The abject dream of new capital: capitalist urbanism, architecture and endangered liveability of the Middle East’s modern cities

This article interrogates the notion of “New Capital” in the context of the hegemony of neoliberal urbanism in the Arab cities in the Middle East from historical, socio-economic and spatial perspectives. It reviews the historical narratives of new centres and districts in Cairo, Beirut and evolving capitalist urbanism and architecture in the Arabian Peninsula in search of elitist dream of neo-liberal urbanism. It offers a comprehensive analysis to the notions of neoLiberal ideology and urban policies, neoCapital city as catalyst for nation-building and neoCapitalist architecture as reproduction of clone structures of western models. The paper focuses its critical analysis on the aspects of liveability in the contemporary Arab City and its socio-spatial structures and everyday urban reality. It reports on urban narratives based on archival records, urban projects and investigation of governmental accounts to determine aspects of success and failure in projects of new capital cities and districts. It argues that cities are essentially social-spatial system in which hierarchy is a fundamental element, the lack of which determines abject failure of their anticipated vision

From propagation to negotiation of ideologies in the architectural design studio: critical insights in student-centred strategies for interactive learning

This paper investigates modes of active communications and propagation of ideas and ideologies in architectural education in general and the design studio in particular. Based on survey of students' opinions, modes of tutorials, assessment and production, it investigates the extent to which students enjoy freedom of choice, liberal thinking and ability to develop independently from their design tutors. While challenging current modes of one-to-one design tutorial paradigms, it experiments with alternative means of tutor-free and student-led workshops, where students are able to develop their conceptual ideas in the absence of their tutors at an early stage of design development. It analyzes the process of practical implementation of interactive tools in architectural education which places the diversity of students' cultural experiences, contextual awareness and individual interests as a crucial resource for design inquiry. The cyclical development of interactive learning strategy is examined through two settings: first, it discusses ideology-driven design tutorials that influence students' conceptual ideas; second, it reports on a liberal approach to the design studio, where students are given larger freedom to define their own position and intuition towards the practice of architecture, both in England and in Northern Ireland

Architectural and urban heritage in the digital age: dilemmas of authenticity, originality and reproduction

The archaeology of our built heritage is centred on the understanding of human experiences, rituals and social history that add meaningful narratives to physical fabric, structures and artefacts. The meaning of the building in the collective memory is intrinsically attached to the process by which it was produced and the manner with which it endured a series of critical socio-cultural change. Whilst we cannot live in the past, engaging with historic buildings or walking through traditional urban fabric and alleyways becomes an essential asset of the contemporary urban experience. This paper interrogates the dilemmas of authenticity, originality and legitimacy of the preservation of architectural and urban heritage through digital and virtual technologies. It addresses examples of historic buildings that have changed character, functions or got destroyed during times of wars and conflict. With advanced techniques of recording historic buildings through digital and virtual environments taking a leading role in modern preservation, integrating architectural heritage into the creative economy and income generating activities is critical to their survival in the digital age

Reliving past architecture: virtual heritage and the reproduction of history through creative modes of heritage visualisation

Virtual heritage is a modern technological application that aims to transfer the experience of historic buildings, urban spaces and cities into an engaging experience of real-life quality for the ordinary people. Computer-simulated environments can simulate physical presence in places in the real world offering digital display of lost heritage that conveys inherent values in the education process for students in both pre-university as well as graduate education. For architecture and archaeological students, in particular, it virtually transfers them to another world where they engage with architectonics and quality of architecture. For conservators, historians and archaeologists, it helps develop a rich library and digital archive of details, information and data necessary in restoring historical sites, as well as heritage preservation where the 3D virtual models contain accurate data and help for restoration. This paper reports on recently completed research project on the development of virtual heritage platforms for medieval culture. It uncovers a conceptual framework for the development of virtual heritage platforms as a research, educational and engagement tool that brings historic spaces and buildings back to the recognition of the public eye of the ordinary user. It not only reproduces historical scenes through physical modelling of archaeological sites or data, but, more importantly, through serial narratives where life is explored and practised in motion, and where cultural-feed brings meaning, experiences and understanding to the socio-cultural context. The paper introduces a brief analysis of virtual heritage platforms that offer a variety of methods, techniques, contexts, and outputs that are suitable to different purposes and audiences. It offers a brief conclusion on how virtual heritage offer unique and unprecedented insights into historic architecture that would be otherwise invisible or unimaginable

Conserving the relevance of heritage: corrective actions for sustainable historical fabric of the Arab city

Traditional quarters represent a valuable cultural and economic asset in the contemporary city, for which conservation policies are developed. Between the urban fabric, architectural character and the human asset, traditional quarters exhibit their distinctiveness and authenticity. What is unjustifiably ignored is the fact that traditional quarters have never been frozen in time. Rather, they are a product of multi-layered additions of cultures, styles, social and economical development. In their preservation of such history, policies have largely ignored economy, industrial and spatial logic on the old quarters while focusing on style of buildings in forms of touristic attractions and images of the past. Modernity was the aim of every process of architectural production, and technology played significant part in every construction at all historical periods. This paper investigates the tendency to modernity that shaped the traditional quarters of the Arab city and how best new buildings are integrated in the historic core of cities in an attempt to offer new economic and social possibilities for sustainable urban structure. Architectural practice and regulations in traditional quarters, hence, have become counter-productive and misleading, when it comes to the future of historical contexts. By locking traditional quarters in the past, limiting design options in them and restricting building functions, this paper argues, could have damaging effect on the long term survival of these quarters. Using the analysis of long-term strategies for historical sites in European cities, Asian and Middle Easter Cities, this paper makes case for corrective actions that debate policy-makers approach for the future of historical quarters. It envisages long-term strategies for traditional quarters that are self-sufficient and act as active and dynamic zones rather than being static museum for touristic consumption. The paper concludes that by being part of active everyday life of society, traditional quarters can sustain their continuity and self-sufficiency

Navigating virtual heritage applications for historic cities in the Middle East

This paper discusses conceptual and practical framework for the development of virtual heritage platforms as a research, educational and engagement tool that brings historic spaces and buildings back to the recognition of the public eye of the ordinary user. It not only reproduces historical scenes through physical modelling of archaeological sites or data, but, more importantly, through serial narratives where life is explored and practiced in motion, and where cultural-feed brings meaning, experiences and understanding to the socio-cultural context. The paper first introduces a brief and summary database of case studies of examples of virtual heritage platforms and outputs that are suitable to different purposes and audiences. It, then, looks at the context and production of VH in Egypt, as an example of Middle Eastern cities with vast heritage sites and advanced technological provisions. It reports on the process and findings of an AHRC-funded project, Virtual Heritage Cairo, that aimed to investigate difficulties, technological and skill gaps amongst stakeholders and local start-ups that would otherwise enable VH in Egypt to become regional power