Talahum (Cohesion)

Client: Zayed University 

Year: 2026 

Script: Early Kufic 

Materials: Aluminium columns, gold-finished calligraphy, black granite base 

Concept and design: Narjes Noureddine 

Execution: Bassem Zbeeb, architect

“Investing in the family is an investment in the future of the UAE.”
HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE

 "الاستثمار في الأسرة.. استثمار في مستقبل الإمارات"

Talahum was commissioned by Zayed University as a gift for HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to be presented at the graduation ceremony of the Future Makers cohort in October 2026.

The sculpture was created in the Year of the Family. It takes the President’s words, that the family is where people are built and generations are raised, and gives them a physical form. It joins the authenticity of Arabic calligraphy with a modern design, holding the values of the past and the ambitions of the future in balance.

The words are written in Early Kufic, one of the oldest Arabic scripts, and finished in gold for the legacy passed down from one generation to the next. They rest on seven parallel columns, one for each emirate. The columns are aluminium, a nod to a national industry in which the UAE is a world leader.The seven columns rise and fall in height behind the lettering.

The sculpture stands on a base of black granite, for the steady values on which both the family and the nation are built. It recalls the belief of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan that people are a nation’s true wealth.