Rupert Cornford

In the five years leading up to the 2008 recession, Dubai was booming. The level of construction across the emirate was among the highest in the world, as cranes competed for attention on the desert skyline.

As part of the editorial team on ITP Publishing's Construction Week between 2005 and 2007, I followed events with my camera.

These photos show some of the workers behind the building boom, in their accommodation and off site. The coverage of construction workers rights became a hot topic for the Middle Eastern media at that time and has remained in the spotlight ever since.