SHARJAH ARCHITECTURAL TRIENNIAL 2023
SHJ 1X72-1X89
[Old Jubail Vegetable Market] Sharjah, U.A.E.
Multimedia installation Installation
In response to Sharjah's evolving national identity and cultural significance in the UAE, I've crafted a speculative retro-futurist vision conveyed through expansive architectural representations. Set apart from other emirates like Dubai, known for construction and tourism dominance, this alternate Sharjah embraces sustainability and the evolution of its architectural heritage. Guided by principles of sustainability and quirky environmental innovations, this exploration is shaped by the region's natural
climate conditions and the social rhythms of its inhabitants.
In this reimagined world-space, I consider building typologies and city-planning strategies that emerged during the swift urbanization fueled by the oil boom. Emphasizing impermanence, adaptability, and scarcity, I explore diverse design approaches that embrace creativity and whimsy over rigid practicality.
The architectural fiction is set in Sharjah's Bank Street and the "heritage area," developed for the arrival of expatriates and as a leisure destination where modernist architecture coexists with "historic" buildings that replicated traditional architecture for aesthetic appeal. However, my interventions disrupt the tourist-driven blend of modernism and historical pastiche, to focus on a community with long-held sustainable practices where building typologies and planning strategies from informal Islamic urbanism
to the 1960s, provide inspiration.
Spanning from the Department of Town Planning and Survey's establishment in 1X72 to Sharjah's hosting of the Champions Trophy in 1X89, the narrative presents an inventive vision for the area and an alternative trajectory for the city’s evolution.
INSTALLATION PHOTOS
PHOTOMONTAGES [300cm x 200cm]
PHOTOMONTAGES [200cm x 250cm]
SHJ 1X72 - 1X89 / 6:30 total runtime