Excerpts // “A Blueprint for Re-evolution: The New Normal in Architecture”
Originally published in the November 2018 issue of Indian Architect & Builder magazine, as part of their series on “The Future of Architecture.”
Category: architecture
Working with Moving Parts: 2020 Vision, Resilience and Response in Architectural Practice
It was the end of the work day in late September. Our team was still remote after the lockdown reopened, but I worked in the studio from time to time. I was sitting in my chair with my feet up on my desk, enjoying the rain pouring outside my window. After a while, the sound […]
Arena of A Shared Schadenfreude
Should architects design prisons? The debate has been going on for some time. Some architects and architecture collectives have taken a stance and vowed never to design buildings that are used to cause harm and that violate human rights. The continued misuse of detention centers has been denounced by the American Institute of Architects. But […]
Lakdikapul: A Wooden Bridge to Nowhere
Earlier this year, a new traffic island was created at Lakdikapul, which became a great solution to streamline traffic at what used to be very haphazard and confusing turning. However, what came on top of the island– in dissonance to the alleviation of traffic logjam– is nightmare-inducing to say the least. Not just for an […]
The Mosque as Magnet: Situating the Mosque in the Urban Morphology of Contemporary Cities in the Islamic World as an Integral Part of the Process of Rebuilding
It is a time for re-evaluation and re-evolution. Growing up Muslim in Saudi Arabia, I have had plenty of opportunities to pray at various mosques in the Kingdom, and sometimes even on beaches and in the desert. I have seen how the place one stands to pray transforms into a magnet with an organic congregation […]
The Auto-Gentrification of City Centers in the Gulf: Heritage Beyond the Built Environment
In order to direct attention toward the fast-aging social housing, public buildings and entire urban sectors that have dated rapidly and been unable to keep up with the developmental impulses of cities in the GCC, a movement toward adopting buildings and adaptive reuse is underway to breathe new life into old shells across the region. […]
A Blueprint for Re-evolution: The New Normal in Architecture
Work expands to fill the time it is given. It was a common assumption and goal during the Industrial Revolution that once we mechanized our mundane everyday tasks, we would have an abundance of free time for leisure in which to pursue enjoyable activities. Centuries on, it turns out that it’s actually work that is […]
God is in the Details, Especially in Microarchitecture
What is a mosque? A question can serve as the starting point of a serendipitous and rewarding journey. The sacred month of Ramadan was just a few weeks away, and Hyderabad was preparing for the time when it really comes into its own. We were asked to design a small prayer space for elderly residents […]
Looking to the Past for Answers to Present Urban Challenges
As the world becomes smaller, every large metropolis in the world seems to resemble every other. Cities, concrete jungles filled with glittering skyscrapers and artificial beaches, seem to open doors for globalization, and adopt a universal aesthetic language. What vocabulary, then, should the residential architecture of today use? The answer, we believe, lies in looking […]
Defragmenting Society: How Networking is Redefining the Fundamental Notions of Society, Human Interactions and Space
A decade ago, when the first movie in The Matrix trilogy was released, it was a wild addition to the genre of science fiction. The Internet was relatively new, and its inherent potential was yet to be harnessed, or even realized. The Matrix was a metaphorical representation of cyberspace, as a virtual, intangible, parallel reality. […]
Takbir Fatima II 