Category Archives: AKDC@MIT

Shortlist Announced for the 15th Cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture

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The shortlist for the 15th-cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) was announced today, and is featured on Archnet. The recipients will be announced in the fall.

My association with the AKAA is very limited. As Archnet Content Manager, I assist my colleagues at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture‘s offices in Geneva with getting AKAA information into Archnet and, subsequently, getting bringing attention to the projects though the social media for Archnet and the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT. So you may wonder why I am posting about the 2022 shortlist announcement on my personal website.

Quite simply, it is because I am proud to be associated with the AKAA even in my limited capacity, and even more so because I’d like to make more people aware of the projects that award has highlighted since the First AKAA Cycle, 1977-1980.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is an internationally recognized award that focuses on regions too often neglected by the juries of most major prizes in the West. I won’t speculate on the cause of this neglect except to say that it certainly isn’t due to a lack of merit in the projects built there. So many projects are nominated each cycle that even many that don’t make the shortlist are worthy of commendation.

More and more, some of the world’s most innovative and exciting structures are being built in Africa and Asia, hardly surprising given these are areas on the front lines of some of the most challenging problems that world currently faces.

Moreover, it is an award that places functionality on the same level as aesthetic criteria. Indeed, to be eligible for nomination, a project has to have been in use for at least a year. Projects that ultimately receive the Aga Khan Award for Architecture are projects already fulfilling their purpose.

Finally, I appreciate that the award honors diverse projects, from grand towers to schools made from locally available materials. In the speech he made at the 2016 ceremony of the Award, His Highness the Aga Khan explained this is an explicit goal of the AKAA. I’ll close this piece with those words.

The Spirit of the Award has been an inclusive one, valuing all manner of buildings and spaces from skyscrapers to mud huts, from residences to work and gathering spaces, from reforestation and financing projects to cemeteries, bridges and parks, from the accomplishments of signature architects to those of anonymous craftsmen.  This pluralistic approach may not echo the usual definition of the word “architecture”, but it is the closest we can get to the central inclusive message we want this Award to convey.

https://www.akdn.org/speech/his-highness-aga-khan/aga-khan-award-architecture-2016-ceremony

Morocco: April 9-23, 2018

Gallery

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This gallery contains 51 photos.

AKDC Program Head, Sharon C. Smith, and I organized a workshop and seminar on digital preservation of cultural heritage in Northern Morocco, followed by a tour of libraries and academic institutions in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, and Ben Guerir to explore possibilities … Continue reading →

Who was using Archnet at 3:15 pm EST on February 16?

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Analytics at 3:15 pm on February 16, 2018


It’s fascinating to watch Archnet‘s real-time statistics in Google Analytics. There’s no reason why I need to monitor the statistics in real-time, but it is definitely interesting to see how many people are using the site and any specific time, where they are from, and what they are looking at.
Yesterday afternoon was interesting.  When I checked in just after 3:00 pm EST, there were 21 users on Archnet from 11 different countries, as shown in the screen capture. Our visitor numbers can vary significantly depending on the time of day, but in general it stays pretty busy from noon to about 20:00 hours GMT. In general Archnet gets the most visitors from India, the United States, and Egypt, in that order. So it follows that these would be our busiest time.  12:00 GMT is 14:00 in Cairo, 07:00 in Boston, and 17:30 in Mumbai.  Continue reading →

Architectural Photography in Black and White

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photos by Luis Monreal, 2005

For the last Archnet update I chose black and white photographs by Luis Monreal of the Jama Masjid in Delhi, India, and the Great Mosque in Djenné, Mali. Most of the black and white or monochrome images in Archnet are historical taken before the dawn of color photography, but these are relatively recent, taken in 2005. I chose those images in part because using monochrome photographs in the background of Archnet homepages really helps to highlight content on the tiles sliding across the screen, but also because I find them particularly appealing.

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One Reason Why I Enjoy My Job.

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bannerBelow is a something that originally appeared in the MIT Libraries Libguide to Islamic Architecture that is maintained by the Aga Khan Documentation Center @ MIT.  The archive it describes is fascinating.  I’ve just replaced it with something new, but I couldn’t bear to just throw this out completely, so I’m recycling it here.  To find out what I archive I’m featuring now, you’ll just have to check out the Archnet portion of the Libguide.  It’s got a lot of interesting resources, most of it compiled by our Program Head and our Visual Resources Librarian, though I try to hold up my end. Check it out and let us know what you think. 
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Spotify Playlist: Architecture, Music, and Metaphor

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timelinealmoravidTo celebrate the launch of the new Archnet, I’m presenting a Spotify playlist on the theme of architecture and the built environment. It explores various themes, ranging from an appreciation of great cities and monuments, to architecture as a spiritual metaphor.  Check it out and let me know what you think?
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Damascus in the 19th Century-Images

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IMG42466

Bayt Shama’ya Afandi, Damascus, Syria

I work on some fascinating projects at the AKDC@MIT.  One that we’ve just started on, and will be uploading in small increments over an extended period is a a new Special Collection in Archnet, the Michel Ecochard Archive.  A  collection of images of 19th-century Damascus is the first installment to be made available.  I’m so intrigued by the images, I wanted to tell you about them here, and about the larger collection you will eventually see more of.

French architect and urban planner Michel Ecochard, 1905-1985, spent much of his career working in the Muslim world, starting in Damascus following his graduation from École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1929, then Beirut from 1931 to 1944, Rabat from 1946 to 1952 and finally Paris from 1953 to 1983.  Continue reading →