What does it mean to be an outsider? For one, the word refers to a person who does not belong to any specific group, and it’s often associated with someone not likely considered to win or succeed. It has negative connotations – to be an outsider is to be an outcast in some way. But what happens when the outsider does succeed? Do they become a central standard that has magnetic pull? Does it become a positive term?
"Cristiano Luchetti in conversation with Iranian architect Kourosh Hajizadeh" →
Last year was my third time as member of the jury for the Middle East Architect Awards, Luchetti writes.
This event is indicative of the state of the art in urban design, current trends, and achievements in the region, so projects and architects’ profiles submitted are disciplinarily interesting for a scholar like me. In 2015, I witnessed a lack of projects that one could define as “iconic”. It seemed that the architectural language of the submissions was adapting more and more to the economic conditions of these ambiguous times and avoiding unnecessary risks. In 2016 I noticed an even further drift toward safer and familiar languages.
In a sort of a reversed-brutalist process the language expressed through Euclidean geometries and rational architectural composition of spatial layouts gets polished and beautified through the use of the latest fashionable materials and high-tech building components. It seems that if space still remains within the boundaries of accustomed typologies, its finishing, performance, and detailing acquire more value…
"The legacy of Zaha Hadid: The thoughts of Cristiano Luchetti" →
Tributes have been paid to Zaha Hadid from across the world, following her recent untimely death. Here Cristiano Luchetti Assistant Professor, College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah offers his personal thoughts on her legacy.
"Are we experiencing the end of iconicism? Cristiano Luchetti, AUS, explores" →
Cristiano Luchetti is Assistant Professor, College of Architecture, Art and Design, American University of Sharjah. Here he writes a personal piece exploring how the emphasis on projects in the region is changing.
