Between the buildings

A new appreciation of open space and green design is changing the face of landscaping in the UAE.

It is a fact of life that the car is king in many Middle Eastern cities, and while tree-lined highways and public parks do exist, much of the region’s landscape architecture has been designed to be viewed through car windows.

It is not only breakneck development that is to blame for the region’s lack of well-designed open space, it is the climate too. After all, sitting outside is not very agreeable in 50 degree heat, and it was inevitable that air-conditioned passages would take precedence over open air walkways.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/587407-between-the-buildings

Fact checking – recent buzz on Aleppo

Deep down, I understand that any press is good press – especially for under-publicized places like Aleppo. So I’m glad that recent articles have caught on to the fact that there have been major rehabilitation projects going on.

But the writers need to do their homework – the projects have been going on for over twenty years, and most of the major initiatives for physical upgrading or conservation have reached ‘completion’ or are actually slowing (in terms of growth, investment, projects, etc.) in recent years. Also, why call the city ‘ravaged’? Maybe, after the Moguls, but now? The journalist interviewed several of the key actors, and listed more than a few facts, all of which is good, but just seemed to miss the point and ended up spinning his story in a strange direction. . that of a city ‘beaten down’, Maqrizi-style. Many of the other claims were a bit tenuous as well – economic decline just from the Suez canal? The piece is full of small cringe-worthy statements. I could have expected this from Bloomberg, but am surprised that the New York Times picked it up, with the title “Aleppo to undergo historic restoration”. What? To undergo? An jad? Why can’t we have more nuanced writing about the Middle East? Someday?

-Bernadette

The battle for Beirut’s buildings

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 April 2010 | Deen Sharp

The built environment of Beirut is rapidly changing, and this transformation is destroying much of the city’s rich architectural fabric. Surrounded by the new towering Beirut is the unique and heavily scarred structure of the Egg.

Built by the Lebanese architect Joseph-Philippe Karam in 1965, and dubbed “the Egg” due to its curved form, it is the only surviving building in the downtown area from Lebanon’s vibrant avant-garde movement. Much of the rest of this heritage was destroyed during the civil war (1975-1990), a legacy marked on the outer skin of the Egg.

Who wants to walk in the sweltering heat?

31 March 2010| Huma Gupta

Recently, Gary Toth praised Abu Dhabi’s new street plan design manual on Planetizen.  The manual’s new principles are as follows:

• Good street design starts with pedestrians. The world’s great cities are delightful and safe for walking, resulting not only in lower rates of driving but also improved public health.
• Good street design supports Abu Dhabi’s environmental goals: reducing CO2 emissions, minimizing the urban heat island effect and reducing water consumption.
• Street connectivity enhances road capacity and allows smooth traffic flow. Congestion worsens when most vehicle traffic is funneled onto arterial streets.
• Street design follows from a sense of place. Streets are not just for movement of vehicles, but for enhancing the communities they pass through. This means paying attention to the enjoyment of residents and the success of businesses

Move over Dubai, Saudi is Back

March 25, 2010 | Maryam Eskandari

Somewhere in the heat of the desert, the kings and princes of Saudi are singing to themselves “ if you can do anything I can do better, I can do anything better than you…” obviously in Arabic to be exact and pointing the finger at Dubai. Earlier this year, it became official that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed a new contract with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Four years ago, both Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill were former employees of Skidmore Owing and Merrill Architects (SOM), and while working for SOM they designed the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It seems that Saudi Arabia knows who to call and does not really have to go far when searching for the best of the best in architects.

Even though Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture have yet to complete and sign the contract with Saudi Arabia all the excitement and hype has been already begun circulating around them. While they have yet to confirm any reports regarding this project, all this hype got me thinking that as architects, we definitely owe it to the Middle East to allow us to become “Stararchitects”. Yes, it is true that way back in the 8^th century when the Middle East was being developed and re-developed, the tallest  “towers” were the minarets, and the architects were not even given any credit. However, the extreme financial support that comes out of these wealthy countries now allows the architects to push boundaries in both technology and design. And thanks to the Middle East, every architect has a voluptuous budget to play with and the potential to design anything that they aspire without a budget constraint. With such designs, young firms are immediately put on the map and other potential project follow.

Muslim Environment Watch

24 March 2010| Huma Gupta

New Blog Alert:

http://muslimenvironment.wordpress.com/

Read the mission statement below:

Sandy roses for Doha

Bernadette Baird-Zars | March 23, 2010
I’m no architect, but Jean Nouvel’s latest design for Doha seems to provide a needed push to the current envelope of the well-worn reincarnations of ‘Islamic’ arches, ‘layers of privacy’, mashrabiyyas, and whatever other token/’classic’ design elements now repetitively stamped across the new symbolic buildings of the Middle East.

But, while the birds-eye-view of the ‘sand rose’ crystalline formation of the roofs is striking, it makes me wonder if the museum is just another example of a ‘rendering’ building – structures where the most impressive view is from far away, somewhere in the distant sky of a computer projection or a postcard, and not where any human will approach and interact with the building. Then again, perhaps a postcard, and an aerial photo are just as valid methods for experiencing and being moved by form. What do the architects think?

Finally, I’m just a bit skeptical as to how a bricks-and-mortar building can communicate impermanence, and stones-the-color-of-sand will imbue visitors with a sense of their past and the desert, not to mention some sense of the importance of oral narratives in the Beduin culture. Why not have a series of installations all about town, with stories being told – and produced – on the benches and buses? What types of activities will be programmed into the spaces such that visitors can feel part of an ongoing story, not just a ‘finished’ past?

All that said, it still looks like it will be a fabulously beautiful building. Perhaps I just need to visit to become convinced.

Housing is Integral to Erbil Citadel’s Conservation

Posted: March 22| Huma Gupta

Approaches to conservation are constantly evolving.  In countries where homelessness, armed conflict, displaced persons and budget constraints are the conservation context, conserving monuments without social considerations can be controversial or simply unaccepted.  As Erbil’s citadel was recently put on the provisional UNESCO world heritage list, they have included a plan for 50 families to move into the citadel after it undergoes conservation efforts.  It is important to note that there have always been families living in the citadel, but the houses are in danger of collapse due to structural degradation.  Though some old-school conservation purists would highlight the danger to the site by public use, public use in the forms of tourism, housing or recreation is also what keeps sites viable.  Read the article below for more information.

the pride of erbil needs urgent care

niqash | Qassim Khidhir Hamad | thu 18 mar 10

The ethics of the US Agribusiness Mission to Iraq?

March 20, 2010 |  Huma Gupta

I struggle with the privileged status enjoyed by US companies to penetrate the Iraqi markets post-Occupation.  Iraqi agriculture has suffered extensively due to the US-backed sanctions in the 1990s, followed by bombing, instability, and continued lack of access to key agricultural products.  This has led to the extremely high prices of Iraqi agricultural products, and the subsequent dependence on cheaper agricultural imports, for example, from neighboring Syria.  It is also worthy to note that the 1990s era sanctions have STILL NOT BEEN LIFTED!  There is talk to lift these soon, however.

Since Iraqi farmers are in a vulnerable state and desperately need access to agricultural products to improve infrastructure and crop yield at lower prices, US companies will play a foundational role in shaping Iraqi agricultural practices.  And who will these companies be?  Will Monsanto be among them?  Will we see GMO-seed + Monsanto pesticides being exported to Iraq and attack Iraq’s natural biodiversity?

Here is an invite sent from  Darrell A. Upshaw, Public/Private Sector Advisor for USDA/FAS/OCBD in the Trade and Science Capacity Building Div

USDA INVITATION

We cordially invite you to attend the USDA Agribusiness Trade Mission to the Republic of Iraq.

The USDA will sponsor an Agribusiness Trade Mission to the Republic of Iraq, tentatively scheduled for June 6-10, in Baghdad, Iraq.  We have recommended FFAS Under Secretary James Miller lead the Mission to Iraq.

We are looking to attract U.S. businesses who are interested in opening or extending market access opportunities in Iraq.  The formal announcement will be available in the upcoming weeks, as we are awaiting confirmation on the USDA principal who will lead the Mission.  In the meantime, if you or colleagues are interested in this opportunity, please don’t hesitate to contact me as soon as possible and I will provide additional information.

Mission Goal:  The goal of the Iraq Agribusiness Trade Mission is to provide U.S. participants with first-hand market information, access to government decision makers,

Cost of Housing in Kurdistan

March 20, 2010 |  Huma Gupta

Building off of Bernadette’s post on the housing shortage in Iraq, this is an article that focuses specifically on Kurdistan. It has prompted the Kurdistan Regional government to allocate $300 million for subsidized housing projects. They will also be capping housing costs at 48 million dinars (US $40,000). It would be interesting to find out who is designing and building these housing projects. American, European, Arab, or Iraqi contractors?

cost of housing is ‘number one problem’ in kurdistan
niqash | Qassim Khidhir Hamad | thu 04 feb 10

A survey conducted by the Kurdistan Institution for Political Issues (KIPI), released on 13th January, showed that the cost of housing in the region is people’s number one cause for concern.