ADACH And Harvard University Launch Joint Publication On Al Qattara

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and Harvard University have launched a joint publication on the work of a Harvard Graduate School of Design Studio on Al Qattara and Al Jimi Oases in Al Ain.

This was celebrated in Abu Dhabi with a joint book signing ceremony, yesterday, with the Director General of ADACH, Mohamed Khalaf Al Mazrouei and Harvard Professors Jorge Silvetti, and Felipe Correa the co-authors of the book.

The book entitled: "Invention/Transformation: Strategies for the Qattara/Jimi Oases in Al Ain", presents findings of the Harvard Design School faculty and students, based on their visit to Abu Dhabi, their interaction with local experts from ADACH and other local institutions and their studio work , exploring scenarios for the restructuring of Al Qattara and Al Jimi Oases.

According to Mohamed Khalaf Al Mazrouei "The Oases of Al Ain are an important element of the heritage of Abu Dhabi, it is therefore important to integrate them into the urban and social structure of the city, while making sure that their physical integrity and heritage values are not compromised. The Harvard Design Studio and ADACH expert workforce worked hard on exploring these avenues for sympathetic change." Dr Sami El Masri, Deputy Director General for Arts, Culture and Heritage at (ADACH) said: "This project reinforces ADACH’s commitment to making Abu Dhabi a center of research and production of knowledge, collaborating with world-class institutions such as Harvard University to develop global best practice in its field. Oases areas are very special cultural landscapes requiring a specific design language and solutions adaptable to their unique cultural and natural characteristics.

The Al Qattara/Jimi Design Studio study follows-up from a master planning exercise targeting Al Ain oasis and the surrounding area, whereby ADACH developed innovative ways to inform and steer it’s design and development. The success of the master planning exercise, now adopted by the Urban Planning Council, encouraged further research to be conducted on oases landscapes." Professor Jorge Silvetti said "This has been an extraordinary experience to engage with ADACH’s work in the preservation of cultural and natural heritage of Abu Dhabi.

This was an occasion for collaboration in which many goals were achieved and everyone won: the students were able to receive first hand experience to analyze, discover and address some of the most pressing, real design problems of the day, ADACH got a sense of the latent opportunities to develop these oases, and Harvard University got the opportunity to partner with a Government Authority that is at the forefront of preservation policy." According to Professor Felipe Correa "The oasis served as a point of departure for in-depth research on Abu Dhabi Emirate. The student’s investigations went from large-scale arid infrastructural systems to specific buildings and ecologies within the oasis.

This rich terrain explored through the lens of a diverse body of students, from all over the world, yielded in a unique document that can serve as a reference for future interventions in Al Qattar and Al Ain." The underlying driver for the potential development of Al Qattara/Jimi Oases is a serious interest in establishing an important cultural, educational and research program devoted to the Arts, Crafts and Design traditions of the Emirates. This is in line with ADACH’s Strategic Plan to develop and conserve Al Ain’s oasis areas through master planning, appropriate adaptive reuse and site management.

The Harvard team of 25, led by Architects Jorge Silvetti, Professor of Architecture, and Felipe Correa, Assistant Professor of Urban Design, comprised advanced graduate students from three distinct disciplines, Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design. They worked in an innovative cross-disciplinary framework to unfold alternative visions for a site that is unique from a cultural and an ecological perspective.

During their visit to Abu Dhabi and their consequent studio work, the Harvard team held a series of information sessions amongst local stakeholders, and coordinated with ADACH staff on developing the book’s content.

The publication of "Invention /Transformation: Strategies for the Qattara/ Jimi Oases in Al Ain" is highly significant in terms of contributing to the growing literature of architectural conservation and urbanism in Abu Dhabi and the region.
 

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