Windtower

Peter Jackson is an author and a historian. He first worked in the UAE with John R Harris Architects in the early 1970s. His research for Windtower began in 1974, with his detailed measured survey of a windtower house in Dubai. Through a long and varied career, he ran an architectural partnership in Zimbabwe for 22 years, and has also worked in Oman, Jordan, Zambia,Botswana and Mozambique. For many years he was Historic Buildings Advisor to the City of Harare and was author of Historic Buildings of Harare (Quest 1986). He lectures and has written numerous articles on architectural history. Peter returned to the UAE in 2002, and as Architect Advisor in HH the Ruler's Office, has been involved with the planning and design of award-winning museums and visitor centres in the Emirate of Sharjah. In 2020 Peter was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects.Dr. Anne Coles is a social geographer, who has lived and worked widely in the Middle East. From 1968 to 1971,while in Dubai, she became fascinated by its windtowers. She was a senior social development adviser in Britain'sDepartment for International Development from 1994-1998 and has chaired two development NGOs. Before herrecent retirement she was a research associate at the International Gender Studies Centre, Oxford University.Her research interests include migration, people's responses to harsh environments, public health and domestic/vernacular architecture. Her recent publications include 'The Routledge Handbook of Gender and Development' (asco-editor and contributor) (Routledge 2015).

''I do hope this book will enable other people to join in appreciating the unique nature of these buildings and that it will encourage an awareness of how relevant many of their distinctive features are to the modern challenges of building sustainable communities in a way that maximises the use of renewable energy.'' HRH Charles, Prince of Wales