In 1975, 26-year-old Indian architect Ashok Mody touched down in the UAE for the very first time. Tasked with designing just one building in Sharjah, his work quickly impressed. So much so he went on to build some of the city’s most iconic buildings that still stand today. Now in his 70s, Ashok Mody sits with Sultan Souud Al Qassemi to discuss his architectural legacy in Sharjah, in one of the very buildings he helped design and build. Read more »
Architecture
Architect reconstructs his days in 70s Sharjah
Indian architect Ashok Mody sits with Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi to discuss his work on his return to Sharjah after 40 years. Read more »
Demystifying Sharjah’s iconic King Faisal Mosque
In this piece, a quest to find the person who designed one of the most recognizable landmarks of Sharjah leads Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi to Saudi Arabia to meet the architect. Read more »
The UAE needs a law to protect modern architecture
Best practices of other states can be a guide to creating an automatic national heritage listing for modernist structures. The UAE must enact laws to preserve modernist architecture, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi argues in this essay. Read more »
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi documents the modern architecture of Sharjah
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is on a quest to bring the modern architectural gems of his native Sharjah the recognition they deserve. Read more »
A building to honour Dubai’s past and future
Rather than building developments from scratch, Dubai would do well to learn from the experiences of other cities that have renovated older buildings and turned them into national institutions. Read more »