Adrian Lahoud appointed Curator of the inaugural Sharjah Architecture Triennial

Sharjah Architecture Triennial announces the appointment of Adrian Lahoud, Dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art, as curator of the first edition.

Taking place in November 2019 in the Emirate of Sharjah, the Triennial is the first major platform to invite dialogue on architecture and urbanism in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

Lahoud is an internationally recognized architect, urban designer, and researcher.

He has written and lectured extensively on urban spatial forms and large-scale environmental changes with a focus on the Arab world and Africa.

He was Studio Master in the Projective Cities Master of Philosophy in Architecture and Urban Design Program at the Architectural Association London. Prior to that, he was Director of the MA program in Research Architecture and a Research Fellow in the Forensic Architecture ERC project at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Key works include ‘Climate Crimes’ at ‘The Future Starts Here’, V&A Museum, ‘Floating Bodies’ at ‘Forensis: The Architecture of Public Truth’, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin and ‘Fallen Cities: Architecture and Reconstruction’ in ‘The Arab City: Architecture and Representation’.

Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Architecture Triennial, commented: “The Board of Directors of Sharjah Architecture Triennial and I are all very pleased that Adrian Lahoud will be curating our first edition. His deep commitment to addressing challenging global questions, cross-disciplinary perspective, and nuanced understanding of the MENASA urban context makes him the right choice for us amongst several other impressive candidates. We are confident that he will make an important contribution to the Triennial’s mission to reframe the conversation on regional architecture and urbanism.“

Dr Adrian Lahoud, commented: “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to shape the inaugural edition of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial and to find ways of supporting an emerging generation of architects, artists and scholars in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.”

Public programming

Lahoud’s appointment comes on the heels of Sharjah Architecture Triennial’s inaugural public programming event that took place in April, organized in partnership with the Sharjah Directorate of Town Planning and Survey, and the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University.

Sharjah Architecture Triennial is founded by Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi, Chairman of Sharjah Urban Planning Council, and is set to reframe on-going conversations about the built environment of this diverse region by addressing its social, economic, environmental and cultural context. In the lead-up to its first edition which will take place in November 2019, the Sharjah Architecture Triennial will convene a series of public programmes including talks, conferences and symposia.