The Late Dr. Abdul Rahman Hassanein Makhlouf

The late Dr. Abdul Rahman Hassanein Makhlouf has always been linked to the city of Abu Dhabi’s masterplan. Upon completion of his doctoral studies in Germany, Dr Makhlouf returned to the Arab World where he worked with the United Nations in the development of urban planning.

In 1959, he was able to draw on his studies of the restoration and renovation of historical buildings, when he was involved in the development plans for the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Between 1964 and 1968, Dr Makhlouf joined the faculty at Cairo University, where his work came to the attention of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Sheikh Zayed invited Dr Makhlouf to Abu Dhabi to participate in the founding of the Department of City Planning for Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

He managed the Department until 1976 and was directly responsible for the planning of Abu Dhabi city centre, taking the time to train many of the departments’ workers and engineers in the process. Lecturing at universities across the region on the realities and mechanisms involved in Arab World urban planning, Dr Makhlouf conducted a number of studies into the future development of the city of Abu Dhabi. Between 1983 and 1985 Dr Makhlouf moved to UAE University as a lecturer in urban planning in the university’s Department of Architecture.

Dr Makhlouf worked in the Arab Office for Planning and Architecture and devoted his time to keeping in touch with his many former students, in addition to working on his book “Trip of a Lifetime”, which details his life experiences. Dr Makhlouf was involved in a number of high profile projects including the surroundings of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, the courthouse in the city of Abu Dhabi and the old central market in the city of Al Ain, in addition to numerous other mosques and schools across the Emirate.