• Image by Dutch photographer Gérard Klijn from 1974. In the foreground is a traditional tent inhabited by Bedouins. In the background is a sha’biyat development under construction. Courtesy Gérard Klijn / Catholic Documentation Centre of Radboud University Nijmegen.
    Image by Dutch photographer Gérard Klijn from 1974. In the foreground is a traditional tent inhabited by Bedouins. In the background is a sha’biyat development under construction. Courtesy Gérard Klijn / Catholic Documentation Centre of Radboud University Nijmegen.
  • Informal shacks dotting the waterfront area of Abu Dhabi would eventually be replaced by the newly-built sha’bi houses. Courtesy Gérard Klijn / Courtesy Catholic Documentation Centre of the Radboud University Nijmegen.
    Informal shacks dotting the waterfront area of Abu Dhabi would eventually be replaced by the newly-built sha’bi houses. Courtesy Gérard Klijn / Courtesy Catholic Documentation Centre of the Radboud University Nijmegen.
  • Sheikh Zayed visits the construction site of the completed sha’bi housing prototype in Al Ain, 1974. Courtesy Juergen Monnerjahn.
    Sheikh Zayed visits the construction site of the completed sha’bi housing prototype in Al Ain, 1974. Courtesy Juergen Monnerjahn.
  • Al Ittihad newspaper feature from 1973. The headline reads: “Zayed Visits New Sha’bi Housing Developments.”
    Al Ittihad newspaper feature from 1973. The headline reads: “Zayed Visits New Sha’bi Housing Developments.”
  • Example of Emirati sha’bi houses in Madinat Zayed. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE la Biennale di Venezia.
    Example of Emirati sha’bi houses in Madinat Zayed. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE la Biennale di Venezia.
  • Colourful doorways are a significant feature in Sha’biyat Al Meryal, Al Ain. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE.
    Colourful doorways are a significant feature in Sha’biyat Al Meryal, Al Ain. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE.
  • Moza Al Shamsi sits outside her house in Umm Ghafa. Courtesy Reem Falaknaz / National Pavilion UAE.
    Moza Al Shamsi sits outside her house in Umm Ghafa. Courtesy Reem Falaknaz / National Pavilion UAE.
  • A sofa under the shade of palm trees in Al Maqam, Al Ain. Courtesy Reem Falaknaz / National Pavilion UAE.
    A sofa under the shade of palm trees in Al Maqam, Al Ain. Courtesy Reem Falaknaz / National Pavilion UAE.
  • Ranmali washes the dishes at Rawiya Al Suroor´s house in Al Maqam. Courtesy Reem Falaknaz / National Pavilion UAE.
    Ranmali washes the dishes at Rawiya Al Suroor´s house in Al Maqam. Courtesy Reem Falaknaz / National Pavilion UAE.
  • New Emirati housing development at the foot of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE.
    New Emirati housing development at the foot of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE.
  • New Emirati housing development at the foot of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE.
    New Emirati housing development at the foot of Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain. Courtesy Yasser Elsheshtawy / National Pavilion UAE.

How Emiratis made sha’bi housing their own - in pictures

Robert Mickelson

May 26, 2016

The UAE Pavilion at this year’s Venice Architectural Biennale explores sha’bi, or folk housing, built from the 1960s onwards. We examine how sha’bi residents transformed their homes.

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