Hala Al-Ani documents Dubai's pick and mix architecture with real flair

Date
22 October 2012

Dubai is a strange old place, where the coming together of wealth and space has led to its inhabitants embracing any architectural vernacular which takes their fancy. The resulting houses are a mishmash of styles, ranging from art deco to mock Tudor and most things in between. Photographer Hala Al-Ani has captured these stylistic quirks in her project A Typology of Houses which cleverly raises questions about the ways in which societies project their identities through their buildings, and what happens if the usual constraints of historical and structural heritage are removed.

Hala, who is also part of Dubai-based Mobius Design Studio, is showing this series as part of the Mussibet Istanbul Design Biennial show at Istanbul Modern until December.

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Hala Al-Ani: A Typology of Houses

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Hala Al-Ani: A Typology of Houses

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Hala Al-Ani: A Typology of Houses

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Hala Al-Ani: A Typology of Houses

Above

Hala Al-Ani: A Typology of Houses

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Hala Al-Ani: A Typology of Houses

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Rob Alderson

Rob joined It’s Nice That as Online Editor in July 2011 before becoming Editor-in-Chief and working across all editorial projects including itsnicethat.com, Printed Pages, Here and Nicer Tuesdays. Rob left It’s Nice That in June 2015.

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