1 april
Podcast #68: Sophie Kwizera
Over het centraal stellen van mens en milieu.
ZUZAK and MAHALA (Arabic for 'Street and Place') is a special grassroot initiative by Iraqi architect Raya Ani (RAW-NYC Architects). With this project, Ani engages with local communities in Baghdad and beyond, helping rebuild destroyed Iraqi cities. Step by step. Or rather: street by street. As an international and multidisciplinary architect, Ani brings experience from working on three continents and different cultures. Which lessons can Amsterdam architects, urban planners and citizens take from her work in cities such as NYC, Baghdad and Dubai? And how can architecture and design be used as a source of empowerment for and by the city and its citizens?
Raya Ani is a multidisciplinary Iraqi architect and the founder & design director at RAW-NYC Architects. Her passion and interest crosses over disciplines to include architecture, urban design, interior design, fashion, art and the environment. To demonstrate this diversity in practice, a small selection of her extensive work:
PS 59: the first Green Public School in New York City
In 2008, Ani worked as Associate Principal / Design Leader for EE&K Architects on the renovation and adaptive reuse of a former nurse’s residence for the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital into an elementary school for 350 children, New York’s First Green Public School: P.S. 59 - The Beekman Hill International School. The building meets the highest requirements for energy usage, water usage, and environmental air quality and is based on a holistic approach to environmental responsibility. Image: ©Arch Photo.
Liberland: the world’s “third smallest sovereign state”
The RAW-NYC team won the first prize in the Liberland architecture competition for their design masterplan aimed at creating a new micro-nation to accommodate immigrants. The RAW-NYC’s winning design envisioned an algae-powered sustainable micro-nation of innovators. Image: ©RAW-NYC for Liberland.
ZUKAK and MAHALA
The earlier-mentioned project ZUZAK and MAHALA (Street and Place) aims to rebuild destroyed Iraqi cities (and Iraqi communities) one street at a time. The platform objective is to empower Iraqi people to take charge of their own environment. After Baghdad, the initiative will spread throughout the rest of Iraq. Image: ©ZUZAK & MAHALA.
Raya Ani received her BSC in Architectural Engineering from Baghdad University with distinctions, and an MS in Architectural studies from MIT, where she was awarded the Harvard / MIT Aga Khan Scholarship. She was the President of the American Institute of Architects-Middle East in 2017. She is a licensed Architect in the State of New York and a US Green Building Council Accredited Professional. She was named one of the top most powerful Architects in the Middle East by Design MENA in Dubai. She was selected as one of five inspiring and powerful personalities in the world by Black Tomato travel and Cadillac where she represented Dubai and the MENA region.
Read more:
Interview: ‘Ik geef de inwoners van Bagdad de controle terug’ (Dutch only)
Architecte Raya Ani ontsnapte bijna dertig jaar geleden uit haar thuisstad Bagdad. Ze keert terug voor de wederopbouw. Door Tracy Metz in het NRC Handelsblad, 18 februari 2019.
How women architects are shaping the UAE's design identity, feat. Raya Ani
Raya Ani is not one to subscribe to easy labels - least of all, that of being a 'female' architect. "When you are a minority practising architecture, whether in the Middle East or on an international level, being a woman or an Arab woman, or a visionary architect thinking outside the box, you face challenges and it becomes counterproductive when people label you, as it limits your full potential for contribution," says the Iraqi architect who heads the firm RAW-NYC and was President of the Middle East Chapter of American Institute of Architects in 2017 >>>
RAW-NYC Architects
RAW-NYC Architects is a woman-owned interdisciplinary architectural studio based in New York City and Dubai, a collaborative practice providing visionary and uniquely crafted architecture buildings, interior spaces and urban design solutions worldwide >>>
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