Saba Fatima sabafat@uw.edu ARCH 598 C Wi: Modern Architecture & the Critical Present Department/Program: MS Architecture (History & Theory)
(Under) Representations of Modern Architecture from the MENA region Examining the influence of the Aga Khan Development Network on Architecture and Plurality A pressing issue in architecture today is the understanding and manifestation of the role of architecture and buildings as powerful icons of identity amidst emerging friction between increasingly globalized economic and cultural relationships, which in turn are exacerbated by a heightened sense of local identity. A continual tension exists between regional specificity, or validation of international modernism in designs, somehow frequently albeit inadvertently serving stereotypes.1 Debates over representation versus stereotype frequent the modernism discourse. Reflections on how our built environments – or the lack thereof – acquire meaning, and thereafter lay the spatial infrastructure for future generations are imminent. And yet, as a student of architecture and architectural history, I find myself questioning the lack of representation of architectural works and people from the larger proportion of the globe, and a disproportionate focus and narrative on the “Global West,” particularly in the history of the last two centuries, when industrialization set the wheels of modern architecture in motion. Surely, architecture did not cease to be in those geographic regions that were slow to industrialize. And even after their industrialization, their representation in the modern discourse remains marginal. Afterall, modernization is not only the extension of industrialized building processes and urban infrastructure, but also the spread of ideals of progress and standards of comfort.2 For this paper, I briefly investigate the contributions of local Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) architectural influences to modern architecture. Geographically, the study covers architectural style and innovation from the Arabian Peninsula, Levant (countries on the Eastern Mediterranean side), and North Africa. Next, the role of Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA), established by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), in disseminating pluralistic narratives of architecture is discussed, underscoring trans-national architectural exchange. The paper is divided into three broad parts- Part 1 discusses 20th century history of the middle eastern region and corresponding architectural changes; Part 2 is a discussion of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and its regional and global influence; and finally, Part 3 glances through two case studies of AKAA recipient projects, giving an insight into the diversity of evaluation criteria, and selection of the award projects, concluding with reflections by the author.
Part 01: 20th Century Architectural discourse from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region In the seminal book History of Architecture, Sir Bannister Fletcher illustrates architectural history as a tree- with great monuments from the non-Western traditions sketched at the base, on the lower branches; these branches are terminating and are unable to grow further (Fig 1). The strong central tree trunk is shown to reflect Greek and Roman architecture. The newest, youngest branches on top depict the thennew building type- the skyscraper. The book was published in 1896, a time of great changes for colonial and Western nations. Where would we place the architectural standing of the Middle Eastern region at 1 2
(Rizvi 2018). Ibid.
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