So which came first, the OMA or the Foster?

In a story that could only set back architects further in the mind of the public by equating "starchitects" with "cry babies," bdonline reports that "two of the world’s leading architects, Rem Koolhaas and Norman Foster, have clashed over claims of a 'remarkable similarity' between two of their most ambitious projects," the former's Rak Gateway in the Emirates and the latter's just-revealed 6sq km "zero-carbon, zero-waste" Masdar Development in Abu Dhabi. Let's see what all the fuss is about.

Here's OMA's plan:


And here's Foster's plan:


Certainly the timing of these two square projects raises some eyebrows, though the similarities -- or at least the imagery that's being looked at -- is only the plan. I'm sure these two project "on the ground" are very different from each other. But a few thinks irk me about the hoopla, as well as the plans themselves:

:: The assertion of authorship at the scale of the city,
:: The desire to be innovative at the same scale, linked with
:: The apparent tabula rasa conditions of each, and
:: The apparent lack of learning from history at various levels.

Perhaps these two architects are learning from history, as square cities are nothing new, though let's hope they're learning from more than just the shape.

The ancient, walled city of El Kab (found here):