Like all clichés, the one that associates architecture of the Islamic world with either the simple replication of traditional styles or the ostentation of glass skyscrapers, results in a caricature. In fact there is no scarcity of admirable works, from Morocco to Indonesia, designed and carried out by local and Western firms whose capacity to address the specificities of each context with insight and wisdom is proven, as illustrated by the six winners of the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture: the Revitalization of Muharraq, former capital of Bahrain, executed by the country’s Authority for Culture & Antiquities Conservation Department; the Arcadia Education Project constructed in South Kanarchor, Bangladesh, by Saif Ul Haque Sthapati; the Palesitinian Museum in Birzeit by Heneghan Peng Architects; the Public Spaces Development Programme in Tatarstan, Russian Federation; the Wasit Wetland Center in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, by Ahmed Al-Ali and Fari Esmaeil; and finally the Teaching and Research Unit at Alioune Diop University in Senegal (see image), an exemplary building by the Spanish office IDOM, which uses sustainable strategies to address the extreme conditions of the region.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2019
