Award Films & Videos

The Tectonic Grain; a lecture by Nader Tehrani

The fifth Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design public lecture took place on October 3, 2015 at the Columbia Global Centers | Middle East in Amman, Jordan.


The Tectonic Grain:
“The work of Architecture is almost always the result of a negotiation between the actuality of material realities and the ancillary contingencies that are part of a more complex assembly which often cannot corroborate the clarity of a material message. The play of tectonics is, thus, often the result of giving bias to a conceptual grain, sometimes an idea, other times a structural or surficial phenomenon. The reconciliation of the real and perceptual plays of these phenomena form a key part of architectural work; this talk will explore the complex layering of architectural narratives that make up the tectonic grain of various buildings.”


This lecture was an event of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design, and was organized by Omrania & Associates and the Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) in association with Studio-X Amman, run by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and the Columbia Global Centers | Middle East.


The participation of Nader Tehrani in the jury of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award is made possible through the kind support of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.


(Click here) to view the lecture photo album.


For additional information, check out the event on Facebook.

 

Interviews with Bernard Khoury

Bernard Khoury: Collaboration in Architecture in Lebanon 

Bernard Khoury: Mother, Father, Children, Extended Family, and Architecture


We interviewed Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury during the making of the film “Arab Women in Architecture,” which was produced as an activity of the 2013 sixth cycle of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design. During the interviews, Bernard talked about women in architecture, and also about much more.


We accordingly produced the two following short videos from Bernard’s interviews in which he talks about his family, shares memories of his journey as a young architect, and contemplates about the practice of architecture in Lebanon.


Bernard Khoury is the founder of the architectural office DW5 / Bernard Khoury, which he established in Beirut in 1993. He studied architecture at the Rhode Island school of Design at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. His work features a wide range of residential, commercial, institutional, entertainment, and multi-use development projects. 


His work has been exhibited internationally. He is the recipient of a number of awards including an honorable mention in 2001 from the Borromini Prize, which is given to architects under 40 years of age by the Municipality of Rome, and the Architecture + Award in 2004. He also taught as a visiting professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris, and the American University of Beirut. He also was a jury member of the 2013 sixth cycle of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Excellence in Architectural Design.


For additional information, check out  www.bernardkhoury.com.

 

"Against, but in the Stream;" a lecture by Emre Arolat

The fourth Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design public lecture took place on October 19, 2014 at the Columbia Global Centers | Middle East in Amman, Jordan.


Against, but in the Stream:
A general explanation of Turkey's and Istanbul's context
What we do in this region and how it is done


This lecture was an event of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design, and was organized by Omrania & Associates and the Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) in association with Studio-X Amman, run by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) and the Columbia Global Centers | Middle East.


The participation of Emre Arolat in the jury of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award is made possible through the kind support of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.


(Click here) to view the lecture photo album.


For additional information, check out the event on Facebook.

 

Arab Women in Architecture

This 56-minute documentary film features interviews with nineteen Arab architects from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia. It explores the subject of the practice of architecture by Arab women architects and features stories on their experiences, challenges, and achievements. In order to facilitate viewing, the film is divided into six sequels.

The film was first screened during the Award's sixth cycle ceremony, which took place on January 7, 2014 at the German Jordanian University's Othman Bdeir House for Architecture and Design in Amman, Jordan. It was also screened in Beirut, Bir Zeit, and Athens.

A 1-minute trailer is also available for the film. (Click here) to view it.

 

Architectural Memories: The Student Years

This 35-minute film explores the subject of architectural education. It features interviews with nineteen architects representing diverse age groups and training backgrounds. In these interviews, they talk about memorable student experiences that have helped form them as architects. The film was first screened at the fifth-cycle ceremony of the Omrania | CSBE Student Award for Architectural Design, which took place at the American University of Sharjah on December 5,  2012.

Also, a 50-minute video has been put together about the Omrania | CSBE Student Award fifth-cycle ceremony. It features the opening remarks made at the ceremony, the film "Architectural Memories: The Student Years" (except for the credits at the end), and the awarding of prizes to the winning students.
 

The Omrania l CSBE Student Award for Excellence in Architectural Design fourth cycle film

This 10-minute film features information on the Award’s mission and its evolution. The film was first shown in December 2011 at the Award's fourth cycle ceremony, which took place at the American University of Beirut.