Building in the spirit of Islam

Architecture students learn about the human touch in living spaces during a presentation on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture at the American University of Sharjah

Define architecture. Is it simply the art and science of building or the creation of spaces?

Or can the meaning be extended to include preservation of tradition, culture and values, with the simultaneous addressing of contemporary needs?

Alykhan Alidina, Executive Officer of the Ismaili Council of the Aga Khan, believes so.

Speaking at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) during a presentation on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA), Alidina explained how architecture can “protect the past and inspire the future”.

The AKAA is a 27-year-old award that seeks to preserve Islamic culture through architecture.

It is the world’s largest architectural award with prize money of $500,000 (Dh1,836,500) and is held once every three years.

“Eligibility for the award is not restricted by type, nature, location or cost, but it is mainly aimed at projects designed for or used by Muslim communities in part or whole, wherever they are located,” said Alidina.

Following a brief introduction and historical background about the AKAA, Alidina gave a visual overview of the seven winning projects of 2004, which ranged from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia to a primary school in Burkina Faso.

What makes the award unique is that it does not recognise buildings merely for their physical appearance, said Alidina.

It identifies projects that “reflect Islamic values, meet the needs of the society and are suitable for the climatic conditions of the area,” he said.

In other words, the projects are “modern in nature and still inspired by Islam,” he added.

Seven projects
Alidina explained how each of the seven winning projects fits these criteria.

The primary school in Burkina Faso, for example, is built by a villager who went to Berlin to study architecture, and came back to build the first school in his village.

Alidina noted that this reflected the Islamic principle about education in practice, whereby one who is privileged enough to get education is obliged to make it available to others.

This, he explained, was an example of “building in the spirit of Islam”.

The presentation generated both appreciation and criticism from the audience.

Basic concerns raised among the audience were whether the values underlying the architectural projects are inherently Islamic or simply universal.

Dr Samia Rab, Associate Professor of Architecture and Heritage Management at AUS, said the AKAA recognises the kind of architecture that has an impact on Muslim societies, hence the emphasis on Islamic values.

How will the lecture benefit students?

Dr Rab, an alumni of the Aga Khan Programme for Islamic Architecture at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said she wanted to introduce students to that programme.

“Now that they are nearing the completion of the undergraduate degree, if they aspire to go for Western education, they have a resource,” she said.

It is also important that students are made aware of the AKAA, she added.

“Many of them will be practising architects, so they need to know that there is a prestigious, award programme out there that is earmarking Muslim communities. So they can now start designing architecture that is humane and eligible for this award.”

Speaking to Notes, Alidina said, “We’re trying to inspire a new generation of thinkers. When these people go out and build, what will motivate them? What will inspire them? That’s the question the award is asking. Will they think about the impact on society, materials and the suitability of climate? Will they look at culture and say ‘how can we preserve our traditions’? We need to rethink how we build, what we build, and why we build.”

It is amazing
A rethink is exactly what Talal Al Ansari is having.

“For me architecture used to be creating spaces … like you need a house so you’ll have a couple of rooms … basically in those terms. But now I will be looking into spiritual values,” he said.

A final year architecture student, he added, “For us as young architects, the idea of the award is really amazing. Somehow it encourages us to think that in future we should do something that can help people and serve the community.”

On the other hand, Ameenah Ahmadi, also a senior architecture student, said, “Not for me,” when asked if the presentation had changed her perception of architecture.

“I know architecture is not just about building, rather it’s about community,” she said. “But it is interesting to have such discussions.”

May Barber, another student, said she enjoyed the lecture and the debate, because it wasn’t just about pure architecture in terms of form and space.

“It was a different approach, about architecture serving the community. I really hope we can have more of these discussions.”

Alidina said he had never seen the kind of audience participation that he experienced at AUS.

“I’ve presented elsewhere and it’s usually complimentary but it is great to have criticism.”

The presentation was part of a series organised by the Ismaili Council.

Other venues for the lecture include Zayed University, Dubai University College, UAE University and the Ajman University of Science and Technology.

For more information on the AKAA, visit www.AKDN.org.

The writer is a mass communications student and editor of the university newspaper at the American University of Sharjah