NAFASI

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Photo Survey :  Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso by Ibai Rigby

See more at urbanNext

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Photo Stories #Egypt : The Internet As A Place by  Heinrich Holtgreve

In the summer of 2012, Heinrich Holtgreve happened upon a blog post — BLDG BLOG — in which its author, Andrew Blum, outlines the potential dangers of the centralization of information. It was this discovery that sparked Holtgreve’s fascination with the physicality of the internet.

The internet is a place one can visit: Buildings of varying importance that are related to its facilitation and management are scattered all over the world, and are situated contrary to typical notions of a connected world.

The internet connects cities, countries and continents via fiber-optic cables that follow the shortest path between two points. Egypt is a significant location for international data traffic and the cables carrying data follow the same path that international trade lines do, passing through the Suez Canal.

Downtown Cairo hosts the largest internet exchange — the Cairo Internet Exchange or CAIX — and cable systems like SEA-ME-WE-3 and 4 or FLAG are routed ashore in Alexandria.

Egypt’s geographical location has benefitted the state in a number of ways. Just as the Suez Canal has annually brought in billions of dollars, there is money to be made from selling licenses to cable laying companies, and the Egyptian government is well aware of this.

Continue Reading at panorama.madamasr

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(Photo by Heinrich Holtgreve : “ The Cairo Internet Exchange (CAIX) building, the most important internet hub for Egypt and the whole North Africa region.”)

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Hifadhi Zanzibar presents in Amsterdam! 

Hifadhi Zanzibar can be seen as an innovative start-up in heritage management in Zanzibar. The innovative model forms the basis of Stadsherstel Amsterdam since 1956 and overseas it is embraced as opportunity to find a new future for threatened heritage.  Stadsherstel and Hifadhi, in which AAmatters plays a pivoting role, present in the Stadslicht (city light) lecture series in Pakhuis De Zwijger:City Trip – Zanzibar Town, Tanzania

Wednesday 27 January 2016, 18:00 – 19:00hr. Pakhuis De Zwijger – Workspace Piet Heinkade 179 1019 HC Amsterdam

More informations at AAmatters

(photo AAmatters)

[aamatters]

Hifadhi Zanzibar presents in Amsterdam!

Hifadhi Zanzibar can be seen as an innovative start-up in heritage management in Zanzibar. The innovative model forms the basis of Stadsherstel Amsterdam since 1956 and overseas it is embraced as opportunity to find a new future for threatened heritage.  Stadsherstel and Hifadhi, in which AAmatters plays a pivoting role, present in the Stadslicht (city light) lecture series in Pakhuis De Zwijger:

City Trip – Zanzibar Town, Tanzania Wednesday 27 January 2016, 18:00 – 19:00hr. Pakhuis De Zwijger – Workspace Piet Heinkade 179 1019 HC Amsterdam

Afficher davantage

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Finding Stories :: the role of immaterial culture in city planning

Join AAmatters , the City of Amsterdam, Government of Zanzibar and Stadsherstel Amsterdam on 30 January 2016 for  ‘Finding Stories :: the role of immaterial culture in city planning’ at Amstelkerk, Amsterdam.

“It seems obvious that culture and immaterial heritage are important components for regeneration plans in cities. However, it remains a challenge to find the often hidden stories representing the culture of the existing communities and to then incorporate them in planning and design.The Municipality of Amsterdam and the Government of Zanzibar – both managing UNESCO World Heritage Sites - are working on the development of strategies for heritage-based urban regeneration in Zanzibar. This developed from a particular interest from Zanzibar in the collaboration between the private and public sector in Amsterdam when it comes to using heritage as driver for development. This already led to the establishment of Hifadhi Zanzibar, a company following the model of Stadsherstel Amsterdam NV.  Now the focus is on the heritage based regeneration of Ng’ambo, a less known area just outside of the world famous Stone Town, but equally interesting in historic sense. Next to mapping of the tangible component, it is essential to uncover the cultural and socio-economic framework in the area.  This integral approach is the key principle of the UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape approach, for which Ng’ambo is an important pilot project in East Africa.The mapping of the intangible heritage of the area – based upon intensive community involvement - is about to start. This is the reason to organise the symposium Finding Stories as part of a workshop with colleagues from Zanzibar and Amsterdam.”

More informations about the workshop and its programme at AAmatters

(photo AforA architects)

[aamatters]

Finding Stories :: the role of immaterial culture in city planning

On 30 January 2016, AAmatters together with its partners City of Amsterdam, Government of Zanzibar and Stadsherstel Amsterdam, organises the symposium ‘Finding Stories :: the role of immaterial culture in city planning’

(photo AforA architects)

It seems obvious that culture and immaterial heritage are important components for regeneration plans in cities. However, it remains a challenge to find the often hidden stories representing the culture of the existing communities and to then incorporate them in planning and design.

Afficher davantage

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Join AAmatters , the City of Amsterdam, Government of Zanzibar and Stadsherstel Amsterdam on 30 January 2016 for  ‘Finding Stories :: the role of immaterial culture in city planning’ at Amstelkerk, Amsterdam.

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Norman Foster's Cairo redevelopment has locals asking: where do we fit in?

[A rendering from Foster + Partners of their redesign of the Maspero Triangle district in downtown Cairo]

“ A stone’s throw from the River Nile, nestled deep within a labyrinthine tangle of narrow alleyways, bustling coffee shops and peeling paintwork, Tarek is staring at a phone. The images on the screen depict a sleek, modernist boulevard overlooked by a row of glass skyscrapers. Roof gardens crown each building, and on one balcony, a lone, elderly Egyptian man is playing chess and pouring tea.Each rendering has been produced by Foster + Partners, Britain’s most prestigious architecture firm which has just won a competition to redesign an iconic district in central Cairo, vowing to “set the benchmark for urban regeneration throughout the country”. As part of its plans, the street on which Tarek is standing will eventually become a lagoon, lined with “cafés, restaurants and shops that will make this a highly desirable leisure destination.” But Tarek – a middle-aged street vendor who requested that the Guardian not use his real name – is perturbed. He looks down at the glossy graphics, and then up again, before gesturing around at his neighbours. “Where are we in this picture?” he asks. [...] “

Continue to read at theguardian

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Research Centre for Nigerian Languages in Ilorin (Nigeria) by BC architects

“ The concept, structure and appearance of the building are shaped by both awareness of the academic environment it will host and respect of local building traditions. The design combines local techniques with high-standards of comfort in order to create individual as well as public environments which provide rest, openness and privacy for all researchers and visitors. The design of the RCNL has its roots in local conceptual elements such as the urban introvert medina, the typologies of the Yoruba palace and courtyard house and the sequence of different spatial atmospheres within a rational grid system. It therefore represents the local identity in a contemporary architectural language. The multitude and complexity of the various languages and dialects found in Nigeria is reflected in the architecture of the centre. Multiple open spaces with different atmospheres connect the various offices, classrooms, meetingrooms,etc. The rationality of the design interacts with the surrounding nature due to the contrast between its very rigid grid system and the organic growth of the gardens and landscape. In this way the RCNL works as a monastery; a quiet study place, closed from the outside, but very open within its walls. A building completely autonomous of its surrounding built environment in terms of water, electricity, etc. . “

More about the project HERE

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House in Kangouni, Island of Mohéli (Comoros) by Nicolas Dorval-Bory

See more HERE

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Urban Development & Housing: City of Ouagadougou

[ Ouagadougou Model by Francis Kéré, Kwabena Abrah-Asiedu, Edward Becker, Osaruyi Igiehon & Kayla Lim. ]

“ With more than 1 million inhabitants, Ouagadougou is the largest city in Burkina Faso and the country’s administrative, economic, and cultural center. The city experiences a population growth of approximately 100,000 migrants each year from the surrounding rural areas, creating new neighborhoods, many without electricity or running water. Moreover, the majority of Ouagadougou’s buildings are one-story clay constructions. The aim of this design studio is to generate new affordable living spaces for the low- and middle-income groups within the city. The project involves the creation of a 45-square-meter modular housing unit for a family of five. This standard module is used in a new urban development of 10,000 units. The intervention is integrated in the city center to avoid creating a socially segregated society. Throughout the process it is important to take into consideration the layout of existing neighborhoods, the city’s economic situation, and the local climate.

Students are required to consider economic, cultural, environmental, and social factors to design a suitable house with available resources. The project gives students an insight into some of the important challenges facing the developing world. “

Read More at urbannext

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BOOK : ‘ Mogadishu Lost Moderns ’ by Rashid Ali & Andrew Cross

“ Mogadishu: Lost Moderns explores the city of Mogadishu through its architecture and urban environment, narrating the story of Somalia’s journey from traditional African nation via colonisation and post colonialism to emergent independent state. Challenging familiar mainstream images that depict the city solely as a place of conflict and destruction, Somali-British architect Rashid Ali and British photographer Andrew Cross offer a unique account of what remains of the city’s urban fabric and key modernist symbols after two decades of civil conflict. As well as essays by Ali and Cross, the publication also includes contributions from architect and urban designer Mohamed Abdulkadir Ahmed and author Cristina Ali Farah. The book is richly illustrated with archival images of Mogadishu as well as specially commissioned photographs taken by Andrew Cross in Mogadishu in 2013. “

More information HERE

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Contemporary African & Nordic architects cross-cultural dialogue on socially engaged architecture

“ Mouthful of Meetings was a discussion organized as part of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, the Venice Biennale, inviting contemporary African and Nordic architects to a cross-cultural dialogue on socially engaged architecture.

What are the challenges in Africa's current rapid socio-economic development that architects have the capacity to address? Can foreign architects play any role on the African continent today and during the coming decades? If so, how?

”Mouthful of meetings” brought together contemporary Nordic and African architecture practices and institutions with focus on socially committed architecture. The event was part of the programme of the Nordic Pavillion's exhibition 2014, ”Forms of Feedom. African Independence and Nordic Models”. “

Participants in the discussion

Peter Makachia, Technical University of Kenya Mokena Makeka, Makeka Design Lab, South Africa Maxwell Mutanda, Zimbabwe Tomà Berlanda, Active Social Architecture, Rwanda Victoria Walldin, White Architects, Sweden Daniel Harald Baumann, Henning Larsen Architects, Denmark Helena Sandman, HRS Architects, Finland Ina B. Sem-Olsen, Rå Arkitektur, Norway

Moderators: Andres Lepik, Architekturmuseum der Technische Universität Munchen Justine Bell, South African architect

More information HERE

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MOOC “African Cities”, online courses starting this November [EN/FR]

“ “African Cities” suggests a course in management and urban planning. After a short overview of the big urban issues (climate change, energy, right to the city, land, habitat…), we will tackle the tools currently used in management and planning and will have a critical reading. We will then see how to plan an integrative, open, environmental-friendly and low-resource-consumption city. In parallel, we will approach the funding of the cities, the governance and the assessment of the planning. The approach of the course is not disciplinary, rather thematic. The course articulates the different reading levels of the city (technical, social and symbolic) as well as urban issues allowing to highlight the making of a city. “

Subscribe to the courses HERE

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Survey of Comoros by Stephen Battle

“ A photographic survey of Comoros, a sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa. The island nation is rich in Swahili culture influenced by Indian and Arab traders, Malay immigrants and French colonial power contributing to the islands' complex ethnic mix. “

Image : Sultan's Palace, carved wooden balcony Stephen Battle Mutsamudu, Island of Anjouan (Comoros), 2003 

View the collection HERE

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Cairobserver 5th issue launch (Arabic with English subtitles)

“ Cairobserver's 5th issue, titled 'University' reflects on architectural education, reform of higher education in Egypt, the evolution of alternative education, the relationship between authorities and university faculty, the representation of university life in Arabic literature and cinema, the development of fine arts education in Egypt, and the relationship between campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods For the launch, editors Mohamed El Shahed and Shaimaa Ashour invited some of the writers to discuss their articles with the audience. They were joined by Nabil El Hady, Professor of Architecture at Cairo University; Farida Makar, researcher and lecturer in the history of education at the American University in Cairo; artist, writer and director Ahmed Shawky; and Abeer Rabei, Assistant professor in Political Science department at Cairo University The publication launch was followed by a photography exhibition titled "SURPLUS! Housing from the Periphery" curated by Shahed at the Townhouse Gallery. It presents 18 photographs by Anthony Hamboussi curated from “Cairo Ring Road,” a larger project spanning four years composed of 180 photographs of urban and architectural landscapes. The images, captured in peripheral locations, depict the immense scale of excessive residential building activities, high density and often-uninhabited dystopian vistas of housing in contemporary Cairo. “ Courtesy of  Medrar TV

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The New Gourna Village

“ "If you were given a million pounds, what would you do with them? A question they were always asking us when we were young, one that would start our imagination roaming and set us daydreaming. I had two possible answers: one, to buy a yacht, hire an orchestra, and sail round the world with my friends listening to Bach, Schumann, and Brahms; the other, to build a village where the fellaheen would follow the way of life that I would like them to." 

Hassan Fathy, ARCHITECTURE FOR THE POOR

In Fathy's own words lies the crux of this project: The New Gourna Village in Upper Egypt on the west banks of the Nile. Though not completely implemented as per the architect's honest desires for a just cause—partly due to polity and partly owing to the steadfastness of the Gournii, as very few of the Old Gourna residents wanted to move away from the land of their forefathers—this project brought about a major change in the way the wider public perceived architecture for the underprivileged. It was both an exercise in sustainability and the architect's challenge—to design not an archetype, but understand each mentality, desire and dream, and make them physical. At this end, Fathy was a resounding success. “

Continue reading at Bartlett Lobby

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BOOK : Casablanca - Chandigarh - A report on Modernization

“ How Architects, Experts, Politicians, International Agencies, and Citizens Negotiate Modern Planning

By Tom Avermaete, Maristella Casciato

Chandigarh Casablanca documents two different but complementary urban realities that have played a fundamental role in the imagination, the definition, and the redefinition of the 20th-century modern city. Modern urbanism has traditionally ascribed universal value to avant-garde ideas originating in Europe and North America, and developments in non-Western regions as derived from those original models. This study shifts perspective in search of a new understanding of the modern city, taking into consideration the complex history of diverse cultures and changing borders. Focusing on a range of issues from the symbolic use of architecture to construct stunning monuments, to the creation of public spaces, housing design and social facilities, it features many images by two non-western photographers, Yto Barrada (French Morocco) and Takashi Homma (Japan), to construct a relevant definition of the modern city in a global sense. “

More informations HERE