Prior to the opening of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 on November 11, 2023, the organizers have revealed details of several new commissions and site-specific interventions that will explore and expand on the overarching themes of this year’s edition, The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability. The three-day opening program has also been announced, featuring talks, tours, screenings, workshops, and performances. Curated by architect Tosin Oshinowo, the event set out to explore the innovations born out of conditions of scarcity in the Global South and ways in which cultures collaborate, adapt, re-use, and re-appropriate resources to move towards a more resilient and equitable future. Architects, designers, and studios have been invited to contribute with installations and projects to be displayed across the city and the surrounding desert.
Between November 11 and 13, a diverse program of events will invite visitors to part-take in a city-wide dialogue around the impact of contextual solutions, waste reuse, and resource sharing. The program opens with a keynote conversation between curator and architect Lesley Lokko, and Rahul Mehrotra, Founder of RMA Architects and Professor at Harvard GSD. Together they will discuss the possibility of turning scarcity into opportunity, a recurring theme for this year's edition. A series of panel talks continues to develop this theme, with forums organized around three curatorial strands: contextual-based approaches to architecture, the importance of embracing the life cycle of materials, and the socio-economic significance of dust.
The program also includes guided tours, including a curatorial walkthrough led by Oshinowo, to present the various installations across the city and in offsite locations such as the abandoned Al Madam village. Workshops on upcycling techniques, eco-conscious solutions, and resource creation will be led by various artists and architects including Thomas Egoumenides. The program is completed by a lecture event exploring the connection between humans and non-human forms of life, featuring performances that incorporate sound, visuals, and the body, as well as a screening of Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Power in West Africa (2023). Along with the diverse range of events, architects and designers have been invited to contribute with adaptable and site-specific installations. The projects are designed to respond to a set of three key concepts: Renewed contextual, Extraction politics, and Intangible bodies.
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Exploring Scarcity in Global South: Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 Announces Full List of ParticipantsThe importance of embracing context in design and architecture has informed and inspired my practice for over a decade, and I’m delighted to introduce this incredible range of practitioners who are guided by similar principles and ideas. At this critical moment for the planet and its population, I hope that visitors come away with a sense of hope and possibility as we celebrate creative, innovative, and solution-orientated approaches and communities from across the Global South, and their potential to change the future of how we live. - curator Tosin Oshinowo
Renewed contextual
The first category investigates the knowledge derived from adaptations to resource scarcity, a condition that defined the Global South. Natural materials thus become a vital building resource, as exemplified by Hive Earth’s ETA’DAN project. The intervention, taking the shape of a multi-functional wall constructed out of rammed earth and agro-waste, provides spaces for rest and relaxation while highlighting the potential of waste reuse. Similarly, Sumaya Dabbagh’s EARTH TO EARTH employs mud as its main building material, embodying both solidity and fluidity. Hunnarshala Foundation’s Back to the Future exhibition focuses on the interconnection between traditional building skills and the empowerment of marginalized voices, while Thomas Egoumenides’ Ship of Theseus embraces the circular approach by reusing discarded plastic spools and threaded rods. Additionally, Papa Omotayo and Eve Nnaji will explore life in Sharjah's industrial zones by creating "WE REST AT THE BIRD'S NEST," an installation made from organic waste and scaffolding that reimagines space for collective rest.
Extraction politics
Extractive practices are another area of interest for this year’s edition. Formafantasma will present the ongoing project, Cambio, looking into wood industry’s origins in colonial bioprospecting in the 19th century and the supply chain's environmental impacts. Clothing brand BUZIGAHILL will also reconstruct their production studio and stage RETURN TO SENDER, highlighting the resourcefulness of Sub-Saharan Africans in harnessing waste as a valuable resource. Dia Mrad’s photographic installation Power Shifts explores the proliferation of solar panels on the rooftops of Beirut in an attempt to highlight Lebanon’s economic collapse. Further expanding on the theme, Olalekan Jeyifous will present SHJ 1X72 - 1X89, an alternative architecture project that embraces sustainable practices and local typologies.
Intangible bodies
Participants are also invited to contemplate on the relationship between natural landscapes and cultural narratives, as well as the ways in which these factors can be integrated into new urban frameworks. Abandoned sites in Sharjah, such as the old Al Jubail Vegetable Market, will serve as sources of inspiration for this theme. 51-1 Arquitectos set out to transform the adjacent area into an adaptable public space titled Play You Are in Sharjah. Further away, in the Al Madam ‘ghost village,’ DAAR – Sandra Hilal & Alessandro Petti will create the Concrete Tent, covering the ruins of the village with fabrics to reframe them as a symbol of ‘enduring trancience.’ Meanwhile, the Museum of Artifice by Miriam Hillawi Abraham reimagines Lalibela's rock-hewn churches using salt blocks, reflecting Sharjah's historical ties with Ethiopia.
The Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023, now in its second edition, aims to become a platform for architecture and urbanism for West Asia, South Asia, and the African continent. Earlier this year, the full list of participants was announced, featuring 29 architects and studios from 25 countries. The event also highlights various cultural projects, including the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF)’s inaugural conference, "Where in the World Is Tashkent," as part of the Tashkent Modernism XX/XXI research and preservation project.
Explore ArchDaily’s list of significant architectural events scheduled for the latter part of 2023.
