Abu Dhabi: Two architecture undergraduate students have won recognition from the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award for a project that caught attention for its creative and innovative aspects.
The students received around $10,000 (Dh36,725) as part of the prize, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award announced in Abu Dhabi.
The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award aims to provide young artists with a platform from which to launch their career and to give them an experience of working on a live project intended to deliver public benefits with the support of industry professionals.
Salwa Al Khudairi and Nada Al Mulla, who are both studying Architecture at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), developed the winning project entitled Keswa, which means covering.
Out of five finalists, the Keswa project was selected for its creativity, originality and quality of production research.
“The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundations [Admaf] came to AUS around three months ago to introduce the award. I and Nada were interested to be part of it. It took around one month to design our project,” Salwa, 20, from Saudi Arabia, told Gulf News.
Asked about the inspiration for their project Keswa, Salwa answered: “There are several perceptions about women wearing abaya. For example, people might think from their external appearance that they are bland and don’t have their own characteristics; however, when they speak to them [those who wear abayas], the hidden characteristics start to reveal.
“Our project has a similar idea. The concept of a straight wall that curves in both corners to provide an enclosed area of seating in a public space was motivated by the idea that abayas are to women what fabric is to buildings. Keswa’s outside is rhythmic, while its inside reveals the hidden characteristics holding up the structure,” Salwa said.
Inspired by Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s interest in single-coloured, dynamic forms extending through a vast space and by the abaya worn by women in the Arab World, Keswa suggests a draped fabric that gives a shelter while standing within itself.
“We are passionate about design. We have worked together on similar projects; however, it is our first time to enter such competition,” Salwa and Nada told Gulf News.
“This has been an incredible opportunity for us to challenge our limits. Throughout the creative process, we faced difficulties that only served to bolster our determination. This is, hopefully, only the beginning of our journey,” Nada said.
The winning work will be unveiled at the New York University Abu Dhabi (Nyuad) campus in March 2015 during the Abu Dhabi Festival, and will later tour a number of locations throughout the UAE.
