The Detours of Babel
Today, is the sin of pride that led men to build the legendary Tower of Babel at work once again in the proliferation of urban development projects in the Middle East ? Taller, finer, imposing, the architectural feats that rise from Riyadh to Tel Aviv to Dubai are like the new "gates to heaven”. Energy-hungry, costly and densely-packed, they seem to have been built by new Babylonians, driven by an excess of hubris incompatible with today’s environmental and climatic challenges. But do these futuristic cities stand in the way to building a green and low-carbon future, or can they be built in the name of a responsible economy and fair prosperity ?
Eco-towers of Babel?
If the collapse of the biblical tower is a symbol of human vanity and divine omnipotence power, it seems that today, regarding the climate transition, the new Towers of Babel enable men to reconnect with their environment. It is true for the Ashalim power plant in Israel. Known as the tallest solar tower of the world, the Ashalim power plant is 250 metres high, has 50,000 solar panels and supplies 2% of the country’s electricity needs.
Another way of using architecture to meet the challenges of our time can be found in the UAE, with the eco-city of Masdar ("spring" in Arabic). This city aims to achieve low-carbon development by 2030, in particular with a new light mass transit system, "Personal Rapid Transit" (PRT).
Utopian? Perhaps. Impossible? Certainly not. Necessary? Undoubtedly. More and more studies call for a worldwide urban energy transition on a global scale. The Abu Dhabi-based IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) helps its 160 member countries to assess their own energy situation and also draw up effective long-term action plans. Among other things, they are responsible for the "Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA)” which could prove decisive in the development of low-carbon energies. At COP27 in Egypt, nine countries, including the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom have joined the team.
"And we'll make a name for ourselves": architecture and green soft power”
"All over the earth there was one language and the same words (...) they said, 'Let's go, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to heaven. And we will make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of the earth" (187 Genesis, 11,1-9).
The building of new Towers of Babel is not only the fruit of human pride, but also the desire for an overture to the world and to commerce. If today people are indignant at the almost indecent scale of the construction sites of the Saudi Arabia new city Neom, that will welcome 9 million tourists by 2050, let's not forget that this project was originally conceived with a view to opening up to the rest of the world. The emergence of brand new, modernized cities partake in soft power that brings cultures closer. Such is the case of the “Louvre Abu Dhabi” project, initiated by France and the UAE, or the Cairo Tower in Egypt, which is based on an American-Egyptian partnership.
In 1927, the film Metropolis hit the big screen. That prophetic work heralded the folie de grandeur of our century. Generation after generation, as technology improves, the cities of the past disappear to make way for new prototypes. Yesterday's Colossus of Rhodes, today's Burj Al Arab, or the Tour Tower of Africa... There is no denying that building frenzy expresses the desire of great powers to assert themselves on the international stage. "And we'll make a name for ourselves !” said the builders of the Tower of Babel. Here, this biblical adage takes on a different meaning. Urban planning projects are no longer about the glory of a name, but are above all the expression of a need for collective and sustainable development, between peoples who used to remain speechless.
Sources:
https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/fiche-pedagogique/masdar-city
https://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/questions-et-reponses-energies/quel-est-le-role-de-lirena
https://hal-enpc.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01724329/document
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q01aYeZYqmM&t=132s
https://www.irena.org/Energy-Transition/Planning/Africa-Continental-Power-System-Masterplan
https://selectra.info/energie/actualites/revue-de-presse/10-11-2022
Géopolitique des Émirats Arabes Unis, Charles Saint Prot Des Hommes et des Risques, Marc Nabeth
Au Commencement Était La Mondialisation, Nayan Chanda
