Both the major discussions on the mosque at ISNA addressed this issue of the masjid being a space of chastisement or discomfort as opposed to a welcoming space for spiritual growth. Whether it is women who are reprimanded for entering the main hall to pray or youth who are admonished for their dress, rather than opening its arms to the diversity of the community, many mosques often continue to marginalize women and youth, leaving the community to create new spaces of gathering and worship or to perhaps abandon their faith and spiritual practice.
Read MoreEid Mubarak from MIIM! /
We wish all of our readers a wonderful Eid al-Fitr and hope that your Ramadan has been blessed and insightful. Read more.
Summer 2013 #MIIMDesigns /
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From Stranded to Standard: Who’s to Blame for the Failure in Bangladesh Fire /
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.
Read MoreWater Down Your Earth Day /
This week the world will
celebrate "Earth Day", many commemorate
this day by planting trees on April 22 trees on April 22. Planting a tree is a
wonderful way to commemorate; however, our studio, MIIM Designs, celebrates the environment
in a number of other ways, namely through sustainable living and our projects
that preserve the environment rather than damage it, extending this celebration
of our Earth to everyday. It is very common for architecture and design studios
to mull over the celebration of sustainability through LEED certifications. Projects
such as Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory, one of the "greenest buildings
in the world", written by Architizer,
clearly express why Phipps Conservatory not only met, but rather also exceeded all expectations, allowing it to
receive the Platinum LEED status, meeting the Living Building Challenge
(net-zero water, net-zero energy) and making use of "Sustainable Sites
Initiative". Another example is the Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse
in Eugene Oregon, a project that we had the opportunity to be a part of,
alongside Thom Mayne - Morphosis and DLR Group. The Wayne L. Morse
Courthouse received Gold LEED certification. For runoff from rainwater that irrigates
the landscape and natural light is celebrated adequately to allow for an
efficient HVAC system. All of the construction materials were sustainable:
sealants, carpets, paints, and adhesives, preventing 90% of construction waste
from entering the landfills. Considering that sustainability should be of
second nature and an integral part of our day to day, a building to just be
LEED certified is not an aspect that is readily accessible at the tip of our
fingers and simply is not enough.
Maryam Eskandari at OPEN Houston Annual Conference /
Maryam Eskandari will be giving a Keynote talk at Lunch for OPEN Houston Annual Conference 2013 Entrepreneurship and Careers in the New Normal Economy. Maryam will talk about "Social Design - Social Change Through Design"
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."
MIIM Attends Conference on "Reconstituting Female Authority" /
In March 2013, MIIM Designs Studio attended a conference on “Reconstituting Female Authority: Women’s Participation in and the Transmission and Production of Islamic Knowledge”, hosted by the University of California, Santa Barbara. Particularly noteworthy was the discussion on reclaiming history. In her plenary speech, Dr. Asma Sayeed (University of California, Los Angeles, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures) examined women’s religious education, particularly their training in and transmission of ḥadīth (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) from early Islam to the Ottoman period. Sayeed explained that while a number of women were trained in ‘ilm al-ḥadīth (the science of ḥadīth) and were prolific teachers and transmitters to both women and men, few were present in the fields of the Qur’ānic sciences, Islamic law and theology, perhaps because of the need for prolonged, uninterrupted study, which was not conducive to women given the gender interaction norms of this period as well as women’s domestic obligations. Still, women were preservers of the Prophet’s legacy and active members of the class of ‘ulama (scholars), a position still debated today.
Amira Abou-Taleb (American University of Cairo) continued the conversation, in her talk problematizing the subjectivity of history, or more specifically, of historiography. Abou-Taleb closely examined the portrayal of women in volume 8 of Ibn Sa‘d’s Kitāb al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubra, which until today is the oldest surviving biographical dictionary of the early Muslim community, thus serving as an authority on the lives of early Muslims and as a model for contemporary Muslims. Abou-Taleb questioned the validity of the text, citing the 200-year gap between its authorship and the period it narrates, as well as the influence of the socio-political context in which it was authored. Abou-Taleb elucidated that the work was written during the ‘Abbāsid period, which “witnessed the production of the Sunni intellectual narratives of ḥadīth collections [and the] schools of jurisprudence.” This was thus a period in which jurists and scholars were working to establish a moral code, and the portrayal of early Muslims was essential to its development. Consequently, Abou-Taleb argues that gender representation in al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubra is influenced by the (patriarchal) culture and social norms of ‘Abbāsid society rather than on history itself, as can be witnessed by comparing the portrayal of early women in al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubra to biographical works by other authors.
Both Sayeed and Abou-Taleb call us to reclaim history in the pursuit of women’s intellectual authority and participation in the transmission and production of Islamic knowledge.
Samina Ali Discusses the "Muslima" Exhibition and MIIM Designs' "Sacred Space" /
MIIM Designs was featured in altmuslim: Global Perspectives on Muslim life, politics and culture as the studio commemorated International Women's Day, participating in the International Museum of Women exhibition Muslima: Muslim Women's Arts and Voices.
Curated by Samina Ali, co-founder of the American Muslim feminist organization Daughters of Hajar and author of the critically acclaimed novel Madras on Rainy Days, "Muslima" features the art, writing and voices of Muslim women from across the globe. What is particularly unique about the exhibition is that rather than speaking about Muslim women, "Muslima" features the art, narratives, and reform efforts of Muslim women themselves in a groundbreaking illustration of the rich diversity of Muslim women's experiences, ambitions, and creativity around the world.
Ali reiterates this in expressing the aims of the exhibition: "Listen to Muslim women. Listen to their passions. Listen to the realities of what being a woman today means. Being Muslim is just one aspect of a woman's personality. They are leaders, they are CEOs, and they are broadcast journalists. They are mothers, wives, and sisters."
Check out "Muslima" and its "Speak Up! Listen Up!" action campaign to "support the efforts of Muslim women and others worldwide who are leading the movement for a more just, equitable, and inclusive world."
And be sure to check out MIIM's contribution to the "Muslima" exhibit here! We hope you will continue to join and support us in our own efforts for gender equality in the mosque, in schools, and across the globe.
MIIM Designs Featured in Aslan Media for "Muslima" Exhibition /
MIIM Designs was honored to be featured in Aslan Media for its participation in the International Museum of Women exhibition Muslima: Muslim Women's Arts and Voices.
Check out MIIM Designs' contribution, "[SACRED SPACE], a series of infographics by Palto Alto-based art and architecture studio MIIM Designs that take on the question, “Is there equal space between men and women in American Muslim mosques?” The infographics show how architecture posits a deeper meaning on the purpose and context of gender inequality through social and sacred spaces - typically negotiated in favor of men - and how this relationship affects female participation and sense of place within American Muslim communities. “Muslim-American communities, the majority of whom are American-born Muslims or American converts, have transplanted the architectural lexicons of mosques located in the Middle East wholesale into U.S. urban landscapes,” MIIM notes in the artist’s statement for [SACRED SPACE], “This trans-continental attempt at architectural mobility from the Middle East to the U.S., however, does not come without issues.”
According to Aslan, "empowerment does provide opportunity for the unified whole that comes when otherwise-muted voices are amplified, not only breaking down myths and stereotypes but also building intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. This is the goal of Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art and Voices, a provocative and groundbreaking online global exhibition from the San Francisco-based International Museum of Women (IMOW). Curated by Samina Ali, an Indian-born Muslim known for her 2004 novel Madras on Rainy Days, the show is an international showcase of the themes and issues faced by female artists who either self-identify with Islam or are labeled Muslim because of familial, cultural or religious background. Exploring and challenging the broad spectrum of perceived status, agenda, and realities lived by Muslim women today, the exhibition gives voice to their passions, their accomplishments and their expressiveness- redefining both individual and collective identities as artists and activists...
Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art and Voices, which officially
launched online on March 7, just in time to celebrate International
Women’s Day on March 8th, runs through the end of the year. It marks a
global community partnership for IMOW, who teamed up with Sharjah Museum
of Islamic Civilization (UAE), The Women’s Museum (Denmark), The Ayala
Museum (Philippines) and over 40 Muslima Ambassadors- creative Muslim
women in their 20s and 30s who participated in workshops and online
dialogues, serving as advisors, contributors and co-curators."
MIIM Designs Celebrates International Women’s Day by Recognizing Sayyidah Khadija: A Seventh-Century Entrepreneur /
While we celebrate all of the women of our past and present, MIIM Designs chooses today to highlight Khadija, who as a woman entrepreneur in pre-Islamic Arabia exemplifies the empowerment of women more than a century before the concept of gender equality even existed. A talented merchant, Khadija inherited both her father’s trade business and his business acumen. It is related that when the Quraysh tribe’s caravans embarked upon their extended trade journeys, Khadija’s caravan equaled the sum of all of the other caravans of the Quraysh combined. In fact, among her titles, Khadija was known as “Amīrat-Quraysh”, or the Princess of the Quraysh. Her talent and expertise caused many highly respected Arabian men to seek her hand in marriage.
Read MoreMIIM Designs PROUDLY SUPPORTS CULTURESHUTDOWN - PARTICIPATE: DAY OF MUSEUM SOLIDARITY – MARCH 4 /
TO REPRESENTATIVES OF MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES WORLDWIDE:
I ask you to participate in an important international cultural awareness campaign. This campaign is a reaction to the acute crisis affecting major cultural institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On October 4, 2012, after 124 years of existence, the country’s National Museum (Zemaljski Muzej) closed down due to the government’s failure to secure legal status and adequate funding. Your solidarity is needed!
Six other state-level institutions, including the National Art Gallery (Umjetnička Galerija BH) and theNational and University Library (Nacionalna i Univerzitetska Biblioteka BH) are also about to become permanently inaccessible. The safety of precious artifacts and heritage are at stake.
Why am I doing this? I am one of the founding members of the platform CULTURESHUTDOWN, an international initiative connecting scholars, artists and cultural producers responding to this crisis. Cultural institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina are keepers of the unique historical and cultural treasures that provide evidence of coexistence in the region. Preserving them is crucial for securing a sustainable peace. Artifacts kept in these institutions are an important component of the world’s cultural heritage. Preserving them is a matter of global relevance.
I call on you and other museums across the globe to demonstrate your solidarity with threatened Bosnian cultural institutions by symbolically “erasing” one precious artwork or artifact, rendering it inaccessible for the Day of Museum Solidarity. How? On March 1, I ask you to place the yellow barricade tape in front of the chosen object (ranging from a dinosaurs skeleton to a painting, depending on your collection and your choice). I will provide this custom-designed non-adhesive tape featuring the CULTURESHUTDOWN logo. Take a picture of the “crossed out” object and send it to me. The “crossed out” artifact should be publicly visible in your institution from March 1 – 3. The collected pictures of Museum Solidarity across the world will be posted on the CULTURESHUTDOWN website on Monday March 4, the scheduled Day of Museum Solidarity. As many museums are closed on Mondays, our global campaign will take the form of a virtual collective exhibition on CULTURESHUTDOWN website. We would appreciate it if you were to post images of this campaign or host this virtual group exhibition on your institutions’ website, should that be possible.
February 1, the date of this public call, marks the 125th Anniversary of Zemaljski Muzej’s existence.March 4, the date of this Day of Museum Solidarity, marks the beginning of the sixth month since the Zemaljski Muzej has been closed to public. We plan to call attention to this sixth month with a virtual exhibition showing documentation of institutions’ solidarity acts across the globe.
This crisis in Bosnia-Herzegovina requires political, economic, and institutional solutions. By participating in the Day of Museum Solidarity, you will make an important and much needed contribution to resolving this crisis.
(De-)Centering Islam and the Question of Authenticity /
Director of Research, Ailya Vajid, will be giving a talk entitled The Multiple Meanings of Mourning: How Shi’i-American Women Negotiate Tradition and Culture Through Commemoration and Activism. This paper focuses on how American Shi’i women negotiate tradition and authenticity with their own American cultural values, and how they draw upon the courage and strength of powerful female Shi’i symbols in their socio-political endeavors and in their activism for social justice and religious freedom. Read more.
MIIM Designs Workshop at Claremont School of Theology /
MIIM Designs Workshop 1 : Peace-building in the Muslim Context: Architecture and
Design as tools for problem solving.
Our workshop gave participants an opportunity to explore various ways aesthetics and design work
to contribute to inclusion in Islamic Architecture, Mosques, Churches, Temples, Synagogues and other sacred spaces. It explored how communities can exemplify pluralism and work around gender issues through the means of art and architecture in sacred spaces. Learn More HERE
MIIM Designs Ailya Vajid, Maryam Eskandari , Kosar Jahani and Wajida Syed with Professor Najeeba Syeed-Miller and Claremont School of Theology students
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.
2011: A Year of Change /
December 31, 2011 | Maryam Eskandari
2011 was an unforgettable year with the rise of the Arab Spring, the Occupy Movements challenging the corporate world and a general overall social consciousness. Architects, too, learned that it is our responsibility to design in such a way to enhance and impact some of the world’s urgent concerns: poverty, climate change, unemployment, energy crises and education. With community’s no longer willing to accept the status quo, as we’ve seen in many parts of the world with successful protests, education is a key component for the mass majority. Education has always been a right and architecture has played a vital role in creating school buildings, which have become a teaching tool for urban sprawl in a poverty setting, have responded to climate change, sustainability, energy crises and preservation of culture and heritage. For example, the Children Academy in Haiti, the Boarding School for Girls in India, the Bamboo School in Liberia and The United Nations Relief and Works Agency Zero Carbon Gas Schools in Gaza Palestine, are all exemplary projects that can be set a new standard for architectural education.
“Haiti Partner’s Children Academy”, by San Francisco based BAR Architects in association with Haiti Partners developed an innovative self-sustaining community school in the post- earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The 38,000 square foot complex is perched high within the Mariaman Hills, approximately 2,500 feet above sea level overlooking the rugged steep terrain towards the heart of the urban city center. The learning facility will accommodate 450 students of all class range: from kindergarten through 12th, in its self sustaining building. The building is to be constructed with local materials: limestone and reinforced cinder block. An outdoor amphitheater will be carved into the natural bowl shaped hillside and a vegetable garden is to be tended and managed by the students. The distance from the urban city sprawl to the school is greatly numbered; hence the power grid requires the series of structures to collect its own solar energy, and supply the power to the school. Other sustainable features include rainwater harvesting for irrigation, a local well for potable water and the use of composting toilets. Ground breaking began in the fall and the project is set to be complete in 2014.
In the northern region of India, Rajasthan, known as the “land of kings and colors”, is the new Boarding School for Girls, designs by STL Architects in collaboration with Celestial Partnership. The 103 acres of land is divided into three parts: Learn, Live and Play and drawing inspiration from the stark geometry of the 6thcentury palaces of Meenas, Rajputs, Yadavs, Jats, Bhils, Gurjars and Bishnois, through the exuberant lattices of intricate patterns and evoking landscapes. Using these palaces as precedents, the design of the 39 acres Boarding School for Girls draws inspiration from the collection of small kingdoms connects the ancient past with modern society, creating a distinct traditional, yet modern architecture that negates the changes of the architectural vocabulary during the age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. The design of the school emulates the monumental circulation paths of the palaces; illuminating hierarchical arches that are proportioned exuberantly into a peaceful geometric garden which creates a serene environment for students, faculty and visitors.
For fourteen years, from 1989 to 2003 the country of Liberia has been ripped into two civil wars, killing over 300,000 civilians. Currently the country is the 162nd constitution of the Human Development Index and is still recovering from the devastations of these wars. However, Brazilian architect, André Dal’Bó da Costa, has been determined to develop the most important social and architectural programmatically educational building: The Bamboo School Project. The Bamboo School Project is to rebuild the foundations of a proper school and provide and environment where education is accessible. The building is to be a prefabricated building designed offsite, and assembled in Liberia using local materials, mainly bamboo and enclosed using adobe masonry, a Liberian technique. The adobe allows for a porous surface on the exterior that will protect the interior from rain, yet allow for natural lighting to penetrate through. The tin-roof construction allows for other fundamental amenities such as water, light and sanitation; and currently to house 160 students from the ages of 3 to 15. The students learn English, Reading, Writing, Science and Mathematics. The future goal is to expand the size of each school to accommodate up to 300 students.
Lastly, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, along with Mario Cucinella Architects with the financial support of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development through the Islamic Development Bank are in the process of building a standalone school building in the Gaza strip. This Zero Carbon Gas Schools in Gaza Palestine relies only on renewable, free and local available resources such as rainwater harvesting, zero CO2 emissions solar and ground energy. The design of the school is to promote the use of affordable and locally available materials as well as expanding on the development of simple construction systems, mitigating the use of advanced and expensive technologies. The construction of the schools is to be composed of three distinctive elements: a concrete slab foundation, pre-fabricated concrete pillars, and an overhanging roof. The concrete slab foundation would include rainwater tanks as heat/cold storage for the heating/cooling of interiors. The tanks are sized in order to fulfill the overall water demands of the building all year long. The Pre-fabricated concrete pillars are to be filled with the excavated ground. This allows for huge thermal mass in order to minimize temperature swings. The overhanging roofs act as a second bio-climate, regulating the daylight and solar gain provided into the classrooms. The roof area is sized according to the average rainfall in order to match water demands, and integrated on the roof are the solar thermal and photovoltaic cells that meet the electricity demands of appliances and provide hot water. Originally the school(s) was to be a pilot project has now expanded towards a sustainable, carbon-free Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory and 20 more schools are to be built. Through the educational and instillation of water resource management, efficient renewable energy through solar and wind technology, the demand for fossil fuel in occupied Palestinian territory as well as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria will be alleviated.
As we saw in 2011, the world faces various problems, all of which are weaved by a unified ribbon. Some countries choose to continue to dominate in the greed of the natural environment and only expand their own wealth through building mile high skyscrapers and Platinum LEED University campuses, while others see their wealth in educating the next generation in the natural local materials through generating sustainable architecture. It is critical that different architects pursue their own passion, some give into the demands of the client and are swept away by the financial means ofcreating a grown-up playground in one of the most highly cultural and religious holy lands, while other architects recognize their practice as an activism in educating the public of the historical attributes that lies beneath our feet and pushing for a comprehensive solution. As architects play a critical role in 2012, we need remember that architecture should embrace the environment, social, mental and political problems and most importantly, through the patronage of architecture, the values of humanity are hoped to be instilled in our next generations.
American Mosques & Muslim Identity: Debating Gender, Form, and Architecture /
Lecture & conversation with architect Maryam Eskandari, co-founder of MIIM Designs LLC and a graduate of the Aga Khan Program in Islamic Architecture at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a focus on modern and contemporary “Islamic” Architecture in the West.