After Dark: Nocturnal Landscapes and Public Spaces in the Arabian Peninsula

Date: 

Fri - Sat, Apr 7 to Apr 8, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Location: 

CGIS South, Rm 020, 1730 Cambridge St; Piper Auditorium, Grad School of Design 48 Quincy St

The Aga Khan Program and The Department of Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design and the CMES Arabian Peninsula Studies Series present

AFTER DARK: Nocturnal Landscapes and Public Spaces in the Arabian Peninsula
In the Arabian Peninsula, public spaces are often most used after darkness falls and the temperatures with it. This symposium explores typologies of nocturnal landscapes common in the Peninsula, and similar hot climates. During this interdisciplinary event, we will ask who uses night-time landscapes and public spaces, what activities are peculiar to the night and ultimately, how to design for life after dark?

If you plan to attend this conference, please register here.

Organized by: Gareth Doherty, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Senior Research Associate, Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD), and William Granara, Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Harvard University
 

PROGRAM
Friday, April 7 
Center for Government & International Studies (CGIS), South Building
Rm 020, Lower Level, 1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA

4:00 pm: Welcome address: William Granara (CMES)
4:15: Introduction: Nocturnal LandscapesGareth Doherty (GSD)

Panel I: Nocturnal Activities in Public Spaces
Moderator: Ahmed Kanna (University of the Pacific)

4:30: 'This is Not What I Thought’: The Pitfalls and Potentials of Kuwait’s Segregated Nocturnal LandscapeFarah Al-Nakib (American University of Kuwait)
5:00: Mapping Nightscapes: Scenes from Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 
Yasser Elsheshtawy (UAE University, Al Ain)
5:30: Riyadh Night Drive, Pascal Menoret (Brandeis University)
6:00: Discussion

6:30: End of day 1

Saturday, April 8 
Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, Harvard Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA

9:30 am: Welcome: Anita Berrizbeitia (GSD)
Introduction: Gareth Doherty (GSD) 

Panel II: Designing for Darkness
Moderator: Belinda Tato (GSD)

10:00: Dark Societies, Nasser Abulhasan, Joaquin Perez-Goicoechea (AGi Architects, Kuwait and Madrid)
10:30: Electric Schemes, Todd Reisz (Yale University)
11:00: Light Nights, Anna Grichting (Qatar University, Doha)
11:30: Changing Nocturnal Landscapes in the United Arab Emirates: The Case of Al Jahili Park in Al AinMaha al-Dhaheri (Urban Planning Council, Abu Dhabi)
12:00: Discussion

12:15: Lunch break

Panel III: Narratives of the Night
Moderator: Nasser Rabbat (MIT)

2:00: Sights, Narratives, and Sounds of the Night, Wilmot Kidd (photographer and filmmaker, New York) 
2:30: Makkah: Time, Light and Religion, Hussam Dakkak (Studio Bound, London, Kuwait, Riyadh) 
3:00: Space[Less] City: Stories from Sharjah's Instant Modernity, Cristiano Luchetti (American University of Sharjah)
3:30: Discussion

3:45: Coffee break

Panel IV: New Nocturnal Landscapes
Moderator: Silvia Benedito (GSD)

4:00: Dissociative Identities and Nocturnal Landscapes in the Gulf, Steven Velegrinis (Perkins+Will, Dubai)
4:30: Mundane Manarahs: Desert Camps and Neon Lights, Abdulatif Al-Mishari (Associated Architects Partnership)
5:00: The Veils of Night, Ahmed Al-Ali, Farid Esmaeil (X Architects, Dubai)
5:30: Discussion, and concluding remarks: Mohsen Mostafavi (GSD)

6:00: End of conference

Sponsors: The Aga Khan Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, CMES Arabian Peninsula Studies Series
Contact: Liz Flanagan
 

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