Vernacular Houses in the United Arab Emirates, Case Study: Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House

Abstract

Vernacular houses are seen across the Middle East - where the high temperature & humidity areas - serve as
notable examples of sustainability in architecture. This research aims to interpret the vernacular houses in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the city of Dubai in terms of the concepts of sustainability. Focusing on the case
study “Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House”. The house works now as the main tourist destination in the heritage
area of Dubai. The research will provide a brief description of the design strategy that focuses on the construction
solutions for the temperature, humidity, ventilation, and natural light in order to achieve sustainability. The
qualitative research method will be used. The data collected will analysed under two categories: construction
techniques and architectural details. The data will be sorted into tables with descriptions & evaluations. The
question is: how do the construction techniques and architectural details of vernacular architecture create a
sustainable building? How those buildings faced climatic issues in the United Arab Emirates? The research paper
provides lessons from local architecture for what contemporary architecture can produce using the case study's
analysis (construction material & architecture details)