-27052009

what are we contributing as 21st century generation to the world?

our people in the past created a rich and vivd history that we still learn from and sometimes we are trying to figure how it was done or processed with our technology that we have discovered, that they didn't have.

we are creating a future without its base. no beginning or an ending.

it is funny how an architect from the middle east know nth about his own history as much about the western one.As Arabs we always looked away.
Politics, culture,Society every variable affected us as a generation to always look away and never see the truth and richness Arabs have or had.

we are losing our identity that me as a fresh architect i can feel it and see it all around me, but at the same time i question what is identity..

if we never believed in us how will we ever believe that we can create or discover sth other than photocopy what we see around us.

i always felt we are creating as architects a route with no footprints to follow..
looking back in 1920s we can see a base, concepts, ideas, interventions around that time, regardless, if it was the right idea or not.

Amman, people here are using the trial and error planning
that doesnt plan a future, it plans a single footprint ahead or maybe nth.
but we are using it for a future!

I wonder how will the next generation handle this Havoc?

what are the things i should be doing to contribute?
how can a person create footprints?

As Hassan Fathy Once Said: " It is the responsiblity of the modern architect to find a remedy. he must renew architecture from the moment it was abandoned; and he must try to bridge the existing gap in its development by analyzing the elements of change, applying modern techniques to modify the valid methods established by our ancetores, and then developing new solutions that satisfy modern needs."


he also wrote this : " In spite of this, we are witnessing a change that is now forcing a complete rupture with the past; every concept and every value has been reversed. For house design in the Middle East, the introverted plan wherein family life looked into the courtyard was changed to a plan with family life looking out upon the street. The cool, clean air, the serenity and reverence of the courtyard were shed, and the street was embraced with its heat, dust, and noise. Also, the qa'a [a central, high-ceilinged upper-story room for receiving guests, constructed so as to provide natural light and ensure ventilation] was supplanted by the ordinary salon, and all such delights as the fountain, the salsabil [a fountain or a basin of still water designed to increase air humidity], and the malqaf [wind catch] were discarded in the name of progress and modernity."

and also :"Thus when the modern architect replaced these decorative elements with air-conditioning equipment, he created a large vacuum in his culture. He has become like a football player playing football with a cannon. If the purpose of the game is scoring goals, then assuredly he can score a goal with every shot. But the game itself will disappear, and so will any diversion for the spectators, except perhaps in the killing of the goalkeeper."