Graduating architecture students from nine countries in the Arab World submitted 82 design projects for the third cycle of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Excellence in Architectural Design. The projects came from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Award jury decided to award five equal prizes. The Award's total prize money of USD 10,000 therefore will be divided equally between the five winners, each receiving USD 2,000.
An Award ceremony was held at the Art Centre in Manama, Bahrain, on November 28, 2010 to honor the winners. The winning projects of the Award’s three cycles as well as a selection of submitted entries for the third cycle were exhibited at the Art Centre between November 28 and December 2, 2010.
The Award’s third cycle winners are:
Razan Al-Ati
Project: Cinematic Academy
University: Jordan University of Science and Technology
Faculty supervisor: Ahmad Freewan
This project is a design for a cinematic academy that focuses on the relationship between the producers and their audience.
It creates interactive platforms that involve the audience in the production process, contributing to their mutual learning and growth.
Yasmina El Chami
Project: Viva La Vida or Death and all his Friends: A Story About the Future of an Old Building
University: American University of Beirut
Faculty supervisor: Carole Levesque
This project addresses a building in Beirut known as the Barakat Building, which was deserted as a result of the Lebanese Civil War.
It proposes revitalizing it and reintegrating it within the city, without taking away the essence of its original character. After exploring
several common scenarios on how to go about re-integrating such a building within its urban fabric, the designer offers a
different approach: adapting it as a school for circus and performing arts. This school hosts temporary functions that are a
source of vibrant energy in the city by offering a production space that is in constant motion and evolution.
Preeti Mogali
Project: Choreographic Center in Oman
University: American University of Sharjah
Faculty supervisor: George Katodrytis
This project explores the formation of space through a process of studying two concepts, choreography gestures and grids,
to generate a dance performance center located off the coast of Musandum in Oman, overlooking the Indian Ocean.
The reference for the analytical study is an Indian dance known as Bharatnatyam. It includes a sacred dance routine that
is believed to harmonize space when performed by Shiva, one of the Hindu gods.
Hadi El Murr
Project: Development of Beirut's First Pier
University: Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts
Faculty supervisor: Georges Khayat
This project tackles the relationship between the city of Beirut and its seaport. It addresses the fast transformations that the city
and its harbor have witnessed following the Lebanese Civil War, which have resulted in creating a separation between the two.
The designer aims at reuniting the city with its seaport by creating an area linking the two where new functions that are relevant
to coastal cities, such as retail and transportation, are developed along with cultural and recreational functions.
Suha Al-Salamain
Project: No Man's Land: Within the Borders
University: American University of Sharjah
Faculty supervisor: George Katodrytis
This project addresses the Israel-Palestinian conflict by designing a checkpoint on the borders between Palestine and Jordan.
The project design represents a defensive form inspired by an arm gesture. Through it, the designer investigates geometric
nodes and intersections to come up with apposite circulation patterns. These incorporate bridges that are used to create a new
temporary territory between the borders, denoting the birth of a new free land.