The City in Its Details: The Past and Future in Dubai’s Architecture

Exhibition Duration
March 14 – April 19, 2026

Opening Night
Saturday, March 14, 2026 | 12PM - 2PM

Location  Kutubna Cultural Center, Nadd Al Hamar, Dubai

Admission
Free entry
No booking

This exhibition presents a close and attentive look at Dubai’s urban fabric through the lens of architect and photographer Robert Powers. The character of a city is shaped by patterns and repetitions in its architecture, streetscapes, industry, and infrastructure. In Dubai, these patterns have been formed through successive waves of development. The exhibition traces these patterns through old and new urban environments, moving between apartments, houses, and large contemporary developments. In some images, buildings appear to stack and layer upon one another; in others, patterned openings in facades invite viewers to consider the layers of life within the city.

Taken between 2013 and 2025 in Deira and Bur Dubai, the photographs document walkable parts of Dubai that have existed since the early days of the Union. Much of this older architecture may soon be demolished, as its value is often unrecognized. Yet these buildings hold beauty, interest, and cultural significance, forming an essential part of the city’s history and collective memory.

Concrete breeze blocks, a recurring element in the images, recall the optimism of the mid-century era. Common in early modern architecture, they allowed light and air into interior spaces while preserving privacy. The blocks also established repeating geometric rhythms across building facades. As buildings grew larger, angular balconies extended similar patterns across entire elevations.

The exhibition also includes images of the UAE’s industrial landscapes. Vast fields of electricity pylons and transmission lines recede into hazy horizons, highlighting the often-unseen infrastructure that supports Dubai’s rapid growth. On a smaller scale, improvised bundles of cable and wire reveal how older buildings have been adapted to meet contemporary needs.

Since the 1990s, Dubai has been a center for architectural experimentation. Beyond its iconic landmarks, countless stores, mosques, malls, and bridges feature jagged angles and complex geometries inspired by Islamic patterns. Patterned screen walls provide beauty, identity, privacy, light, and protection from the sun, demonstrating how contemporary design continues to evolve alongside the city’s older layers.

Artist's Biography

Robert Powers is an American architect living in Dubai with his wife and two children. He documents changes within cities. From 1993 to 2015 he documented the history of St. Louis neighborhoods and buildings, and compiled research and photography in the website Built St. Louis. His photography has appeared on book covers and has been published in The New York Times, the American Historical Association’s magazine Perspectives on History, and in books. His work has been exhibited in the United States and Germany.