Author: bashar alshawa

An Integrative Design Approach

October 22, 2011

Another problem with today’s architecture is the lack of an integrative approach towards designing buildings. What’s happening is that parts of a building component are designed without taking into account any other parts it may affect, thereby possibly affecting those parts in a negative way. I especially sensed this during my education at architecture school, […]

COMMENT

The DARKER Side of Villa Savoye

September 3, 2011

bashar alshawa

towards an architectural history fit for purpose

23 comments

For Part I Following on from Graham’s first post on this architectural ‘masterpiece’, and which mainly talked about how bad the planning of the house was, today I’m going to talk about some other things that weren’t so great about this villa. As soon as it was completed, it was apparent that the house was […]

MYTHS

Culture, History, etc. and BUILDINGS (1)

July 16, 2011

bashar alshawa

what is architectural meaning anyway?

4 comments

These days, a lot of what you hear about, or read about on the internet as justification for why a certain building is the way it is, is culture and history. These two words are repeated a lot in many architecture articles that get published. They are usually used in the sense that having a […]

SCIENCE

The Beauty I See in Al Hambra

June 27, 2011

bashar alshawa

performance

1 comment

No. It isn’t the very fancy and expensive decorations or the Court of The Lions, and it certainly isn’t the spiritual feeling that one is supposed to feel when looking at such an enormous built object. Those are not the things that amaze me so much about Al Hambra Palace in Granada, Spain. What does […]

EDUCATION

The Twisted Education of Architects

June 4, 2011

bashar alshawa

what do we want from architecture education?

2 comments

Let’s start by agreeing that, at the end of the day, architecture is supposed to make us good buildings and that architectural education should teach students how to make those good buildings? Sadly, as I experienced it, and I don’t think that architecture schools are much different, it almost succeeded in teaching me how to […]

EDUCATION

Architects, the new tailors

May 8, 2011

bashar alshawa

what do we want from architecture education?

1 comment

There’s an old fairy tale in which emperors were the people to work for and make a lot of money in return. And if you’re really clever, you could get a lot of money by doing the least amount of work possible, or even by simply doing nothing, as this story tells. Once upon a […]

MYTHS

Architecture Myths #1: “Islamic Architecture”

June 25, 2010

bashar alshawa

History and its uses

6 comments

(1) The term “Islamic Architecture” is seen by many scholars and architects as a certain architectural style that most of the buildings in the Islamic World and others are still designed according to. They tend to believe, and make others believe too, that in order for a building to be of an “Islamic Style” it […]