In the incident that we witnessed last week, the factory burning and collapsing killing 300 people and leaving 1200 people severely injured in Savar, Bangladesh, is the sacrifice that these companies make: buildings and lives. Several companies establish factories and production lines similar to this one in rural and developing countries in order to avoid building and maintenance codes that are established in the United States and Europe, keeping cost and overhead to a minimum and maximizing marginal profit. In the United States, when a building is under construction, there are several building permits that have to be acquired before a building is allowed to have any occupancy. Two of the major building permits are the “Fire Codes” known as NFPA Codes (National Fire Protection Association) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), which allows for the clearance of building materials– dead loads, such as building vertically, and live loads, which is the occupancy rate of each room/floor.
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MIIM Designs' Founder and Principal Architect Maryam Eskandari Featured in Harvard's Islawmix Magazine /
MIIM Designs' Founder and Principal Architect Maryam Eskandari was featured in Harvard University's "islawmix" magazine on the "history, representation and role" of the mosque in the nascent Muslim community and today. The mosque historically has served as a social, spiritual, educational and even economic center for Muslims. MIIM elaborated on the commercial role of the mosque as a contributor to the economic growth of the Muslim community:
"According to Maryam Eskandari, an American architect focusing on creating inclusive Islamic architecture who recently sat down with islawmix and will be featured in the upcoming parts of this series, the relationship between the mosques and surrounding businesses was extremely mutual and contributed to the economic growth of the community as well as the sustenance of the mosques: since mosques were a central communal space, it made sense for merchants to establish themselves there, attracting any and all congregants. The merchants, in turn, would donate portions of their earnings to the mosque for its care and growth. Indeed, we find that the Ka’aba, the holiest site in Islam to where Muslims are obliged to perform pilgrimage at least once in their lifetimes if they are able to, itself was a commercial center both before and after the establishment of Islam"
"While the state of the mosque in its communities evolved throughout the centuries, its position in the heart of the Muslim community in which it was built remained strong as did its function as a space for worship, social interaction, education, justice and commercialism. The mosque was never just walls, brick and calligraphy thrown together for ritual prayer. Instead it was a place of almost functional worship in which the very existence and cultivation of the mutual and altruistic relationships within the community were acts of devotion to God. Today, its role differs greatly from not only society to society – but neighborhood to neighborhood as a result of several factors. This fluctuation has been nowhere more apparent than in the United States."
Maryam Eskandari will be the Keynote Speaker at MPA-Houston /
ith more than 6 million Muslims residing in the United States there is an ever-present demand for construction of mosques in U.S. cities. The evening will provide a reflection of American history with a focus on the integration of the Muslim community. Maryam Eskandari will present case studies of mosques in the United States to investigate the architectural design and socially negotiated places of the Muslim community.
6:00 PM . . . Registration & Networking
6:35 PM . . . Community Spotlight
6:40 PM . . . MPA Updates
6:45 PM . . . Keynote Speech
7:10 PM . . . Q&A
7:30 PM . . . Call to Action / Close
7:35 PM . . . Dinner
Embassy Suites:
11730 Katy Freeway Houston, TX 77079 | View Map
MIIM Designs LLC Commits to Partnership with Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development /
June 1, 2012
MIIM Designs LLC led by co-founder Maryam Eskandari have been invited to take part in Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. MIIM Designs will take part in two platforms: Sustainable Cities and Innovations and Sustainable Development for Fighting Poverty.
Sustainability and Innovations are pillars of development which many cities are struggling to embrace albeit with challenges. Led by Prof. Winnie Mitullah, the concepts are closely linked and have several tenets and cities across the globe address the challenges in varied manner depending on their level of awareness, capacity, and ability to rally relevant resources, including stakeholders. It is therefore useful to hear voices across the globe and share ideas on the challenges facing cities, how the challenges are being addressed, and effective responses and recommendations for ensuring sustainability and innovative approaches for managing cities. We will be focusing on ways to make a contributions to assist heads of State and Governments in Rio+20 come up with:
· Governance models which acknowledge the partnership approaches, and enable cities to effectively reproduce themselves.
· Coordination mechanisms for ensuring synergy among various actors operating within cities.
· Innovative ways and means of mobilizing resources required for various interventions, and effective management of cities for sustainability.
Sustainable Development for Fighting Poverty initiated twenty years ago at the Earth Summit, or Rio 92, produced two important documents that related to sustainable development with fighting poverty: 1) the Letter of the Earth, 2) Agenda 21 in order to match economic growth and population growth in a sustainable manner according to a model economically viable, socially just and environmentally sound.
In 2000, during the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders committed to implement by 2015 the Millennium Development Goals, among which include the reversal of extreme poverty, hunger and disease that affect billions of people around the world.
The challenge of Rio +20 must, first, re-validate theses tools and reinforce the importance of its implementation on the horizon proposed: 2015, calling on all sectors of society public, private and third sector, to demand and work on its implementation.
New proposals must be prepared, seeking to enrich these tools and make them more practical and objective: Incorporating measures to avoid future economic crises and build resilience in the eradication of poverty. Much effort in formulation, planning and monitoring results have been achieved and should not be wasted, but enhanced.
Nevertheless the main question that we hope to resolve and answer is:What are the main challenges and objectives for Sustainable Development to succeed in Fighting Poverty?
· Which specific sustainable development policies, explicitly aimed at the eradication of poverty at the local, regional and global level, have been successful?
· How do we reduce the number of people living on less than 1.25 per day?
· How to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young?
· Income partnerships between nations and between different sectors (public, private and third sector) in order to end poverty and promote sustainable development?
· Promote family health, combat infectious diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and others) and reduce child mortality?
MIIM Designs "Sacred Space" Exhibition Opens in San Francisco Gallery /
Feb. 14, 2012 - May. 31, 2012
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.
At the offices of the Foundation, 5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200, Novato
RECEPTION: Thursday March 22, 2012 4:30-6:30 pm
"Muslim Eyes" is an exhibit that sprang from the mission of the Marin Community Foundation. When a community—supported by religious, faith-based, and nonprofit organizations as well as concerned and engaged individuals—engages in activities to promote social justice and interfaith understanding, sustainable change can occur. To this end, MCF supports efforts that increase awareness, mobilize communities, and catalyze social change to address social inequities in Marin County and around the country. MCF strives to support the powerful link between interfaith dialogue and understanding and creating positive social change.