A surprising number of people still live in caves throughout the Middle East, but hardly any of them have a home that is as luxurious as the enviable Columbarium in Israel. Iranians live in caves, some Turks live in caves, and one of the region’s most sought-after Couchsurfing hosts brings guests to his tranquil lair […]
Farshid Moussavi’s inaugural project in the United States, the sharp Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification if it performs as designed. Born in Iran but currently based in London, Moussavi recently split up with her former work and life partner and beat out a lot of competition to win the […]
Rock Stadium by Lebanese design firm MZ Architects hasn’t been built yet but it has already won two coveted international design awards, including Best Future Building of the Year at the 2012 LEAF Awards. Marwan Zgheib accepted this year’s award for Al Ain’s sunken Rock Stadium in London on 21 September, sharing a slice of […]
Kuwait is making its debut at the 13th Venice Biennale this year, and they’re doing so with some serious style. The pavilion features a cavernous industrial space interrupted with dangling speakers, orange cushions and abandoned master plans, and it was commissioned by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCAA). Unlike many of the […]
Though wallpaper is not popular in the Middle East, this wallpaper can help repair sick building syndrome. I grew up in a duplex, my mom warned us that the walls have ears. Now the walls can have lungs too. Germany-based Blücher Technologies has created a material called Saratech Permasorb Wallpaper that removes toxins embedded in wall […]
The news that the American University of Cairo (AUC) would be the first from North Africa or the Middle East to participate in a US Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathlon competition was a source of great pride for all design and environment enthusiasts in our region.
Israel’s Mediterranean city of Bat Yam is pulling itself out of obscurity with one of the most unusual art spaces we’ve seen. Located just south of Tel Aviv – the country’s most well-known seaside city, the Riviera used to be a thumping nightclub in the 1950s and 1960s. Now it’s a very yellow and open industrial-chic art […]
We’ve long extolled the virtues of earth building, but it turns out that Iran’s simple clay and mud brick buildings are a leading cause of casualties during strong earthquakes. Over the weekend, two earthquakes measuring 6.3 and 6.4 on the richter scale hit the country’s east Azerbaijan province, killing at least 360 people and displacing […]
The privately-owned Abdali development company promises that the new 384,000 sqm commercial center in the heart of Jordan’s capital Amman will offer “lush inviting spaces that beckon and call for your attention.” “Notice the elements subtly woven into the new downtown’s [sic] environment,” their web marketing person gushed. “Delight in the blossoming urban forest close […]
Usually new developments seeking LEED certification have to “prove themselves” – so to speak – before they can achieve any kind of certification. However, in order to recognize the division between owners and tenants of new developments, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) makes an exception for core and shell buildings that are designed […]
After six years of failing to negotiate with them, a Catalan designer is going public with a story that could cause Qatar tremendous embarrassment in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup. A member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bound by the Paris Convention and the TRIPS […]
Space comes at a premium these days, but could you live in a house that is only four feet wide? Israeli writer Etgar Keret commissioned Jakub Szczęsny from Centrala to build a tiny house between the crack of two buildings in Poland. Designed more as an artistic platform for intellectual engagement than a serious dwelling, […]
Although building a monument to nature is something of a contradiction in terms, o2a studio has done a wonderful job of finding balance between the built and unbuilt in this striking design for the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem. A subterranean facility with stone cladding, the museum is topped with a green roof that creates […]
This building is located in Niavaran, Tehran – a district in the northern foothills. The climate in this area is completely different than the south and center of Tehran because of the nearby Alborz Mountains. Unfortunately, many old gardens in the area have been destroyed by urbanization projects over the last century. But Mohammed Reza Nikbahkt took a […]
When commissioned to transform Izmir’s Orfi furniture store into an inspiring and atmospheric new space, Turkish designer Nail Egemen Yerce was presented with three concepts that needed to be incorporated: the garden, the plaza and the street. The existing office was endowed with an incredible excess of daylight, which needed to be diffused without shutting out […]