was designed by Rogers. AFP
    3 World Trade Centre, the third skyscraper to be built on the site of the original Twin Towers, was designed by Rogers. AFP
  • The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, eastern France. AFP
    The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, eastern France. AFP
  • The Leadenhall Building, designed by Rogers and commonly called the 'Cheesegrater', is part of London's distinctive skyline. AFP
    The Leadenhall Building, designed by Rogers and commonly called the 'Cheesegrater', is part of London's distinctive skyline. AFP
  • (FILES) In this file photo taken on January 21, 2007 in Paris shows the Pompidou Centre, designed by British architect Richard Rogers. - British architect Richard Rogers, known for designing some of the world's most famous buildings including Paris' Pompidou Centre, has died aged 88, according to media reports. Rogers, who changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and the 'Cheesegrater', "passed away quietly" on December 18, 2021, Freud communications agency's Matthew Freud told the Press Association. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)
    (FILES) In this file photo taken on January 21, 2007 in Paris shows the Pompidou Centre, designed by British architect Richard Rogers. - British architect Richard Rogers, known for designing some of the world's most famous buildings including Paris' Pompidou Centre, has died aged 88, according to media reports. Rogers, who changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and the 'Cheesegrater', "passed away quietly" on December 18, 2021, Freud communications agency's Matthew Freud told the Press Association. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP)
  • Architects of the Pompidou Centre, Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, in Paris in 2017. AFP
    Architects of the Pompidou Centre, Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, in Paris in 2017. AFP
  • The Leadenhall Building, also known as the 'Cheesegrater'. AFP
    The Leadenhall Building, also known as the 'Cheesegrater'. AFP
  • The Millennium Dome in London. AFP
    The Millennium Dome in London. AFP
  • A general view of the 13-storey blocks of One Hyde Park property development designed by Rogers. EPA
    A general view of the 13-storey blocks of One Hyde Park property development designed by Rogers. EPA

Richard Rogers, famed British architect behind Pompidou Centre and The O2, dies at 88


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British architect Richard Rogers, known for designing some of the world's most famous buildings including Paris' Pompidou Centre and the 3 World Trade Centre in New York, has died aged 88.

Rogers, who changed the London skyline with distinctive creations such as the Millennium Dome and The Leadenhall Building, known as the "Cheesegrater", "passed away quietly" on Saturday night, Freud communications agency's Matthew Freud said.

His son Roo Rogers also confirmed his death to The New York Times, but did not give the cause.

Richard Rogers in his studio in the UK in 1979. Getty Images
Richard Rogers in his studio in the UK in 1979. Getty Images

The Italian-born architect won a series of awards for his designs, including the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize, and is one of the pioneers of the "high-tech" architecture movement, distinguished by structures incorporating industrial materials such as glass and steel.

He is the co-creator of France's Pompidou Centre – opened in 1977 and famed for its multicoloured, pipe-covered facade – which he designed with Italian architect Renzo Piano.

Rogers' other well-known designs include Strasbourg's European Court of Human Rights, London’s Millennium Dome (now known as The O2) and the 3 World Trade Centre in New York, as well as international airport terminals in Madrid and London's Heathrow.

The Pompidou Centre in Paris is one of Roger's most well-known works. AFP
The Pompidou Centre in Paris is one of Roger's most well-known works. AFP

Born in Florence in 1933, his father was a doctor, his mother a former pupil of the famed Irish writer James Joyce. The family fled the dictatorship of Mussolini, settling in England in 1938.

Dyslexic and foreign to his schoolmates, he was bullied and beaten, and by 9 he considered hurling himself from his bedroom window, The New York Times writes in its profile. His learning disability was not widely understood or even recognised in those days; he was, he said, seen as stupid.

“People have asked me whether dyslexia makes you a better architect,” Rogers wrote in his memoir A Place for All People: Life, Architecture and the Fair Society, published in 2017. “I’m not sure whether that’s true, but it does rule out some careers, so it focuses you on what you can do.”

He left school in 1951 with no qualifications but managed to gain entry into London's Architectural Association School of Architecture, known for its modernism.

Rogers completed his architecture studies at Yale in the US in 1962, where he met fellow British architect Norman Foster.

Although buildings were Rogers' world, he insisted it was the space around them that was key in defining those that worked.

"The two can't be judged apart," he told The Guardian in 2017. "The Twin Towers in New York, for instance. They weren't great buildings, but the space between them was."

Rogers was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.

– Additional reporting by AFP

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1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences

2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation

3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it

4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow

5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided

6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before

The biog

Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha

Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Holiday destination: Sri Lanka

First car: VW Golf

Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters

Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars

How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed

Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.

Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.

The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.

One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.

That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

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Updated: December 19, 2021, 5:00 AM