This Wednesday, March 17 at 8pm EST, Maryam will be joined by Deans Judy and Sean Palfrey for a “fireside chat” at the Gold Coast of Adam House at Harvard. Register for the online conversation HERE.
Maryam will lecture Thursday at SOA UNCC /
Maryam will give her The Path Forward: Designing Beyond an Autonomous Architecture lecture on Friday, November 6th at 2pm via zoom. Register HERE.
MIIM Designs Selected to Reimagine the El Segundo Gateway for the LA 2028 Olympics /
MIIM Designs is thrilled to announce our collaboration with the City of El Segundo in an exploration of the city’s main entrance on Imperial Highway. The 100 acres land is located in parallel with LAX runway just south of the city and is the gateway to the City of El Segundo. The original sign served as a landmark for the city.
The El Segundo Gateway, builds on the historical circular walls. The walls, the arms of the city, embrace you when you first arrive. Creating an inclusive in motion, representing the cycles of life, that emulates growth. The path directs you towards the west – as the sunsets, reflecting on the future of El Segundo and the future changes and shifting towards the emergence and weaving of a sustainability and technology through the celebration of the Blue Butterflies.
“Land locked at one of the prominent spaces of Southern California, El Segundo is one of the main cities that one witnesses upon their arrival. Filled with a rich historical context of a land that was previously owned by corn farmers, later turned into a refinery town, through Chevron. We ask ‘How do we want the future gateway, for the city of El Segundo, to be representative of the community? And, how do we create: Wayfinding, Community, and Ownership?’ We strongly believe that the combination of strategic planning, creative programming and thoughtful transformation of the site will bring a renewed sense of relevance to this gateway.” – Maryam Eskandari
#BLACKLIVESMATTER /
In lieu of a “normal Monday”, and in response to the events currently unfolding across the United State, MIIM Designs has recognized that business cannot continue as usual and we have made the decision to pause and stand in solidarity with all those demanding justices. The murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis was the latest in a long line of brutal acts. The betrayal of promises of our aspirations and the broken principal values of our society a has underscored a culture of systemic racism, hate and disenfranchisement.
While MIIM Design’s founding mission, Design Communities and Create Culture, emphasized civic dialogue and activism in architecture and design, we know that there is inherent privilege embedded in whose voices are heard. We ask you, if it is possible to join us, so that we can stand humbly in solidarity, sadness, anger and hope with our fellow black communities, and to recommit to elevating the crucial narratives of those who are hurting the most, in both our words and actions.
With Justice, Equality, Health and Safety,
The MIIM Team
MIIM Designs is a proud sponsor of the "NOW WHAT!?" Exhibit /
Over the last couple of weeks, the architecture community has been celebrating incredible and talented architects. New York Times and Architecture Digest recently ran two articles on “Architecture is No Longer Just a ‘Gentleman’s Profession’” and “LA-Mas Blending Design and Public Policy Solution”; and the Future of Women theme for the month of September was “Architecture”. Many of these architects have been setting the stepping stones and paving the way for the future of the architecture community. There is no better way to celebrate them than through this incredible exhibit - Now What?! The first exhibition to examine the little-known history of architects and designers working to further the causes of the civil rights, women’s, and LGBTQ movements of the past fifty years.
It is such an honor to celebrate these architects who have paved the way. Please join us as we show our appreciation and gratitude for the amazing contribution they have made in the field of architecture.
MARYAM TO SPEAK AT THE FUTURE OF WOMEN /
The Future of Women has announced this Fall’s line up for the event. You are invited to an intimate breakfast with Maryam and four other incredible architects who are blazing trails, shaping societies, and inspiring communities. This event will be a candid conversation so that we can hear real stories, connect across cultures, and explore how these stories can be used for social change.
Get your tickets here and use PROMO CODE MARYAM to get your DISCOUNT!
Let's support women-led business while we're at it. Your ticket goes towards the delicious breakfast, giving our incredible chefs a nice Monday morning boost! See you there!
Maryam talks about the future of Schools of Architecture in Re.Design School /
Recently, the Architecture School at The Design School at ASU launched a new initiative – Re.Designing The Design School - to ensure that architecture schools across the United States are providing students with the best design education.
In the interview, Maryam was asked the following questions:
1. Where is design going?
2. How can design education be more relevant?
3. What are the future skillsets designers need to learn now?
4. Designers work in transdisciplinary. What should a design school do to prepare students for that?
5. What should a design school do to forward equity and inclusion?
Read Maryam’s Interview HERE.
Paid Summer Internship on the 1947 Partition /
The 1947 Partition Archive is now accepting applications for our Oral History Student Internship Program in South Asia. You may apply to one of our funded districts listed below or define your own region within South Asia where you think stories should be collected. Please note you are responsible for finding your own lodging. In the questions below, you will be asked to justify your choice with evidence.
The funded regions currently include:
- Maharashtra, India
- Sindh, Pakistan
- Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Delhi, NCR, India
- West Bengal, India
- Assam, India
- Bihar, India
- Baluchistan, Pakistan
- Punjab, Pakistan
- Punjab, India
- Jodhpur, Rajasthan
- Special compensation city: Lahore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore
- Special compensation in Karachi via: Mustafa Zafar Fellowship to record stories
- Other... NOMINATE A CITY
Apply HERE
DWELL ON DESIGN: ARCHITECTS OF IMPACT /
Maryam to join Eve, Frances and Tiffany to discuss the ways in which architects are changing the world through the conviction that design can make the world a better place.
Saturday, April 7 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Main Stage - Los Angeles Convention Center
Paid Summer Internship in South Asian and Islamic Art /
JOB ALERT:
The Art of Asia Department seeks an intern to work intensively on two projects under the supervision of the Ananda Coomaraswamy Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art. The projects will provide the intern with direct experience of two important aspects of curatorial work. The first project is a catalog of highlights of the South Asian art collection, which the intern will help to bring to completion (e.g. researching objects, collating drafts, standardizing language). The second project is the reinstallation of the Islamic gallery, for which the intern will work on a visitor study that will provide critical information about the familiarity of the Museum’s audience with Islamic art and culture.
APPLY HERE
UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies Presents: American Mosque /
Maryam and Edward will hold a conversation on "American Mosque", the history of American mosques as communal and contested spaces with particular attention to diversity (racial, socio-economic, sectarian), gender roles, built environment and design this Saturday, March 3rd at 1:30pm PST. For information on attending click HERE
Stanford Graduate Women's Group Presents: Maryam Eskandari /
Maryam will hold a conversation on "Reading Between the Lines - (Real) Roles, Responsibilities, & Stories" as a paradigm for understanding the role of an architect in the built environment at Stanford University this Thursday, February 15 at 4:30pm PST. For more information on attending click HERE.
OAC Awarded $20,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts /
On Tuesday, February 7th, 2018, Open Architecture Collaborative was awarded $20,000 from the National Endowment of the Arts. The grant will go towards a pilot program called Pathways to Equity: A leadership development program for community design practitioners.
Jane Chu, NEA Chairman stated, “…projects [like] this one of Open Architecture Collaborative, are good examples of how the arts build stronger and more vibrant communities, improve well-being, prepare our children to succeed, and increase the quality of lives…”
Read the full press release HERE.
MIIM Designs' America to Zanzibar Exhibit Starts its National Tour /
We are very excited that the exhibit that we designed for the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, America to Zanzibar, is starting its national tour in January 2018. After two years of it being housed in New York City, its first stop will be back at Maryam’s home state – Tennessee and will be opening on February 3, 2018 at the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga. It will then move to Kentucky to be celebrated at the Muhammad Ali Center for the rest of 2018. We will keep you posted on upcoming adventures as it makes its way across the US. We are so grateful to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for trusting in our design and forever allowing us to become a part of the CMOM family. We are also very grateful for the amazing coverage on our work this year in New York Times, New Yorker (with DJ Khaled) and the various videos.
Garrett Jacobs featured in Architectural Record /
Garrett Jacobs, Executive Director of Open Architecture Collaborative, was recently featured in Architecture Record magazine. Read the full interview that he did with Fred Berstein HERE.
Maryam to Speak at National Humanities Conference /
The Federation of State Humanities Councils will be holding its annual National Humanities Conference 2017 on 'Islamic Art', sponsored by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston . The 2017 Working Group will be:
* Introduction: Considering Islamic Art History and the Question of Public Impact - Laura Weinstein
Teaching about Islam through Art in the Museum and Classroom - Walter Denny
Children's Museum of Manhattan - America to Zanzibar: Presenting Islamic Culture to Children and Families - Maryam Eskandari
Students, Art and the Middle East Refugee Crisis - Pamela Karimi
Advocacy and Art - Nadeem Mazen
New York Magazine: DJ Khaled's son approves MIIM Designs work /
New York Magazine recently interviewed DJ Khaled's son, Asahad Khaled, the busiest baby in Hip-Hop as he took a tour at MIIM Designs exhibit, America to Zanzibar, at the Childeren's Museum of Manhattan.
Truly, Asahd is a natural ham. Right now, for example, in the “America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far” exhibit, he’s atop a fake camel, dancing to “Wild Thoughts,” his father’s hit single featuring Rihanna and Bryson Tiller, which someone has playing on an iPhone. Asahd starts clapping his little hands and scooting back and forth. Then he really gets into it, teetering side to side, waving a single finger in the air, his signature move. “He came out of the womb holding his finger up,” Tuck says, and I’m pretty sure she’s not joking.
“Yes, boy! Yes, boy!” Khaled chants. And Asahd starts “Ah-ahhh-ahhing” along to Rihanna’s “Wild, wild, wild.”
“Get it on Instagram!” someone cries out. (It will be on Snapchat later.)
Read it HERE.
New York Times Review of Children's Museum of Manhattan /
The New York Times wrote a fantastic review of MIIM Designs work on the America to Zanzibar exhibit at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. The show has been so popular since its opening in February 2016 that its run has been extended another year, and plans are underway to take it on a nationwide tour in 2018. “I’ve been here 26 years and I can’t remember another exhibit that had a sustained heavy attendance over a period of a year like this one has,” said Mr. Ackerman [Executive Director of CMOM], noting that more than 350,000 people have visited. “It’s been a surprise blockbuster for us.” Read the Complete Review HERE.
Maryam to Speak at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston /
As part of the continuing "The City Talks" series at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Maryam (MIIM Designs) will be joining MFA's Laura Weinstein, Ananda Coomaraswamy Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art and Acting Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia along with Michael Dwan Singh (SubDrift Boston) and Robb Johnson (Fenway Health) to discuss "How do we unlearn differences within communities"?
Join Boston-area thinkers, institutions, entrepreneurs, activists, city officials, and artists at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for a free discussion inspired by themes in the exhibition “Political Intent,” on view now.
Archinect's Executive Editor, Nick Korody, Interviews Maryam /
Nick Korody, the Executive Editor of Archinect Magazine, recently sat down and interviews Maryam on weaving her values into MIIM Designs.
Recently, Archinect has been taking a look at the relationship between faith and architecture. In this interview, we speak to Maryam Eskandari, Principal of MIIM Designs and Adviser in History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. A practicing Muslim, Eskandari views her practice as an extension of her faith—which means, basically, to make "good architecture" for the 99%.
Read the FULL INTERVIEW HERE.