Archinect - News

Training refugees to conserve their monumental heritage

2018-03-20T15:43:00-04:00

The problems: how to conserve extraordinary monumental heritage in Iraq and Syria [...]. The issue is exacerbated by the depletion of skilled craftspeople; once the dust of conflict settles, there will be few able to carry out restoration. At the same time, thousands sit in refugee camps, lives on hold, seeking a future. The solution: train refugees to become the craftspeople and conservators of the future. Give them a skill to help restore their nation’s heritage.

Photo: World Monuments Fund.

Learn more about the World Monuments Fund’s new stone masonry training center for Syrian refugees in Mafraq, Jordan (backed by the UK government’s Cultural Protection Fund) here.

Future Aleppo: Syrian boy builds model of his hometown, now on display in Los Angeles

2017-08-11T09:00:00-04:00

A Syrian boy hand-built a model of what his hometown might look like after the country’s civil war, and now “Future Aleppo” is on display in Los Angeles. [...] As he watched his city get demolished, Mohammed carefully crafted his vision for a future Aleppo using paper, wood, colored pencils, and glue. He lovingly recreated destroyed landmarks, like the medieval Citadel and his favorite park, and added imaginary, forward-looking buildings and design features [...].

"While much of his model was destroyed when Mohammed and his family fled to Turkey, the surviving portion was brought to the U.S. by Alex Kalman, founder of Mmuseumm, a pop-up gallery in Manhattan."

KCRW's Design & Architecture host, Frances Anderton, talks to Kalman about the model's adventurous journey from Aleppo via Turkey to New York and how Mohammed's story represents both "the worst in humanity, as well as the best in humanity."

Anderton also interviews young Syrian architect Marwa Al-Sabouni (previously on Archinect), who's hometown Homs — the country's third largest city — suffered immense destruction and human suffering. Her book The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria will be out in September.

The last view from Aleppo...

2017-02-15T23:46:00-05:00

My university became a hub of protest. Campus life alternated between classes and protests and raids by security forces...Yusuf, though trained as an architect, volunteered in all possible ways...We were desperate for the world to hear and help us. I had been frantically tweeting images and videos of destruction from eastern Aleppo.

Back in January architect and activist, Lina Shamy, penned an editorial. Wherein she reflects on, her first-hand experience, a witness to urbicide in action.

Previously, another Syrian architect talked about, the past and future of her destroyed hometown of Homs.

To preserve cultural memory, these Syrian refugees recreate lost monuments in miniature

2016-01-08T13:38:00-05:00

A group of six amateur artists living in the heart of Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp, host to nearly 80,000 Syrians, has worked together to recreate famous landmarks, which once stood proudly in the western Asian country, in dedication to its long and rich history. [...] “There are lots of kids living here who have never seen Syria or who have no memory of it. They know more about Jordan than about their own country.”

A Syrian Atlas, of Ruins

2015-03-09T00:17:00-04:00

Syria’s largest city was home to more than two million people before the war. Now most of its residents have left, and the city is divided between pro-government forces and rebels

Sergio Peçanha and Jeremy White reveal satellite image analysis by Unitar-Unosat, showing vast devastation in 4 cities across Syria from the civil war that started nearly four years ago.

Monuments Men: The Quest to Save Syria's History

2014-08-04T15:15:00-04:00

While the civil war in Syria has killed tens of thousands of people, it has also destroyed countless of the country's ancient treasures. Now a number of Syrians are trying to save what artifacts they can -- and are risking their lives to do so.

Previously