Report | Al Manakh: Gulf Continued Seminar at Columbia University|New York: 2010 September 24
Todd Reisz, editor of “Al Manakh- Gulf Continued”, delivered a short overview of the publication last week at Columbia University in New York. As part of a seminar to provide further insight into the making of the book, the discussion lead by Rem Koolhaas, Todd Reisz and Mark Wigley shed light on OMA’s ongoing engagement with the Gulf region in the form of architectural projects, exhibitions, research and publishing.
The Al Manakh Gulf Continued book is rich with interviews, essays and exclusive photographs from international and regional architects covering the Gulf region’s geopolitical, technological, environmental and financial aspects and their interaction with the region’s shifting economic and social forces.
Curated by OMA* and Pink Tank*, Al Manakh Gulf Continued has become one of the main resources for understanding the scope of urban development along the Gulf coast over the past six or so decades. During the discussion, and against a critical atmosphere condemning the Gulf’s growth as simultaneously fantastical and oppressive by Western media, both Koolhaas and Reisz insist upon the region’s credible potential for urbanization and modernization.
In this edition of Al Manakh Gulf Continued the focus is on how the cities of the Gulf countries and others in Saudi Arabia and Iran, are re-examining their methods and their relationships- amid a quickly changing economic landscape- with the rest of the world.
The research studio of urbanphenomena: design + research based in Jeddah, contributed to this edition of Al-Manakh. While coordinating efforts to reach out to writers and professionals based in the Western Saudi Arabia region, Reda Sijiny, urbanphenomena’s founder and senior architect, published articles such as City of Knowledge, City of Industry, The Hajj is a Myriad of Details and KSA-Open for Business? All of which offer an exclusive look into Saudi architecture, urbanism and the peculiarities of recent economic growth.
The articles were completed in cooperation with Bodo Rasch, Todd Reisz, Fadi Jabri, Mohammed Al-Attas, Zahir Bin Hassan, Redwan Zaouk and Joumana Al-Jabri.
The seminar was held at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (New York, USA) on the 24th of September 2010.
Go to seminar link:
*OMA: An international practice operating within the traditional boundaries of architecture and urbanism.
* Pink Tank: A boutique consultancy and think-tank providing advisory services in research and culture.
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