Random Note (RN) 01

I look you in the eyes... and with all the uncertainties... with all the impossibilities... i say... leave me be.

The question

It will haunt you day and night... till its intolerable... and its pain unbearable.
And still it shall remain unanswered...

What if...

Remember

Walk the streets… wait helplessly to cross… and remember me.

Drink the water… enjoy the meals… and remember me.

Speak the language… and when you fail… remember me.

Let the loud horns drive you crazy… and the polluted air paralyze you… and remember me.

Spend hours in traffic… go brand shopping in the mall… end your day in the same café… and remember me.

Look with disgust at the tainted dirty buildings… and the donkey carts…

Feel overwhelmed by the smiling faces… and the scarcity of trees…

And remember me.

At every corner… every shop… every sidewalk…

And with every special place… or memory… stop… and remember me.

May every second you spend… every breath you take… every scene… every person you look in the eyes… may every step you walk… every word you say… and every feeling… remind you of me... and how wrong you were.

Remember me… and suffer…

Over and over again…

Remember me…

And suffer.

written: 28.04.2011

Another Photo series from Dubai

A wonderful photograph series taken from a helicopter portraying Dubai's interrupted development here by Thomas Kalak

and another post i came across, the charter of dubai by SMAQ here, a manifesto of urban readjustment for dubai's halted development.

via deconcrete.org

How Do I Love Thee?

How Do I Love Thee?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death

AASTMT Design Review & Exh.

Last week we had our final studio projects evaluation and exhibition at the aast in cairo. Our design studio this semester focused on notion of space, and spatial qualities. Students were required to start designing their projetcs from the inside first, focusing on 4 themes, light, color, scale, and texture. More information here.
Most students were able to grasp the power of these qualities in creating specific atmospheres and were successsful in conveying statements such as grandness, seclusion, diversity... etc. Here are some selected images of the finished projects.

Projects by:
Amr Al Awady
Heba Bayoumi
John Mourad
Saeed A. Moneim
Salma Sabry
Shady Mohamed
Hasan Ashraf



The followwing day the department hosted the semester design studio review and exhibition. An underground memorial in tahrir square, a community center in downtown helipolis, a municipality office building, an auto mall, along our forum building, portrayed the diversity of projects undertaken by different studios, with the multitude of themes they addressed such as context, structure, materiality, sustainability, and space. While a common thread of rationale seemed to be passing through all the projects (see my previous notes on the AUC exhibition here), I was concerned with several issues regarding the processes by which the projects have been achieved. It was clear there was a general lack of diverse opinions within the studio critiques. The one-way discussions that occur inside the studios, are apparently not enough to generate students with critical thinking skills, and who are able to disscuss and question their and others work. This is a very common pedagogical issue in the way egyptian architecture schools are being run, dominated by a clearly outdated tradition of teaching. But that is another story.

Merryland Park, Heliopolis

CairObserver

Shame

If you only knew how many times i wrote to you...
If you only knew how many words...

you would feel ashamed treating me the way you do...

AUC AA end of year exhibition

Last week i had the opportunity to visit the end of year exhibition hosted by the architecture department at the American University in Cairo. The dept. has been running for 6 years now with its first students graduating this year. For an architecture program it is a very young program, yet it has been gaining good reputation for the quality of its education and student product.

The exhibition seemed very well organized (which is one of the strong advantages of the AUC culture) yet it came very short on creating a positive impression. While most of the projects touched upon local and contextual issues, i was deeply disappointed with the exhibition, not only for the mediocrity of the projects or the lack of creative insights, but also for the lack of a general clear agenda that defines the outcome of the department. As in almost all schools of architecture in egypt, the AUC AA is clearly following an outdated model of architectural education, producing "a little bit of everything". Just another lot in the bunch.

Perhaps it is too early to expect a clear vision for a coherent program, but if the department genuinely wants to provide its students with provocative, intellectual, up to date and high-end education instead of only making use of their outstanding PR skills, then rethinking, evaluating, and enhancing their program is better done now than later.

Star Wars in Dubai

A wonderful photograph series that blends sci-fi and architecture discussing the  fantastical image of dubai and other places around the world.

The Dark Lens_Cedric Delsaux


More about Dubai from my recent visit soon...

Yugoslavian monuments

25 monuments around former yugoslavia

Yugoslavian monuments

Gerontocracy

Interesting post on the dominance of old architects
via archialternative

gerontocracy

Forum for the Future

A forum space for free speech, discussions and activities. A future vision for democracy in egypt.

In such revolutionary moments in history, similar to the one egypt amd the whole middle east is going through, can architects act as provisioners and/or catalysts of such transformations?
Our studio this semeter at the aastmt discusses the possibilties and challenges of post-revoluionary egypt, and the role of architects in redifining political spaces. Unlike our previous semester (which was concerned with environmental issues check it here) this semester's design unit focuses on space, spatial experience and spatial qualities. This is applied through designing a future forum space for all types of interaction, discussions, events... etc. The main focus will be on 4 major spatial themes, color, texture, light, and scale as tools of defining space and experience.

The initial assignment to students was to research and analyze spatial experiences of similar congregation spaces for masses from futuristic or sci-fi visions in cinema, literature, or computer games. The diversity and creatvity resulting from this research assignment proved essential for the developing of the individual visions of each student. Examples included avatar, star wars, harry potter books, wall-e, tron computer game and others.
More about the development of the studio work as work progresses.

The galactic senate (Star Wars)

You still ask...

And you still ask...
And you still wonder...
And you still can't see...

That your question was answered
And that the answer had gone rotten

But you still ask...
over and over again...
no matter what... you still ask

And the Winner is...

Eduardo Suoto De Moura has recieved the 2011 Pritzker Prize of Architecture. The video is an interview discussing his M9 competition proposal in Mestre, Italy.

Interesting readings about De Moura here :

 More information
Key Projects
More Key Projects
Interview for D'Architettura magazine

Slipknot - Snuff

سكرانــــــــة

سكرانــــــــة

من كام شهر
خدت قرار مش هاكتب شعر
وإني هذاكر وانجح أفلح
واخد البكاليريوس وأتجوز
وأشتري عفشتي بالتقسيط
من كام شهر
أنا كنت عبيط
من كام شهر
زرعت المياه وطرحت فجلة
جاب العجل الفجلة لعجلة
وقالها مهرك
ريحة قهرك
فايحة في نهرك
قالت إوعا تعيش كسلان
بابا نويل بيوزع يويو في حرب إيران
شامم ريحة جبنة قديمة
فيلم السهرة مكنش سياسي
كان عباسي
عبدالناصر حب يقلب فينا الروس
ساوى الروس
لبرل نفسك
لأجل ما تبقى مثقف زي صاحبنا إياه
عندك ماركس عندك هيجل
عندك حسن البنا وحجي
عندك زحمة
صفي ونجي
منحى عرض النسكافيه واخد إفيه
حاصل ضرب النكسة في حرب أكتوبر في معاهدة ديفد
بيساوي حاصل ضرب النار في التار في العار
وزي إمرؤ القيس وجلامدة
اللي بتنزل من علي
عندينا واد اسمه علي
بيطلع الدبابة ويلف بيها في البلد
ومراته دايرة بشعرها تدور عليه
ومتسألوش أنا قصدي إيه
أنا نفسي مش فاهم كلامي
بس الكلام واعر حويط
أنا اللي دون الناس ... عبيط
من كام شهر وكنت بحبك
كنت بوضب روحي واحبك لأجل ما أقابلك
كنت في كل حلاتك قابلك
تفرحي قابلك
تزعلي قابلك
تتقلي قابلك
كنتي الأرض وكنت سنابلك
كنتي الحرب وكنت قنابلك
حتي في بعدك وإنتي مسافرة
وبيني وبينك ألف محطة
كنت بقابلك
عمري يا نانا ما قلبي اتنازل ولا ساب حقة
زي ما سابلك
عمره ما ضحى بسهده وسهره وجاب من عمري
زي ما جابلك
هذا الوجع بقاياكي
سحر تمدد بين ضلعي
وتواري خلف سلم منزلك
ترك لكي رسالة كل صباح
وسافر
يشهد عليكي السلم المستني خطوتنا
تشهد عليكي الشبابيك اللي فتحتيها علشاني في نص الليل
وعز البرد
يشهد عليكي محل الهدايا اللي ع الناصية
وكشك الورد
تشهدعليكي هدومك اللي قولتلك ما تلبسهاش
تشهد عليكي إمتحاناتي اللي علشانك مدخلتهاش
تشهد عليكي ودني هوستن جورج مايكل
عم شوقي بتاع الفطير
كيف يصير الحال كده
م الإبتدا
أنا اللي غلطانلك
وأنا اللي محقوقلك
وأنا اللي دون الناس
عشقتك
كنت عايش جوه صدرك حلم دافي
كنت بنسى الناس وأجيلك يوم معادك
يكش حافي
كنت أبسط من بسيط
واكتشفت إني ف هواكي
كنت دون الناس
عبيط

هشام الجخ

You...

I’ve finished them all… over you… the letters… the words… the screams… the tears… the sleepless nights… the torturing thoughts… the blinding memories… I can no longer smell the scents of flowers, see the beauty in sunrises… I can no longer smile back at a baby… I can no longer feel cold or pain… or the warmth of the sun on my skin… I’ve finished all the truths in my life… over you… all the genuine happiness…all the disturbing confusions.

and all my choices were you.

written : 26.02.2011

The Egyptian Revolution 02 : On Streets, Sidewalks, and Gangs

On Friday the 28^th of January, at approximately 6pm, and with the complete failure of police and security forces to control and contain the protests all over Egypt, there was a complete and total withdrawal of all police forces all over the country, followed by assurances that the army is now taking over security. What happened in the hours between both was the first real assurance that the system is failing. Prisoners fled their prisons, guns were taken from police stations, and with the complete cut in phone services, Egyptians all over the country lived the most disturbing night in their modern history. As complaints on state TV came from residents being robbed, attacked, and killed all over the country, there was nothing to do but to defend yourself with whatever weapons you had. Men and teenagers filled their streets holding sticks, knives or whatever they had at home to defend their neighborhoods themselves. Doctors, engineers, students, businessmen, and many others suddenly dropped their professions and became temporary police officers. Barricades and checkpoints were made at entry points, groups with different tasks were formed, and danger signals were agreed upon as they all stayed up all night securing their families and homes.

In the modern individualized society Debord discusses the status of detachment of individual experiences through the ‘spectacle’ from the reality of life. As I took to the streets on Friday night, I suddenly realized that we had been living in our own individual cocoons for our whole lives without any sense of communal network of ties. I did not know any of my neighbors, I did not know any of their families, yet suddenly I had to defend them as if they were my own. I could not help but think how lucky I was to live in a densely populated neighborhood, and wonder how those living in the suburbs were dealing with their problems. Now, Jane Jacobs with all her writings about street security was all I could think about. Her call for a continuous supply of activities and eyes on the street as a major constituent for security and safety in a neighborhood was very relevant. Her call for reviving sidewalks for casual public contact at local level that creates public identity of people and a resource in time of personal or neighborhood need was a reality that I was living. The way we had planned and built our impersonal city streets had truly created anonymous people.

During the following nights, I had already become friends with some of my neighbors, with whom I had shared my security duty. With the feeling that calmness had returned to the streets, and the army had captured some of the criminals, we all started to be less uptight and more casual. Groups of neighbors started to use their time all night on the street in some type of activity. On the recreational side they were playing cards, watching movies via projectors, or even street football tournaments. While on the services side they were cleaning the streets or moving garbage that had piled up because of the halt in public services. The scene turned into an all-night festival. While days ago these people would only pass as familiar faces from the neighborhood, the revolution had truly changed something in our lives. It had revived our dead neighborhoods, our dull sidewalks and our segregated communities. Most importantly, it revived our local social life. We were no more individuals, we were no more anonymous, we were now united in a peaceful gang and our streets were our turf. Togetherness was not only in Tahrir square, it was in every city, in every neighborhood, and in every street. Even those in the suburbs, realized that they could not live as individuals anymore. And like the image of our regime, the image of our suburban extensions was broken by its own mistakes.

Pritzker Architecture Prize

With the Pritzker Prize for architecture coming up soon, there are several candidates for recieving it this year. Closest candidates include Steven Holl, Charles Correa, Toyo Ito, and David Chipperfield.

The Egyptian Revolution 01: On Battlegrounds and Utopias

I will not talk much about the politics of the recent Egyptian revolution, but I will document a number of architectural notes that I made during the past 18 days.

One cannot avoid discussing the place where all these events took place. Tahrir, liberation, or even now called martyrs, square has been the focus of the whole world for the last 18 days (for a complete review of the square check this post by Ahmed Zaazaa http://cairomsc.blogspot.com/2009/11/el-tahrir-square-multi-layered-history.html ). Whether it was in the foreground or the background of these events, it remains a crucial element in the equation of defining the results.

-          “when we took tahrir square 2 days ago, we did not…

-          “I’m sorry, you ‘took’?”

-          “yes… we ‘took’  tahrir square… we control it… we own it”

The words from this tv interview with one of the protestors made me wonder about the importance of controlling this space in the process of protesting. Since the 25^th of January, there was a continuous battle to control it. And with the famous 'camel charge', suddenly tahrir square became the battleground, and both parties symbolized their control of the country in the control of an urban space. Tahrir square had exceeded its reputation as just the downtown center for major political protests into a completely new identity. Perhaps because of the vital institutions overlooking the square, it now became the negotitated-upon instead of the negotiated-from.

But tahrir square did not stop there. As days passed by, the symbol became stronger and stronger, and with the need to organize and manage the protests tahrir square became the message itself. Committees for cleanliness, security, medical aid, media… among others took on the challenge and turned tahrir square into a small republic of its own. When the VP told ABC that Egyptians were not ready for democracy, tahrir square was the response. And while the most common comment about the square during the protests was “it is exactly the Egypt we dream of having”, I did not believe it till I visited. It was young, fresh, creative, organized, safe, and most importantly democratic and liberated. Protestors turned tahrir square to a more meaningful entity than just a symbol. They turned it into a dream. Everybody wanted to be part of that dream, everybody wanted a role. And when a dream turns to reality, it was useless to fight, the battle was already won, and sooner or later Egyptians would have their utopia.

A great map of Tahrir http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12434787

Tonight

sirens wail
screams and chants echo
piercing the silence
metal clashing
blood stains the ground
the walls
courage and fear blend
sacrifice and victory
tonight we rise
with flowers and smiles
unbroken
tonight we rise
united
to change it all


11.02.2011

Kept Promises

I told you so...
once...
when i believed in you...

I told you it would come...
this day...
when i thought you would be here...
when you assured me you would...

I kept my promise...
You lied.

Battles

Like fire and air... you consume me.
Like waves and sand... you keep me.
Like leaves in the wind... you engulf me.
Together into our final battle...

With the dancing candelight in your eyes... the gentle touch of your hand... the warmth of your breath...
With the raised eyebrows... and your glowing smile... I surrender... to your love
Every night you win...

But tomorrow is a new day.

On truth

What if truth had no significance?

Would you still lie to me?
And... would i still believe you?

Would you know, then, how much i hate you?

Monstrous architecture

As much as i would like to say that this image is extracted from a horror movie, or does not exist in our beloved Cairo, or even that its a non-recurring image... i cannot. If architecture is a physical representation of society as a whole, i believe this image says it all. A highly individualistic, selfish object that is only based on one single statement... "I AM DIFFERENT".

With the unprecedented amount of suburban villa-type houses, there has been a parallel denial of sameness, and a continuously growing demand for 'the new' or 'the different'. But what really happens when this demand for innovation exceeds the logical speed of theoretical and scientific innovation? This surreal villa is fueled not by inspiration from nature, dali's painting, gaudi's architecture, or even by the latest horror movie, but instead by conscious decisions to contrast with its natural and built context, to act as a powerful visual icon for its neighborhood differentiating itself, and to portray a clear statement of uniquness, power and prestige to its owner. As we get more immersed in our individuality, we loose all that connects us with the real world around us, and we are only able to see and live in fantasies. The architect becomes the maker of dreams.

And where does this leave us?

We are yet continuously forced to deal with a world that thinks and acts that way. We are continuously forced to follow the latest trends, fashion...etc. The flux is too fast that we cannot possibly catch up. And when we are forced to have premature responses... there's a great possibility that they will be disfigured.

I wonder if any one will actually buy it, and for how much.

photo credits : Karim Shokry