We are delighted to receive the new issue of Architettura & Citta’ containing our project for Al Nasserya in Sharjah. The project for the urban regeneration of Al Nasserya won several students’ awards including the critics’ award at the 30th edition of the Seminario internazionale e Premio di Architettura e Cultura Urbana di Camerino
Invited Speaker Seminario Internazionale e Premio di Architettura e Cultura Urbana di Camerino
Always a great honor to be invited to show my work at the International Seminar in Camerino. The XXXI edition saw the participation of more than 250 architects, academics , and students. This year, I presented the project for the Special Economic Zone in Tripoli designed in collaboration with Pragma Studio.
Seminario Internazionale e Premio di Architettura e Cultura Urbana di Camerino 2021
Great news! The project "Abu Shagara Affordable Housing" designed by my former students Fatma Ibrahim and Mariam Elashwal won the Shortlisted Award at the 31st edition of Seminario Internazionale e Premio di Architettura e Cultura Urbana di Camerino! Undoubtedly this is the most prestigious award for architecture students in Italy and one of the most important in Europe. Last year my students won the Critics' Award. Congratulations to the winners! We love Camerino!!!
NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE RESTART / ITALIAN DESIGN DAYS
Great content delivered by the invited panelist at the Italian Design Days Turkey 2021. I hope next time it will be in person, better if in Istanbul !
INVITATION TO ITALIAN DESIGN DAYS TURKEY
I am very grateful for the prestigious invitation to be a speaker in the Architectural Design Days turkey 2021. It is my second participation in the IDD after the invitation by the University of Nicosia in 2019
DESERT:SPACE. Architecture for Emptiness
“The desert's spatial nature highly influenced the typological and constructive properties of Arabian Gulf's regional architecture, both vernacular and contemporary. Today, Arab cities continue to expand towards the inland areas of the Gulf regions. Still, how architecture should relate to this contextual plenum is mainly left to personal interpretation. Furthermore, the phenomenon of desertification is now planetary. Such an environmental issue is threatening vast areas of the planet, and a deeper investigation into how architecture should respond to it is very relevant. In the book, texts and projects attempt to outline a theoretical and applicative apparatus for the architecture of the desert.” The publication, focusing on the Arabian Peninsula, collects essays and works that define a contemporary approach to the "architecture for emptiness."
After more than 3 years of work, I am delighted to announce the publication of "DESERT:SPACE. Architecture for Emptiness". Coauthored with Tiziano Aglier Rinella, it includes texts and projects by Janet Bellotto, Apostolos Kyriaz , Romano Martini, BIG, ZHA, Foster&Partners, X_architects, Islam El Mashtooly, David Chipperfield, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Peluffo and Partners, OMA, and many others. For now it can be purchased online in Italy and shipped worldwide
Nomination for Most Accessible Lecturer @ Heriot-Watt University Oscars
Every year the students’ council at the Heriot-Watt Dubai campus assign “Oscars” awards to deserving faculty.
I am delighted to be nominated as one of the most accessible lecturers this year. The nomination recognizes all the effort and attention put in teaching especially in such a peculiar contemporary situation.
COMPASSES #35 IS OUT!
Great to see the new Compasses published. The theme is “Style, stylism and restyling between conservation and design,” as per the director’s editorial.
This issue is an excellent publication containing several interesting essays and projects, including my interview with Brian Johnson and Wael El Masri.
JUDGE @ COMMERCIAL INTERIOR DESIGN AWARDS 2021
In 2014 I participated in my first edition of the Middle East Architect award as a juror. For six years, until the last edition of 2019, I had the privilege of being selected as a member of the prize's jury and knowing in-depth contemporary regional architecture through the submissions. It is my second year as a judge of the CID Awards. It is another really valuable opportunity to analyze and evaluate the regional design scene, this time, from the interiors' perspective.
Another recognition for the ARC501_F19 Urban Regeneration of Al Nasserya
Congratulations to my former students Alina Sebastian, Rania Mohamed, Samrakshana Suresh for being shortlisted in the Visualization '20 International Architecture Design Awards. Another outstanding achievement for the multi-award-winning Al Nasserya project.
LECTURE @ University of Bahrain
I feel honored and thankful for the invitation to present my research on Dubai's urban development. I look forward to meeting with the esteemed colleagues and students at the University of Bahrain.
D6 Architecture Open Lecture Series / Sanjay Puri
After taking part in my final reviews in spring 2021 Sanjay kindly accepted my invitation to present his interesting work to the students of Heriot Watt Dubai. I moderated the event that saw more than 500 registered attendees.
MINA ZAYED RE-QUALIFICATION STUDENTS' PROJECT PUBLISHED ON CID
Thanks to Commercial Interior Design for publishing one of the projects developed with UNIVPM students in fall 2020
THE EXTRA-URBAN HOUSE / 5TH LECTURE
Hannes Werner was the guest lecturer for the final presentation of the design seminar, "The Extra-Urban House" at Heriot-Watt Dubai. The firm Wanders Werner Falasi has received numerous awards for the quality of its residential projects. Hannes told the students about the detailed design process from the conceptual to the executive phase and showed impressive built work.
With this lecture, we completed the seminar regarding the design of a single villa in Gulf's cities' peri-urbanity. The various presentations helped students engage the theme holistically: historical precedents, sustainable strategies, social inputs, architectural languages, and typological developments were introduced by Attilio Petruccioli, Islam El Mashtooly, Farah Naz, Farid Esmaeil, and Hannes Werner. Some of the most recognized scholars and professionals in the region. Thank you all for the invaluable contribution
THE EXTRA-URBAN HOUSE / 4TH LECTURE @ HERIOT-WATT
The potential architectural solutions for a society that requires contemporary living models without forgetting the past was the theme of Farid Esmaeil's contribution to the extra-urban house design seminar. We enormously thank X-Architects for the fascinating presentation. Students were impressed by their sophisticated research.
Invitation to Speak at the CRID Webinar Series - Spring 2021
Recently, the population living in urban areas overtook the one living in the countryside. According to Rem Koolhaas, the study of cities and urban analysis has absorbed almost all of the scholarly work while the contemporary countryside as a subject of research, has been largely neglected. This issue, for the peripheral areas of the cities of the Arabian Peninsula, is even truer. Therefore, the need to investigate the contemporary "urban" condition of the "Desert-Side" through the analysis of its peculiar characteristics is very relevant. Thanks for the invitation to present and discuss my research on Dubai’s peri-urbanity.
"THE EXTRA URBAN HOUSE" / 3RD LECTURE @ HERIOT-WATT
Many thanks to Islam El Mashtooly, one of the new generation's most talented architects, for his presentation to the first-year studio /design seminar at Heriot-Watt. The students learned from the sophisticated approach to residential design, and they were impressed by the quality of the work.
"STYLE" / THE INTERVIEW
"....A phenomenon, that of Orientalism, that went beyond the Middle East's borders to absorb the influences of the far east of the world, as in the cases of "Chinoiserie" or "Japonism". Perhaps, we could define this cultural contamination as a formal proto-globalization applied to architecture without sophisticated spatial hybridizations of the more recent critical regionalism as theorized by Kenneth Frampton."
Is there a contemporary Islamic "style"? What are its main characteristics? Can you elaborate on what you think should be the architectural language of the Arab world today?
These are just a few of the questions I asked two protagonists of the Arabian Peninsula's contemporary architecture: Brian Johnson and Wael Al Masri. I am really grateful for their interest and passionate contribution. The full interview will be published in the next issue of Compasses Architecture & Design.
SITE VISIT / DESIGN SEMINAR “THE EXTRA-URBAN HOUSE”
The desert settlement of Al Lisaili will be the area chose to design the house. It is a recently developed local housing community, with some private farm plots. It includes community services: (neighborhood park/ health center/commercial services etc).
Google Location: https://goo.gl/maps/nW222Sua9anT4Pd8A
We visited it to find the best location for the final project of the design seminar. The selected site for the project is a 39x19 meters lot at the intersection of two local roads. More images of the exploration here
DESIGN SEMINAR "EXTRA-URBAN HOUSE" / 2ND LECTURE
We hosted Farah Naz's lecture within the learning activities of my first-year architectural design course at Heriot-Watt. She is leading the innovation and sustainability department at Buro Happold. We are very grateful for the excellent talk that focused on the fundamental theme of a respectful relationship between architecture and the environment. It is never too early in the curriculum to discuss sustainability in an architecture program. For the students, listening to Farah's broad expertise was a great formative experience.
