Architecture | The Common Ground

The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows:

Yousaf Oqleh, Board Member Architect and Urban Design, Architects for Society, Dubai. Kourosh Hajizadeh, Principal Architect, Hajizadeh & Associates, Mohamed Al Assam, Founder and Executive Chairman, Dewan Architects + Engineers, Arash G Tehrani, Principal & Lead Architect, Arash G Tehrani Design Studio, Alborz , Gijo Paul George, Co-Founder, Studio Toggle,
Here are the best of competition projects as follows:

Winning project – FAST FORWARD TO THE FUTURE

By Hamed Behkam, Erfan Deryakenari, Hila Khatat, NIloufar Farajian 

 

Description | Architecture has the power of empowering people in their cities, their lives and relations. Architecture is not for the past , it is for the Future. In this project we try to create the participation spaces for people to use. We inspiring existing layers on the site to memorable space and times. A Grand Arc of Aleppo is refer to the past and is for the Future.

Jury Comments | “Paying attention to the context and creating a common language with the environment.Very interesting usage of a virtual space to display the emotions and atmosphere of war and expressing the memories of the past by creating a big arch.Clarity and weightlessness in a huge element.Not blocking the view of the citadel by creating lines in two different layers on the project.Very strong presentation and clear display of explanatory ideograms and diagrams of the project” – Kourosh Hajizadeh

“A successful project is the one with good and fresh ideas, proper design process, successful product, and good presentation; and in my opinion, it should surely respond to the competition’s question, and answer to the context, society, and culture. This project had almost all the elements. A good memory for Aleppo, exciting space and atmosphere, interesting concepts, clear ideograms, and suitable presentation. Obviously, the construction plan might have been a concern if the competition asked us a construction grant, but still a successful and memorable proposal.”   Arash G Tehrani

—————–

Runner Up | PARADAIJAH

By Ania Otlik, Artur Nitribitt

Description | The word paradise comes from Proto-Iranian Paradaijah, meaning walled enclosure. Project proposes to erect a wall from ruins of devastated Aleppo, to invite water and plants inside, as a metaphor of revival and realm of peace. Meanwhile the modern reinterpretation of traditional arches stimulates public life and offers a place to play, trade and meet.

Jury Comments | “ Humility and balance versus the citadel and the city.Creating a warm public space and a hub for the city.Usage of a suitable greenspace for the context and creating a warm and central space in accordance to the architecture of this region. Utilizing a suitable material like concrete for creating soft forms relevant to the presented ideas.Extremely strong presentation with appropriate ideograms and diagrams for the design process.“ – Kourosh Hajizadeh

“I think this team understood the atmosphere of the context pretty well and had a good sense of space, maybe a good mixture of an ancient Persian concept with the actual feel of Arabic architecture. And the final design is a suitable atmosphere for Aleppo which I’d like to experience in reality. My only criticism was the lack of functional spaces and services; because I strongly believe that these are the functional spaces which kept the well-known plazas like Prague’s Old Town Square, Isfahan’s Naghsh-e Jahan, Venice’s San Marco, and the others alive after centuries.” – Arash G Tehrani

—————–
Honourable Mention  THE NON MEMORIAL

By: Mohamed El-kurdi

Description: This project aims to transcend traumatic memory imposed in the physical monumental space, by creating a space for social reconciliation through storytelling. Embracing the scars of war and subtly subverting these memories of war into beams of hope.

Jury Comments: I liked the idea of keeping the ruins, using the recycled material for the renovations and constructions, and also the participation of people over the years. This project had good ideas, a suitable answer, and clear ideograms, but I actually expected better presentations and more functional spaces. – Arash G Tehrani

—————–
Honourable Mention | BETA THE PATH OF TOMORROW

By Michal Al-Hussein

Description: A place to escape from reality, not just a building, it is the main square, a public space, a place to gather,  a place far away from all the political and religious issues where everyone finds a place for themselves in it.

Jury Comments : “I think that was a strong project, with great pre-studies, useful infographics, and most importantly, a proper and strong answer to the question. They have a functional plaza with a great view of the citadel, an environment-friendly roof with a beautiful atmosphere, and lovely below spaces full of suitable functions which are well described in the sections. A Strong project with almost everything that this project demanded or needed. Only if I were them, I would have chosen a different cover photo; maybe a more inviting, describing or even an eye-catching one.” – Arash G Tehrani

—————–
Honourable Mention | ALEPPO A TANGIBLE HERITAGE