Aerial Views of Landscapes Between Malaga and Barcelona...

Some photos, here shown in sequence, of a trip up the Spanish coast from Malaga to Barcelona. The roughly an hour long flight included a remarkable variety of different, both urban and less-urban (I'm cautious of calling them 'wild' along such densely inhabited landscapes) terrains and topographies... In an age when air travel has become pervasive, and in a time when much of our attention is preoccupied with watching a small screen - be this on a smart-phone, Nintendo DS, or the small TV screen in the seat in front of us - it's nice sometimes to have the chance to immerse oneself in quite stunningly salient scenery revealing itself from views a few thousand meters above the ground plane...

Porta Nigra, Trier...

A few, somewhat Piranesiesque, photos of the Porta Nigra in Trier, Germany...

Public Fountain/ Sculpture Outside the RFH on the South Bank, London...

It was lovely to come across this example of benign, catalytic, interactive, spontaneous and joyous (middle-of-the-town) public intervention outside the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank, an area that has been revitalized since its renovation a few years back... As can be observed in the video below, a truly mixed bunch of individuals of all ages were enjoying and making the most the fountain. These kinds of places/ quasi-planned (non-commercial) occasions are vital to a city's or neighborhood's well-being and need to be included into any shared and more public urban interventions...

Below the fountain adjacent to the main walkway a temporary beach was set up,which also was very much enjoyed by the city's inhabitants and visitors...

Acknowledging the importance of comparative urban and public acts, and formulating their own takes of what such acts might entail within the urban context of the various center's of the GCC nations, is crucial if they ever wish to gain a more prominent position on the various Livability Indexes and covet to hobnob with the top metropolitan cities of the world...

The beach adjacent to the walkway...

RIBA Mashrabiyas...

Examples of some laser-cut mashrabiya prototypes prepared for an upcoming event titled: Shubbak: A Window of Contemporary Arab Culture, taking place at RIBA this July... The event is organized by the London based nous Gallery, and will be realized in collaboration with Independent Architects.

The included mashrabiya prototype modules are titled 'Flap-Cylinder' (above and below) which consists of a number of variously shaped flaps that can be folded/ bent by its user as they see fit. The short video (bottom) shows a module of the 'Dip' masharbiya, where the design's various layers are allowed to fade in and out of visibility...

All the prototypes were designed and made in Qatar at the DFL (Digital Fabrication Lab) at VCUQ...

For samples of earlier related work please click here and here...

Made/ Designed in Qatar...

I've added 2 new categories to the 'Labels' section below - 'Made in Qatar' and 'Designed in Qatar'... The sentiment here is somewhat aligned with maxims 7 and 8 of the Kuwait School Manifesto (which henceforth should perhaps be referred to as the 'Qatar School Manifesto') which outlines a stand in which locally conceived and produced designs, be these actual physical artifacts or more conceptual in nature, should/ can be formulated in a manner which is simultaneously unique and reflective of the local culture and vernacular, whilst being of a calibre, interest and nous relevant to a more international audience... Why shouldn't the label, 'Made in Qatar' evoke the same type of inherent value (desire) as something informing us it's been fabricated or manufactured in Italy or France..? Henceforth all of our designs made here will acknowledge their origins...

Concrete in Copenhagen...

Some photos of experimental concrete projects done by students at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen...

Above & Below - Concrete bench and detail...

The tongue...