“Architecture is the New Diplomacy. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens capture the spirit of Civic Design, creating new hope for the Middle East by restoring the soul of Arabian civilization to the heart of its cities.Enlightened leadership has filled history with grand precedents for such grand designs. By ordering his Persian capital to be moved to Isfahan, Shah Abbas I realised a vision for his parks, gardens and libraries of Nisf-e-Jahan (Half the World) to reflect the heavens above.As Domenico Fontana was to Pope Sixtus V’s Rome; Peter the Great to St Petersburg; L'Enfant to Washington DC; Hausmann to Napolean III's Paris; Frederick Law Olmstead to Manhattan; Edwin Lutyens to New Delhi; and Walter Burley Griffin to Canberra, so Sheikh Mohammed’s vision for a new Dubai will redefine the quality of civic life for the citizens, residents and guests of the Arabian Gulf.”Eric Kuhne