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8.3.20
















Architectural Excellence in Islamic Societies: 
Distinction through the Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Ashraf M. Salama and Marwa El-Ashmouni

August 2020,
Routledge, 
London, United, Kingdom
ISBN 9781138482555
See Book Page on Publishers Website


Architecture and urbanism in Islamic societies continue to experience a multitude of influences and dramatic transformations that generate critical questions about urban growth, sustainable development, retrofitting cities, the quality of urban life, healthy environments, liveability, identity, migration and multiculturalism, among others. In some regions within the Islamic world, architecture and urban environments are developed in association with severe challenges including environmental degradation, ethnic and regional conflicts and mass displacements of refugees, political and economic instability, among other undecorated realities. In essence, this conveys a sharp dichotomy—emerging as an important field of inquiry that prompts in-depth investigation and assessment.

Historically, the notion of Islamic architecture or Islamic city was first characterised in the Orientalist discourse and was later interrogated in national post-colonial debates then was questioned by the rise of nationalist particularism, international architecture, cosmopolitanism, and globalisation as constructs which, despite their consequences, liberated the discipline of architecture from the older, fixed prototypes and recognised the impact of different world orders on the production of architectural knowledge in academia and practice. Embracing these other conceptualisations in their work, architects practicing in Islamic societies continue to adopt, adapt, and demonstrate their wide range of original and creative skills. Architectural Excellence in Islamic Societies departs from the typical connotation of architecture or cities as ‘Islamic’ and underscores the appreciation of architecture in its wider context, a pluralistic ‘Islamic’ society.

Architectural Excellence in Islamic Societies emphasises that the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is globally acknowledged as the leading paradigm as it strives to relocate Islamic societies within the geographies of architectural narratives through its recognition of the multiplicity of architectural and urban responses produced within a variety of social, cultural and economic environments. This challenges the conventional canons of architectural theory that have been principally produced within Europe and North America and continues to be transposed into regional discourses of Islamic societies. The book aims to develop a responsive discussion that offers opportunities for the appreciation of historic and contemporary regional architectural and urban traditions that have been oversimplified or ignored within Western architectural discourse. The fundamental intention is to instigate parallel architectural narratives that are not aimed at competing with but are equally important to Western architectural authority, and to develop a debate that directly responds to the unique opportunities and challenges facing Islamic societies while critiquing context specific values of excellence.

In 1989, Ismail Serageldin’s Space for Freedom: The Search for Architectural Excellence in Islamic Societies was published to commemorate the first decade and the achievements of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Rightly so, he noted that the Award had been established to construct an intellectual environment where originality and architectural relevance can soar. This will definitely progress in diverse ways and will go beyond a single school of thought where awarded projects exhibit a sound excellence, not only in articulating cultural production and architectural innovation, but also in addressing the requirements of sustainability in its wider interpretation. After more than three decades, since the publishing of the Space for Freedom, Architectural Excellence in Islamic Societies has significantly developed into prominent endeavours and achievements that truly reflect the broadened demands placed on the architectural profession by societies and the associated circumstantial peculiarities.

Architectural Excellence in Islamic Societies uncovers architectural and place production away from ‘Orientalism’ and the colonial chauvinistic views by constructing narratives unique to various contexts within the Islamic world while discussing the role of the Aga Khan Award in setting values of architectural and urban excellence. The examination of more than sixty awarded and shortlisted projects developed in more than thirty five countries delineates decolonised narratives on the enduring values of architecture; architectural and urban conservation; built environment sustainability; and architectural pluralism and multiple modernities. The oeuvre of award-winning figures and projects unveils the critical cognizance of the Award in acknowledging materialised accomplishments that represent the best and most worthy ideals of architectural values in Islamic societies. These accomplishments, including a spectrum of heritage, cultural, educational, communal, community, and social projects, establish clear connections between socio-cultural aspirations of Islamic societies, values of excellence, and architectural and urban responses to social and environmental needs and challenges.

It is clearly evident that the findings of studying more than four decades of architectural and urban excellence depart from portraying Islamic societies within post-colonial urban struggle, or slum challenges, or simple infrastructure provision. In essence, the Islamic world offers a rich soil for debating and researching persistent concerns that present themselves as timely themes on the academic map and professional interests and as important material for further inquiry and examination. The narratives developed in this volume manifest the assortment of challenges facing Islamic societies while demonstrating successful and conscious endeavours in conceiving stunning solutions that capitalise on the opportunities those challenges create.

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19.4.19

17th CONFERENCE ARQUITECTONICS MIND, LAND AND SOCIETY 2019

17th CONFERENCE ARQUITECTONICS MIND, LAND AND SOCIETY 2019

Freedom to design, that is, freedom of people to design, built and use buildings, cities and landscapes better for them.


KEY SPEAKERS:
  • Mario Botta (Italy) - "Il progetto Come Ricerca " / (Research with Design)
  • Silvia De Bianchi (Spain) - "Interactive generation of knowledge: a philosophical perspective on space"
  • Ashraf M. Salama (UK) - “Transformative Design Pedagogy: From Priori and Posteriori Knowledge to Trans-disciplinary Production of Architecture”
  • Andres Garces (Chile) - “Poetic and pedagogical process of "the Ronda" in Open City of Amereida”
  • Francisco Mangado  (Spain) - Title in process
  • Marcelo Zarate (Argentina) - “Towards an Urbanism based upon a deep design interpretation of the way some cultural schemes organize each place" 
  • Miquel Fernandez (Spain) - “Nonnegotiable inertia. The role of urban planning in social normalization and the reproduction of capital”

Supported by:
UPC Research Group (GIRAS)
UNICEF; Children friendly cities
Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC)
Ministry of economic and education
Barcelona school of architecture (ETSAB)
COAC. Catalan Association of Architects
Mind, Land & Society Arquitectonics Network

Conference Organization:
Magda Saura; Professor, Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) and
Josep MuntaƱola; architect and city planner, senior professor, founder of GIRAS Research Group.
Conference Management: Rasoul Ameli, GIRAS, Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB)

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18.4.19

Association of Pacific Rim Universities Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub (APRU SCL) Conference


Association of Pacific Rim Universities Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub (APRU SCL) Conference

APRU SCL brings together experts from around the region to exchange ideas and engage in activities focused on sustainable city-landscape interactions.  

The Association of Pacific Rim Universities Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub (APRU SCL) announces opening registration for its upcoming 2019 conference hosted by the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia from August 29 through September 1, 2019.

The APRU SCL conference invites academics, practitioners, and public officials from different disciplines to collaborate on research and advocacy projects that foster long-term sustainability and resilient city-landscape relationships. This three-day conference is structured around 11 working groups that bracket a range of social, economic and environmental issues. Each conference attendee will contribute to a working group of their choice as well as participate in conference-wide plenaries and events.

Visit the 2019 APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference website for more information about the conference program and working groups. Early bird registration of $225 USD ends on June 15, and after that will increase to $275 USD. The conference registration covers lunch, morning and afternoon tea during the days of the event, and a special dinner cruise on Sydney Harbour on Friday evening, August 30.

Student Design Competition
Students are invited to enter the Cities and Refugees Global Student Design Competition organized by the Rapid Urbanization Grand Challenge at the UNSW Sydney, and supported by the Australian Red Cross, ARUP International Development, UNHCR, and the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Program Hub. The winning schemes will be announced in Sydney at the APRU SCL Conference.

Find out more about the competition, eligibility, and prizes, and register before the submission deadline on July 20, 2019."

"For questions regarding the 2019 APRU SCL Conference and the Student Design Competition, please contact Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard, Co-Organizer of APRU SCL conference. 

For questions regarding the APRU SCL Hub, please contact Yekang Ko, Program Director of APRU SCL Hub."

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5.3.17

DESIGN FOR ALL? QUALITY AFFORDABLE HOUSING & THE RIGHT TO THE CITY.


In a housing climate dominated by skyrocketing property values, how much do we really value design? Amid the frenzied discussion of affordability, monetary value tends to steal the limelight, with other kinds of value easily sidelined. Can the design of individual housing projects contribute to a better-built, community-driven and fairer city? Or is the real design question a much bigger one, for which we need to look system-wide?

Architects For Peace invites you to join us and a panel of speakers to discuss challenges and opportunities for delivering well-designed housing, while enhancing the right to the city - for all.

Guest Speakers:
Rob McGauran, Founding Director MGS Architects
Dr. Andrea Sharam, School of Property, Construction and Property Management RMIT
Professor Tony Dalton, Centre for Urban Research RMIT
Kate McMahon, Co-Founder Hello City
Kate Raynor, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing, The university of Melbourne

DATE AND TIME
Thu. 23 March 2017
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm 
LOCATION
Drill hall, 26 Therry St, Melbourne VIC 3004
This event is part of the Melbourne design week.
Melbourne Design Week is an initiative of the Victorian Government in collaboration with the NGV.

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10.2.17

Charrette Call for Contributions: From the Global South: Pedagogical Encounters in Architecture (Guest Editor Professor Ashraf Salama)

 

Charrette, the journal of the Association of Architectural Educators (AAE), first published in 2013, is now well established as a pioneering journal for academics, practitioners, and theorists engaged in design teaching practices and theoretical debates. For this issue (Volume 5, Issue 1), Charrette invites papers and essays that address positions, experiences, and experiments which are undertaken in the Global South by either local or international academics or both. 


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THEME 
The main body of literature on architectural education and design pedagogy is primarily produced in the English-speaking world and is interrogated, debated, and reproduced mainly in the larger context of Western Europe and North America. The architectural academic community in other parts of the world; the Global South, is deeply influenced by such a discourse as well as by various pedagogical trends typically introduced in Western academia to reflect the needs of budding professionals and the profession of architecture at large. In essence, these represent tendencies that are instigated and practiced within the contextual particularities of Western academia including the ambitions and constraints of academic institutions, the professional milieu, and the way in which architecture is practiced and produced. Classically, such an influence manifests itself in the fact that in any discussion about pedagogy in architecture in Global South’ academia the discourse which characterizes the Global North dictates and thus overshadows opportunities for developing another parallel, or in fact different but equally important, discourse which can be generated and developed to address other unique particularities that characterize the Global South. The thrust here is not to create a competing discourse but to complement what is already there. 
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See more by downloading the full call 
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Visit AAE Website: https://architecturaleducators.wordpress.com/2017/01/16/charrette-call-for-contributions-from-the-global-south-pedagogical-encounters-in-architecture-guest-editor-professor-ashraf-salama/ 
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Visit Journal Website: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/arched/char

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