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Posters of the winning projects since 1977 on display
Architect Farshid Moussavi |
Since architecture
is connected with social milieus and produces shared spaces where people
constantly interact, promoting good-quality architecture, especially in the
developing world, contributes to improving the quality of life. To serve
this end, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 by His
Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims,
specifically to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Islamic
culture as expressed through architecture. The award is intended “to
identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs
and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence.”
The Aga Khan 2005 Forum is part of a traveling forum being held in
Alexandria, Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Istanbul, Sharjah, and Toronto.
On the afternoon of November 11, 2005 the winning projects of the Ninth Aga
Khan Award Cycle (covering the years 2002-2004) were discussed in the Aga
Khan 2005 Forum that was held in AUB's Department of Architecture and Design
Composed of three parts, the forum began with the presentation of a
50-minute film on the four winning projects chosen by the 2004 Master Jury
of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The winning projects were
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt; Gando Primary School, Gando,
Burkina Faso; B2 House Canakkale, Turkey; and Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia. Also included in the film was the discussion that followed the
announcement of the results, in which four questions were debated: history
and historical memory in a pluralist perspective, integrating private
initiatives into the emerging public spheres, expression of individuality in
complex social settings, and articulation of power and authority in
technology, culture, and economics.
Following the film, a panel discussion was held on the themes presented in
the movie. The panel of architects and academics included Assem Salam,
president of the Lebanese Order of Architecture; Simone Kosremelli, Hana
Alameddine, Robert Saliba, Habib Debs, and George Arbid of the Department of
Architecture and Design.
A reception was then held, after which architect Farshid Moussavi, of
Foreign Office Architects in London, spoke about her experience as a judge
and the chairperson of the master jury of the 2004 Aga Khan Award. Of
Iranian origin, Frashid Moussavi worked with the Renzo Piano Building
Workshop in Genoa and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam
prior to establishing Foreign Office Architects in 1992. She is currently
head of the Institute of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna
and has been teaching there since 2002.
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