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Qatar Tribune
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
QM hosts historic ceremonies at 19th Venice Biennale venue
Tribune News Network Doha During the pre-opening events for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, Qatar Museums Chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani hosted a series of historic ceremonies, discussions and celebrations on May 8, marking Qatar's heightened presence on this pre-eminent stage of the international art world. In Venice's Giardini, the heart of La Biennale di Venezia, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa welcomed Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro, President of La Biennale di Venezia Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, and Qatar's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Italy HE Khalid bin Youssef Khalifa Abdullah Al Sada to the site of the future Qatar Pavilion. When completed, the Qatar Pavilion will be only the third national Pavilion added to the prestigious Giardini in more than fifty years. 'Qatar will join the great chorus of nations in the Giardini, where architecture becomes diplomacy, and beauty speaks peace,' HE Sheikha Al Mayassa said before the invited audience of dignitaries, distinguished guests and media. 'Our Pavilion, crafted by the brilliant Lina Ghotmeh, will embody hospitality, resilience and our collective dreams. 'The Qatar Pavilion will be a home for exchange, for wonder, for the world — a place to engage in multiple dialogues that foster peace and inspire understanding. It will also be the place where we showcase the art, architecture and creativity of Qatar and our entire region of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.' HE Sheikha Al Mayassa then opened the temporary installation that Qatar is presenting on the site: Community Centre, designed by architect Yasmeen Lari/Heritage Foundation of Pakistan. Community Centre is part of the exhibition, 'Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa', Qatar's official presentation in the 19th International Architecture Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia. The exhibition continues at ACP-Palazzo Franchetti, where HE Sheikha Al Mayassa later welcomed guests to two discussions organised under the auspices of Qatar Creates and its Evolution Nation initiative, celebrating fifty years of Qatar's cultural journey. Yasmeen Lari, designer of Community Centre, conversed with renowned Indian architect Raj Rewal in a discussion moderated by Sean Anderson, Associate Professor at Cornell University and co-curator of Beyti Beytak. Speaking about the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, Yasmeen Lari said, 'The exhibition's theme of hospitality is about taking care of each other. So it is important to use materials that are not threatening to people and the planet and that have a certain warmth, like the bamboo of Community Centre. The decision by Her Excellency and the curators to bring Community Centre to Venice sends a very powerful message: wealth is not necessarily the criterion. It's how you treat the planet and how you treat the people.' For the second part of the conversations, H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa engaged in a discussion about the future Qatar Pavilion with Lina Ghotmeh, founder and principal of the Paris-based studio Lina Ghotmeh — Architecture, moderated by noted architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff. HE Sheikha Al Mayassa said, 'This is a national pavilion that will reflect what Qatar does in the world, which is to support Arab voices across all pursuits—social, economic, and of course creative—and so it is important to have an Arab architect. Our goal is to elevate Arab creatives as well as others from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.' The Qatar Pavilion was conceived by HE Sheikha Al Mayassa with the support and guidance of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as a major new resource for the nation in its role of fostering dialogue and international exchange through its museums, exhibitions, artist residencies, heritage sites, festivals, public art installations and programmes. Envisioning the Qatar Pavilion in the Giardini as a highly important extension of this commitment, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa had requested a design that would speak to the values and histories that Qatar shares with others across its region while also engaging with the multi-layered fabric of Venice. Following the conversation with Lina Ghotmeh, HE Sheikha Al Mayassa officially opened 'Beyti Beytak. My Home is Your Home. La mia casa è la tua casa', ushering guests into ACP-Palazzo Franchetti's galleries and inviting them to an evening reception in the Palazzo's garden.
Business Mayor
28-04-2025
- General
- Business Mayor
flood-proof bamboo pavilion anchors yasmeen lari's zero-carbon pono village in pakistan
In the flood-prone region of Sindh, Pakistan, the Juliet Center anchors a prototype development for resilient, community-driven architecture led by Yasmeen Lari. Within the Pono Village, conceived by the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan following the devastating floods of 2022, this new vaulted bamboo pavilion creates a flexible, open space to empower locals. The project has thus been completed by Nyami Studio and Jack Rankin with a social focus, responding directly to the environmental and economic vulnerabilities of the region. Built with traditionally low cost and eco-friendly materials including bamboo, mud, lime, and thatch, the Juliet Center is shaped as a vaulted structure that recalls the domed forms familiar in the region, translating them into a lightweight, sinuous silhouette. Within its open form, the modular pavilion is intended to host spontaneous community gatherings while providing a space for educational workshops, upskilling locals in sustainable building techniques. It supports Lari's wider mission of empowering populations through sustainable, culturally rooted design. all images courtesy of Nyami Studio a vaulted bamboo pavilion for community empowerment Following the devastating floods of 2022, the Pono Village was developed as an experimental zero-carbon settlement — an extension of Yasmeen Lari's exploration of sustainable shelters for marginalized communities who have been displaced by such disasters that have continued to sweep through Sindh. For the Juliet Center too, Lari commissioned London-based Nyami Studio and designer Jack Rankin to create a new focal point for the community, taking into consideration structural longevity and long-term civic empowerment — particularly for women, who are here trained in construction and craftsmanship to support their livelihoods. 'At the heart of the project was a commitment to creating positive social impact,' notes Rankin. 'To support this, we designed a flexible, open-plan space that could serve both the local community and the Heritage Foundation, providing a setting for workshops, talks, and social gatherings.' Read More 500+ Figma, React and Tailwind CSS UI Components The structure consists of two modular vaults arranged on a hexagonal grid, spanning widely to open up to the village without the need for internal columns. Though the space maintains a basic open plan, it remains deliberately flexible for future expansions or replication in other settlements. 'It is for the community to inhabit, adapt, and use in ways that suit their daily lives,' the designer adds. For the construction process, Nyami Studio and Jack Rankin ensured to continue the Heritage Foundation's commitment to preserving and promoting culturally rooted building practices, fusing this with digital design precision to work with the extreme climate, and achieve complex geometries and durability. ' With no locally available methods for steaming or heating bamboo, we bent it by notching and shaping it into formwork,' Rankin shares. Shaping these elements according to pre-calculating angles while integrating local techniques, the formwork was adjusted through trial, error, and close collaboration between the design team and villagers. For the finishing, floors are layered with 10,000 hand-made mud tiles fired in neighboring villages, and a durable, woven thatch roof made of grass harvested locally, offers protection from the extreme heat and rains. Structurally, the design utilizes 2-3′ bamboo members which allows for faster material procurement without compromising on spanning capacity or stability. While the building was still awaiting the completion of a perimeter of tiled steps and a retractable fabric facade when Jack Rankin and Neil Palmer, co-founder of Nyami Studio, departed Pakistan, it had already been embraced by the community. Children turned the Juliet Center into a playground, and adults gathered for afternoon tea, filling the space with life before the final finishes were even implemented. Read More Introducing ⌐◨-◨
Express Tribune
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistani architect Dr Yasmeen Lari refuses Israel's Wolf Prize over Gaza genocide
Lari's refusal follows escalating violence in Gaza, with Israeli fire killing eight Palestinians despite a fragile ceasefire. PHOTO: FILE Listen to article Renowned Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari has turned down the prestigious Wolf Prize 2025 in the field of architecture, citing the "continuing genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza. Lari confirmed her decision on Tuesday, explaining that she could not accept the award due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Wolf Prize, granted annually in Israel since 1978, honors living scientists and artists for their achievements in various fields, including architecture. The award aims to promote "friendly relations among people" through recognition of contributions to humanity. In her letter to the Wolf Foundation, Lari expressed her gratitude for the honor but made it clear that accepting the award was "out of the question" given the situation in Gaza. Lari's refusal comes amid escalating violence in Gaza. In the past 24 hours, Israeli fire killed eight Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials, despite a fragile ceasefire with Hamas. The ongoing conflict has resulted in over 48,000 Palestinian deaths, many of them women and children. Israel's military campaign, which began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, has led to widespread destruction, including hospitals, schools, and residential areas in the Gaza Strip. The acclaimed architect, known for her socially conscious work, has long advocated for socially responsible architecture, particularly for marginalized communities. She co-founded the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan in 1980, through which she has helped build sustainable shelters and ecological cooking stoves using natural materials. In 2023, Lari was awarded the prestigious Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Gold Medal for her humanitarian contributions. 'I declined the award because of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a reason I explicitly stated in my response to them," Lari said in an interview with Arab News, adding that her decision to turn down the award was "the very least I could do."
