|
Professor Modjtaba Sadria participates in Aga Khan Award for Architecture Award Ceremony
11 October 2007
 |
| Samir Kassir Square, Beirut, Lebanon |
AKU-ISMC Professor Modjtaba Sadria participated in the Award Ceremony for the 10th Cycle of the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA), held in Kuala Lumpur on the 4th of September 2007.
Professor Sadria was a member of the Steering Committee of the 10th Cycle of the Award, which recognises excellence in the built environment. He explained that the purpose of the Award, however, is not only to commend excellence, but to recognise architecture's impact on and interplay with the lived environment of communities around the world.
Over the past 30 years, the AKAA has created an important constituency of architects, which has led to outstanding expectations of the award from academia and industry leaders each year.
 |
| Rehabilitation of the City of Shibam Wadi Hadhramaut, Yemen |
The award ceremony, held with the support and hospitality of the Malaysian Government, contained two major components. The first component was the award ceremony, which provided meaningful recognition of architects and others involved in the winning projects. The ceremony, attended by His Highness the Aga Khan and the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi, recognised nine projects of architectural excellence, from a high-tech high rise building in Singapore to a school building in rural Bangladesh.
The second component of the award ceremony was a one-day seminar which addressed a broader audience, including architects, architecture and urban design academics and professionals and 200 students. The seminar consisted of four sessions.
 |
| University of Technology Petronas Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia |
"Three of the sessions were based thematically on the nine winning projects. The remaining session was a general discussion, with seminar participants made up of winning architects and others - discussing a range of various issues."
Professor Sadria's contribution to the seminar focused on thinking about architecture in terms of both the lived and built environment.
"These [the built and lived environment] are two influencing and ever changing phenomenon - in terms of their cultural, social, environmental . contexts. The difficulty is how to best judge excellence in architecture in this ever-changing environment."
 |
| School in Rudrapur, Dinajpur, Bangladesh |
Architecture, Professor Sadria said, is an embodiment of this change. Despite this, however, when a project is completed this interaction can cease to occur. He explained that, "architecture is an incarnation of what has been changed and changing right up until the realisation of the project."
The second issue focused on the idea that architecture is being conducted among people who are increasingly trans-local. The paradox, Professor Sadria explained, of this trans-locality is that we are both within and part of different environments around the world.
One issue pertaining to this, Professor Sadria said, is how best to look at and explain architecture to people who are not trans-local. Looking at local issues and the fluidity of architectural design and the lived environment are unique elements of the AKAA, and have helped secure its place as one of the most intellectually important architectural awards in the world.
Underlying the fluidity of architectural design and its interplay with social and cultural dimensions, the high quality of architecture in the built environment recognised through the Award has the ability to deeply influence any given society, Professor Sadria said.
Addressing the young members of the audience, the founder and Chairman of the AKAA Steering Committee, His Highness the Aga Khan, emphasised the importance of continuing to question social realities and thoughts in order to open brighter perspectives for Muslim societies.
Professor Sadria explained that the 9th Award Cycle (2006) marked a turning point in the direction of the award. Traditionally the Award was associated with the restoration of historical sites; however, it now engages with Muslim societies in their contemporary contexts, while cherishing Muslim heritages and recognising the importance of an awareness of Muslim societies throughout the world.
The Award, Professor Sadria said, has a multitude of benefits, including the ability to provide a deeper understanding of the importance of architecture and its status as a reference for those who aspire to become involved in the field.
A monograph on the 2007 Award has been published by I.B. Tauris & Co. The book, Intervention Architecture: Building for Change includes concise descriptions and illustrations of the nine winning projects, an introductory essay by Homi K. Bhabha, as well as contributions from Omar Akbar, Homa Farjadi, Sahel Al-Hiyari, Shirazeh Houshiary, Mohsen Mostafavi, Farshid Moussavi, Modjtaba Sadria, Brigitte Shim, Billie Tsien and Kenneth Yeang.
External Links
Related Articles
All photographs © agencies of AKDN including AKAA, AKU and AKF.
|
