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 Digital Newsletter Vol 4,December 2015
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The AIA ME Board applauds its events committee for the resounding success of its  2015 Annual Conference and Design Awards.   This year's conference was held in Abu Dhabi at the Rosewood Hotel on 13 th and 14 th of November 2015.

The conference offered a forum for dedicated members of the architecture community to inspire and learn from one another. The conference's theme was 'Architecture and Planning Innovation in the Middle East', focusing on current projects in the Middle East and how they reflect the condition of the social, economic and political shape of the region.  

The first day of the conference featured architectural presentations and debates. Eight speakers plus four panelists offered their expert perspectives, touching on the full range of scales that architects operate.
Tannar Whitney, President of AIA Middle East opened the conference, welcomed the attendees and introduced the conference chairman and first speaker Mr. James Wright, 2016 President-Elect for AIA International Region, Senior Principal of Page Southerland Page.

The programme culminated with the AIA Middle East Design Awards ceremony, which took place at Manarat Al Saadiyat Island, a beautiful gallery and exhibit space which hosts art and other cultural events throughout the year.

The AIA Middle East 2015 Awards honors works of excellence in architecture by its members and aims to bring outstanding examples of architecture to public attention. The award categories for this year were: Architecture (Built and Un-built), Planning and Urban Design, and Student Graduation Projects.


Design Awards Ceremony at Manarat Al Saadiyat 


The second day of the conference offered a full day programme of guided tours to outstanding landmark projects of architectural grandeur in the UAE, such as the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Al Bahr Towers and ADIC offices, Masdar City and the Grand Mosque. 


Morning Tour - the Louvre Abu Dhabi


Afternoon Tour - Masdar City


AIA WIDER NEWS
IDP: Overhauled IDP Goes Into Effect June 2016


On June 29, 2016, the Intern Development Program (IDP) will be updated.   The IDP's current 17 experience areas will be realigned into six broad practice-based areas: 
  • Practice Management
  • Project Management
  • Programming & Analysis
  • Project Planning & Design
  • Project Development & Documentation
  • Construction & Evaluation
 

ARE: Architect Registration Examination available in UAE 

The Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) assesses candidates for their knowledge, skills, and ability to provide the various services required in the practice of architecture. The ARE has been adopted for use by all 54 U.S. Member Boards and the Canadian provincial and territorial architectural associations as a registration examination required for architectural registration.

All divisions of the ARE are administered exclusively on computers at Prometric test centers, year-round throughout the United States; U.S. territories; Canada; London, England; Hong Kong, People's Republic of China (PRC); and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Candidates may take the divisions in any order, and at any time and location they choose (subject to availability). Most test centers are open six days a week, 50 weeks a year. 

To learn more please visit: http://www.ncarb.org/ARE/Taking-the-ARE.aspx

AIAU: LUs at Your Fingertips
Our industry changes every day. New ideas, technology, materials, business opportunities, and more are constantly emerging. AIAU makes it easy to keep up-offering learning units (LUs) on the topics you need to stay current, the tactics and trending issues that affect your practice, and the ideas you crave for inspiration.
AIAU features rigorously-curated content for architects, designers, builders, and others working in our diverse and evolving field. These online courses supplement events in your community, giving you learning you can access any time of day, from any place in the world with an Internet connection.

AROUND THE CHAPTER
AIA ME Bahrain Events

Blessings of the Sky

Ashutosh Jha, a senior architect at MSBEC and a LEED AP (BD+C) presented a talk on the use of daylight to reduce energy consumption of buildings. The talk took place in Words Bookstore Café on the 16 th of November 2015. The audience consisted of a various group of architects from design firms, real estate and construction companies in addition to university instructors and architecture students. 





























Architecture & Revolution

Ali Lari, AIA associate and Design Manager at SSH presented a talk on the design of defensible spaces in cities. The talk is organized by the American Institute of Architects Middle East chapter and took place in Words Bookstore Café on the 23 rd  of November 2015. Ali explained how architecture has been a tool used to control society and talked about Foucault's panopticon and connected it to Haussmann's design of the city of Paris. He discussed how architecture helped regulate the actions of people making them prisoners of their surroundings and their conditions. Ali then reflects on the possibility that architecture can create "Decontrol"? He posed many questions: can architecture act as a Trojan horse that would hack the rules urbanism created & recreate appropriation, transformation, expression, exchange and dreams and can the system of the spectacle be used against itself?





AIA ME  Qatar Event
 
Aptness, Plasticity + Design: Necessitating Agility in Environments.
 

The  American Institute of Architects - Middle East  (AIA-ME) hosted a lecture by Dr.Brian Sinclair, PhD DrHC FRAIC AIA (Intl), at the Msheirib Enrichment Center  on 24th November, 2015.
The pursuit of the extraordinary in Architecture is daunting, demanding and elusive. The needs of society increasingly shift and blur, with an allied expectation that landscapes, buildings, spaces and places will accordingly transform, mutate and accommodate. Development is vibrant, intense and forceful, often operating at unforeseen scales, through unfathomable complexities and with unpredictable consequences. 
Dr. Brian Sinclair explored how to reconsider design in this ever-changing milieu and to contemplate new ways of seeing, thinking and acting, including the questioning of convention, the managing of expectation and the cultivating of invention. 

BIG 5 Conference - Masters of Architecture Panel: Shaping Arabian cityscapes and the buildings of tomorrow

 

 Sherif Anis, AIA ME 2015 Vice President and 2016 President-elect, participated in the opening keynote panel which brouhjt together noted visionaries and design personalities who are shaping GCC cityscapes, to share experiences and best practice in innovation and efficiency in achieving sustainable urban design. The panel discussion tackled topics such as the latest trends and innovations influencing design choices today; the main challenges facing urban planners in the GCC; the biggest opportunities for designers in the GCC in the next five years; how regulations and a growing awareness of sustainability issues are influencing design decisions; how innovation is driving building design and what are the most innovative buildings in the GCC and around the world today and how to balance contemporary design with the preservation of cultural heritage.

The Panel was moderated by John Alexander Smith, Professor of Architecture, American University in Dubai. Panelists included  Benjamin Piper,  Janus Rostock,  and Rashad Bukhash.
 


Welcome New AIA ME Members

Miss Marwa Abdulla, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ahmed H. Abou Alfa, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Ms. Soulaf Aburas, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Mohammad Sayyed Ahmad, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Abdullelh N. Alarfaj, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ahmed Al Ali, Assoc. AIA
Dr. Ali A. Albassami, Assoc. AIA
Miss Sara Aleem, Assoc. AIA
Ms. Nermeen Ahmed Alkhateeb, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Ms. Maryam Almuftah, Assoc. AIA
Ms. Reem Al-Naimi, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Ms. Afaf Alqallaf, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ali J. Al-Sammarraie, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Abdarrahman  F. Alsharif, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Hashim T. Alshaiban, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Khalid A. Alzahrani, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ramon C. Angel, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Nael Badr, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Fadi Banani, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Roland Jae D. Catapia, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Abdul Rahman Chaar, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Farid Esmaeil, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Osama Elassy, Assoc. AIA
Dr. Anna K. Grichting, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Haisam Hanafy , Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Muhammad Y. Habsah, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Saif A. Haobsh, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Amr N. Ibrahim, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Miss Maryam A. Jamsheer II, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Yogesh K. Kale, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Abdelrahman Koura, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Arnel V. Macogay, Assoc. AIA
Ms. Violetta A. Madi, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Miss Sally Michael, Assoc. AIA
Ms. Bhavna Mody, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ahmed A. Mostafa Sr., Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Naveed Mulla, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ahmed K. Nassaar, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Jesus C. Palingcod Jr., Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ivan M. Petrovic, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Dr. Ahmed H. Radwan, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Hayder Razoki, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Waleed M. Roshdi, Assoc. AIA
Ms. Farah Sabobeh, Assoc. AIA
Miss Maryam W. Saffin Esq., Assoc. AIA
Mr. Nabeel Shah, Assoc. AIA
Mr. Ashraf Salloum, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Youssry Salman, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Kamel Tilikete, Intl. Assoc. AIA
Mr. Matthew Utley, Assoc. AIA

UPCOMING CONFERENCES 

3rd IDF OMAN 2016 - 
Interior Design Decor Furniture Expo, 

16-18 February, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

For more information, please visit event website:  http://www.idfoman.com/  






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