2012–2013 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Advanced Historical Research in Islamic Art and Architecture
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture is pleased to invite applications for Fellowships with stipends and self-supported Associateships to conduct advanced historical research in Islamic art and architecture at Harvard University. AKPIA Fellowship grants are intended principally for overseas scholars—preferable, but not exclusively, from Muslim countries—to support research in art and architectural history and archaeology. Our grants are not intended to sponsor travel or design, conservation, or urban development projects.
We welcome applications both from established scholars and from recent graduates. Research projects that are publishable in Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Cultures of the Islamic World, an annual publication of the Aga Khan Program, are preferred.
AKPIA Fellows and Associates have an affiliation with Harvard University's Department of History of Art and Architecture (HAA). Our AKPIA scholars are free to pursue their own research, audit Harvard seminars, and are given access to Harvard’s extensive library system as well as the University’s museums.
http://agakhan.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb. ... page333511
The Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
File photo
Oleg Grabar’s seminal work, "The Formation of Islamic Art," is perhaps the masterpiece among his innumerable publications and remains a classic. This sophisticated and inspired work grew from his early studies on the origins of Islamic art.
The Islamic art and architecture community mourned the loss of one of the field’s most influential and insightful scholars. Oleg Grabar, professor emeritus of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, and Aga Khan Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University, passed away at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 8, 2011, at the age of eighty-one. Professor Grabar, who taught in the Harvard Department of Fine Arts (now History of Art and Architecture) for twenty-one years (1969–1990), was instrumental in founding Harvard’s Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. There are few, if any, Islamicists who have not profited from the scholarly contributions of this extraordinary man, who was larger-than-life. He was the first Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Art at Harvard (1980–1990), and subsequently joined the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where he remained active in research and publication until his second retirement in 1998, and over the following thirteen years as well. Grabar’s continuing post-retirement intellectual productivity and capacity to inspire were officially recognized when he received the Chairman’s Award from the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in Doha in 2010.
Oleg Grabar was born in Strasbourg, France, in 1929. As the son of André Grabar, the eminent historian of Byzantine art, he was raised almost from the cradle to be an art historian. Thanks to that upbringing, he harbored a special fascination with the Byzantine and late antique heritage of the Mediterranean world. This fascination extended to his explorations of early Islamic art at the beginning of his career, with seventh- to eighth-century Umayyad architecture forming the core of his scholarship, even when it broadened later on to embrace a much wider spectrum.
Grabar’s early education in France was followed by an A.B. magna cum laude in Medieval History from Harvard University in 1950. He continued his higher education at Princeton University, where he began to develop a passion for Islamic art, obtaining his M.A. (1953) and Ph.D. (1955) in Oriental Languages and Literatures and the History of Art.
In 1969, Grabar joined the Harvard faculty as Professor of Fine Arts and was the first ever to teach Islamic art at the University. Always generous to students and colleagues, he was also a thoughtful faculty member of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. His wide-ranging and substantial knowledge of the Middle East—not only its art and architecture but also its peoples, cultures, and history—gave him a magisterial perspective on possibilities for lecturers, projects, and thematic emphases for Center programs. As a teacher, he would mesmerize students with his flamboyant, exciting, and always substantive lectures. His remarkable charisma derived largely from his contagious enthusiasm for challenging intellectual problems and for the subject matter and questions he was addressing at any given time.
Grabar wrote over 20 books and more than 120 articles. He was primarily a medievalist, but his publications covered a wide range of subjects, including early Islamic architecture, the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian painting, and Islamic ornament. Among his best-known books are The Formation of Islamic Art (1973), The Illustrations of the Maqamat (1984), The Art and Architecture of Islam 650–1250 (co-authored with Richard Ettinghausen, 1987), and The Shape of the Holy: Early Islamic Jerusalem (1996).
Grabar’s seminal work, The Formation of Islamic Art, is perhaps the masterpiece among his innumerable publications and remains a classic. This sophisticated and inspired work grew from his early studies on the origins of Islamic art. In one obituary, it was judged “more a work of cultural than art history,” springing as it does “from a deeper familiarity with the thought-world of early medieval Islam than any of today’s Islamic art historians possess,” and revealing that he was “more interested in ideas and context than in the close-focus study of surface detail or indeed the objects themselves as works of art.” Grabar prided himself precisely on this methodological approach. He succinctly distinguished his approach from that of Professor Ettinghausen—the other contemporary luminary in the field, whom he admired and collaborated with in the preparation of their highly influential survey of Islamic art and architecture—in the advice he gave to one prospective graduate student: “If you wish to start with ideas and then choose relevant objects, come here to Harvard; but you should go to the Institute of Fine Arts if you prefer to move from objects to ideas.”
The global reach of Grabar’s scholarly achievements had an impact not only on his own field but far beyond as well. He had a very special talent for making Islamic art and architecture seductive to non-specialists, thereby vastly broadening the recognition of the field. He boldly posed sweeping questions about the nature, meaning, and dynamics of Islamic art at a time when very little was known about this subject. In addition to cultivating world-class advanced scholarship and research in the field of Islamic art, he asked questions that often challenged Euro-American perspectives more generally.
Grabar’s creative approaches made the field appear wide open to hugely exciting questions of cultural and social history and aesthetics, captivating the minds of generations of scholars and amateurs alike. His mental agility and nondogmatic flexibility made him an extraordinarily inspiring mentor. He would encourage graduate students to work on entirely unexplored subjects because he was deeply concerned about shaping the parameters of a field whose rapid expansion both pleased and worried him.
Grabar literally trained scores of students, many of whom went on to become leading scholars, educators, and curators around the world, particularly in the United States. He brought passion and vision to his work, and his expansive personality, generosity of spirit, collegiality, conviviality, and humor were truly infectious. Grabar’s resounding impact on expanding the scope of the Islamic field far beyond its former spatial and temporal limits will be his lasting legacy.
Oleg Grabar is greatly missed and the field will not be the same without him.
Respectfully submitted,
William Graham
Thomas Lentz
David Roxburgh
Gülru Necipoğlu, Chair
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2 ... cebook.com
Oleg Grabar’s seminal work, "The Formation of Islamic Art," is perhaps the masterpiece among his innumerable publications and remains a classic. This sophisticated and inspired work grew from his early studies on the origins of Islamic art.
The Islamic art and architecture community mourned the loss of one of the field’s most influential and insightful scholars. Oleg Grabar, professor emeritus of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, and Aga Khan Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University, passed away at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 8, 2011, at the age of eighty-one. Professor Grabar, who taught in the Harvard Department of Fine Arts (now History of Art and Architecture) for twenty-one years (1969–1990), was instrumental in founding Harvard’s Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. There are few, if any, Islamicists who have not profited from the scholarly contributions of this extraordinary man, who was larger-than-life. He was the first Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Art at Harvard (1980–1990), and subsequently joined the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where he remained active in research and publication until his second retirement in 1998, and over the following thirteen years as well. Grabar’s continuing post-retirement intellectual productivity and capacity to inspire were officially recognized when he received the Chairman’s Award from the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in Doha in 2010.
Oleg Grabar was born in Strasbourg, France, in 1929. As the son of André Grabar, the eminent historian of Byzantine art, he was raised almost from the cradle to be an art historian. Thanks to that upbringing, he harbored a special fascination with the Byzantine and late antique heritage of the Mediterranean world. This fascination extended to his explorations of early Islamic art at the beginning of his career, with seventh- to eighth-century Umayyad architecture forming the core of his scholarship, even when it broadened later on to embrace a much wider spectrum.
Grabar’s early education in France was followed by an A.B. magna cum laude in Medieval History from Harvard University in 1950. He continued his higher education at Princeton University, where he began to develop a passion for Islamic art, obtaining his M.A. (1953) and Ph.D. (1955) in Oriental Languages and Literatures and the History of Art.
In 1969, Grabar joined the Harvard faculty as Professor of Fine Arts and was the first ever to teach Islamic art at the University. Always generous to students and colleagues, he was also a thoughtful faculty member of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. His wide-ranging and substantial knowledge of the Middle East—not only its art and architecture but also its peoples, cultures, and history—gave him a magisterial perspective on possibilities for lecturers, projects, and thematic emphases for Center programs. As a teacher, he would mesmerize students with his flamboyant, exciting, and always substantive lectures. His remarkable charisma derived largely from his contagious enthusiasm for challenging intellectual problems and for the subject matter and questions he was addressing at any given time.
Grabar wrote over 20 books and more than 120 articles. He was primarily a medievalist, but his publications covered a wide range of subjects, including early Islamic architecture, the architecture of Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Arabic and Persian painting, and Islamic ornament. Among his best-known books are The Formation of Islamic Art (1973), The Illustrations of the Maqamat (1984), The Art and Architecture of Islam 650–1250 (co-authored with Richard Ettinghausen, 1987), and The Shape of the Holy: Early Islamic Jerusalem (1996).
Grabar’s seminal work, The Formation of Islamic Art, is perhaps the masterpiece among his innumerable publications and remains a classic. This sophisticated and inspired work grew from his early studies on the origins of Islamic art. In one obituary, it was judged “more a work of cultural than art history,” springing as it does “from a deeper familiarity with the thought-world of early medieval Islam than any of today’s Islamic art historians possess,” and revealing that he was “more interested in ideas and context than in the close-focus study of surface detail or indeed the objects themselves as works of art.” Grabar prided himself precisely on this methodological approach. He succinctly distinguished his approach from that of Professor Ettinghausen—the other contemporary luminary in the field, whom he admired and collaborated with in the preparation of their highly influential survey of Islamic art and architecture—in the advice he gave to one prospective graduate student: “If you wish to start with ideas and then choose relevant objects, come here to Harvard; but you should go to the Institute of Fine Arts if you prefer to move from objects to ideas.”
The global reach of Grabar’s scholarly achievements had an impact not only on his own field but far beyond as well. He had a very special talent for making Islamic art and architecture seductive to non-specialists, thereby vastly broadening the recognition of the field. He boldly posed sweeping questions about the nature, meaning, and dynamics of Islamic art at a time when very little was known about this subject. In addition to cultivating world-class advanced scholarship and research in the field of Islamic art, he asked questions that often challenged Euro-American perspectives more generally.
Grabar’s creative approaches made the field appear wide open to hugely exciting questions of cultural and social history and aesthetics, captivating the minds of generations of scholars and amateurs alike. His mental agility and nondogmatic flexibility made him an extraordinarily inspiring mentor. He would encourage graduate students to work on entirely unexplored subjects because he was deeply concerned about shaping the parameters of a field whose rapid expansion both pleased and worried him.
Grabar literally trained scores of students, many of whom went on to become leading scholars, educators, and curators around the world, particularly in the United States. He brought passion and vision to his work, and his expansive personality, generosity of spirit, collegiality, conviviality, and humor were truly infectious. Grabar’s resounding impact on expanding the scope of the Islamic field far beyond its former spatial and temporal limits will be his lasting legacy.
Oleg Grabar is greatly missed and the field will not be the same without him.
Respectfully submitted,
William Graham
Thomas Lentz
David Roxburgh
Gülru Necipoğlu, Chair
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2 ... cebook.com
Network of African Architecture Schools Launched at Aga Khan Award for Architecture Conference
A network of African architecture schools was launched last week in Accra, Ghana, at a conference organized by ArchiAfrika in collaboration with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
"The ArchiAfrika Educational Network aims at developing excellence among the next generation professionals in the African built environment. The parties agreed that strategies to address the challenges in the African built environment should be developed from within the continent, in a cross disciplinary and cross cultural dialogue, including the excelling contemporary architects of Africa in the activities."
Through its web platform, ArchiAfrika has been actively promoting contemporary African architecture, and the formation of the network is another step forward in the growth of dialogue about architecture and urban development in Africa.
For more information, see ArchiAfrika's press release.
Image: Participants to the ArchiAfrika Educational Network Conference held on June 3rd, 2012, in Accra, Ghana. Courtesy of ArchiAfrika.
Contributed by ArchNet Administrator
https://archnet.org/news/view.jsp?news_id=22144
A network of African architecture schools was launched last week in Accra, Ghana, at a conference organized by ArchiAfrika in collaboration with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
"The ArchiAfrika Educational Network aims at developing excellence among the next generation professionals in the African built environment. The parties agreed that strategies to address the challenges in the African built environment should be developed from within the continent, in a cross disciplinary and cross cultural dialogue, including the excelling contemporary architects of Africa in the activities."
Through its web platform, ArchiAfrika has been actively promoting contemporary African architecture, and the formation of the network is another step forward in the growth of dialogue about architecture and urban development in Africa.
For more information, see ArchiAfrika's press release.
Image: Participants to the ArchiAfrika Educational Network Conference held on June 3rd, 2012, in Accra, Ghana. Courtesy of ArchiAfrika.
Contributed by ArchNet Administrator
https://archnet.org/news/view.jsp?news_id=22144
Re-Branding Islamic Architecture?
In the last 50 years, architecture in the Islamic World has become both a branding instrument and a visual marker of the cultural shift in Islamic identity. Nasser Rabbat, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the re-emergence of Islamic architecture and the controversy surrounding its definition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cg3JSif ... e=youtu.be
In the last 50 years, architecture in the Islamic World has become both a branding instrument and a visual marker of the cultural shift in Islamic identity. Nasser Rabbat, Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the re-emergence of Islamic architecture and the controversy surrounding its definition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cg3JSif ... e=youtu.be
Sustaining Tradition or Embracing Change?
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlHJ7igZEYw
Published on Feb 27, 2017
Paulina Banas
Sustaining Tradition or Embracing Change? Prisse d’Avennes and the Strategies of Visualizing Islamic Architecture of Cairo in French Books (1860-80)"
2016-2017 Harvard AKPIA Associate
2/23/2017 Lecture
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlHJ7igZEYw
Published on Feb 27, 2017
Paulina Banas
Sustaining Tradition or Embracing Change? Prisse d’Avennes and the Strategies of Visualizing Islamic Architecture of Cairo in French Books (1860-80)"
2016-2017 Harvard AKPIA Associate
2/23/2017 Lecture
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University
"The Madrasa in Iran and Baghdad under the Saljuqs"
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGi4KE_65PI
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Published on Apr 11, 2017
Maryam Kamali
"The Madrasa in Iran and Baghdad under the Saljuqs "
Harvard AKPIA Associate
4/6/2017 Lecture
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGi4KE_65PI
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
Published on Apr 11, 2017
Maryam Kamali
"The Madrasa in Iran and Baghdad under the Saljuqs "
Harvard AKPIA Associate
4/6/2017 Lecture
Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Come for an overview of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and its history, as well as alternative ways to evaluate the social impact of architectural projects and the symbolic dimensions of the most recent award recipients.
The panel will give insight into the jury process, award criteria, and why this cycle’s projects were recognized. They will also highlight those features of the recognized projects that the jury found the most effective in fulfilling the Award’s vision.
More...
https://www.architects.org/programs-and ... chitecture
Come for an overview of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and its history, as well as alternative ways to evaluate the social impact of architectural projects and the symbolic dimensions of the most recent award recipients.
The panel will give insight into the jury process, award criteria, and why this cycle’s projects were recognized. They will also highlight those features of the recognized projects that the jury found the most effective in fulfilling the Award’s vision.
More...
https://www.architects.org/programs-and ... chitecture
Malaysia Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gooB-PyygEg
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Malaysia Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gooB-PyygEg
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Malaysia Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony, India
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPrPFC9eJJE
27.11.2004 - Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony, Humayun Tomb, India
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPrPFC9eJJE
27.11.2004 - Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony, Humayun Tomb, India
Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIH7Fl7ao08
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Jerusalem. Award recipient: Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIH7Fl7ao08
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Jerusalem. Award recipient: Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme.
Primary School, Burkina Faso
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDiTnlkdYCE
2004 - Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Primary School, Burkina Faso.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDiTnlkdYCE
2004 - Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Primary School, Burkina Faso.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture Jury 2004 Deliberations
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsrgaPIhC9I
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsrgaPIhC9I
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture - Profiles of project winners
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5QoUl2_oR8
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5QoUl2_oR8
Sandbag Shelters, Iran
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M82SDzvyhk
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Sandbag Shelters, Iran.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M82SDzvyhk
2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Award recipient: Sandbag Shelters, Iran.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture Exhibition and Gallery Talk at Kennesaw State University in Georgia
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkcR295rS4I
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkcR295rS4I
Farrokh Derakhshani: The Aga Khan Award for Architecture and its global impact
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbQSysZhTs0
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbQSysZhTs0
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar (Part 1)
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar consists of three videos that, together, represent one of the last recordings made with the scholar, who received the Chairman's Award of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010 in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the field of Islamic art and architecture. In the videos, he talks with three of his former students: Renata Holod, Glenn Lowry and Mohammad al-Asad. The discussion is moderated by Farrokh Derakhshani, Director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbs_dEEmlzA
*******
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar (Part 2)
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJn9R9OGgds
*******
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar (Part 3)
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Jn0vRPvQI
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar consists of three videos that, together, represent one of the last recordings made with the scholar, who received the Chairman's Award of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010 in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the field of Islamic art and architecture. In the videos, he talks with three of his former students: Renata Holod, Glenn Lowry and Mohammad al-Asad. The discussion is moderated by Farrokh Derakhshani, Director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbs_dEEmlzA
*******
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar (Part 2)
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJn9R9OGgds
*******
In Conversation with Oleg Grabar (Part 3)
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Jn0vRPvQI
Fortieth anniversary of the first awards of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Posted by Nimira Dewji
Mawlana Hazar Imam presented the first awards of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture on October 23, 1980 at the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan.
AKAA Aga Khan award architecture
Mawlana Hazar Imam presents the Aga Khan Award for Architecture to representatives of the Kampung Improvement Programme based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: AKDN / Christopher Little
AKAA Aga Khan award architecture
Ranjit Sabikhi (left) Indian architect and Ramesh Khosla (right), Canadian designer, posing with Mawlana Hazar Imam after receiving the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for their design of the Sheraton Mughal Hotel at Agra, India. Photo: AKDN / Christopher Little
Established in 1977 by Mawlana Hazar Imam, the Award is presented every three years, governed by a steering committee chaired by Hazar Imam. A new committee is formed for each cycle that determines the eligibility criteria for project submissions, provides thematic direction in response to emerging priorities and issues, and develops plans for the future of the Award. The steering committee is responsible for the appointment of an independent master jury for each cycle, and for the Award’s programme of international seminars, lectures, exhibitions, and publications. The master jury selects the projects that will receive the Award (AKDN).
aga khan award architecture logo
Designed by Karl Schlamminger, the logo of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture comprises the word ‘Allah’ repeated 8 times in square Kufic script. Source: (Ilm magazine, Vol 6 No 3)
“Within life’s span, there are days of special happiness, days of pride and days of humility. This is such a day for me. It represents the culmination of a vigorous effort, hope, and deep conviction that a significant change can be achieved in the environment in which Muslims live….
First, let me recall that it was here in Pakistan that the idea of this Award was made public, some four years ago. It is in part for this reason that the first recipients of the Award are gathered here to be recognised for their achievements. It is also in Pakistan that this event takes place because, located roughly in the geographical centre of Islam, Pakistan possesses some of the wonders of classical Islamic architecture, like the gardens which surrounds us, some of the most genuine vernacular tradition….
In the contemporary world, the Awards have recognised that other part, perhaps now much more important than in the past, the part of the common man creating for himself and his neighbours a setting for life and for health, preserving and utilising what nature has created, developing ways to maintain his identity rather than accepting the elephantine massiveness of so much of today’s world…
It is the expression of that social concern for thousands of separate communities within the whole Ummah which is so uniquely a central part of the Muslim message. We have recognised an architecture for men, women, and children, not yet an architecture for history books and tourists. Through architecture we are recognising the quality of life within the Muslim world today. And, by recognising a housing project developed by a whole community or a medical centre, we are preserving for all times the memory of this quality of life.
… The issue is: what architecture are we recognising? Is it the planning and design of master architects? Is it the architecture of the craftsmen, artisans, and specialists of all sorts who put a building together? Is it the architecture of users? Is it the architecture of certain lands with their peculiar physical characteristics? Is it the architecture of a faith which transcends national, geographic, social, or technological limits?…
The implication is that we are recognising as unique a creative and generative process in which the imagination of one architect or the expectation of Muslim patrons and users interact constantly. Within this continuum no single moment or decision can be isolated like the element of a chemical compound, because its creative life itself, it is the elusive process of human existence which is the winner, not merely a monument.
…the Award process itself is designed to be one of the means for this collective search. A partial failure can be as important as a unique success. It is in this spirit of common search for solutions to thousands of problems that these Awards will play their part. It is a spirit which is well proclaimed in the Muslim message, for the intention of man (the niyah) is a fundamental part of his action…
From the travails and labours of thousands, humble masons or expensive experts, there have emerged those works made by us and for us which we can present as being, all together, as an aggregate, as a group, the statement of our hopes and of our expectations as much as of our achievements…
Let me close, therefore, by reminding you of Attar’s great poem, the Conference of the Birds, Mantiqat at-Tayr. The birds, you will recall, in huge quantities went in search of the Simurgh, the ideal and perfect king. After my tribulations, thirty of them do reach the end of the journey and come to the gate of the Supreme Majesty. The Chamberlain tests them and then opens the door and they sit on the masnad, the seat of the Majesty and Glory. And, as an inner glow came into them, they realised that it is they together who were the Simurgh and that the Simurgh was the thirty birds…. Is this not what these Awards mean?….”
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Lahore, Pakistan, October 23, 1980
Speech
1978-1980 Cycle
Steering Committee
Master Jury
Award Recipients
Shalimar (“Abode of Love”) Gardens
Shalimar Gardens, Lahore. Photo: Famous Wonders
The Shalimar Gardens were commissioned by Prince Khurram in 1620, and further extended by him in 1634 after he succeeded his father to the Mughal throne as Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658). Originally the Gardens were known as the Bagh-i Faiz Bakhsh (“Besotwer of of Plenty”) and Bagh-i Farah Bakhsh (“Joy Imparting”), the the names of the gardens forming the Shalimar. Beginning in 1654, the gardens came to be referred to as Shalimar Bagh (Vaughan, Islam Art and Architecture p 478).
Sources:
Philippa Vaughan, “Architecture of the Great Mughals,” in Islam: Art and Architecture Edited by Markus Hattstein and Peter Delius, Konemann, 2000
Shalimar Gardens, Archnet
/nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/22/fortieth-anniversary-of-the-first-awards-of-the-aga-khan-award-for-architecture/
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1980: Helping solve the problems of individual survival
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND2amB87Wv8
“To many Westerners, the Taj Mahal in all its splendour typifies Islamic architecture. Yet the overwhelming majority of Muslims live on the very margin of human existence, far from such grandeur,” says Architecture and Community, a book that was published on the occasion of first ceremony of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, in Lahore, Pakistan, on the 23 of October 1980. Today, a film on that ceremony is being published, celebrating again the 15 recipients who merged “Islam's rich cultural heritage with modern technology to help solve the problems of individual survival in the contemporary world”. The recipients included:
Agricultural Training Centre, Nianing, Senegal
Ali Qapu, Chehl Sotoun & Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, Iran
Conservation of Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunis, Tunisia
Courtyard Houses, Agadir, Morocco
Ertegün House, Bodrum, Turkey
Halawa House, Agamy, Egypt
Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Centre, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Kampung Improvement Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia
Medical Centre, Mopti, Mali
Mughal Sheraton Hotel, Agra, India
National Museum, Doha, Qatar
Pondok Pesantren Pabelan, Muntilan, Indonesia
Rüstem Pasa Caravanserai, Edirne, Turkey
Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, Turkey
Water Towers, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND2amB87Wv8
“To many Westerners, the Taj Mahal in all its splendour typifies Islamic architecture. Yet the overwhelming majority of Muslims live on the very margin of human existence, far from such grandeur,” says Architecture and Community, a book that was published on the occasion of first ceremony of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, in Lahore, Pakistan, on the 23 of October 1980. Today, a film on that ceremony is being published, celebrating again the 15 recipients who merged “Islam's rich cultural heritage with modern technology to help solve the problems of individual survival in the contemporary world”. The recipients included:
Agricultural Training Centre, Nianing, Senegal
Ali Qapu, Chehl Sotoun & Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, Iran
Conservation of Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunis, Tunisia
Courtyard Houses, Agadir, Morocco
Ertegün House, Bodrum, Turkey
Halawa House, Agamy, Egypt
Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Centre, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Kampung Improvement Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia
Medical Centre, Mopti, Mali
Mughal Sheraton Hotel, Agra, India
National Museum, Doha, Qatar
Pondok Pesantren Pabelan, Muntilan, Indonesia
Rüstem Pasa Caravanserai, Edirne, Turkey
Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, Turkey
Water Towers, Kuwait City, Kuwait
His Highness The Aga Khan - National Building Museum
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBMy_AUjyjs
On Wednesday, January 26, 2005, the National Building Museum held a public program titled "Design in the Islamic World and Its Impact Beyond" as part of the fifth Vincent Scully Prize programming honoring His Highness the Aga Khan. Charles Correa, the internationally distinguished architect from Bombay, India and His Highness The Aga Khan participated in the program, and Robert Ivy, editor-in-chief of Architectural Record served as moderator.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBMy_AUjyjs
On Wednesday, January 26, 2005, the National Building Museum held a public program titled "Design in the Islamic World and Its Impact Beyond" as part of the fifth Vincent Scully Prize programming honoring His Highness the Aga Khan. Charles Correa, the internationally distinguished architect from Bombay, India and His Highness The Aga Khan participated in the program, and Robert Ivy, editor-in-chief of Architectural Record served as moderator.
BUILDING THE 15TH CENTURY: THE VOICE OF THE AGA KHAN
Listen to the audio recording of MHI's various statements about his vision for the architecture in the world at large.
https://digital.archives.unesco.org/en/ ... s=1&page=5
Listen to the audio recording of MHI's various statements about his vision for the architecture in the world at large.
https://digital.archives.unesco.org/en/ ... s=1&page=5
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture: Living Heritage
https://www.archdaily.com/965450/aga-kh ... inar-photo
REGISTER HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-aga-kh ... nkNewEmail
How revitalization of cultural heritage can be used to improve quality of life and act as a springboard for social development
About this event
The Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) and Aga Khan Council Northeast USA are proud to present:
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture: Living Heritage
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. The Award recognizes examples of architectural excellence in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, historic preservation, reuse, and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.
For architecture to maintain its relevance in relation to today’s challenges, it is imperative that the profession repositions itself in relation to today’s human, societal and environmental challenges. Living heritage is one of the three dominant themes that emerged and which define the winners of the 2017-2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Cycle.
"Living Heritage" is the fourth and final webinar in the Architecture in Dialogue series and will discuss how the revitalization of cultural heritage can be used to improve quality of life and act as a springboard for social development around the world.
Speakers:
Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, Director and CEO, Aga Khan Museum
Azra Akšamija, Associate Professor, MIT Architecture, Founder and Director, Future Heritage Lab at MIT, 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Winner
About Architecture in Dialogue:
Architecture in Dialogue is an exhibition highlighting the six winners and shortlisted works from the 2017-2019 cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The projects on display were selected from hundreds of entries and competed for prizes totaling $1 million. Now in its 14th cycle, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), a philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of the material and spiritual heritage of Muslim societies. Established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977, the triennial Award is regarded as one of the most important honors in the field and granted to projects—from slum upgrading to high rise “green” buildings—that not only celebrate architectural excellence but also improve the overall quality of life of their surrounding communities.
Series partners:
Boston Society for Architecture (BSA)
Aga Khan Council Northeast USA
With support from
Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA)
MIT Department of Architecture
View the virtual exhibition of 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture winners here.
View recordings of previous webinars in the Architecture in Dialogue series here.
REGISTER HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-aga-kh ... nkNewEmail
How revitalization of cultural heritage can be used to improve quality of life and act as a springboard for social development
About this event
The Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) and Aga Khan Council Northeast USA are proud to present:
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture: Living Heritage
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. The Award recognizes examples of architectural excellence in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, historic preservation, reuse, and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment.
For architecture to maintain its relevance in relation to today’s challenges, it is imperative that the profession repositions itself in relation to today’s human, societal and environmental challenges. Living heritage is one of the three dominant themes that emerged and which define the winners of the 2017-2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Cycle.
"Living Heritage" is the fourth and final webinar in the Architecture in Dialogue series and will discuss how the revitalization of cultural heritage can be used to improve quality of life and act as a springboard for social development around the world.
Speakers:
Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, Director and CEO, Aga Khan Museum
Azra Akšamija, Associate Professor, MIT Architecture, Founder and Director, Future Heritage Lab at MIT, 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Winner
About Architecture in Dialogue:
Architecture in Dialogue is an exhibition highlighting the six winners and shortlisted works from the 2017-2019 cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The projects on display were selected from hundreds of entries and competed for prizes totaling $1 million. Now in its 14th cycle, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is a program of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), a philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of the material and spiritual heritage of Muslim societies. Established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977, the triennial Award is regarded as one of the most important honors in the field and granted to projects—from slum upgrading to high rise “green” buildings—that not only celebrate architectural excellence but also improve the overall quality of life of their surrounding communities.
Series partners:
Boston Society for Architecture (BSA)
Aga Khan Council Northeast USA
With support from
Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA)
MIT Department of Architecture
View the virtual exhibition of 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture winners here.
View recordings of previous webinars in the Architecture in Dialogue series here.