Jordanian architecture projects receive international recognition

AMMAN — Three project designs by Jordanian architects have been selected among the top five places in an international architecture competition.

The three Jordanian teams competed with 423 architects from 15 different countries last January in a contest held by www.arch2o.com, which is a website for architecture projects.

The criteria, according to the architects and architects-to-be, are the theory behind the project, the form of the project and the presentation of it.

In one project, Farah Shaker, Layal Meshal, Aseel Bseiso and Nisreen Kilani, who graduated last June from the University of Jordan, designed a research centre for marine science in Aqaba. 

“We searched for problems we are facing in Jordan regarding water and marine life there and discovered that this is a major problem that needs to be addressed,” Shaker told The Jordan Times.

“Coral reefs are decreasing in number, which is why we had the idea of designing a research centre to bring people’s attention to this topic,” Shaker added.

She said the competition was first held in the US, the UK and Egypt, but has since expanded to cover 15 countries with the aim of evaluating the best engineering projects and implementing them all around the world.

Meshal said the research centre project, along with four other projects, reached the finals in mid-March.

Shaker said the project promotes green alternatives by including a museum that shows human-made damage to the Red Sea. 

“The project’s main aim is to raise the community’s awareness on pollution in Aqaba,” Shaker said.

Another Jordanian design, the “Black Swan” project, was designed by UJ students Reham Adi, Dareen Alloun and Basma Khlaif.

The Black Swan Technology and Innovation Centre project is a combination of theory and application, according to Adi, a fifth-year student. 

“The term ‘Black Swan’ usually refers to unexpected events in life, and the technological revolution is one of these,” Adi told The Jordan Times.

“Technology is an important part of our everyday lives. We wanted, through our project, to highlight the pros and cons of technology,” she added.

“The centre is for all ages and sectors of society,” Adi added.

The third Jordanian project, designed by architecture student Rasha Shami, is a community technology centre.

“As humans, we live in a disjunction between two worlds — the virtual and the real worlds. My project aims to bring both worlds together through unconventional methods,” Shami said.

Her project is based on combining mathematics, physics and architecture to produce a high-tech centre.

“It is a system of imagining what surrounds us in new scenarios through the laws of physics, mathematics, chromo-dynamics and the lattice theory,” she added.

“I managed to make it to the final stages as an individual participant, but of course, without the never-ending support of the university and my professors, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Shami said.

Although there is no financial prize in this contest and the designs will remain on paper for now, Meshal said she is still proud to have taken part in the competition.

“Young Jordanians have to participate in such competitions; it opens our eyes to novel technologies. These competitions are a product of late-night work and cooperation between team members; it was not an individual effort,” Meshal stressed.

Shami agreed, noting that participating in international, regional, or local competitions is essential “to see where we stand in the world in regards to our university majors or fields we are interested in”.