Master Jury for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2016 convened

The members of the Master Jury of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture have been announced. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, established in 1977, is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, urban and regional design, conservation and landscape architecture. Through its efforts, the award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence. 

The selection process emphasises architecture that not only provides for people's physical, social and economic needs, but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural and spiritual expectations. Particular attention is given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in innovative ways, and to projects likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere. The award is currently in its 13th triennial cycle.

The Jury, which independently selects the recipients of the US$1 million award, will convene in January 2016 to select a shortlist from hundreds of nominated projects. The shortlisted projects will then be subject to rigorous on-site reviews by independent experts. The Jury will meet again in June 2016 to examine the on-site reviews and then select the final recipients of the award.

The nine members of the Master Jury for the 2014-2016 award cycle are:

• Suad Amiry, Founder, Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation, Ramallah 
• Emre Arolat, Founder, EAA-Emre Arolat Architecture, Istanbul 
• Akeel Bilgrami, Sydney Morgenbesser Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University, New York 
• Luis Fernàndez-Galiano, Editor, Architectura Viva, Madrid 
• Hameed Haroon, Chief Executive Officer, Herald Publications, Karachi 
• Lesley Lokko, Head, Graduate School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 
• Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge 
• Dominique Perrault, Founder, Dominique Perrault Architecture, Paris 
• Hossein Rezai, Director, Web Structures, Singapore 

Interested?

Read the biographies of Master Jury members (PDF)

Exploring the religious and cultural aspects of Baluchistan

Balochistan: Architecture, Craft, and Religious Symbolism, by Dr Mohsen Keiany, is one of the few studies focusing on the culture, architecture and religious traditions of Balochistan (also spelt Baluchistan) and its people. The hardback (ISBN 978-0-19-906784-8) is published by OUP Pakistan, runs to 370 pages and costs £41.99 excluding VAT.                                                     

In this January 2015 research work Dr Keiany, an artist and lecturer in architecture and visual arts at the University of Arts in Isfahan and also at Azad University of Shiraz, Iran, explores the living tradition of Baluchistan and provides a deeper understanding of its religo-cultural aspects. The architectural and artistic traditions are well-documented in this book. The material presented on prayer rugs, tents, and aspects of the nomadic and semi-nomadic architecture is wholly original. 

The research first focuses on the social environment of Baluchistan, in order to understand the input of local culture and tribo-religious influences of local architecture. The Baluchi lifestyle is analysed on a broad plane, taking into account native architecture including mosques and symbolic minarets as key factors, together with their design, characteristics, social contextualisation and methods of production.