Eastern Bloc History at Abu Dhabi’s Striking Bus Station

They are just some of the buildings that define the UAE. But what’s the story behind them? In part three of our summer series celebrating the country’s architecture, we’ll look at the history behind Abu Dhabi’s main bus terminal.

four years ago Abu Dhabi’s main bus terminal Opening with high expectations.

Officials said the building planned for the city centre was partly inspired by Australia’s famous “shell roof”. sydney opera.

It’s an elegant and simple structure that makes traveling a comfortable experience.

“The shell-like design at Central Station features a sloping roof over the main departures area and its wings covering the arrivals and departures areas,” gulf news Report of 26 December 1985.

Planned terminal coverage appears frequently United Arab Emirates Throughout the 1980s, this was for good reason.Population surges from 14 bus services Abu Dhabi Local reports said that more than 230 lines had opened in the emirate between 1979 and 1988, which put a lot of pressure on the station on Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Street (Airport Road).

This is a pivotal time for Abu Dhabi’s urban expansion, with several important official buildings under construction amid the emirate’s construction boom. The new terminal is one of them.

Transformation of public transport

The station opened on March 13, 1989, heralding a new era in public transport. File photos show the striking modernist building, with all its white concrete and sinuous curves coming together under the sloping roof.

A square structure reminiscent of an airport sits on one side, while a circular space-age disc houses bus inspectors. Four concrete forks extend from the main area and serve as shaded bus stops.

But the story behind the creation of one of the most high-profile stations in the Middle East has been forgotten by time.It is one of the forgotten Bulgarian architects of Eastern European design and was built in cold war.

technology export, a Bulgarian state-owned company, designed the terminal. It is one of many socialist Eastern European companies operating in the Middle East and North Africa since the 1950s.

More affordable than their Western counterparts, they appreciate local sensitivities and continue to oversee the projects amid a severe labor shortage in the expanding Gulf region.

“some [Technoexportstroy] People are prominent in Bulgaria and it is much harder to attract people of similar status from the West,” Global Socialist Architecture: Eastern Europe, West Africa, and the Middle East during the Cold War.

Bulgarian couple push for progress in Abu Dhabi

Nowhere is this level of professionalism better than at a bus station, the work of Technoexportstroy’s brilliant Bulgarian architects Kuno and Stanka Dundakov.

As husband and wife, the couple are also responsible for the revamped Vasil Lewski National Stadium in Sofia and the Elmenza Sports Palace in Tunisia, respectively.

“[Stanka] Very proud of the station,” said Bulgarian architect Elena Balabanska, who runs a Facebook group called “Bulgarian Architecture Abroad.” reviewed it. “

The terminal was built in a modernist style, and although some refer to it as “brutalism” – a term coined in the West to describe post-World War II concrete structures – it goes beyond these definitions in an attempt to match the city’s Cooperative technical capabilities and civic approaches.

Zakum has completed construction, while the two smaller stations built to complement the terminal, the Touring Club and Al Bateen, also have curved roofs and concrete canopies to provide shade for passengers.

Technoexportstroy has designed many other important buildings in Abu Dhabi, such as the capital and the municipal building in Al Ain, but these are the work of other architects.

What is astounding, however, is that all of these official buildings are horizontal in an attempt to interact with the city in more taller, more vertical buildings.

“When I visited Abu Dhabi, I saw the prominence of horizontal architecture as a vehicle of prestige: nation, religion, civic, culture,” Professor Stanek said. “The rest of the city is vertical – even the buildings bordering the street, so the horizontal buildings stand out.”

Build global connections

But another legacy of Technoexportstroy Abu Dhabi is the exchange of ideas, technology and ways of doing business in the UAE during the Cold War between Eastern Europe and the rest of the world. Technoexportstroy has an office in the capital, and the Dundakovs visit to supervise the work.

“Keep in mind they’re from Eastern Europe, there’s a power outage in Romania, and the shops in Poland have almost nothing, so the bay is very attractive in that regard as well,” Professor Stanek said.

“But it also provides them with important professional learning opportunities. The Bay is a place to experiment with new ideas and technologies from around the world. It’s not an exotic experience, it’s a modernity experience,” he said.

“They study there, which is a very different approach for many Western designers. For them, it’s not a third choice, it’s a first choice.”

Traces of Technoexportstroy’s work exist not only in the buildings in Abu Dhabi that people still use today, but also in their work with the station’s local partners. Tayeb Engineering used the knowledge gathered to drive larger, more complex projects in subsequent years.

“If there’s a legacy, maybe it’s in the collaboration and exchange between local partners (like Tayeb) and these Eastern European companies,” Professor Stanek said.

“These exchanges will be remembered, and the people who have been there will be remembered.”

The station was painted bright green in its later years and remains Abu Dhabi’s main terminal. A taxi stand built later was part of Technoexportstroy’s masterplan, but is not considered its building.

Meanwhile, two substations at Tourist Club and Al Bateen have been closed. Al Bateen reopened as a shopping centre at one point, while the Tourist Club station was renamed the check-in terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport. But now both are deserted, and their fate is unclear.

Many residents named the main terminal as one of their favorite buildings. But the work of Dundakovs and Technoexportstroy has been largely forgotten and, in the West, often overlooked.

“This era isn’t talked about much,” said Ms Barabanska, who has helped organize several exhibitions dedicated to this type of architecture in Bulgaria in recent years.

“[But the] The station is one of my favorite buildings,” she said. “It was what got me into this field.

“The building is timeless, with clean lines, giving a very contemporary look to the capital at this time.”

Updated: August 3, 2022 at 6:23 pm