MANIFESTO

L'ARCHITECTURE DU MOYEN-ORIENT [1930-1990] | Pour voir l'information sur chaque projet, entrez la section d'archives

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louis miquel et roland simounet - centre de jeunesse et de sports albert camus, orléansville, algérie, 1959-60

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Grindlays Bank in Islamabad by Pakistani architect Anwar Said in 1984 (photographed in 1987 by Kazi Khaleed Ashraf). 

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Cyclones have inflicted a magnitude of suffering upon the nation of Bangladesh so profound that it makes my heart ache, and the hundreds of thousands that perished should never be forgotten. The Cyclone Shelter program enacted by the NGO “PRISM” (Projects in Agriculture, Rural Industry, Science and Medicine) sought to devise a solution for vulnerable areas of the country with traditional or informal housing unsuitable to ride out the violent storms. The above photographs are of one of several cyclone shelters in 1994 in the Chakaria, Maheshkhali and Kutubdia subdistricts of Cox's Bazaar District. Below is the project description from the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the source of the photographs and a prestigious award bestowed upon this program. 

“Three Community Development Centres and Cyclone Shelters (hereafter called Cyclone Shelters) were commissioned by PRISM (Projects in Agriculture, Rural Industry, Science and Medicine - an NGO with a Bangladesh office). The three structures are located in the upazilas/thanas (sub-districts) of Chakaria, Maheshkhali and Kutubdia respectively, within the Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh. The district is almost completely flat and only a few feet above sea level. The entire western coast and the islands are open to the Bay of Bengal and are vulnerable to cyclones and tidal waves. The population, which is concentrated mainly in villages, comprises farmers, farm workers, fishermen and salt-extraction labourers. They live in homesteads, which tend to be blown or washed away during storms. The shelters, therefore, serve as sanctuaries for the local communities and their livestock when cyclones and tidal waves occur. At other times the Cyclone Shelters are used as PRISM's area office, as the local dispensary, and as a place where groups involved in various development programme activities (such as income generation and informal education) can hold meetings. The shaded space on the ground floor is generally used for spontaneous gatherings and other combined endeavours. The local communities view these majestic structures in their villages with a sense of pride. The Cyclone Shelters were planned to accommodate about 1,500 people and numbers of valuable livestock during cyclones occurring within a 1.5 kilometre radius. For regular activities each centre was planned to serve as a health clinic with a medicine dispensing area; as a seed/grain store; as a focus for education, training and community information; and as a communication centre and office for PRISM. The requirements included water and sanitation facilities within the main structure. Both the upper floors have toilets. In evolving the design brief special consideration was given to the use of the shelter in normal times; to disaster preparedness; to capacity; to livestock protection; and to maintenance and construction details.”

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“Peace” by Leonardo Nieman on the corniche of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1984. 

Leonardo Nierman is a Mexican artist mostly known for his painting and sculpture. He at first wanted to be a violinist and his musical training has been a major influence on his painting and sculpture, reproducing movement and harmony. Nierman has had exhibitions in Mexico and abroad and over sixty recognitions of his work, half of which are from outside of Mexico. His work is abstract but still with discernible images from nature such as birds, water, lightning and more. His paintings are in pure colors while his sculptures are generally of metal, often silver-toned. The artistic production of Leonardo Nierman includes painting, tapestry design, sculpture, murals, engraving and glass work. His first artwork was done in the 1950s, influenced by the work of Kandinsky, Klee, Miró and de Chirico, as well as the abstract, cubist and surrealist movements. Much of his later work has been shaped by his interpretation of nature and a search for the relationship between abstract art and the cosmos, spurred by his studies of color and movement in the 1950s.

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A model for the Maracay Savings Bank in Maracay, Venezuela by Carlos Brillembourg Architects [1976].

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A proposal for the Baghdad Race Course by Hisham Munir [1978-1983]. 

“The ownership and competitive racing of Arabian purebred horses was traditionally, and continues to be, a valued aspect of cultural life in Baghdad. Respecting and responding to this deep-rooted activity, the design of the Baghdad Race Course, with uniquely sculptured forms, is an architectural splendor which embraced cutting-edge technologies and broke new grounds The site for the course, near the famous Abu Ghraib prison, was selected by the race course board for its wide, open and accessible spaces. As part of our research, which included the study of racing facilities adhering to international standards, we visited many race courses. Ascot, in particular, was of excellent and memorable quality and offered the necessary components of a racing facility. The umbrella forms of the Baghdad Race Course are inspired by its prevailing use by spectators, who, during this particular activity, endure long periods under the hot sun, with high temperatures.  We used light-weight concrete for the umbrella, that extends to a diameter of 24 meters, adopting the lift slab system on round concrete core. All concrete cores were completed and umbrella forms ready to receive concrete with cables attached to top of the core to lift the a umbrellas. We expected it to be the most glamorous and prestigious racing stand. Unfortunately political directives and changes stopped the project in late eighties. The cores stand in the skyline over the Abu Ghraib district with the lower, horizontal spectators'  stand. The course operated and races were run with what was completed of the facilities. “

- Hisham Munir, 2016

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Edificio Celanese Mexicana (hoy sede de la SEMARNAT), av. Revolución 1425, Campestre, Álvaro Obregón, Ciudad de México 1968

Arqs. Ricardo Legorreta y Roberto L. Jean

Celanese Mexicana building (now SEMARNAT headquarters), av. Revolucion 1425, Campestre, Alvaro Obregon, Mexico City 1968

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Vista interior del vestíbulo, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández, Violeta 31, esq. 11 de Abril, Col. Guerrero, Cuauhtémoc, Ciudad de México 1968

Arqs. Agustín Hernández, Gonzolo E Arenas, Alejandro Martos Lizárraga y Héctor Bressa

Interior view inside the lobby, Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, Violeta 31, Guerrero, Cuauhtemoc, Mexico CIty 1968

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Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922-2019), may she rest in peace 

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Unidad de Habitación Cotiza, Plan Cerro Piloto - Banco Obrero. Caracas 1954. Arquitecto Carlos Raúl Villanueva, arquitectos colaboradores Guido Bermúdez y Carlos Brando. Servicio de Fotografía y Cinematografía del Ministerio de Educación. 

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‘Modern VENEZUELA Moves Ahead!’

The New York Times, March 17, 1963.

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ay Caracas como te extraño :( 

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Pahlavi University (Shiraz University), Shiraz, Minoru Yamasaki & Mohammad Reza Moghtader, 1960-79

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Mohamed Makiya with Walter Gropius [1967]

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The Residence for the Members of the Parliament in Dhaka, Bangladesh by  Louis Isidore Kahn [1987].

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Photography: Kuwait. Kuwait City. 1992. Veiled women pray the Shiite cemetery Photographer:  A. Abbas

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Biographies of orphans from the archives of Near East Relief, an American organization that sheltered thousands of Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek orphans of genocide.

Efsthasios Demetriou (8, from Sparta); Mariam Tamourian (6, origin unknown); Eugenia Theocharus (13, from Neapolis); Hovagim Haserdjian (8, from Aintab); Shushanik Hagopian (8, from Nakhitchevan); Bakik Bedrossian (13, from Van); Vahgarshag Melanian (9, from Marsovan); Gulania Kardjian (10, from Marash)

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Khobar, Saudi Arabia. 1950s