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Building
the Information Base for Contemporary Islamic Architecture
It is no secret
that research on architecture in the Islamic world suffers from the
dearth of basic information on such elementary topics as architects'
biographies and oeuvre, bibliographies of publications on contemporary
architecture in the Islamic languages, and modern architectural and
critical terminology. AKPIA@MIT is launching an experimental research
project that aims to fill these information gaps in contemporary Islamic
architecture. We would like, however, to take the long view and to collect
all available information, edit, streamline, and classify it with the
intent of making it available to all interested researchers. At a second
stage, we will begin considering the best ways to synthesize and interpret
the collected information through conferences, edited publications,
and the like.
ArchNet provides us with a superb means of communication with our primary
audience. It also allows us to use its extensive membership base as
our most powerful potential informants. We are at this stage seeking
the voluntary help of the ArchNet membership in building databases for
contemporary Islamic architecture. As a pilot project, we are beginning
with the construction of an electronic database on architects in the
Islamic world with a special focus on the 19th and 20th century, but
we welcome all information on architects from all previous periods.
We would like to ask ArchNet members who know of significant architects,
especially those who have been ignored by professional publications,
to contribute the information they have by answering the questions provided
and submitting the form back to islamarch@mit.edu.
Please
answer as many of the questions as you can.
Alternatively,
members can opt for a narrative presentation of the architect(s) instead
of filling out the form.
We are counting on your contribution to introduce to the architectural
profession the long neglected architects from the Islamic world who
are unknown simply because no concerted effort to collect and propagate
information about them has been made. Thank you for your time and effort.
Nasser Rabbat
Aga Khan Professor of Islamic Architecture, MIT
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