Department of Architecture & Design

Overview

Annual report 03-04

Annual report 04-05

Annual report 05-06

GD Course Descriptions

Arch Course Descriptions

Arch Student work catalogue

GD Student work catalogue

Research / pre 2005



	ABSTRACTS, CONFERENCES AND PROCEEDINGS Howayda Al-Harithy “AUB’s Department of Architecture: Forces of Change and Challenges for the Future,” New York Office, American University of Beirut, New York, USA, June 8, 2005. “Writings on the Wall: Mamluk Architecture of Tripoli,” international conference entitled Towards a Cultural History of Bilad al-Sham in the Mamluk Era, organized by the Orient Institute and Balamand University, Beirut and Tripoli, May 4-7, 2005. “Cultural Heritage between Universal Concepts and Local Identities,” City Debates Seminar on Urban Heritage and the Politics of the Present, Urban Planning and Urban Design Program, Department of Architecture and Design, AUB, April 6, 2005. World Heritage: A Redefinition, paper presented at the plenary session of the 2004 IASTE Conference organized by UC Berkeley and held at the American University of Sharjah, December 14-18, 2004. World Heritage: A Redefinition, paper presented at the 2004 MESA Conference organized by the Middle East Studies Association of America and held in San Francisco, California, November 20-23, 2004. The Issue of Cultural Heritage in the World Today, lecture presented at the Forum on Adaptive Re-use of Historical Monuments in Old Saida organized by the Municipality of Saida, Sept 18, 2004. Historic Cities and the Concept of World Heritage, paper presented at the Union of International Architects (UIA) Conference 2004, held at the Order of Engineers and Architects, Beirut, Lebanon, Sept 6-7 2004. Rehabilitation of Historic Cities: Approaches and Challenges, lecture presented at the Municipality of Tyre in conjunction with a workshop on the historic city, August 29, 2004. The Shrine of Ibn Arraq in Downtown Beirut, public lecture delivered at the Department of Architecture, Cairo University, Cairo, February18, 2004. The Culture of Design and Production in Abbasid Samarra, paper presented at the 2002 ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference held in Montreal, Canada, September 29-October 2, 2002. “The Culture of Design and Production in Abbasid Samarra,” Proceedings of the ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conference held in Montreal, Canada, September 29-October 2, 2002. Restoring the Monuments, Rewriting the City: Post-war Reconstruction in Downtown Beirut, lecture delivered at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley, Sept 26, 2002. Deconstructing Beirut’s Last Mamluk Monument, paper presented at the 2001 MESA Conference held in San Francisco, California, Nov 17-20, 2001. Building the Bridges, Defining the Audience: The Nature of the Critical Discourse within the AKP Program at MIT and Harvard, paper presented at the 2001 ACSA International Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey, June 15-19, 2001. "Building the Bridges, Defining the Audience: The Nature of the Critical Discourse within the AKP Program at MIT and Harvard [Abstract]” Proceedings 2001 ACSA International Conference June 15-19, 2001, Istanbul, Turkey (Washington DC, 2001): 490. Weaving Historical Narratives: Beirut’s Last Mamluk Monument, lecture delivered at the Department of Architecture, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 1, 2001. The Role of Women in the Making of Architecture in the Muslim World, lecture delivered at The National Museum, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 7, 2001. Manufacturing Architectural Identity: Rasem Badran’s Work in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, paper presented at the Seventh IASTE Conference held in Trani, Italy, October 12-15, 2000. "Manufacturing Architectural Identity: Rasem Badran’s Work in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [Abstract]” Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, volume 12, number 1 (Berkeley, California: Fall, 2000). Mona Harb Alternative Images of Post-War Beirut: HizbAllahs Suburb,public lecture presented at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Cultural Studies Program, Sabanci University, Istanbul, 29 April 2004 HizbAllah and the Production of Culture in Beiruts Suburb,paper presented at the 5th Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, Florence & Montecatini Terme, 19-23 March 2004 The Local Government System in Lebanon: Ambiguities and Paradoxes,paper presented at the World Bank meeting on Municipal Governance and Local Decentralization in the MENA Region, Amman, Jordan 19-20 December 2003(ed.), The Lebanese National Master Plan: A Critical Assessment, Proceedings of the 2003 City Debates, Beirut: AUB, 2004 Public Spheres and Spaces of Contestation in Post-War Beirut, paper presented at the 4th Mediterranean Social and Political Research Meeting, Florence & Montecatini Terme, 19-23 March 2003, organised by the Mediterranean Programme of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. International Assistance Programs and Participation Practices in Lebanese Municipalities, paper presented at the 4th Mediterranean Development Forum regional workshop, Amman, October 6-9, 2002. Public Policy Analysis in Lebanon: Situation Analysis, paper presented at the Public Administration Research and Consultation Center (PARC) workshop, “Public Policy Analysis in the Arab World: Situation Analysis”, Cairo, September 26-27, 2002. Michael Stanton "Homely Intentions: Good, Bad and Ugly Urbanism" in the City Debates seminar La Meen Beirut Whose Beirut organized by the Urban Planning and Design program at the Department of Architecture and Design at AUB, May 2004 Proceedings of "Planned Cities" the ISUF Conference, Trani, Italy, 2003 Memory Between Amnesia and Trauma: A Project for Sarajevo" urban design with Ayssar Arida refereed Proceedings of "Planned Cities" the ISUF Conference, Trani, Italy, 2003 "Urban Propaganda Fide and Cuban Difference" refereed Paradoxes of Progress — Architecture and Education in a Post-Utopian Era: Proceedings of the 89th AnnualMeeting of the ACSA, Baltimore, 2001 "Wrestling with Angels: On Berlin" refereed Heterotopolis — Immigration, Ethnicity, and the American City: Proceedings of the 88th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Los Angeles, 2000 "Giuseppe Vaccaro and Fascist Culture: a study in conciliatory form" refereed Heterotopolis — Immigration, Ethnicity, and the American City: Proceedings of the 88th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Los Angeles, 2000 1999 — 2000 ACSA Design Commendation "Low-cost Housing near Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana" project and text one of eleven projects selected refereed Proceedings of the 87th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Minneapolis, 1999 "New Headquarters for the Faculty of Architecture, Venice, Italy", project and text 1998 — 99 ACSA Design Award with Mateo Eiletz and Scott Wall one of four projects selected refereed Legacy + Aspirations — Considering the Future of Architectural Education: Proceedings of the 87th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Minneapolis, 1999 "Dissipated Scandals: Architecture and the Edge" refereed forthcoming Contribution and Confusion: Architecture and the Influence of Other Fields of Inquiry: Proceedings of the ACSA International Conference, Helsinki, 2003 "Mise en scène: architecture and its cinematic dilemma" refereed Proceedings of the 91st Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Louisville, 2003 "Whatever happened to Architecture and Capital" Topic Chair essay Architecture, Culture, and the Challenges of Globalization: Proceedings of the ACSA International Conference, Havana, 2002 "The Urbanism of Good (and Bad) Intentions" refereed Architecture in Communication — Challenge and Opportunity in Building the Information Age: Proceedings the 90th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, New Orleans, 2002 "On Realism, The Observer and Beirut: Design as Reporting" refereed Hani Asfour Parallel Lines: The Meeting of Network and Aesthetic Theories in Post-Critical Design Practiceconference on Contemporary Discourses in Architecture, Lebanese American University, Lebanon, 13-15 May 2004 Recent Conferences: Founder and Cochair, Multiples of 1, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA, USA, November 7-8. www.multiplesx1.org. Arbid George Booming Beirut: From Mid-century Modernism to Post-modern Reconstruction,international conference on Domestic Architecture in the Arab World of Today: between Orientalism and Globalization, the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes Berlin, 25-26 October 2003 When Beirut was Modern, international conference on Modernism and Modernity in the Mediterranean World, University of Toronto, 30 October-1 November 2003 Critical Regionalism, National Identity and Architectural Forms of Resistance in Early Independence Lebanon,Middle East History and Theory Workshop, Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto, 31 October 2003 Architecture in Research and Practice conference on Emerging Architects in Bilad Al-Sham, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Department of Architecture, 2 June 2004 Sadek Walid On Lean Pictures and Ocular Concupiscence,lecture presented at the Center for Behavioral Research at the American University of Beirut, 5 April 2004 The Acquisition of Death: The Aims of Art and Dwelling in Lebanon,paper presented at the conference and exhibition entitled Formidable Beyrouth held at the Centre pour lImage Contemporaine in Geneva, 1 May 2004 Shorto, Sylvia The Agra Houses of the Bharatpur Raja. Lecture presented at the symposium Representing the Raj, Yale Centre for British Art, October 2003 ARTICLES, BOOKS AND REPORTS Howayda Al-Harithy “A Search for Identity: Architecture of the Arab World during the Second Half of the Twentieth Century,” in Introducing the Arab World ed. Mohja Kahf (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press), forthcoming “Islamic Architecture: Form, Function and Meaning by Robert Hillenbrand [Book Review]” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 74/1 (Spring 2006), forthcoming "Al-Usul al-Mamlukiyah lil-'Ama'ir al-'Uthmaniyah by Muhammad Husam al-Din Isma'il [Book Review]” Mamluk Studies Review, vol. IX/1 (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2005): 234-236. “Invisible Boundaries, Visible Presence: Persian Cultural Influence on Medieval Cairo” in EJOS: Electronic Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. VII, no. 17 (2004): 1-28. "World Heritage: A Redefinition [Abstract]” Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, volume 16, number 1 (Berkeley, California: Fall, 2004): 71 Tripoli 2020: An Urban Revitalization Studio (Beirut: Dar El-Maarif, 2002), 32 pages,149 illustrations. The Waqf Document of Sultan Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, dated 760/1358. Bibliotheca Islamica. Band 45 (Berlin: Das Arabische Buch and Beirut: Orient-Institut der DMG, 2001), 220 pages, 8 illustrations. "The Ewer of Ibn Jaldak (623/1226) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Inquiry into the Origin of the Mawsili School of Metalwork,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64/3 (Oxford University Press, October 2001): 355-368. "The Concept of Space in Mamluk Architecture," Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture 18 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001): 73-93. "Turbat al-Sitt: An Identification,” The Cairo Heritage. Papers in Honor of Layla Ibrahim, ed. Doris Behrens-Abouseif (Cairo: American University Press, 2000): 113-131. "The Patronage of al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, 1310-1341," Mamluk Studies Review 4 (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2000): 219-244. "Women in the Medieval Islamic World [Book Review]” Middle East Women’s Studies Review, volume 15 numbers 1 and 2 (Providence R.I: The Association for Middle East Women’s Studies, Spring/Summer 2000): 10-11. Mona Harb Decentralization and Infrastructure Service Delivery in Lebanon, consultancy report prepared for the World Bank Institute, with Sami Atallah, July 2003. “La dahiye de Beyrouth: parcours d’une stigmatisation urbaine, consolidation d’un territoire politique”, Genèses, 51, June 2003, p.70-91. “Reconstructing National Identity or Consolidating Political Sectarianism The Role of Shi’a Political Actors in Reshaping the Lebanese Post-War Political System”, in ABDULHADI R., ELNUR I. and RIEKER M. (ed.), The Reconstruction of War-Torn Communities in the Middle-East and North Africa, 2003, In progress. “Urban Governance in Post-War Beirut: Resources, Negotiations, and Contestations in the Elyssar Project”, in SHAMI S. (dir.), Capital Cities: Ethnographies of Urban Governance in the Middle East, Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2001, p.111-133. “Pratiques comparées de participation dans deux municipalités de la banlieue de Beyrouth: Ghobeyri et Bourj Brajneh” [Compared Practices of Participation in Two Municipalities of Beirut Suburb: Ghobeyri and Bourj Brajneh], in FAVIER A. (dir.), Municipalités et pouvoirs locaux au Liban, Beirut, CERMOC, 2001, p.157-177. Michael Stanton Stanton, Michael and Aysar Arida "Therapeutic Urbanism " in ARCHIS 4 Architecture, City, Visual Culture (Rotterdam: August, September 2003) "Double Negativeon the state of the neo-Modern in architecture, An Nahar (Beirut: 28 December 2003) Mining Autonomy — Perspecta 33, The Yale Architectural Journal, New Haven, 2002 "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Urbanism and Intention" The Discipline of Architecture, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2001 "Disciplining Knowledge: architecture between cube and frame" invited contributor of a chapter in a volume on practice and theory editors: Andrzej Piotrowski, Julia Robinson White Papers, Black Marks, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis and Athlone Press, London, 2000 "The Web and the Rack: the other city" invited contributor of a chapter in a volume on multi-cultural post-colonial situations particularl those of the African diaspora editor: Lesley Lokko Architectural Record, 09, September, New York, 2000 review of the Biennale di Venezia ARCHIS 9 — Architecture, City, Visual Culture, September, Rotterdam, 2000 "On Realism and the Observer" Architectural Record, 04, April, New York, 2000 "Corespondent's File" on Beirut Rome: City Secrets, The Little Bookroom, New York, 1999 editor: Robert Kahn several essays on modern architecture in Rome in compendium of members of the American Academy in Rome Society of Fellows ARCHIS 12 — Architecture, City, Visual Culture, December, Rotterdam, 1999 "Matters of Size" Bigness from Godzilla to Koolhaas forthcoming ARCHIS 9 — Architecture, City, Visual Culture, September, Rotterdam, 2003 "Therapeutic Urbanism " with Ayssar Arida Re/Marking Beirut, The Lebanese American University, Beirut "Power and tabula rasa: Beirut-Rotterdam, an urbanism of amnesia" editor: Nadir Lahiji North-South: The Modern, The Vernacular and the Mediterranean. An Encounter at Casa Malaparte: The New City #4, Princeton Architectural Press "Giuseppe Vaccaro and the myths of tradition and modernity" editor: Jean-François Lejeune What you see is what you get: Dirk Alten Architet, Berlin, ACTAR Press, Barcelona co-editor and contributor "What you get: on the work of Dirk Alten" Simon Ungers, Contemporary World Architects Monograph, Rockport Press, Gloucester, MA Foreword Ecumene, "on the themes of Architecture, Art, Urbanism, Geography, Landscape and Culture" issue on "Inscriptions of Civitas" "On Realism, The Observer and Beirut: Design as Reporting" Zeina Maasri Greetings from Beirut, Anja Lutz and Zeina Maasri (eds.)160 pages book Published by the Berlin based Art and Design initiative Shift!, May 2003 Mapping Sitting: On Portraiture and Photography Karl Bassil, Zeina Maasri and Akram Zaatari (eds.) in collaboration with Walid Raad 284 pages book, published by Mind the gap and Fondation Arabe pour l’Image (Beirut, 2002) Sadek, Walid The Acquisition of Death: The Aims of Art and Dwelling in Lebanon, Al-Adab #1 -2 (Beirut: February 2004) ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS Howayda Al-Harithy Ottoman Tripoli is a book project for which field research has been conducted. This research was generated by the investigation of the Mamluk and Ottoman layers of the Mediterranean cities of Lebanon with a special focus on Tripoli. Field research included archival data collection, survey of buildings, and reconstruction of the urban context. The rich cultural and architectural heritage dating to the medieval period remains largely unstudied. The little available literature on the architectural history of Lebanon in general and Tripoli in particular is limited to general chronological surveys or monographic documentation. This becomes obvious when we, in the history of art and architecture courses, assign readings in an attempt to shed light on regional cultural history. There is a pressing need for the writing of a more critical architectural and urban narrative of the successive eras in Lebanon's history. This research is therefore focused on 16th and 17th century Tripoli and will adopt a thematic discursive approach more appropriate to the investigation of issues such as patronage and cross-cultural exchange and influences. Mamluk Architecture in Aleppo is a book project and a collaborative work with the architect and urban conservationist Abdulaziz Hallaj of Aleppo. Intensive field work will take place during the winter of 2003-04. The little that has been written on the architectural history of Medieval Aleppo has focused on the celebrated Ayyubid monuments, especially the citadel. The urban patterns of growth detected upon reading the historic layers of the city testify to an important urbanization program under the Mamluks and point to a patronage of social practices rather than monuments of power. This initial analysis constitutes our departure point and the foundation for the research to be conducted. It will be supported by building monographs, urban survey documents and socio-economic data. This type of research and publication is not only an important writing of urban history, but is also an essential document for urban conservation and architectural design interventions, both in the practical professional realm and in the academic exercises and studio assignments. Mona Harb Policy analysis, institutions and social networks. The case of the Shi’a suburb of Beirut. The suburb of Beirut is the general headquarters of Hizb’Allah – the notorious Lebanese Shi’a organization. It represents as well the Shi’a ‘ghetto’ of Beirut, a space largely stigmatized for its perceived poverty, illegality, and chaotic urban environment. However, the suburb also functions as a self-sufficient ‘city’ with its alternative institutional arrangements organizing service delivery for half a million Shi’a. These institutions are moreover characterized by their comprehensiveness, flexibility, and professionalism, which render them fairly efficient and competent. In my dissertation, I argue that this relative success has two combined explanations: first, the institutional flexibility and dynamism which favors a capacity for change and for adaptation in an uncertain policy context; and second, the embededness of these institutions in social networks that produce a self-conscious powerful Shi’a identity, and possibly a particular Shi’a culture. Decentralization and local governance paradigms. A study of international assistance programs in developing countries. This research examines local governance paradigms and, specifically, the decentralization literature which is established on two main assumptions: decentralization is correlated with better economic performance and increased local democracy. The work analyzes the origins of these assumptions, within the evolving roles of local governments. It studies the rationales behind them, and the functions associated with local governments: representation, participation and accountability. One of the main focuses of the research is to study international assistance programs – developed by agencies and donors such as UNDP, USAID and the WBI – that promote decentralization policies, and to examine the impact of their agendas on local governance in developing countries. Michael Stanton Spanish Colonial Urban Configurations The American City, Form and Ideology Italian Modernism before and after World War II Pedagogy Contemporary Critical Formats Film and Architecture The above research topics have produced many book chapters and articles and the American City is the topic of a book in progress. Funding for research is provided by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the fine arts. For presentation funding is provided by AUB, The University of Minnesota, Columbia University, the University of Texas at Austin and Tulane University. Zeina Maasri Iconography and Imagery of Political Parties in Lebanon during the Civil War (Work in progress, early fieldwork stage) The research addresses the interrelation between graphic design and political activism, taking as a case study the iconography and imagery produced and diffused by various political parties in Lebanon during the civil war (early 70s to late 80s). It is concerned with documenting, archiving and analyzing the visual material collected, while investigating how these different (often conflicting) political and ideological frameworks have been represented and perpetuated through image form. Another aspect of the research is concerned with the authors of the works and with their subsequent conditions and modes of production. Whether they are self-trained members of the party concerned or rather professionals in the visual field, and how do they position themselves vis à vis the content addressed. EXHIBITIONS Michael Stanton ACSA Annual Meeting, Los Angeles, 2000 "Low-cost Housing in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana 1999 — 2000 ACSA Design Commendation refereed ACSA Annual Meeting, Minneapolis,1999 "New Headquarters for the Faculty of Architecture Competition, Venice, Italy" 1998 — 99 ACSA Design Award with Mateo Eiletz and Scott Wall refereed Zeina Maasri July 2003 Presentation of Greetings from Beirut at the Vitra Design Museum Berlin July 2000 Video installation Off-side. Upon invitation for the collective exhibition “Everyone his own football” Kunsthall, Rotterdam, The Netherlands May 2000 Video installation Off-side. Upon invitation by Constant VZW/Jonction for Kunsten Festival des Arts (collective exhibition); Brussels, Belgium February 2000 Presentation and Exhibition of current work upon invitation for the symposium Making it: Conditions of Contemporary Design Practice Jan van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht 1999 Video installation Off-side. In the 17th World Wide Video Festival Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands PUBLISHED DESIGN/ARTISTIC WORK Michael Stanton Proceedings of "Planned Cities" the ISUF Conference, Trani, Italy, 2003 "Memory Between Amnesia and Trauma: A Project for Sarajevo" urban design with Ayssar Arida refereed Heterotopolis — Immigration, Ethnicity, and the American City: Proceedings of the 88th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Los Angeles, 2000 1999 — 2000 ACSA Design Commendation "Low-cost Housing near Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana" project and text one of eleven projects selected refereed Legacy + Aspirations — Considering the Future of Architectural Education: Proceedings of the 87th Annual Meeting of the ACSA, Minneapolis, 1999 "New Headquarters for the Faculty of Architecture, Venice, Italy", project and text 1998 — 99 ACSA Design Award with Mateo Eiletz and Scott Wall one of four projects selected refereed Zeina Maasri Zawaya: A Periodical on Emerging Cultural Production in the Arab World Published by Diffaf Editions, Beirut - Since 2001, designer of the issue 0 and art director of the following ones (in collaboration with Mind the Gap Design and Communication Agency) - Since 2002, Member of the editorial board Arbid, George Work featured in "The Stone Age," article by Paul Cochrane in Aishti Magazine 12, June-July 2004 Work featured in the article "The Open House," by Guislaine Naufal in Inner Design, no. 1, July 2004 Musfy, Leila Work and biography featured in a book entitled World Graphic Design: contemporary graphics from Africa, Far East, Latin America and the Middle East by Geoffrey Caban (Publisher: Merrell, Spring 2004)