t-square magazine issue 7: trends: the good, the bad & the ugly

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M a g a z i n e

I s s u e 7

O c t o b e r

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Page 7.0Editor-In-ChiefAlia Al Azzeh

Managing EditorReem Al Jallal

Public RelationsAbdullah Al Qattan

Graphic DesignJawad Al ShakhsAbdullah Al Qattan

Photography EditorRoa Al Shaheen

Printing and PublishingJassim Al Elwani

DistributionNoor Boushehri

Staff Awrad TifooniDana Al HasanFatma Al AlawiNoora Al Musallam

Active ContributorsSamer SamhanSara Al SayeghYousef Al Qaoud

ContributorsDr. Brian SinclairDr. Hussain DashtiAbdulaziz Al KandaryAbdullah Al HarmiAdel AbdulbasitAhmed DarweeshAisha Al SagerAlin BablanianEsraa Al BloushiMaha Al ShimiriMohammed Al RoumiOsama HadeedRuba Al SalehSaad Al ObaidSara HajiyehSayed Abbas Al MohriSoud Al Khaled

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Email [email protected]@tsquaremag.com

EditorialIntro PageTrendsEat Your Shoes Computational DesignA Preconceived FutureArchitectural AbuseRedefining the Essence of CoolFuture Trends in Architectural PracticeA TrendStudent Blog EntryPecha Kucha Night KuwaitThe Shades of GreenFamous for being ugly?!Grey ArchitectureA StatementI like what I know, I know what I likeRetro Glamour ArchitectureStudent Blog EntryWhat is a Trend?Google It!KASA Strata ExhibitionThe Scent of a FlowerReviewsArchitecture in Realms...A Night for TrendsTranslucent MaterialsGraduation Thesis ProjectGraduation Thesis Project

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TableofContents08101214 162022 2426 28 30 32 36 38 40 44 46 48 50 52 54 58 60 62 64 68 7074 76

Cover page designed by Osam

a Hadeed, Illustration by Jaw

ad Al Shakhs

Printing and publishing rights of this, and all previous issues belong exclusively to T-square

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Abdullah Al QattanPhotographed byPage 8.0

As architects we design; as humans, we live.

As architects we wake up in the morning, drive to our office, and begin to design. On our way to work, we pass by different neighborhoods within the residential areas, and by different buildings within the commercial areas. The problem occurs, however, when we start seeing, living, and passing through the same surroundings we would pass by if we were to live in another country; a country that would not change its designs to imitate other existing structures nor societies. A country that is simply proud of what it is because of its great achievements.

Learning from more advanced sources is never a mistake, yet copying may lead to total ignorance in the knowledge of ones own civilization. It’s true that we as Arabs have established our trends in history, and were imitated by other civilizations. But, we were trend creators when we had an establishment to be proud of. Yet, if we come to the world we are living in now, we tend to find no trend of our own, because we simply became followers rather than leaders.

Now a day once an idea is introduced to our world, it starts acting like venom. It starts spreading all over the region erasing any kind of identity we think we actually had left. But yet again, what is this idea? It is simply an experiment that has been introduced years ago, tested, and applied with success in regions other than ours. So after we receive the new piece of technology we simply decide to blindly apply.The success or failure of such an application was never a reason to stop us.

It is not wrong to develop; yet it is a shame to imitate.

Ideas are to be shared between people in order to help in inspiration and development. Some people may consider imitating as a form of development, a form of belonging to a more advanced world. The application of Western methods in Middle Eastern cultures may not always lead to success. On the other hand, it may lead to failure of systematic applications due to the difference in environmental, economical, political, and social aspects.

Human beings who become advanced in their own fields create trends. Whether it was fashion, medicine, technology or architecture; trends mainly become dependant on fame, and fame is the end point of success; keeping in mind the relativity of the term success. I might think that I succeeded the moment I imitated another civilization. Another might believe that success lies within the goal a trend is to achieve. What do you think a trend needs to succeed?

ED

ITOR

IAL

By A

lia Al A

zzeh

“The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” Frank Lloyd Wright

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After jotting down theme options; from Starchitecture to Utopia and to unbuilt architecture, arrived the

word Trends. As a team we began to wonder how may we relate architecture to trends? Well the word

itself may be a perfect definition as to what architecture is. But, to clarify more as to what trends may be

doing to our world today, we introduced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Who are we to judge what’s good,

bad, or ugly? We simply think we have the right to do so just because we are entitled ‘architects’.

The words good, bad, and ugly may vary in definition from person to person. Such relativity may lead to

a controversy regarding what is good, what is bad, and what is actually ugly.

Abdullah Al QattanPhotographed by

Page 10.0IN

TRO

PAG

E

trend |trenden|noun

1- The general course or prevailing tendency.

2- The general direction in which something tends to move.

The American Heritage® Dictionary

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What is time?

Time is an expression that reflects the intelligence and

age that humans lived in, whilst maintaining their beliefs

and virtues. It is shown in memories and trends because

these items form the answer of time.

Trends kneel to conditions such as culture, tradition, politics, economy, religion, and those most relevant to the human kind.

In life people are individually different from each other;

every human has his own perception and perspective of

life, some are rare and stand out from the crowd. These

play the role of leaders, these are the ones who inspire

others to live in a context that reflects them.

A trend defines a flexible relationship with humans. It

defines human taste and brain development. Some reflect

originality and stability while others reflect substance and

material upon meanings, such as the power to conquer,

and strength; some inspire while others might restrain.

History reveals a memory of that period or dynasty,

or maybe even its philosophy, but there lies another

dimension which represents a hidden intention behind

the original reason of why or how that trend began ?

A variety of trends exist and existed in time, some expired

due to a reason, however, they still have a sense and a

meaning either teaching about a certain location or time.

A trend’s success and failure can be traced to its influence

and its spread. All architects are to follow at least one

trend, which started from the first architect and will

remain until the last one, and that is to keep designing for,

and sheltering human kind.

Trends

A tru

e value of tim

eB

y Abdullah A

l Harm

i

Photographed byAbdullah Al Qattan

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The age that we live in has grown accustomed to technology and an exponential acceleration of information. From the top of a mountain to the bottom of the ocean, all your wants and needs are just a click of a button away. Where it used to take hours, days, weeks, months and years to locate the information you need, it now takes just a few seconds.

With the evolution of human designed technology came one form which has created a society dependent on it. Advanced communication has made life easier by speeding up all processes. Today, you can buy anything over the Internet; electronics, clothes, money, stocks, food, cars and in some countries you can even buy houses.

This is great, especially with the latest in mobile telecommunications. The Blackberry, iPhone and the rest of the PDAs have greatly changed the way we view communication. The world is literally at your fingertips. You can easily log onto any website, order any meal you want from any restaurant, check your stocks, shop for new shoes, and find a new house, all while you are waiting for the meeting with your architect.

But with all this communication, why meet with an architect? Why go through all the hassle of leaving your home, getting in your car, driving to the location to discuss the design of your new home, when you can do it just as effectively over the Internet or through your mobile phone?

And with this advanced communication and unlimited field of information came international exposure for all artists, designers, and architects. So why settle for an architect living in Kuwait? You can get an architect from Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, or the Union of the Comoros to design your villa.

But can we design for distant locations? Why not? Large companies are already doing this; they design malls and skyscrapers for cities half the way across the world. NASA is designing space stations and bases for

space, the Moon, and Mars. What tremendous difficulties might we face designing a simple house for a distant country with the aid of Google Earth, a few site photographs, and a set of local municipality building codes which can all be easily obtained by the client?

Everything has become easy.

If it is so; that life has become this easy, what will be the long-term effect? What are the drawbacks of this? I can think of a few.

The first; I believe that anything that comes with ease, doesn’t remain for long.

And the second is that life and all that revolves around it has a deeper essence. If we gain so much knowledge and power so easily how can we gain the essence of it without a struggle? We will not appreciate it as much as it deserves. Things are taken for granted, the information you find in a matter of seconds in a simple Google search was gathered over hundreds of years, generations of research, and practice. This civilization was built over centuries of evolution of human intellect. Your personality, ego, and sense of self are the result of hundreds of generations of the evolution of human civilization. Without a similar struggle, our ancestors’ struggles will be forgotten, taken for granted, and dishonored…

Is anything of what we design and build today going to serve anymore than it serves today? Will it remain for the future generations? It took hundreds of years to build the pyramids and they stayed for thousands. Will a skyscraper that took a decade to design and erect remain for a fraction of the time that the pyramids have been around for?

Technology is made of matter and will outlive us all. Human intellect is not matter; it is an essence, and if we lose this, we lose everything that makes us human and the human race with it. We will bring the end of human civilization and everything we value will evaporate.

It is not communication or energy depletion that will cause the end of human civilization, but human neglect of humanity.

Human beings have always been and will most likely always be a purely consuming species; we take more from this planet than give back. We take more from the past than respect it, and constantly render the existence of future generations tougher.

Not long from today we will consume our civilization to a halt. And shortly after, when it begins to decay and the reverse progression process begins, we will lose our superior communications. The superior structures and architecture will be redundant. We do not have enough resources, energy or power to restore a fallen species. The pandas and koalas of the world may no longer be the endangered species of planet Earth.

But let’s not be quite so positive now. Just imagine what marvels could come from the recent explosion of exciting tekhne1…B

y Jassim A

l Elw

ani

Eat your sh

oes. Drin

k your tie.

Wear you

r steak & Sm

oke your pie

INSPIRATION

It took less than a few hours for the major-ity of the population of The Earth to hear of the death of Michael Jackson and within minutes details emerged on how, where, when,and who the last person he talked to was; what killed him. In a matter of days, his most intimate and personal informa-tion leaked internationally. We now know who fathered his children, who he left them to, how much he made and the size of the debt he left behind him. Everything he once fought to keep secret; he fought to keep personal, became the news.

[1]. Tekhne is often translated from Greek as craftsmanship, craft, or art.

Page By Jassim Al Elwani

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From the minuscule to the urban-scale, there is an inherent program that systematizes, sorts, and relates elements one to the other.

In organisms, birds flock together to create synced swarms; as one bird changes direction, the rest of the flock recomposes to follow the movement and act accordingly. In Art History, unity was considered as one of the pillars in design, wherein elements followed a certain rhythm or corresponded to one another in a rational, aesthetically, or logical manner.

Design had been no different; what had started out as an underground movement headed by designers, artists, and architects soon turned mainstream with big corporations like Gehry Technologies paving the way for digital breakthroughs. The contemporary field of parametric modeling achieves a designed form through components that adhere to a given formula, driving the overall form. This gestaltian production enables the architect or designer - indeed, numerous art installations have cropped up with parametric integration - to alter the overall form instantaneously and at any step of the design process as opposed to the traditionally painstaking effort of changing an element of the design. My own experience in computational design took a different course that started some four years ago…

December 2005.It was during my first winter break as a college freshman that I became aware of this trend. While flipping through the TV channels one night, I paused over the Discovery Channel, which was showing the Seven Wonders of Engineering. Up until then, my scope on the field of architecture consisted of big names like Frank Lloyd Wright and sweeping movements like Post-modernism; the idea that it can contain avant-garde movements that pushed the limits of structure was foreign to me.

I watched in a state of reverence as an animation sequentially portrayed the anticipated building process of a large, incredulously shaped structure. The project was the much hyped CCTV building spearheaded by renowned architectural firm OMA and technology-driven engineering firm Arup. The inter-looped structure boasted two leaning towers sloping

Com

putation

al Design

The N

ew System

atized Face of Arch

itecture

By D

ana Al H

asan

at 6 degrees in two directions, and an overhang that was suspended 36 stories in the air. What had particularly stood out, and had as well been stressed on by the program’s narrator, was the small timeframe chosen to connect the apex of the overhang. This critical procedure had been reviewed and simulated in 3D software, and to think that its success solely rested on the digital computation provided the perfect foray into the feasible world of computational design.

August 2008.Just having completed our second year in Architecture school, a colleague of mine and I enrolled in the Architectural Association’s summer program, dLab. The two-week workshop focused on the ‘potential of digital design in architectural and urban projects’ and stressed much on the manufacturing portion of the design process. As chance would have it, we had arrived in London late the first day and missed orientation. What we didn’t account for was that choosing the unit we would like to participate in was done according to a first-come, first-serve basis, and coincidentally (or not) we were placed in a four-person unit that delved more into mathematics than architecture.

While the other two units experimented with and designed urban spaces and furniture - which I believed were

derivatives of the architecture field, unlike our own unit - we were to design a facade of a tower that responded to chosen parameters using the Gehry Technology software, Catia. Perhaps it was the jet lag or the fact that we would work on a-never-heard-before-in-my-three-years-in-architecture-school software, but my mind refused to grasp the idea that what we were doing had anything to do with architecture. Indeed, the first couple of days were solely devoted to the theory behind parametric modeling; the correspondence between the component and the way it reacts onto a given form, mathematical relations, and overall aesthetics.

Two Weeks Later.By the end of the two weeks, the relationship between the parametric modeling and architecture became more apparent, albeit my disregard to the significance between the two (I would only be more aware of it months later). Our instructor put it best when he described the gravity of this trend as a “tripartite network of relationships that have constructed through the engineering of a component to express each relationship through different kinetic performance.”

A visible comparison between parametric design and behavioral biology can be discerned; they both share the characteristic of synchrony. Steven Strogatz, a mathematician known for his work in the study of synchronization in dynamical systems, described the characteristics of synching swarms in the following terms which can surely be applied to the engineering of a network of components: all of the individuals are only aware of their neighbor, all of the individuals have a tendency to line up, and they’re all attracted and repelled to each other. When iterated, the component acts much the same way to its neighbors, with degrees of repelling and attraction varied according to the equational parameters set.

With that in mind, we returned to school eager to implement our newfound appreciation of formalism and experimentation in itself.

Today.In more ways than not, parametric modeling contributes significantly to the architectural discipline; conservation of materials, optimization of environmental conditions, an increase building performance, and simplifying the construction process are just a few examples among many. While the generation of an iterated component acts much the same way as organisms correspond to one another, it lacks the spontaneity found in nature. We cannot ignore the spectacular forms resulting from the merge of the digital engineering with the whims of architects.

The mere word ‘parameter’ immediately restricts the outcome of the design, and it is the exciting potential of the outliers that brings about a final question on this subject: should we as architects and designers forgo the whimsical, natural touch for the systemized rational face of computational design?

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Ruba Al SalehPhotographed by

Roa Al ShaheenPhotographed by

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We often have a tendency to dwell in our past, seeing it as possibly the greener side of the fence, and becoming helpless victims to it. Architecturally speaking, today, we happen to suffer from the two most common phenomena in architecture: blind application, or over-futuristic dreaming. As for the former, we tend to blindly apply our past to the present, thinking the way it was done was infallible. It was. It was for that day and age, not for this one. In the latter, we tear away too drastically, calling for a sever change that fails miserably.

It is said that, “We must empty our teacups before we are allowed to fill them again with knowledge.” Similarly, we must open up to new ideas and let go of any preconceptions we had held. What good would it do us if we took our mud houses and rebuilt them all over again? None. They are not our past, since, well, they were built recently; the walls do not speak of history, nor the touching stories of its dwellers. They are not our present either, for they do not adapt to our growing needs or ever-changing environment. This is where we are faced with a challenge. How do we adapt our past to our future without blindly applying it to the present? How can we conserve it, yet let go of this excessive dwelling?

I suppose you could call this frequent phenomenon a possible series of “Fads, Fashions, and Fixtures.” Take the lantern for example. It is a loyal member of our rich culture, and was studied in every aspect and every little detail to perfection. Simply, the glass around it is to protect the candle from blowing out during motion, while the holes at the top are for allowing ventilation. Smart. Today, we’ve replaced the candle with an electric light, and called it an innovation. Is it, really? No. We’ve lost the essence we were meant to capture in this lantern, and focused plainly on preserving its pleasant appearance. Yes, we are preserving our past, but we are doing it foolishly, not to mention purposelessly. We are leaving our future generations no trace of our own history other than replicas of the past; we are leaving them with a gap in time for them to wonder what we have wasted our inventions and so-called innovations on. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a certain beauty we have to preserve, there is a certain level of conservativeness we should allow into it, but we must be aware that we simply cannot be imprisoned by it. We are not to blindly apply our knowledge of the past onto our future, but rather adapt it to the present, and leave the future for what it may be, so as to avoid this notion of preconceived future.

My point- preserve what is, and move on from there. Not too drastically, though. Do not tear apart from the richness of your culture and the uniqueness of your identity. What we fail to realize “…about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all

worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.” Anonymous.

It’s a continuously growing circle, rather than a whirlpool in which we happen to end up stuck in the middle of. Our past created us today, and today we must create tomorrow’s past.

What we don’t realize is that we live surrounded by some of the richest cultures of the world, all of which had their epochs in history; but we are simply afraid of studying our past, for fear of misunderstanding. But as the old Chinese proverb states, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” Here we must lay our foot down and decide to give the future a past to look at, and the present, a future to look forward to. Soon enough, we will be the history our children will be looking back at, so we may as well write our pages well with all our might.

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y Fatma A

l Alaw

i

INSPIRATION

We live in an era of fluctuations between past and present; it seems that the farther in we move to the future, the greater back we move to the past. Torn between pragmatics and decisions, between current events and our history, and the redundancy of the two, I considered the word “preconception” for a moment...

http://media.photobucket.com/image/old%20Kuwaiti%20house/don_veto/ayoub/oldkuwait.jpg

A P

reconceived F

utu

re


Abuse [v. uh-byooz; n. uh-byoos] verb, a.bused, a.busing, noun-verb (used with object)

To use wrongly or improperly; misuse; to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way.

Abuse, a strong meaningful word that immediately provokes defensive and varied disapproving emotions at ear.

Spousal abuse, child abuse, and even psychological abuse are all taboo topics of which we are warned and taught to prevent. This is a result of common sense and the inborn realization that nothing good comes out of abuse. Thus, I ask, why is it so easy to criticize an abuser and fight the mistreatment in the mentioned situations, yet, architectural abuse is overlooked or disregarded? Is it truly acceptable to take classic architectural elements and strip them from their simplicity and significance for the sake of arguable aesthetics?

Architectural abuse may occur in many forms such as, creating frail buildings, using tasteless techniques in the name of being different, demolishing important tokens of the past for lifeless contemporary buildings, and so on. However, the type of abuse that is the main concern of this article is taking classical elements of architecture and turning them into a disgraceful mock of their past glorious images.

To begin with, for years now I have been noticing the

epidemic trend of roof tiling in Kuwait. Roof tiles are an architectural element dating back to 650 B.C. in Corinth, Greece. These tiles were first used in temples to protect against rainwater and other weather elements. For its effective purpose and practicality, this element is spread in areas of this world where a weather factor such as rain is intense, and not out of the ordinary. Kuwait is an extremely dry country; therefore, these tiles must be decorative;trying in a failed attempt to mimic a foreign feel for home architecture. In my personal opinion, these tiles seem to be doing more damage to

modest simple buildings than they are embellishing them. Architects seem to be creating the basis for these tasteful tiles in extreme angles and positions that are diffusing and unpleasant to the eye. What is even sadder is that for some mysterious reason, this style has vastly spread in our country making a myriad of houses look like fast food reproductions of a purposeful element applied in other parts of this globe, where it was actually relevant. The example mentioned previously deals with an architectural component that should

be, if not built correctly, restricted to certain geographical areas. However, there are other components that are non-restricting to a certain geographical area and do not deal with external elemen ts, such as rain or wind; they are merely structural and supportive. Such as in the case of columns, which are upright support units most often composed of stone and typically have a cylindrical or polygonal shaft with a capital and base. Probably the world’s most prominently renowned type of column is the Greek column. Just like roof tiling, the column

found its way to the region’s architecture and widely exists in many homes and establishments.

What makes a Greek column beautiful is its simplicity, slender structure, and appropriate dimensions that are always proportionate. Nevertheless, some architects take the elements of creating a column and produce a horrific recreation with the intention of being stylish and daring.

For example, an Ionic column shaft is known to be slightly wider in the middle yet still appears to have the same diameter all around. But, this is not enough; some architects feel the need to extremely widen the middle part of a column in their attempt for being architecturally correct, except that more than often these architects end up creating a sad excuse of a form that brings shame to the original classic column.

Also, people seem to think these days that the more decoration an item adorns the more appealing it appears. I have spotted some beautifully constructed columns many times in Kuwait, but often they are butchered with wrapping intertwined plaster leaves or ridiculous additions such as grape bundles. As if not horrific enough, some people thought it would be smart and attractive to replace classic column capitals with fruits such as pineapple ,or paint the column with veins and plants. It seems that less is never more, that only when an item is screaming for attention, it is considered attractive and aesthetically pleasing, all in the name of ostentation, that beauty that could have been is ruined.Awkwardly angled tiled roofs or chunky disproportionate columns, in the end, is one man’s personal outlook on the issue that may seem just as out of place as a pineapple on top of a pristine and classic column. Then again, history has proven the magnificence and significance of these elements that have been tested by civilizations past and proven still standing the test of time and change. I plea that such elements be kept as they should be, original and honest to their true elements and structural rules. If it is not loud enough for a certain design concept or building, then there is no harm in abstracting the classical element or in using the basic factors, yet making it clear that it is

Arch

itectural A

buse

By Yousef A

l Qaoud

not meant to look like it traditionally should; sparing the old for the shame of an unstable and bitter new for generations to come. Rather than abusing architecture, each architect should have a sense of reliability when using classical architectural elements, and to have the decency and integrity to honestly continue a glory that shall hopefully never cease.

INSPIRATION

The reason I was moved to write this article is because I basically wanted to voice out what we have all been noticing and thinking but indifferently neglected and letting go. It is time a greater social awareness of proper architectural applications is begun and expanded.

Image ref:

http://www.organicpassion.info/images/pine-

apple.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/

commons/9/9f/Capital_and_Base_of_a_Co

rinthian_Column.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/

klebersales/3296615458/

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Redefin

ing th

e Essen

ce of Cool

Interview

with

Arch

itect Ismail M

urad

Date: October 2007. Destination: The Republic of Maldives.

When I found out we were going on a family trip to The Four Seasons Hotel in Landaa Giraavaru, an island in Maldives, I was horrified. A whole week on a 44-acre Island with my parents and three siblings, where fleeing from them was not an option. I always thought of the Maldives as a boring beach where honeymooners go to in order to spend time together, boy was I wrong! I, without a doubt spent the best week of my life literally trapped on an island with my family. The resort was built amidst the raw beauty and wilderness of the island, creating an atmosphere of sensuous calmness and serenity. My whole family enjoyed every minute of it, starting with my parents and ending with my young six year old brother, not because of the activities provided, but merely because of the exquisiteness of the design of the resort itself. Curiosity killed me, I had to go ask who the man, or architect shall I say, behind all that beauty was; and that is when I stumbled across the public-shy, protégé of the late Geoffrey Bawa, Architect Ismail Murad. Born on June 13th 1967 in Colombo, Murad first attended The University of Colombo initially studying Science in hopes of becoming a Marine Biologist. After meeting the late Geoffrey Bawa, “I got hooked, and as opposed to science, every subject is created by me,” says Murad, ultimately studying Architecture at The Colombo School of Architecture.

No right meaning exists to the term ‘architecture’, in my opinion that is. Architecture to each individual has a different definition, “architecture to me is articulating space to satisfy a user

psychologically, mentally, as well as visually, to lift up oneself.” Murad told me a Kuwaiti real estate development company was assigned a project to design a resort in Kuwait, and Murad was selected to put together the design. I was lucky enough to meet him in February when he was invited to Kuwait to develop an understanding of our

culture. I was curious to know how important architecture is to him in terms of culture and civilization. “Very important, but that does not mean architecture cannot change.”

He told me, “you have to incorporate living styles of a culture by adapting to modern technology. You can’t become frogs in a well. As opposed to art, architecture always celebrates. Artists depict bad in their paintings; you get sad paintings, tragic paintings and so on.

Whatever the circumstances, architecture should always represent happiness.” You never really understand what a visitors’ first impression of Kuwait is, it always has a sort of mixed feeling in terms of our culture and surrounding countries, but to architects, in my point of view , it’s different. So, I decided to ask Murad about his first impression of Kuwait. “As a student I have read a lot about mosques and Islamic Architecture, and a lot of it was about Kuwait, so I had an idea before I visited Kuwait. Kuwait still has the charm equivalent to my thoughts.” He carried on, “yes, they can and should modernize, but certainly with ideology. I was slightly sad to see the newer buildings as copies of, or similar to buildings in any new city around the world. Kuwait or any country should modernize with its own identity.” In terms of local Kuwaiti houses though, he told me he loved them “however” he adds “I feel, they could be much simpler but richer. If you look back at the original Islamic Architecture, they were straight lines and simple spaces that enhanced ones living, but with

modern materials, too many decorative features of no importance is accommodated and hence some houses become decorative museums and not a home, a home is very different than a house.”

The dictionary states that the definition of trends is ‘the general

direction in which something tends to move’*. Trends are very common in architecture. How long have they been a part of our designing techniques? Did they exist way back then? Murad believes that trends existed and will exist. The secret is to find something that does not go in and out of fashion. It has to be forever. I personally think every architect should believe in following a trend. Kuwait in general follows so many different trends and it’s hard to keep up. Murad explains that Kuwait has to develop, and it should do so with individuality and identity. Kuwait, in his opinion was running away from that and was using a very “americanized trend” as he calls it. His opinion towards our trends, he continued, “I only hope it would not be another Dubai. It can be big and busy, but unique. I think Kuwait is still a developing country in architecture that is, we’re still in the process of growing but where do we fall under? The good? The bad? Or, (gasp), the ugly of architecture in general? That is the real question. Kuwait has not yet demolished itself and has hope. It has to stop getting totally western designs in, and be sensitive to user context. If it understands that, it will have its own Islamic modern style, which would be wonderful and will fall under the great category of architecture.”Murad’s trademarks in designing are not defined lines or free spaces but rather simplicity and the need to create places where one can be happy. To him, that is the trend he follows, to him, the simpler, the better- a minimalist. He pursues, “a simple trend - keep it simple, as I said the inspiration of design is the context and user. Context will cover the environment. Those elements trigger the design. That way automatically every project is quite different. If this is followed, I think Kuwait would have its own identity.”

Concluding our discussion, he told me architecture was not an easy thing to study, it has to come from the heart, you have to love it, to learn it; want to learn it, to be it. “ The worry I have is what you are taught architecture is something you have to experience. You have to be bold to design for uniqueness, modern materials, and trends. Bad spatial articulation is covered with very ornate features. Like the human being, the building has to be good with or without make up. You as the newer generation have more good ideas than us. But if your spatial articulation is weak, all it will be is a façade to a bad subject. What generally happens with a culture is that, one tries to outdo the other with expense and decoration. It should be outdoing others with spatial brilliance . As young architects you have to understand that decoration is for a period – space is forever. Why do we visit the Al Hambra and say ‘wow’ to date?” His advice to us aspiring architects, “to be a good architect, the best way of learning is to experience the good, bad and the ugly around the world and form your own opinion.”

By Sara A

l Sayegh

INSPIRATION

I was inspired to interview Murad because not only was I fascinated by his work, but I was very interested in knowing his opinion about Kuwait, since he has a distinctive taste that we don’t normally see every day in our society.

*www.dictionary.com

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Future Trends in

Architectural Practice

Freelancin

g Arch

itects

To freelance is to work for different companies at different times rather than being permanently employed by one company1, in order to be independent and uncommitted to a line of work. This trend is particularly unique as it is not related directly to the art of architecture but rather has a direct relationship through the profession itself. It was brought to practice even before architecture became a profession and has been growing ever since. Freelancing started to be a drift for architects either to fresh graduates or even those with work experience to join the growing armada of “self-employment”. This is a response to several incentives such as self-sovereignty, economic motives, and the taste of variety.

The most motivating reason would be self-sovereignty to sort out and satisfy the leading character within an architect, where then, an architect is his own boss, delivering extreme joy and satisfaction.

Then follows the economic motive, where freelancers are usually paid more than the employees who work alongside the architects on a project. Experiencing the sense of variety is no less important than the two reasons mentioned. Through freelancing the architect could achieve that sense as s/he moves from contract to contract and one company to another; hence freelancers can actually develop very wide-ranging experience and an impressive curriculum vitae (CV)2.

Architectural firms and consultants are also behind this growing trend, as they have a preference for freelancers due to several reasons. One of which is that they are usually more flexible in after hours, for example, than the permanent staff. Freelancers are easier to hire and fire and are not a long-term commitment. They might also provide skills that the in-house team might be short of, and in

turn could complete some as well as small regular tasks that do not require a full-time employee. Another major reason why companies prefer freelancers is that they save money, since hiring freelancers decreases their expenses in not paying for a sick pay, holiday pay, redundancy pay, and employer’s insurance.

Even though there is a lot to the client and to the freelancer himself, there are still pitfalls to being self-employed. Those of which would be disadvantages that the freelancer should consider. Freelancers are not protected in the same way as employees, and that itself is a major disadvantage. Another issue is that there are usually no guarantees of another contract when a current contract ends.

There is no doubt that freelancing has an impact on the practice of architecture. It allowed a chance of diversity in style; as every architect was given space to print a signature on the architecture created. Every freelancer tries to market their skills and talents through their creations, and the only way to do that is to do the job with precision, leaving facades to operate as their own personal business cards. This also helped in wiping away the tendency of prototype architecture, reminiscent of a “product” to be mass-produced3. This negative pause in practice has been trounced by freelancing as it re-emphasized the importance of the architect’s presence in the society as well as to spread public awareness of that profession and its outcomes.

Although this trend is not directly related to the art of architecture, as previously stated, it is still a factor of influence on both the art and profession of architecture.

By A

rch. Soud Al K

haled

[1] Oxford American Dictionary; Def. freelance.[2]Freelancer. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 3 Oct. 2008. Available on-line 20 Oct. 2008. <http://www.wikipedia.com>[3]Due to the tendency of the duplication of designs, the term product was used to impersonate architecture and the term mass-produced to indicate the act of replication.http://blog.miragestudio7.com/wp-content/uploads2/2009/03/architect_arch-tecture_jobs_job_career_london_work_freelance.jpg

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AbdulAziz Al KandaryPhotographed by

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After the discovery of oil, the architectural movement

in Kuwait was moving towards getting larger and

more lavish. But nowadays, the dramatic rise in the

prices of building materials and the labor force are

leading to give up those old concerns. Also, through

looking at the architectural timeline, we can observe

that the sizes of the lands are now reduced; it used to

be around 1000m2, but now it is between 375m2 to

500m2. These circumstances are going to change the

notions of the architectural thoughts toward micro

living concepts.

The concept of Micro-living-Architecture has become a trend all over the world. It aims to make the building more environmentally friendly through minimizing the required spaces that were taken from a particular site.

It enables architects to deal with the project as

single units that form the whole structure/building.

As single units are designed, the space within will be

understood, and then treated well. Therefore, waste

spaces will be eradicated since small structures

are being dealt with. In terms of erection and time

consumption, Micro Architecture and its way of

formation (elements to be assembled) reduces the

duration of the construction. When the composition

of a design is segmented into elements, the sum of

the material and cost decreases.

Micro living designs are going to have a positive

effect on the whole environment and architecture

itself. Although smaller spaces will be produced,

these spaces will satisfy all human needs in terms

of program requirements, human comfort, and

economical affairs. As a consequence, people will

appreciate outdoor areas more because of the

diminution of the spaces, since now in our large houses

there are not enough spaces for outdoor activities.

So the fabrication of micro living architecture will

direct architects to be interested in designing the

open-spaces within the residential settings.

In the upcoming years, some of the architectural

firms are going to specialize in the field of micro-

living-architecture. They also could combine the

eco-friendly concepts, since these concepts could be

controlled well in small spaces. Hence, when people

familiarize themselves with this tendency, the public

awareness towards the environment will increase.

As an impact on the profession of architects, they are

going to amplify their notions through mingling the

new technologies with the designed spaces, and that

would be the start of a new movement.

By A

rch. Saad Al Obaid

A Tren

dM

icro-Living A

rchitectu

re

Esraa Al BloushiPhotographed by

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[Entry by Esraa Al Bloushi]

The life of an architecture student is never easy and never will be! We think, we draft, we draw over and over, again and again, and design is endless! Sometimes, we pull an all-nighter for two days in a row (sometimes more) trying to finish all these tasks! Sometimes our brain shuts down! And of course, we always have to keep up with the mood swings of our professors.

Last semester was so heavy, but it was also so rewarding. It was all about going GREEN! In theory of architecture class we studied the principles of green design and sustainable buildings. Everyone says that Global warming is caused by human activity, but now I know that architects are the biggest reason behind it! I know the reason why the weather here is getting hotter every day!

We also learned how to think GREEN, and build GREEN in the design studio. In the beginning it was so boring and I was thinking to myself “WHY?! WHY am I wasting my time? WHY do we have to follow this global trend and design a plant façade and have these solar panels on the roof? WHY is everything in architecture following this trend?” (Because green architecture is being treated more like a fashion fad!).

But gradually I started enjoying every moment in learning how to become truly environmentally friendly, because that is what we need to develop architecture, and to have a better place for living. In this semester I took structural

analysis in which I had a hard time in understanding how the structural system of a building can be calculated! Beside these courses, I took two elective courses; photography from our department, and advanced English conversation from the English department in the college of art. I enjoyed these two courses a lot; they helped me pull myself together and enjoy my life.

There were moments that I want to erase from my head, yet there were times that I really laughed from the bottom of my heart too, and I want to cherish them for the rest of my life.

Overall I think I’m enjoying the roller coaster ride, after all I barely passed the height restriction :P

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NT B

LOG

EN

TRY

Osama HadeedMood Board for Introduction to Interior Design by

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v`

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Beginning in 2009, Pecha Kucha Night (PKN) will be hosted four times a year in Kuwait.

[Pecha Kucha, which means the ‘sound of conversation’ in Japanese, is an outlet for creative individuals- whether they are already established in their field, or up-and-coming talents- to showcase their work, network, and collaborate with other creative talents.]

The idea behind PKN is that each presenter has 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds, giving a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds for each speaker before the next presenter is up. The short format of the presentations gives more people the opportunity to present their work, and stimulates the audience with a lot of creative concepts without losing interest. PKN first began in Tokyo in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture. Since then, it has spread virally all over the world; and Pecha Kucha Nights now take place in more than 200 cities worldwide.

PKN was brought to Kuwait by Dr. Asseel Al Ragam, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture at Kuwait University; the event’s main organizer Dr. Al Ragam is supported in this endeavour by Kynn, by Design Squared, (the home of several internationally acclaimed designers specialized in lighting, furniture, and home accessories) and KASA (Kuwait Architectural Student Association).

PKN Kuwait had its debut back in March 2009, at Dar Al Athar Al Islamiyyah, Al-Maidan Cultural Center. The event was heralded as a success; attracting more than 300 people. Empowered by their ideas, the speakers discussed issues relevant to Kuwait today. Talented architects, artists, students, jewellers and professors discussed a wide range of issues displaying great intellect, depth of knowledge, and wit in discussing issues relevant to Kuwait today. They lamented the forgotten lessons of the past, the need for green architecture, the general apathy, and the loss of local talent. Collectively, they all showed a brighter side of Kuwait, where creative ideas were pursued and talents thrived.

Though the presenters interacted and engaged with the

audience, the event still seemed stiff. The night finally came to an abrupt end when no questions were asked. Something was missing. Despite the enthusiasm generated by presenters individually, the collective conversation; the real Pecha Kucha if you will, did not actually take place. This is actually the biggest problem that PKN faces in Kuwait. People lingered after the event ended and mingled; a lot of whom had something to say, but they just didn’t. As a society, it seems it is still difficult for us to relax; to engage with those around us and voice our opinions in public. This would most definitely not be a problem in Tokyo, London, or New York.

At the outset of PKN Kuwait Volume 2, that all seemed to change. On June 24th, 2009 the austere courtyard of the Al Qabiliya School Cultural Center was transformed into a stunning midnight garden for PKN Kuwait Volume 2. Participants and audience members alike plopped themselves on the grass, sat on high benches and poufs, or dangled their legs from the first storey balcony of the historical building to watch the presentations. The atmosphere was relaxed, the faint sound of chill out music playing in the background. Ice cream was on hand, there was a buzz in the air, and it was exciting.

True to its mantra of showcasing established famous talents as well as famous- to-be, the presenters ranged from university professors to students and from established design professionals to promising new talents. Kicking things off was designer Bassem Mansour discussing “Intention and Intuition: it’s just a game.” Mansour explained how both forces drive design; and what happens when the two collide, citing examples found in nature, indigenous architecture, pop culture, and in his own work. Graphic Artist Nada Al Shammari, presented “Kuwait Narratives: Short Sharp Shocks” about the conversations taking place in public spaces around Kuwait.

Ahmad Al Refai, a talented, young digital artist, who goes by the name of Owaikeo, dazzled the audience with his meticulously detailed digital artwork. Architect Raffi Armoudjian, frustrated with the state of architecture today in the region, called for the need of an “Integrated Architectural Experience.” He ended with a plea to enrich our children’s lives with the arts, to teach them how to

perceive and discern quality, so that they in turn enrich their surroundings.

Danah Al Rubabah, an interior design student, previewed her upcoming book about contemporary artist Suzan Bushnaq. Artist and poet Shurooq Amin discussed the unknown art of Ekphrasis: the synthesis of art and poetry. Her passionate presentation explored how an observer’s enjoyment and understanding of the arts can be enhanced by Ekphrasis. Samer Mohammed, an architectural student, presented the cities of the future as imagined in comics, TV shows, films and videogames. Architect Nofal Abdelali focused on the work the Ministry of Education is doing to improve educational facilities all over Kuwait.

Finally, the night ended with the Creative Director of threeplusone.com: Monstar. His witty presentation showed an obsession with villains who are “way cooler than superheroes,” a love of airplanes (though he actually hates flying), butterflies, and a fascination with burqa women. These were reoccurring themes in a variety of his work ranging from coasters to t-shirts, furniture to wall arts.

Unfortunately though, the night didn’t end with the vibrant and exciting energy it began with; the event lost momentum as attendees started leaving as soon as the ‘Q & A’ session began. There was some thoughtful questioning taking place, but sadly, people left just as the real conversation was beginning.

[The character of PKN Kuwait is still taking shape, and it is still too early to judge what kind of impact it will have, if any.]

The hope is with time, its unique platform will showcase many unknown and underrated local talents, be the birthplace of exciting collaborations and thoughtful discourse. These creative ideas will be the cornerstone of a new confident and creative community. This has been PKN’s success globally: encouraging local creative work, and in turn fostering a sense of community; with time hopefully, the same trend will occur in Kuwait as well.

By A

rch. Aisha A

l SagerA

rchitect, Design Squared

Pecha K

uch

a Nigh

t Ku

wait

Localizing a G

lobal Trend

Images courtesy of Om

ar Diab

Photographed byEsraa Al BloushiSarah Hajiyeh

Photographed by

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A trend is the latest style of popular customs including, but not limited to, architecture. This form of culture is usually expressed by people trying desperately to be accepted by peers despite obvious outcastment. Like any abnormal human phenomena we have the extremes and the mild cases. I would like to focus on trends in regards to green architecture. First because green is my favorite color and at times can be the most horrid thing that I have ever seen .

Second, because “green” has become a religion that attention-seeking architects worship as an effort to mask the fact that they have worthless concepts that will never be looked at otherwise.

The good shade of green would most probably be “emerald green.” There are many good works of green architecture with new environmentally-friendly systems that are innovative and very creative. The Big Dig House of Lexington MA, designed by Single Speed Design, is a spacious modern example of what is possible in sustainable building. The house is constructed of steel and concrete from Boston’s Big Dig, using over 600,000 lbs of salvaged materials and looking amazing. Another great example is the first sustainable energy yielding curtains developed by MIT’s School of Design. This “Soft House,” uses household curtains to collect solar energy and provide lighting. There are numerous inspiring projects out there, and I can hear Kuwait desperately cry out for some “jewel stones”.

Unfortunately, there are many bad shades of green out there; ranging from olive green to yellow green . Architecturally speaking, the worst works are when existing systems are forced onto a building, resulting in boring and tacky designs. A local example of that can be seen at the Kuwait English School. On the right side of the roof you can see solar panels that were used to convert sunlight into electricity. These were installed as part of a joint project with KISR - a research body linked to the University. Aesthetically, these panels look very out of place on the flat roof.

You can clearly tell that this system was only an afterthought and was applied as a last minute thing. In these cases, there is poor integration between these sustainable systems and the design. In this trend, the main goal is to create a good reputation and use the “green” as a marketing tool for personal gain.Now that we have explored the green realm of architecture, it is time to conclude by reflecting on the green nature of the architect himself . At last, jealousy is the ugliest shade of green. Sadly, we have heard of cases where work of students has been stolen, posters vandalized, and models gone missing. It is very pathetic, yet true. This is the ugliest trend of all. The green monster of jealousy

often clouds peoples’ judgment and turns them against people. In most cases, people get jealouswhen someone achieves something they’ve been wanting but haven’t done so yet. The number one root cause of these actions is lack of self confidence. The main cause behind feeling jealous is you doubting your abilities or skills; if you’re one hundred percent sure of yourself, you’ll never suffer any jealousy feelings, or even if you do, they’d be brought down to a minimum. The only thing jealousy is capable of doing is making you feel bad, ruining your relations or simply filling your heart with hatred. So if you are one of those

people and your reading this right now my advice would be; upon feeling jealous, don’t blame external factors; fix yourself and these feelings of jealousy are bound to disappear.

People need to get it through their heads that “green” isn’t the only trend out there. It just seems to be getting a lot of attention right now . And despite the stereotypes, not all ‘green architects’ have fame and fortune on their mind. Finally, whatever shade of green you choose, please don’t wear it with yellow.

By R

oa Al Shaheen

The Sh

ades of Green

INSPIRATION

Army green , Asparagus , Bright green , British racing green , Camouflage green , Celadon , Chartreuse , Yellow-green , Emerald , Fern green , Forest green , Gray-asparagus, Green, Green-yellow, Harlequin, Hunter green, Islamic green, Jade, Jungle green, Kelly green, Lime, Lime green...

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/big_dig/image/1.jpg

Jawad Al ShakhsPhotographed by

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It is one thing to recognize a building, and another thing to have it stuck in your head for its unique style that attracts the eyes. Sometimes, you would fall for a creation for the sake of that famous architect who created it with a lavish concept that captivates your imagination. The distinctive choice of perfect materials, all meshed together to show the beauty of the building, inside and out, are but a few of the preliminaries needed for visual stimulation.

However, to actually remember a building, or to keep talking about it simply because it is ugly...?! Well, that’s just absurd. It’s not fair for the architect or the architecture itself to be remembered or even mentioned only because it is aesthetically unpleasant. Isn’t a building supposed to accomplish something deeper than just simply aesthetics? It is true; we architects take into consideration our visual aspects which overshadow many things. It’s our first instinct to categorize that work, either as, brilliant, beautiful or just plain ugly. When talking about ‘ugly architecture’, I am addressing what is made by well-known architects, or the products that have long, meaningful stories behind them, and the ones that received bad criticism by people from all over the world. I won’t talk about those really atrocious buildings that are made for all the wrong reasons; those

I do not consider to be a part of architecture, and let us not get into the discussion of what is architectural and what is not; it’s just a long story.

All I’m trying to say is, for those who have eyes that seek beauty in our man-made world, for those who can see beyond the obvious, LOOK! at it.

Look at these buildings with new eyes; learn to appreciate beauty in all its levels. Don’t block them just because your eyes clash with color. Let the design seep into your mind.

Analyze it until you reach that point where you can’t say it’s ugly or beautiful anymore. It’s still a very subjective topic; the fact that such “ugly buildings” are made to serve us humans and to serve communities regardless of how they look, is beauty in itself. Value things for what they do, not what they look like. It saddens me when I see those emails flying around talking about the ugliest house you’ve ever seen or the most absurd tower of the century. Well, look closer. Doesn’t that house hold within it a cycle of life? Isn’t that building creating jobs or social gatherings for people? Doesn’t it create thousands of moments in people’s lives? Isn’t that a form of beauty that is achieved under the roof of that “ugly” building? I’m a great believer that beauty exists everywhere you look, even in the ugly. The human creation is beautiful.

By N

oora Al M

usallamFam

ous for bein

g ugly?!

INSPIRATION

People’s terminology in explaining the house or the building; it’s a shallow

thing to look at it only in terms of aesthetics, it’s much deeper than that.

http://images.google.com.kw/imgres?imgurl=http://thumb1.visualizeus.com/thumbs/09/07/05/

comic,suicide,tie,ugly

www.behance.net/Gallery/posters/253382

Sayed Abbas Al MohriPhotographed by

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Honestly when you think of grey, you get black and white, or white and black, but how much is white and how much is black? This all varies from individual to another. We all think differently and we all are different. We are all shades of humanity but we all belong to one category. This is the same with the term grey; there are near infinite shades of this matter, some shades resemble each other, some are total opposites and whilst this all, it is one color, but with a deep thought to it.

Grey is personal.

What I want to start talking about is the ugliness in architecture; personally it is not how aesthetically pleasing the structure is, not how the building is laid out nor how high it is or how much it costs, these are issues that distract us from the main purpose of architecture. The main purpose from the beginning of time is to provide a shelter, a place where a human can feel comfortable, secure, and safe. This is to satisfy the basic human needs, but we demand more from this greed, we ruin architecture.

We became greedy and childish. Look at us now seeing who has the highest building in the world. Each country is hiring firms or the same firm to compete with another country to build the highest tower in the world.

This race is getting out of hand, it is corrupting architecture and reducing the values. I do not deny that skyscrapers are not an achievement of mankind but too many may just destroy the image, this is an ongoing trend.

In the case of the Architect/Brand Zaha Hadid, The UGLY, her trendy style of buildings is coming to fall with the new generations of architects. I want you readers to take a look through the history of Zaha’s works and notice a pattern, a repetition, a style, some may call it a theory based approach, but I don’t see it, some may agree and some may disagree. But through the efforts of her branching out to furniture and shoe design, some may like and some may not; this is all grey. Personally the brand name Zaha Hadid is going out of style. It is like a local burger king that started off amazingly but

became dull when it grew too much; yet I am a Mc Donald’s fan.

The BAD, whilst looking through blogs and magazines, I noticed a growing trend besides the high rise buildings with architect’s names. The name of an architect is becoming a label itself now. They advertise and submit through names these days. This sort of fame is blinding and constricting as you are now known for one style or theory you trapped yourself in, this infinite loop as you may be too afraid to take a risk and damage the label’s name.

What I want to conclude from the bad and the ugly, is that looks are not all that matters. All this superficial skin is just a plastic exterior. We should care about the insides, the outsides, the surrounding areas, the social attributes, and the ongoing list. We are not here to create a sculpture or a piece of art work that takes up space functioning only as being beautiful. I never thought beauty can become hideous but I was proven wrong. Furthermore, it is truly rather depressing that this is what became of our world, but I believe in hope, that a form of good architecture will come to existence.

Personally I found salvation in an architect that is somewhat undermined in his architectural works, not in a sense that he is not first-rate, but when people of old generation see him they think of him as hideous in a sort. But the ‘now’ generation think of his works as extraordinary and magnificent because they can relate to him, that architect is Lebbeus Woods. He believes that architecture and war are related, and I agree to that. Every day we as a race, wage a war against ourselves and against others, in surviving, in living, and even in growing old. Lebbeus Woods’s works are controversial in the sense of design parameters. They can be described as a bulging metal organism attached to an existing structure, a parasite attached to an organism.

This theory is linked to mankind in a p e s s i m i s t i c point of view, as man is the parasite that is

virally spreading onto the world; the relation is quite direct, and quite serious. Yet this architect has never

had one of his buildings constructed in the physical sense, but you can find that his works are directly linked to popular movies, video games and media. His works are spreading in popularity in today’s culture because they

relate to the ‘now’ generation. This trend of chaotic balanced structure speaks to us, the

‘now’ generation, but maybe not to all of us. Some of the old generations may also like and dislike

his works, this is all grey.

Yet the reason why I believe, no, the reason I know that the architect Lebbeus Woods is the architect

we need is that his designs speak to us. It says what it wants, it shows what it is, it knows what it is, it is not a sculpture, it is a building for mankind, it shows it in every way, through war and such, but we live in war with ourselves every day, war is not the shedding of blood, it is the survival of mankind. Yet all I speak of is grey it is all blurred but not senseless through my experiences, you can say what do I know? But I can say what do you know? Some may find it rude and some may find it rebellious.I reply with one word “grey”.

Grey A

rchitectu

reB

y Samer Sam

han

INSPIRATION

I frankly just wanted to share my opinion with you, the readers, about my perspective of architecture and what it is coming to. Not to sound smart or arrogant it’s just really annoying to see such thoughtless projects being built for the sake of a race or the prettiest building competition, it’s just an utter waste of manpower and materials. We are living a life of luxury for now but God help our kids and their kids for such stupid acts that we commit … seriously think, and I

mean think for a long duration, then act.

Image ref:http://lebbeuswoods.wordpress.com/2008/12/24/city-of-fire/

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Photographed by

Introduction to Interior Design:Exhibition Design: THE VENUEBy Dalal Al Shatii, Roa Al Shaheen, Doha Al Salman

Design Project:ACTION CHALLENGE CENTERBy Doha Al Salman

Design Project:KUWAIT INSTITUTE FOR ARTS AND HUMANITIESBy Dana Al Hasan

Design Project:design of HANDICAPPED ABSTRACT HOUSEBy Yousef Al Qaoud

Design Project:DESIGN OF A BANK PROTOTYPEBy Jassim Al Elwani

Introduction to Interior Design:RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR DESIGNBy Jawad Al Shakhs

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Architecture speaks.

Architecture is a complicated language yet very direct for he who looks deeply and meditates.

We architects speak through our designs. The language emits from architecture speaks a lot about timeline, lifestyle, needs, feelings and most importantly the statement of the philosophy that it was built from. In other words, architecture is a statement. Analyzing the progression of architecture throughout history, there were some popular occurrence in styles and materials that are called trends. Each era has its own philosophy created from the architect, therefore, generates a trend. But sometimes in a particular era we witness more than one philosophy from different architects.

Therefore, we have more than one trend and at times they are totally different, having each speak a foreign language to one another. In other words, a trend in architecture is a statement generated from a philosophy created from the architect and the surrounding circumstances.

Modernism as a philosophy and a design approach, to le Corbusier, was about emphasizing function and generating buildings as mass production having all of these thoughts come from circumstances such as the WWII. So, he wanted affordable houses for all people. A similar situation occurred and helped to create the school of Bauhaus in Germany after the economy collapsed after the war.

Yet some of these philosophies were created as a unique style of the architect’s beliefs and design approaches. And so this style distinguishes the architect as his/her own signature in design, which might become a popular trend such as Zaha Hadid’s liquid architecture and Santiago Calatrava’s high-tech architectural, yet amazingly structural designs. That in time formed a great contribution to the field

of structural engineering. Some of the cutting edge contemporary architectural trends are the tallest skyscrapers, sustainability, and bio-inspired designs. These may be considered as examples of having trends that represent the era of the design now a days. Meaning, the demands of the time that we are living in and the levels of technology, evolution, and development all have an effective role in the progress of architecture and the peoples’ general acceptance of it.

Looking at Dubai and the fast architectural progression they are experiencing, I myself feel confused in understanding the statement that they are trying to accomplish and the language that they are trying to speak. What is the statement that Dubai is trying to convey when it has the tallest skyscraper, Burj Dubai, and then trying to build another tower (the Burj) that is taller than the one before? What is their architecture representing? Do they have any philosophy in their design?

We have to acknowledge that architecture is a very powerful weapon. It can effect and contribute in many fields of power such as economy, politics, religion and even the development of a civilization.

We speak. We influence. We state.

But is architecturebased on good philosophy or is it misused?Is it used to speak to other fields, but not to architecture? What is the statement of our time? Do we have any? Do we even have a language?

A Statem

ent

By A

wrad Tifooni

INSPIRATION

I am inspired by the action and reaction of humans with their architecture and how architects should take that into consideration. As Frank Lloyd Wright once stated “Every great architect-necessarily-a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time,his day, his age.”

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Dear unassuming reader,

As a consumer, perhaps this thought has crossed your mind before: “I already know what I want. I have made up my mind about this matter; I don’t need further opinions about it. Why would I need someone else to think and decide for me?” You like what you know, and perhaps this is why you picked up this issue to begin with - based on an old habit of picking what you find to be familiar.

Based on modern Kuwaiti architecture, if we may call it that, and actually based on what we experience in our everyday life, it is highly expected that 75% of the population is to agree and follow trends without a question.

“Is this what I need? Is it functional? Is this even sustainable?” are all questions that we choose to ignore, let alone issues of energy efficiency and green architecture, which are becoming crucial in the latest methods of design. However, choices of energy efficiency and green architecture have not yet become trendy, because they are not known by ‘that’ certain trendaholic cluster of people.

Let me take you back to old Kuwait, more specifically to the architectural design of houses in old Kuwait. The traditional house design and location specified the unity among social classes existing in the Kuwaiti society. The poor lived near the rich, side by side; the only difference between their homes is space; the rich lived in big houses with vast spaces.

Let’s have a closer look at the old Kuwaiti architecture, which I consider to be much more advanced than most of what is out there now. By proving its

durability, efficiency, and yes, its sustainability, old architecture had ways -’albeit’ primitive- for saving water and cooling spaces that are unlikely to be found in nowadays architecture, simply because people knew what they like, rather than liking what they knew.

A common Kuwaiti house, occupied by the majority of Kuwaitis, consisted of a vast courtyard surrounded by many rooms, where a hallway sheltered privacy to the family by veiling the house from the street, while providing shade during the day. In addition to the architectural design of the courtyard, it aerates the house so that the temperature is cool in the evening time due to the exchange of radiation between the floor of the courtyard, that is sprayed with water through out the day, and the outer space. During the night time, the house becomes ‘cool’, literally, and sleeping in it would feel comfortable.

In the summer, the majority of Kuwaitis favored to sleep in the courtyard; a space usually designated for siestas, equipped with a small bath along with a

“baqadeer” which is a wind tower that provides natural air-conditioning. The walls are mavde of rock and mud, usually decorated with white gypsum from the inside. The ceilings, however, are famously known to be made of rows of jandal (wooden

trunks), basajeel (bamboo) and manqour (straw mats), which were sunk deep into the walls to ensure stability. In the winter, the surface must be maintained to prevent leaking by adding more mud.

Old houses even had gutters made of wood to let the water flow from the roofs. In the houses there were wells for supplying the underground water, and there were pools to store water in. In some cases, the houses include a second courtyard for the women

along with rooms and bathrooms; some even have three courtyards to provide storage of food and fuel, and some have a courtyard just for animals.

Now you can see that old Kuwaiti houses were not primitive at all, they actually served their purpose very well; providing various means and ways to provide heating and cooling, unlike modern houses which convey on central heating and cooling systems only. Traditional architecture even relied on local materials found nearby to accommodate the nature of the climate, while responding to the needs of each family without over designing it for the sake of social standards. Urbanely speaking, Kuwaiti neighborhoods had cast shadow to cool down the streets during the summer, so that it will be bearable to walk on with the hot temperature.

So now once again I would like to tackle the issue of “I like What I Know, and I Know What I Like” by simply saying that it’s not a matter of right or wrong, beautiful or ugly, and what is in fashion or out of fashion, because each one of them wouldn’t exist without the other and we wouldn’t be able to determine which is of better quality. In a way they do complement each other and you cannot have one without the other. So now it is merely obvious to see that; before deciding, you just have to know that by living in the past you cannot understand the future; it is the other way around.

INSPIRATION

Free thought formulates free form… the power to know is the

power to change…

When do those forms of knowledge and action interrelate? And when

do they detach from our trends?

Source Architect Saleh Abdulghani Al-Mutawa

http://www.housedesigntrend.com/modern-house/modern-japanese-urban-house-by-suppose-design-office/

I like wh

at I know

, I know

wh

at I likeB

y Abdullah A

l-Qattan

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The conclusion of this article is not to be taken too seriously.

After recent personal experiences, it has become apparent to me that architecture is getting more and more popular these days. It has become trendy to chat about the new ‘it’ and ‘in’ of up and growing professions.

Some of the people I have met have been designers, illustrators, actors, writers, people of the creative fields and a few administrative government employees. Some of those fields relate to architecture, others not at all. Some know building names, others basic architectural terminology and one man went as far as developing his own perspective on architectural deconstruction and how he believes it to affect our lifestyle and life. Architects names have grown to be household enunciations.

Now I have heard some theories as to why this is happening and have also developed a theory of my own. With the growth of architecture popularity, comes a growth in the demand of architecture and, as a result, the supply must increase. So the equation is simple, they like it more now; they want more of it, so more must be produced; BY MORE ARCHITECTS, which results in the number of students being accepted in architecture schools nearly doubling in the last decade.

Consider this; in 2004 when I first entered the department of architecture in Kuwait University, there were approximately 30 students. Class of 2005 had around 35-40 students. Class of 2006 had 40+. Class of 2007… started with 50 students. And finally, the latest in 2008, started with 57 students. That’s nearly double in five years. However, they don’t all continue to finish and graduate as architects, so maybe they accept this many to filter out the ones

not capable of producing architecture, or ones that had a wrong understanding of what architecture is. K.U.’s Department of Architecture was established in 1997 and has been trying to grow ever since,which might explain the yearly increase in pupils. But it’s not just us; Architecture is the fastest growing profession in the USA. Universities in the USA (some with big names too) have all been increasing the number of admitted students in colleges of Architecture. This tells me that maybe popularity isn’t the only reason.

September 8th 2000 A.D.The UN released The Millennium Declaration; it discusses human living conditions and the population of humans living in poverty. It does not actually request an increase in the number of architects in the world; it discusses human living conditions and the exponential growth in our Earth’s population

and from it was derived the Millennium Development Goals. Target 11 of the MDG states the following: “By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum-dwellers.”The emphasis in this would be ‘dweller’, from ‘dwelling’; meaning architecture. It then became easy to derive that we NEED more architects.

I believe this ‘charter’ as the physical manifestation (in words), of an ambiguous force, power and energy that inspired and infused rapids well in the number of students accepted into architecture schools.Or.

Maybe Brad Pitt’s recent venture into the architecture

field has inspired others to follow; he has stated in a public press release “Architecture enlightens life” and “Architecture is my passion”. Perhaps even Zaha Hadid’s shoe designing extravaganza was the spark that fueled this fire. Although I believe it to be more likely subsequent to Frank O. Gehry’s feature on ‘The Simpsons’ in which he struggles (like all architects) to designa concert hall for the town of Springfield and as a result furiously crushes up his sketches, drawings, and plans,but later decides that the crushed up pieces of paper are the perfect architectural forms.

It could just be the exponential information age we live in, and architecture is finally getting the exposure it deserves. I personally hope that ‘T-Square’ is the cause.

Whichever it is, I thank it by advancing and diversifying the architecture field. It has been argued to me that this increase has brought unwelcome people into the architectural world; people of different ethics and standards, different lifestyles, different design styles; they dress funny, look funny and eat funny food. Do you fear or resent this diversity? My answer to this is that Architecture is not a niche market profession and as the population is growing, there is a need for the number of architects that serve this population to grow.

And during the course of my studies I have found some to believe that architecture is not a profession but more of a ‘lifestyle’ that requires some kind of special people with a different perspective, divinely invested talents, exquisite perception of the individuality of the essence of a space and blah blahblahblahblah. Swallow your pride ladies and gentlemen; it’s a profession just like any other. Hard work and dedication is all it takes to be an architect, anything more is what you must have to become eccentric.This recent wide recognition and amplified fame of architecture makes me wonder what the future of architecture will be; as popular as; what exactly?In view of Pitt’s enlightening wanderlust into architecture (his passion), we might get more than

we bargained for.

Picture this; you turn on your television late at night and E! Entertainment slams on the screen bringing tabloid news.

“Tonight on E! Entertainment ‘Paris Hilton’s puppy gets a $10’000 pedicure by non other than (place famous pedicure man’s name here).’ … ‘Find out what Lady Gaga had to say about her donkey’ …‘Latest updates on the dangerous surgery Zaha underwent to get her mole removed’”

All we need now is an epic block buster movie preformed by the cast of ‘300’ about a heroic architect and we are set. Or maybe a star architect needs to OD on crack cocaine.

Retro G

lamou

r Arch

itecture

By Jassim

Al E

lwani

http://flavorwire.com/32637/lady-gaga-as-architectural-cipher

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Initially I’d like to talk about the story of how I got into architecture; I got into Kuwait University almost 4 years ago. Not knowing what I want as a career, I went around different colleges, meeting different people and talking to different professors. I can’t deny the fact that it was sort of a waste of time, but for me it wasn’t since I learnt more than I can imagine, as education is the door to the future! Life isn’t easy; there are choices that you come upon that will take you a while to think about, like a guy deciding between a BMW or a Mercedes, or a girl deciding between Cartier and Chopard!

Decision making is one of the hardest obstacles one can face, but with the right guidance and direction, you will be able to climb over that obstacle.

[Entry by Ahmed Darweesh]

Hello, my name is Ahmed Al Darweesh, currently a 2nd year architecture student going to my 3rd year. I’m a very open person, so I’m just going to open up my heart and give you highlights of the past happenings of my architectural student life, but first I’d like to thank ‘T-Square magazine’ for giving me this opportunity by doing the Student Blogs, I am truly honored!

One college led to another, until I came upon 5kh; The Architecture Department. Seeing the department and the environment that the students have, made me feel right at home. The creativity, the way the students talk, walk, and interpret things; never have I thought one is capable of thinking these thoughts, I even remember one project which was converting a poem into a design! That truly intrigued me! I thought to myself this might be the guidance I was looking for; maybe this is it! And it was! After working so hard, on the 4th of August 2007 at 1 pm when I was finally accepted into architecture! That was one of the highlights of my life.

Starting Architecture was a new highway to me. I enjoyed every moment I spent in the 1st floor in the building 5kh, from the moments of communication 1 until design 2, which was last semester. Living the life of an architecture student isn’t hard nor easy. Just manage your time and you are definitely ready for the obstacles that are set for you in the upcoming years. Learn well, work hard, and achieve greatness.

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Adel AbdulbasitPhotographed by

STUD

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By the law of the thermodynamics of writing I have to make this confession before you , my dear reader, decide to complete this page to the very end. Well, the confession goes as follows: “I have no idea what to write exactly”. The confession sounds normal since all of us at a certain point don’t know what to write. Fine let me be more honest, I mean more “specific”, I don’t know what to write and I don’t understand exactly what it is that I should actually write. Then why bother your eyes with the movement from line to line, having your nervous system send these messages to your brain to understand?

Well yes, I don’t know what to write but I am writing for both you and I to understand. I don’t have to know what every line of this page may carry, but I am sure that by the end we will reach a conclusion that satisfies both of us. Now, it is your decision to make to either continue this mysterious search through words or flip the page to the next article. If the first was your decision then welcome aboard my paper, if not then I am sorry for the joy you will miss.

The first time I read the word ‘trend’ hung on the ‘T-Square Magazine’ poster, I thought “Is the fact that BlackBerrys are spreading throughout the department a trend?” And if so, what is it about that phone that actually made it a trend, of not only the department, but Kuwait as a whole? We all know that this phone is the successor of many and those many were once at the same position of fame as the ‘BB’. So, by the law of life, the BB is meant to die as the many before it. Now how will such fame die or fade away? How did this ‘fame’ even start? If I am to dig so deep in history at a time parallel to this, when Grahame Bell first invented the phone, I would say that, that by itself was a trend, those who had a phone were in a position to be envied. After a while people got used to it and the degree of development of the phone itself became the new trend. So jumping back to 2009, the trend is to create the smallest, fattest, most elegant phone that a company can produce. So we can say that a ‘trend’ is dealing with something new to people, something they didn’t experience before, something that appears on the surface for the first time or even a further development for the something that was created for the first time. A trend is part of an innovation if not the innovation itself. It is the satisfactory element of human addiction to everything ‘different’. We humans can’t live in a routine that concerns the life of all humanity. According to this, the making of fire in the stone age was the trend of that time, the trend of necessity or, to me, the trend of the stone age!

By this we solve the first piece of the ‘trend puzzle’. Now, the question to ask is, “Do trends die, fade away or live forever?”

Well, apparently they live. It is the strength of their survival that we should question. A trend can live for a long time, it has a long life span by nature. The more we inject it with difference the more it will live and take effect. The more a trend collides with the conventional, the more it will remain. It can actually live for decades and be a style by itself. Days and years could be named based on the trends that spread at that time. Here I can say that modernism, post modernism, and the rest of these schools were trends, and to some, they still are. So the duration of a trend can be as long as forever and as short as now. I guess it depends on us and on the trend as well. How much a trend can change and how much we can accept it is the factor that determines the age of a trend.

With time we get used to whatever we have. We “tend” to find a new trend to keep our heads busy. So tending to have trends is the trend of all humanity. It is a habit that we perform unconsciously. No matter what, we have to confess that we need a trend in our life. It’s by the very nature of us humans that we “tend”. It is a social act of living.

If I am to apply this tiny theory I have just reached on architecture, then I tend to say that the trend is to be ‘green’, to build the highest building in all time, to be the successor of Zaha Hadeed, or even to redefine architecture all over again by going back to question form and function.

In the past it was things that were called post-modernism and modernism phenomenology; new thoughts adhering to what had come before them.

Styles are trends as well. Realism, materials of construction, and methods of designing were all a trend once, but now in the world of architecture we are “trending” to find the only trend by which we can name this century. We are desperately looking for something ‘different’.

It is so shocking for me to look at the existence of the previous lines on this page, which made me laugh since I didn’t know where I was heading at first. I hope my little journey through discovering the ‘trend’ was enjoyable to you as a reader and I hope your decision to continue reading this article was as fun as it was writing it for me. Now, by the law of thermodynamics of writing – don’t ask what that law is, just pretend it exists- it’s my little secret trend!- I declare…The end. Period.

By M

aha Al Shim

iriW

hat is a Tren

d?

Esraa Al BloushiPhotographed by

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When searching for an answer to a question, or a definition to a word, it seems that this generation’s Dictionary and Encyclopedia all lay within one search engine- Google. So, in wanting to feed my curiosity on Trends, I decided to simply “Google” “Trends in Architecture”; I was curious to see what would come up as a search result. As I so swiftly “Googled” “Trends in Architecture” I received 10 page’s worth of hits. One of which was to find a Top Hit, which in all actuality gave me the “Top 20 Architecture Trends in 2007”, as though it were a casual representation of this season’s ‘what’s hot’ and next season’s ‘what not’. While browsing through the Top 20 Architecture Trends of 2007 on the website so appropriately named “trendhunter” and whether looking at number 16’s “Portable 5 Star Hotel with 50 Person Capacity” or number 12’s “The Dancing Towers”, it made me wonder whether a trend was a trend for it’s new founded concepts provided to society, or whether it becomes a trend to feed an architect’s agenda for a new-founded source of income.

My next stop was at architecture-trend-press.net-. Here, I was able to browse through New Trends in Architecture found in Europe and Asia-Pacific dated from 2008-2010. Not only was this trend predicted to be the highlight of the next year only, but the website provided a list of new shining architects in Portugal, Spain, China, and Taiwan just to name a few. While reading one profile on an emerging architect, it described the architect’s approach which “engages the emergent values of the XXI century, enhancing the nature of the planet, and the diverse set of human conditions”1. These search results were a single step in the portrayal of what seemed to me, not new ‘trends’ and concepts; rather, old trends re-established as a necessity either due to present day economic crises forcing architects to make a once seen as luxury to a present day necessity to allure clients for better business. However, if we were to say sustainability is only being addressed as a new trend by architects due to clients’ increasing requests for intelligent buildings, and sustainability is seen as a “smart component” as Greenway Consulting mentions, which may feed into these requests, then who are we to question the trend if it will better our designs?

“Non-traditional services and innovation are also trends cited at worth attending to in 2009 and beyond. This falls right in line with the need to be distinctive in a bland economic landscape”2. It seems that becoming distinctive in our present-day practice of architecture has leered us away from concepts and design initiatives that were once so alluring due to their simplicity in form and complexity in thought; after all, when has ‘Dancing Towers’ become today’s trend, and the simple formation of a cube become seen as a bland concept architects so often escape from? Zaha Hadid has not recently designed a cube; hence, this is not the trend. Rather, the trend is to design chapels, as did emerging Architect Bernardo Rodrigues, and romanticize the design by naming it “Chapel Eternal Light”; and this goes to question- Church of Light anyone?

“Leadership is defined during times when challenges are greatest,” Cramer reminds readers. “In your firm you can be leading the way to a more hopeful future.”2

We thrive in a highly competitive field, and live in an even more highly competitive world; if we were to sit back and take the time to define what a trend is, it’ll push us back in time.

So I say, do not fall in the age of “The Dancing Towers”; rather, understand the challenges, and have the answers to those challenges become your trend.

By A

rch. Ruba A

l SalehG

oogle It!

INSPIRATION

Our need to turn to google in this time and age for answers.

www.trendhunter.com

(1) www.architecture-trend-press.net-

(2) <http://www.di.net

Greenway Consulting. “Revolution and Achievement: New Practice and

Business Models Emerge in Study of Architecture, Design, and Real Es-

tate”.

DesignIntelligence.

http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/greenway_consulting_report.pdf> Adel AbdulbasitPhotographed by

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Yousef Al QaoudPhotographed by


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The Kuwait Architectural Student Association (KASA), hosted their 6th annual exhibition under the title ‘Strata’ to present the work of the students in Kuwait University.

The theme of the exhibition, Design and Construction, was part of KASA’s team task. Since 3d generating software’s was used mainly in design and construction, Strata can be considered as one of the cutting edge trends in architecture.

CONCEPT

The concept was inspired by one of our colleague’s work, which was an experimental model with the application of negative and positive spaces. Cutouts of wooden pieces were used, repeated along an axis to create a corridor. This idea was used as a leading concept that we named ‘Fragmentum’; the origin of the word fragment.

Fragmentum is almost like seeing a sliced orange, that our mind tends to complete as a full circle while looking at.

This concept is spoken of in the Gestalt theory of human psychology. Gestalt theory is “an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.” Oxford Dictionary. This theory has more than one law in order to be applied; Similarity, continuity, closure,

and proximity are some of the Gestalt laws. The law of closure, for instance, “When the mind may experience elements it does not perceive through sensation, in order to complete a regular figure”.

PROCESS

This approach, the Gestalt theory, made it easy to grasp the process of the design. Systematic changes of certain factors were applied for each group of panels. As the panels are arranged in groups of sequences- change in height, profile shape, and distances between were used to create the over all form of the exhibition. The changes were done based on visual and functional purposes. The tall-thin panels were made to hang the posters, while the short ones were used to display models upon. The posters were placed within the distances between the panels in a variety of 20, 40, and 60 cm in width. They were supported by metal rods that connect two panels through drilled holes at the center of the panels.

The Medium-Density Fiberboard- MDF wood, has varieties of thicknesses from 4 mm up to 66 mm. Fortunately, MDF panels are light enough to be used by CNC3 machines. Therefore, it was thought of to be the core material for the installation of the exhibition. Each panel has a rectangle size of 122 x 244 cm. For the vertical installation, the 15 mm MDF panels were designed to form two pieces per panel. The wasted space in the middle was modified to be used for display as well. As for the track-base, it is also cut via CNC3 technique using MDF panels of a 44 mm thickness, producing six tracks per panel. They were used as the main support for the vertical panels, connected by a U shaped connection- no screws nor pastes were necessary.

THE JOURNEY

The exhibition panels were named ‘Strata’: the light layers that make up the earth’s topography. Students’ work was displayed between the Strata in order to emphasize their projects. As you approach the panels, only the Strata is visible due to the10cm recess of the

posters between the panels. In order to see the posters, one has to walk closely by the panels. As you walk by the strata, the experience changes following the change of the physical state of the panels.

The over all form and idea were achieved after considering the details as an essential manner in the design process. Furthermore, 3D computer tools- such as virtual modeling, lighting tests, CAD1 drawings, laser-cut models, and the CNC3 cut had played an important role in this exhibition. Computer aided tools made the overall clear before constructing the details.

1) CAD: Computer Aided Design2) CAM: Computer Aided Manufacturing3) CNC: Computer Numerical Controlled

By A

rch. Abdulaziz A

l Kandary

KA

SA Strata E

xhibition

An

application of C

ompu

ter Aided M

anu

facturin

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PANEL EXPLODAMETRIC

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When you first see a flower that managed to attract you, one of the first instincts you have is to lean in and smell it. How disappointing will it be when you realize that there’s no smell? Or that it isn’t even a real flower? For a short while after that moment you will start to question all the other flowers in that same place, and later on in different settings. So when it comes to creating architecture, no matter how attractive an architect’s work is, will it really be everlasting?

The flower’s scent is what makes it what it is; without it, it’s merely an artificial object desperate to reach a place that it isn’t at.

Even visually it’s not as appealing as a real flower. A blind man would still enjoy the true flower because of its aroma just like he would appreciate the experience of walking through some Roman ruins, and hey, if there are a couple of flowers in that path; then all the merrier.

When a person is thinking of his past he tends to reconnect himself with memories and meaningful moments that were spent in different backdrops that undoubtedly included buildings and architectural designs. Those structures didn’thave to draw attention to be acknowledged, yet they had to be attractive to those users specifically. Hence, they were able to provide a place for an event to take place in order for it to turn into an unforgettable, timeless memory.

The concern with building anything timeless is fascinating by itself. So when you combine the human nature with the possibility of achieving such a feat, a rush of excitement overlooks the reason why existing timeless buildings are the way they are. Herein lies

the secret… it’s rarely an intended goal to begin with. However, due to factors ranging from the surrounding social life and site to the form and function of a building, a timeless quality could be achieved. Picking and probing around the site, questioning and studying the people living adjacent to it as well as everyday passerby’s, and a general perception of the place might get you a bit closer. Whether those ingredients come together to form an over salted fettuccini or your classicpenne arrabiata is a mystery, at least that’s how I like to look at it; this magical moment where a place, time, and architect line up.

A legendary architect, Louis Kahn, was famous for his prominent buildings with a loud existence. Loud in terms of both the material they were made out of

(usually concrete) and for their massiveness. Such symbolic forms in coherence with a building functioning as an institute for biological studies in Kahns’ Jonas Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, combined with its location next to the Pacific Ocean produced timeless architecture.

‘Louis I. Kahn evolved an original theoretical and formal language that revitalized modern architecture. His best known works, located in the United States, India, and Bangladesh, were produced in the last two decades of his life. They reveal an integration of structure, a reverence for materials and light, a devotion to archetypal geometry, and aprofound concern for humanistic values.’ ¹ Salk Institute

The Parthenon is another example. Is it fair, after all those famous masterpieces of architecture, that some architects now say ‘I’m going for a timeless building…let’s use as much concrete as possible…then lets add some more basic material built in the most basic way,

the simplest way possible, and hope it’s considered ‘timeless’?’ It is as if there is a ‘take no risk’ sign flashing in their heads. A classic bore, if you may, seems to be one misconception. Later on in that process they slowly start to convince themselves even further claiming that less cost would be needed, which makes it environmentally friendly, all as a ploy to convince themselves that it’s the way to go. However, all these actions are hindering the future of architecture and to the raw natural existence of both Louis Kahn’s buildings and The Parthenon which simply should be admired for what they are. Any attempt to break down every concrete block and column into a solid reason would not do them justice, for those were the innovative ideas and breakthroughs that were made and can’t be mimicked. Like the saying goes ‘it’s all in the intentions’; good intentions are the strongest fuel that keep an architect busy and passionate about what he/she is doing.

In remembrance of a flower, unbelievably, it not only emits its attractive fragrance for us humans, but animals too. It alerts any surrounding pollinators that the plant is ready to be pollinated, calling for the animals to arrive and collect the pollen. Shouldn’t it be a similar case when it comes to architecture? Collecting cherished memories instead…

By R

eem A

l JallalTh

e Scent of a Flow

er

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INSPIRATION

There is this fascination with leaving something behind after the end of a life; whether it was a great memory or starting a charity. For the majority of us architects, it’s a building, and the more ‘timeless’ it is, the more satisfied we seem to be.

¹ http://architect.architecture.sk/louis-isadore-kahn-architect/louis-isadore-kahn-architect.php

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By Michael Meredith

“Architecture should perform rather than simply form.”

The assertive commentary introduced early on sets the tone for the work selected in the rest of the book. Presenting six independent firms that continuously explore and push the boundaries of the avant-garde architecture discipline, From Control to Design offers more than the synopsis of the recent triumphs of algorithmic architecture. Projects range from the newly constructed puppet theater at MIT to the sculptural piece of Antony Gormley’s 2006 show. Concluding with a 21-page long dialogue between tsanford Kwinter and Jason Payne on the trend of ‘monstroud indexicality’ this book is filled with vast amounts of diagrams, computer captured images, and commentaries that makes it a superb source of contemporary parametric design for the interested student and a must for the practicing architect.

By Peter Cook

Archigram is an extraordinary guide of an original movement towards architecture in modern times, it illustrates a form of architecture never seen before and may not be seen for the years to come. This book is written by a group of British architects with their own set of beliefs and ideals to what modern architecture should become in the present or near future.

Through the detailed illustrations and quirky sketches, a radical movement of architecture can be observed, a non-stable building that moves through water or sky. Archigram challenges the conceptions of architecture in all senses through how it is built, to how it will dismantle. They view architecture through a different set of eyes, and that perspective should open new horizons to broaden the mind and not limit it.

By Donald A. Norman

Incredibly fascinating and rich with information, this book is written in a simple manner in which Donald Norman, a cognitive scientist and a professor of computer science, explains our attachment to inanimate objects, and elaborates on why we are not only attracted to function when it comes to our house-hold objects, but to appearance as well. He explains there are three components of a product of design: usability, aesthetics, and practicality. Throughout the book, Norman very often relates to experiences of his own, such as his own collection of odd tea pots, which consist of the impossible to use, and the impractical yet classy Michael Graves teapot, claiming that, when an object is appealing, we are more likely to overlook its flaws. He discusses three main extents of interaction with such everyday objects as: the Visceral level, the most basic level in which we merely interact through intuition. The Behavioral level, a combination of the conscious and subconscious, and the Reflective level, the most complex and profound, in which emotions start to seep through and relate to the object. The verdict? A definite MUST-read for any designer.

bldgblog.blogspot.com

Do not dismiss this as another blog, if you do, you are missing out on some of the most interesting topics of architecture that will never cross your mind, this site provides a wide

array of links to designers and architects alike, but the site itself offers a new point of view of architecture in every article it publishes online.

psd.tutsplus.com

An online tutorial reference base to learn some neat and interesting Photoshop skills which you can apply to poster designs, or photos of models to increase the visual pleasure. Also links you to online Photoshop tutorials if you are not a page reader and prefer to see the work be done in

front of you besides reading it.

archdaily.com

A daily dose of architecture to grasp onto every day, whether be it in the morning with your coffee, the afternoon during class time, or the night whilst working on research. The site is

always up-to-date, with new designs, with detailed technical drawings, model snapshots and video commentaries from many different sources.

papress.com

I used to spend hours on Amazon.com trying to find a good architectural reference book or anything related to architecture because I needed to, after countless times of buying books I

realized majority of my books are from the Princeton Architectural Press. This site gave me a wider variety of books available more than Amazon. I urge you to check it before you buy any

book from Amazon ever again.

designboom.com

This Milan –based internet resource offers reports on up-to-date design issues, from design shows, architecture, and art exhibitions, with interviews with up and coming designers and

architects with in-depth information and a substantial gallery of online design projects.

From Control to Design

Parametric/Algorithm

ic Architecture

Archigram

Emotional Design

Why W

e Love or Hate Everyday Objects

Recom

men

ded Intern

et Destin

ations

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Recom

men

ded Book Stops

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Architecturein Realms of Uncertainty, Difficulty, Complexity & Diversity

Honouring Yesterday, Celebrating Today, Imagining Tomorrow

Dr. Brian R. Sinclair, FRAIC AIA (Intl)Distinguished Visiting Professor, Kuwait University

1. Sustainability: In an era of significant pollution, growing population, eroding resources and rapid urbanization, it seems necessary for architects to assume key roles in leading civilization to a better place. If this claim seems rather idealistic, then at least we have a professional obligation to be more efficient, more effective, and more thoughtful. As I visit schools of Architecture around the planet I am moved by the efforts of students to make a difference, socially, culturally, economically, environmentally, and even politically. The academy, it seems to me, needs to foster such mindfulness. Universities should push students to question the status quo, to rely on evidence in decision making, and to demonstrate real citizenship. A part of this charge is the need to shape in students solid world and self views. If a student can begin to grasp the reality of the world, and can figure out his or her place within the system, then perhaps actions arising from such knowledge can have meaningful impact. Ignorance, on the flip side, proves highly problematic. In Canada and in Kuwait, despite oil deposits and energy wealth, architectural education and practice must display and demonstrate both responsively and responsibility in the ethos of sustainability.

2. Modernity: For much of the past several centuries, the order of the day has been exploitation, colonization, despoilment and destruction. While of course serious strides have been made, including scientific, technical, and medical advancements for example, the overall well-being of our world and its constituent parts seems in question. One element that needs reconsideration is our definition of progress. Hegemony of popular culture, and especially the widespread embrace of Western values, seems to fly in the face of common sense. Sound approaches to sustainability call for greater attention to local climate, greater sensitivity to local culture, greater deployment of local labour, and greater use of local materials. Modernity, in a similar vein, should be rooted more squarely within local and regional contexts. To be modern in America, or in India, or in China, or Canada or Kuwait, while sharing some qualities, should clearly acknowledge, embrace, and embody the spirit and nuance of time and place. Steel and glass facades should not proliferate globally. Mechanical air conditioning should not be a singular solution for cooling space. Space should not be generic. Buildings should not be objects. Interiors should not be identical. Diverse people, cultures, values and variables should ensure a diverse architecture – one

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.“ Socrates

There is little doubt that our modern times are ripe with problems, overwhelmed with uncertainty, awash in complexity, and yet overflowing with opportunity. Young people in architecture schools around the world, regardless of context and culture, are actively engaged in the pursuit of design schemes that prove appropriate, sensitive, dynamic and dramatic. Increasingly the populations of our cities and nations are assuming spectacular diversity, while on one hand equating into rich environments of exchange and dialogue, on the other hand making constricted solutions difficult and awkward. Added to the mix in terms of criteria to consider and demands to meet are dimensions of sustainability, modernity, integrity, ingenuity, agility and holism. It is insightful, if not instrumental, to consider each of these facets in more depth and detail. Given the high stakes involved in effectively and responsibly designing our cities, neighbourhoods, buildings and interiors, it is crucial to push hard to revise and reform design mindsets, methods, processes, and products.

Connecting Some Dots

Prologue

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Design is a complicated and intense activity, one that warrants immense interdisciplinary thinking and significant systems-oriented performing. Narrowness of philosophy and shallowness of analysis demonstrably equates to weak solutions and insensitive environments. Architects, and architecture students, in an age of increasing pluralism and escalating intricacy, must be far more comprehensive in their approaches, far more learned in their knowledge, and far more diligent in the execution of their duties. To my mind the following aspects prove central in our quest for the more poetic, the more pragmatic, and a better blend of the two. Beauty, balance, fitness, and function need to be simultaneously sought and secured as we endeavour to create and construct communities that bring health, happiness and harmony to the people we serve. I offer my thoughts on these essential aspects based upon my experiences around the globe with many persons and nations, rich and poor, developed and developing, regardless of political inclinations, spiritual predilections and cultural characterizations.

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6. Holism: Lastly, Architecture students and practitioners alike need to be intensely skilled at connecting the dots. Pulling disparate ideas together. Looking at the bigger picture. Joining parts, bridging gaps, and linking pieces seem increasingly essential in a world fraught with disconnection, dysfunction, separation and isolation. Architecture, as a discipline and profession, seeks to celebrate the general before the specific, and to honour the system before the components. Gestalt psychology holds that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Nowhere does this adage resonate truer than in the ethos of Architecture and Design. Holism is fundamental, essential and increasingly valuable.

Today we are challenged in ways incomprehensible to our ancestors. Degradation of our moral realm, destruction of our physical milieu, and erosion of our social structures, all equate into an intense agenda for architecture, architecture schools, and the architectural profession. Above all, and well beyond the circumscribed aspects of curriculum, technology, and disciplinary knowledge are the vital dimensions of open-mindedness, humility, respect and wisdom. In my simple definition wisdom is the coupling of head and heart. Our modern civilization places far too much emphasis on the head, on matters of cognition

and aspects of rationality, than on the equally essential focus on the heart, on matters of emotion and aspects of intuition. The greatest gift an educator can impart to his or her students is wisdom. Even in small amounts it proves a huge counterpoint to more rigid, formulaic and over-simplified ways of approaching questions, solving problems, designing buildings, and caring for humanity. Our times are abundant with difficulties, yet rich with possibilities. Architecture affords avenues to see, think and act in in-habitual, ingenious, holistic and effectual ways. Architecture matters!

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Précis

All content and images © Dr. Brian R. Sinclair 2009.Dr. Brian R. Sinclair, FRAIC AIA (Intl) is Professor of Architecture & Environmental Design at the University of Calgary and

President of sinclairstudio inc.He can be reached at:

[email protected].

symbiotic with and rooted in the conditions in which it arises. Multiple interpretations of modernity prove essential and invigorating.

3. Integrity: As professionals, architects have an extraordinary commitment to execute work with care, consideration, and competence. This set of expectations transcends construction science, structural character and building performance, in a physical sense, to also encompass qualities psychological, sociological and spiritual. At the core of this challenge is the need for tremendous integrity in the discharge of duties, the substance of solutions, and the contributions we bring to our clients and the public. Ethics reside central in this equation. Architecture schools need to focus major attention on this matter of moral action and ethical behaviour. Good judgement must be taught. Critical assessment

must be instilled. Students of Architecture, and practising Architects beyond, must be equipped with the knowledge, skills and values needed to examine and solve wicked problems. Rather than a faustian

willingness to sell out the soul, environmental design professionals need to be able to clearly see the options, adjudicate their merit, and resolve dilemmas with real honesty.

4. Ingenuity: Creativity is a powerful tool in our arsenal. Architecture, as an extraordinary blend of art and science, is well positioned to analyse difficult problems and to develop sound solutions. Narrowness, fragmentation and run-away specialization has, to my mind, hamstrung both the academy and the profession. Creativity and ingenuity offer us potent means to counter this tendency to blind ourselves from the wholeness of our affairs and the richness of our world. An architect’s mindset and methods can proffer-clever and novel keys to long-standing troubles. It is clear that society’s conventional ways of working have resulted in many of the serious issues now confronting the modern world. It also seems apparent that the status quo, and business as usual, have dead-ended. Our education systems, not only within the post-secondary realm but crucially beginning in early childhood, need to encourage unconventional thinking, nurture creativity, and reward ingenuity. Architecture schools, as unique hotbeds of novelty and experimentation, must propel even further.

5. Agility: One of the few certainties of our contemporary times is uncertainty. The pace of change is dramatic. The products of change are profound. And the need for change arguably undeniable. Architects must be educated to handle

such turbulence and overcome such turmoil. A vital direction we must pursue, to such ends, is the fuller embrace of agile architecture and open building. Our designs

must anticipate transition and be able to repurpose. The notion of static environments and immutable buildings is rapidly falling out of favour. Buildings should be able to shift and morph

as needs change, communities reconfigure, and activities alter. Rather than expecting people to adapt to environments, environments must react, respond and reform based on human needs. In

terms of Architectural education, curriculum and pedagogy, this translates into fewer obsessions with product and object and more concern with process and humanity.

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Sample Slide

Isolating cars from

pedestrians

To Celebrate the launching of the 7th and latest issue of T-Square magazine, the T-square team hosted a dinner night which acted as a networking opportunity for the architectural society of Kuwait. Since the issue tackled the good, bad, and ugly of architectrue, the night’s goal was to broaden the views of the up and coming generation of architects through the experience and knowledge of the prominent and established architects in the kuwaiti scene.The speakers who presented at the dinner were Arch. Mohammed Abdulkhader, Arch. Waleed Shaalan, and the distinguished visiting professor from the university of Calgary Dr. Brian Sinclair. The dinner also served the new generation by helping them expose their views and thoughts on a fresher, more vivid take on architecture.

For information about the magazine’s upcoming events please contact the team through the T-Square Magazine email :

[email protected] visit our website at www.tsquaremag.com

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Dr. Mohammed Abdulkhudr Design Director and Partner of Arc., and Vision Holding.

Mainly focusing on the urban scale and city planning, Dr. Mohammed Abdulkhudr started his presentation with an analysis on historical cities, such as New York, Chicago, and Paris, focusing on how pedestrian movement and traffic circulation interact to produce successful cities. After a carefully choreographed analysis of some of the most flourishing cities in the world, he concluded with his own interpretation of this study, exhibiting his own project and his own ideas. His project mainly focused on creating independent circulation for pedestrians, in exciting environments and engaging settings.

Arch. Waleed Shaalan Founder of BrainStorm (an architecture and interior design firm) since 2000.

Entitled “The Good, Bad, Ugly, and Ridiculous Architecture in Kuwait”; Arch. Waleed Shaalan humorously admitted his presentation to be “very subjective and highly opinionated”. After a deriding critique of what he called Sailboat Architecture, which is basically every new high rise structure in Kuwait City show casing a sailboat in one form or another, Arch. Waleed continued labeling what he regarded to being bad, ugly or just plain ridiculous. He finally concluded with what’s good; naming the neglected, abandoned, and highly disrespected architecture of Kuwait’s past, as well as a few, more modern examples.

Dr. Brian SinclairProfessor of Architecture in Environmental Design, University of Calgary.

Architecture & practice; Conversations & explorations. This was Dr. Brian Sinclair’s title for a very comprehensive presentation focusing on the following themes; people, purpose, identity, structure, roles, responsibilities, markets, marketing, profits, edge, process, politics, incentives, performance, metrics, expectations, aspirations, values, cooperation, integration, globalization, localization, training, results, assessment, research, business, justice, practice, ethics, environment, culture, context, place, planning, plans, history, mindset, style, methods, risk, communications, knowledge, skills, innovation, operations, progress, clients, economy, efficiency, success, and happiness.A mind enriching presentation with a very inspiring conclusion.

Sample Slide

Architecture of the past

Sample Slide

Defin

ing, D

elineatin

g, Dem

andin

g

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Continuously searching for new building materials, this time, I have tailored students’ projects towards experimenting with cutting-edge building materials. The project was designed to explore new means of conceptual and material production, as an advancement in material science, in order to radically change architectural thinking. New materials are offering new possibilities for architects. Coupled with the means of digital technology, advances in material science have led to renewed interest among architects in tectonic expression, material properties, and the ability to produce the desired surface and spatial effects, both with emerging materials and with innovative applications of “conventional” materials. Our research, as well as students’ persistence has yielded reasonable results. Coupled with final project presentations, an exhibition of students work was displayed through installations of these new materials in the department of architecture at Kuwait University. Students were asked to manipulate existing physical characteristics of “conventional” building materials, such as concrete, wood, and metal. They were asked to concentrate on the “translucency/ transparency” of the above mentioned materials. They were basically asked to produce translucent concrete, wood, and metal, and display their results in an installation, as shown in the images.

By Dr. Hussain DashtiArchitecture Department

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Metal with ResinBy Alin Bablanian

In a class of Materials and Methods of Construction, different groups were given the choice to pick between three materials (metal, wood and concrete), and experiment with them in order to design a translucent wall installation. So a group of five girls (Afnan- Alin- Esra- Shahad and Shaikha) took the risk to experiment with metal and resin. The journey began from the very first day. They first studied about resin, which was the compound to be mixed with the metallic powder to give the result of translucency. Then the final design of the installation was decided after it was changed several times. Then came one of the difficult stages; the journey of finding the best resin, which was finally reached, after long searches and trips.

The Final design was then molded in wood, making a secure frame around it and waxing the whole mold with 4 layers of wax to make a negative rubber mold of the design. This was used to make the translucent resin mold, which was cleaned and finally assembled.

Our experience

Doing this project helped us gain a lot of experience. Above all, we learnt how to coordinate and collaborate in a group, where we worked in total respect and trust. The second thing is that we gained the power of never giving up, as we kept on trying and working despite the failures and short time. Lastly, the most important thing is doing the whole project, working with different materials and methods of experimentations, and producing things for the first time.

In the end I want to conclude, by thanking, in the first place, Dr. Hussein Dashti, who has been following up our work step-by-step, and all those who worked and helped us produce our project. It was a one of a kind experience.

Content © Dr. Hussain Dashti 2009.

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Translucent Concrete, Translucent Metal, Translucent Wood

TranslucentMaterials TranslucentMaterials

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Plexi with Wood VeenerBy Samer Samhan

The chosen material of our group was the creation of a translucent wood partition. When those words were uttered out in class, we were in shock but yet in

awe of something this unique. Through research and discussion with the course supervisor we found the method of creating a translucent wood partition,

which required the usage of plexi glass with lacquer adhesive applied onto it, with a wood veneer coating applied on top of it, creating a translucent wood partition.

The process of creating a sample is quite simple, but demands time,and money, as the pieces have to have the air taken out of them, to ensure that the veneer does not crumble or bend, as it is highly sensitive. When a singular unit is created, the rest only depends on the design itself, and the method of joining the pieces together, hence the joints played an important part in the form and design.


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Concrete with Optical FibresBy Farida Mahgoub

In an attempt of making translucent materials, concrete was experimented with. The process involved embedding ‘Optical Fibers’ after mixing cement and water, in order to obtain a lightweight mixture without having any masses of aggregate that risk blocking the light from passing through, and pouring the mixture into a mold. Later, when the concrete was relatively dry, it was removed from the mold and placed in a water bath for several days. This allowed the concrete to withstand larger loads to support the intent of any design. After that, cutting then sanding the concrete blocks offered a smooth finished surface to allow the creation of unity between the concrete blocks. Hence, the 24x14x10 cm dimensions of the blocks were decided upon through experimentation, so that they would be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. Consequently, the blocks permit light through the optical fibers to create a luminous surface on one side, which exhibited clearly visible shadows, as a result of blocking the light from the other side.

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Concept:The current condition of housing in an urban scale, in Kuwait, can be seen as destructive. It is the urban fabric of the houses designed simply with the concern of occupying as many houses in the area as it can take. Also, with the extensive demand for car usage, the houses are being distributed linearly- as though they are being mass-produced in a factory, where the result is to satisfy only two factors; vehicle circulation, and the provided number of houses. On the other hand, humans’ daily activities such as walking, children’s playing sports, gathering areas etc., are not addressed in the urban fabric of towns. In other words, humans are being alienated in their own lands.

Development:In order to ensure an improved community we shall fulfill the needs of each component that forms the society. Any community is structured from three physical components; Individuals, Neighborhood, and an Interaction between the two. To begin with, individuals should be considered as primitive beings in each event. The city must be optimized to ease the interaction between both the individuals and the public.

The emphasis of the design:1- INDIVIDUALS, to design a house unit that would later on get linked with the neighborhood.2- THE LAYOUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD, traces from a traditional Kuwaiti neighborhood, adjusted to wind-sun analysis.3- THE INTERACTION by a) Alternatives to car transportation, uninterrupted walkways, free of vehicles. b) Mini groups and micro-climates, the backyards including greenery and providing a healthy and enjoyable climate.

Design Elements:The proposed design of the neighborhood layout provides the residential areas with more than an element to enhance the urban environment- such as:1- BACKYARDS, which contains walkways along with interaction places for each cluster of houses.2- TUNNELS beneath the streets that are raised two meters above the ground to allow humans for walking freely and separate from vehiclesʼ movement.3- COMMUNITY CENTER, in the middle of the layout, includes a mini- market, Dewaniya; a gathering area, a coffee shop, and a small size mosque to be adjusted nearby the center to be used by the occupants of the area.

Streetelevated 2m above the

groundHouse Units

on the ground levelBackyard

for pedestians & services [AC & plumping systems]

Free Roofopen roof with no

machines

An Aerial View showing the centre

as a main point of interaction

that connects the neighborhood

Proposed Neighborhood Layout

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By A

rch. Abdulaziz A

l Kandary

Instructor: Dr. Om

ar Khattab

TA.: A

rch. Maysa A

l Bishr

GR

AD

UA

TION

THE

SIS PR

OJE

CT

Hu

man

izing th

e Interaction

with

in th

e Neigh

borhood

Benefit from the street levelSite Feature

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1

24

3

Concept The first part of this thesis studies the theory of Dislocation in accordance to the Separation Wall in the West Bank, Palestine. I found it of importance to create a memorial for the wall in an easy access location to spread awareness. The process of dislocation is observed through the systematic manipulation of elements relating to the wall and its actual location on site with reference to Peter Eisenman’s works of dislocation. The process establishes the concept of superposing maps and elements; hence allowing for varied manipulation of the wall with the creation of a memorial, a library, and a walkway as the program offers in its new-founded location with a continuous reference to other important historical elements.

The application of this thesis was found through the creation of a memorial overlooking the lights of Palestine across the Dead Sea, a library, and a walkway- each representing and represented by a certain experience in relation to the wall.

Site The project is one which needs to be easily accessible by the public; in the sense that tourists, citizens of Palestinian origin, anyone who cannot enter Palestine and wish to understand the contexts of the wall, can all access the site. Furthermore, placing the project as close as possible to the West Bank was also an important factor- one can at least have an image of the area; the site, although in Jordan, is close enough that one is able to receive a signal of a telecommunication company from the West Bank region; therefore, importance is for one to be as close as possible even if it is with the use of a sign such as this one.

The Wall in this site would be just another stop on the road. Jordan is rich with touristic locations, all of which are dispersed instead of being clustered around one location along the Dead Sea road. Page 76.0

By A

rch. Ruba A

l SalehInstructor: D

r. Quinsan CiaoTA

.: Arch. Jassim

ShehabG

RA

DU

ATIO

N TH

ESIS P

RO

JEC

TA

n A

rchitectu

re of Separation: A

Process of D

islocation

ANALYTICAL SECTION1. Memorial2. Library3. Wall construction and walkway into memorial4. Concrete Landscaping

The project will house:

1. MEMORIAL: Although a memorial is usually aimed at representing an object or person which no longer exists, this memorial aims at representing the on-going oppression, as well as the cultural dislocation, this wall has caused. Furthermore, design aspects may include the usage of the graffiti found on the Separation Wall in a different manner.

2. LIBRARY: In this library, the occupant will interact with the wall structures allowing for the interaction itself to represent the oppressivenes The Wall creates by blocking the occupant from reaching their destination in a clear-cut manner

3. FALLING WALLS WALKWAY: The walkway will aid in providing an experience for the occupants based in accordance to the walls.

GROOVES OF THE WALL shifting in the libraryA perspective portraying the form of displays created within the memorial

A portrayal of the Falling Walls concept- a concept portraying a hope for the future of the Separation Wall. This hope is represented by the falling of the wall, much like that of the Berlin Wall

A perspective portraying the interior of the library. Components: Bookshelves/Fencing/Retaining Wall

The project’s aim is to design a journey, which educates visitors of Jordan’s Dead Sea surrounding areas of the Separation Wall and the struggles it creates for the Palestinian settlers of the West Bank based by using the walls as the main elements for the design.

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METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION1. Wire Fencing2. Concrete Wall3. Retaining Gravel Wall4. Wire Fencing

STUDY MODELportraying carving of the land with the memorial passing through diagonally

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