Modern Heritage Research Grants

Postal Modernities is a proposal exploreing the lesser‑known civic architectural heritage of the UAE’s formative decades (1960s–1990s) across Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, Ajman, and Ras Al Khaimah. The project addresses a gap in documentation by proposing a structured study of post offices, municipality buildings, hospitals, schools, mosques, and housing developments — emblematic of the federation’s early modernity. The proposal outlines a methodology combining field research, archival investigation, and oral history to build a layered narrative of civic architecture as cultural memory. It suggests documenting physical sites through photography, drone footage, and interviews, alongside archival materials and personal recollections. The storyboard will define the documentary’s visual and narrative structure, emphasizing the emotional and civic value of architecture. This project will serve as both a blueprint for a future film and a scholarly resource, fostering preservation of the UAE’s hidden civic heritage and enriching cross‑cultural architectural discourse.