Modern Heritage Research Grants

This project proposal examines the first phase of a 1979–1982 housing complex built for industrial workers, exploring it as both a case study and a metaphor for modern heritage. Situated at the intersection of architecture, urban planning, and contemporary art, the project reanimates the complex’s history, documenting its past, present condition, and potential future. It focuses on themes of memory, function, permanence, and transformation, considering how work, home, and leisure coexisted in a purpose-built settlement. Through archival research, diagrams, models, photography, sketches, and artistic responses, the project reconstructs the lived experience of the site. It engages personal and collective narratives to question adaptive reuse and heritage preservation. The exhibition will present layered interpretations that combine architectural analysis with poetic reflection, aiming to establish a living archive. Ultimately, it invites public engagement with the broader significance of small-scale towns and their role in shaping the UAE’s urban history and future planning strategies.