Sharjah Architecture Triennial reveals final day of public programme for The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability

false

Material & Land Narratives takes place on Saturday 17 February

 

 

On Saturday 17 February 2024 at Al Qasimiyah School, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial (SAT) hosts a final day of public programme for its second edition, The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability, which runs until 10 March 2024 .

 

Material & Land Narratives explores the regenerative potential of earthen materials and land narratives with a line-up of activities. These include an introduction by curator Tosin Oshinowo, followed by a panel discussion with Joelle Eyeson and Kwame Deheer (co-founders of Hive Earth), Mahavir Acharya (co-founder of Hunnarshala), Sumaya Dabbagh (founder of Dabbagh Architects) and Felipe Gutierrez (Architect and building conservator at the Department of Tourism and Culture in Abu Dhabi), moderated by Wayne Switzer (Architect and Educator). The programme concludes with a talk by SAT participant DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture Art Research) – Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti.  

 

Earlier in the day, Felipe Gutierrez will lead a Workshop on Earth Architecture: Material and building techniques and, in parallel, curator Oshinowo will lead a walkthrough tour of the exhibition at Al Qasimiyah School. 

 

Full information on these events and timings is provided below. To register, please click here.

 

Workshop on Earthen Architecture: Material and Building Techniques

11:00 - 13:00

Capacity: 15 participants

 

Architect and building conservator, Felipe Gutierrez will lead a workshop exploring earthen materials used in local traditional building techniques. Participants will learn about the earth as a building material and will be able to identify the soils that are suitable for construction. The workshop will comprise several application techniques of earthen mixtures, allowing participants to construct masonry blocks, formulating natural plasters and creating prototypes of traditional earth wall constructions. This workshop will be supported by a team of artisans from the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi.

 

Curator walkthrough led by Tosin Oshinowo

11:00 - 13:00

 

Oshinowo will lead visitors on a walkthrough of SAT projects located at Al Qasimiyah School as she elaborates on the vision and concept of each project in relation to the Triennial’s theme.

 

Introduction by Tosin Oshinowo

14:00 - 14.20

 

In her introduction, Oshinowo expands on the theme for this edition titled “The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability.” She categorizes the represented practices into three overlapping curatorial strands: Renewed Contextual, Intangible Bodies, and Extraction Politics. Oshinowo elaborates on the ideas behind these strands, contextualizing the talks that follow.

 

Panel discussion: Material and Land Narratives

14:20 - 15:45

 

Featuring Joelle Eyeson and Kwame Deheer (co-founders of Hive Earth), Mahavir Acharya (co-founder of Hunnarshala), Sumaya Dabbagh (founder of Dabbagh Architects), and Felipe Gutierrez (Architect and building conservator at the Department of Tourism and Culture in Abu Dhabi), this panel discussion focuses on the opportunities and challenges of building with local earthen materials using traditional building techniques. It also aims to explore the social dimension of traditional building practices and their intrinsic relation to the local communities. The session will be moderated by Wayne Switzer, an architect and educator working at the intersection of materials and building culture.

 

This panel ties back to ‘Re-Materialize,’ an initiative of Sharjah Architecture Triennial that maps the making of environmentally conscious materials and supports designers who use sustainable and recycled local materials in their practice.

 

Talk by DAAR’s Sandi Hilal & Alessandro Petti: DECOLONIZING ARCHITECTURE

16:00 - 17:30

DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture Art Research), led by Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, present their extensive two-decade research-based art and architectural practice. Beginning with their SAT02 project, ‘Concrete Tent,’ activated as a space for collective mourning gatherings and solidarity with Palestine. The second part delves into their ongoing collective research programme, the “Afterlives of fascist-colonial architecture," which studies and proposes the reuse of colonial, fascist, and modernist architectures for aims different from what they were designed for. Lastly DAAR discusses two recent projects aiming to create spaces for collective inhabitation and practicing of communing.