Economy
The Politics of Starchitecture in Abu Dhabi
The plan behind Saadiyat Island is filled with landmark designs. It also shows how little influence architects can have on city building initiatives today.
Excerpted from the book, Starchitecture. Scenes, Actors, and Spectacles in Contemporary Cities by Davide Ponzini and Michele Nastasi, published by The Monacelli Press, 2016.
Abu Dhabi’s urban development is based on a tightly organized oligarchic system. Large-scale projects are discussed and decided upon by the royal family and a specific and cohesive network of relatives, consultants, publicly funded agencies, and development corporations.