ARCADE Arab Research Centre for Architecture and the Design of the Environment Atelier de Recherche & Communication sur l’Archi et le Design de l’Environnement
The Arab World
More than ever the Arab World is loosing day after day the best of its natural and cultural heritage due to globalization, war, ignorance and and lack of ethics. There is an urgent need for a new and dynamic vision in order to face the challenges of the third Millennium while preserving identity and dignity.
CONTINUITY
If past architecture found integrated solutions to the problems of the time, the complexity of our contemporary problems are still not fully grasped today and are generating chaos and monotony. A put once by G. Stein :”Once you got there, there is no there, there.” In fact our cities are facing the imminent danger of loosing what used to or can make them specific and unique. This loss means a rupture with the past, an alienation. We need urgently to elaborate new ways of designing our built environment.
Building for future generations The real challenge in architectural design today is in making the connection between what is already there and what is yet to come. Re-evaluating achievements of the past and addressing the problems of our present can help us finding solutions for the future generations. But we need to assess what is relevant and meaningful, to tackle critical issues and to innovate in the way we design the built environment. Designing for true sustainability can only be achieved by searching for new ways to bridge the gap between what has been done and the shape of things to come.
Arab Research Center for Architecture & Design of the Environment
ARCADE aims to establish Research as the basic tool investigate and develop innovative and sustainable approaches for the built environment. To that purpose it will investigate in depth the traditional architecture in the Arab World and its wealth of solutions focusing on the need for meaningful and integrated solutions.
KSA, UAE and other GCC Countries are competing to build new cities and mega projects such as universities, campuses, museums, libraries etc. And Dubai, the World fastest City, is preparing EXPO 2020, a major universal event. A Research Center on architecture and the design of the environment based in Dubai, mainly in the historic zone of Bastakia, will be an extremely important step towards R&D for the Gulf, the Middle East and North/West Africa.
Building in Dubai a dedicated Architectural Research center for the Arab World
ARCADE MISSION & OBJECTIVES
The Gulf, Middle East and North Africa
I. Research the built environment with focus on the vernacular architecture II. Build Data on human settlements, urban fabric and traditional architecture III. Elaborate innovative approaches to the built environment based on
researching climate and context IV. Build Communication tools (website, digital and paper magazine
dedicated for AR, books, seminars, conferences) V. Build Knowledge among students and professional communities VI. Build bridges with Research Centers worldwide and promoting the richness
of our heritage
Climate responsive design Research strategies
• Climate and micro-climate investigation
• Daylight & sunlight • Passive and active solar • Ecological insulation • Natural ventilation • Passive Heating & Cooling • Recyclable Materials • Smart Openings • Inner spaces: Courtyards, Atrium
etc • Peripheral and buffer spaces:
verandas, loggias, etc. • Wind Towers • Architectural screens, brise-soleil • Etc.
Context responsive design Research strategies
• Environmental and ecological framework • Energy, water and waste • Site investigation • Building form & morphology • Building fabric • Responsive design strategies • Cost of material production, recycling etc. • Building process • Building structure • Building skin
• Roof • External walls • Openings
• Floors and internal walls • Etc.
Architectural photography has the power of interpreting reality and suggesting new visions. ARCADE will continue the huge task of recording artistically and methodologically what is left of the Heritage in the Arab World with focus on the Gulf, in order to preserve the memory of these settings for future generations and communicate images worldwide for researchers. The photo studio will be one of the major tool for R&D.
RECORD THE BUILT, NATURAL AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Designing for sustainability Less aesthetics, more ethics
• Preservation of nature: new regulations concerning quality of air, water and soil in order to protect what is left of the basic resources worlwide • Preservation of the architectural heritage: reinforce design authorities at the municipal level in order to elaborate new strategies and updated construction laws for our villages and cities. • New strategies necessary for our survival: using materials that are eco-friendly, recyclable, non-damaging to the natural site where the building is to be erected and to sites where the materials came from, etc.
ARCADE Samir Nicolas SADDI Founder & Director
I. 40 years of international experience in design and management of large-scale projects in
Lebanon, France, Canada, KSA, Qatar and UAE. II. 40 year of experience in architectural photography. Has documented architecture and human
settlements in Africa, North America, Europe and the Arab World. III. Experience in teaching architectural design and research, has lectured at many schools of
architecture in Lebanon and Canada. IV. Collaborated with renown organizations such as Centre Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Aga Khan
Foundation in Geneva, ADA in Riyadh, Solidere in Lebanon etc. V. Published in many books and magazines worldwide. VI. ARCADE is registered in Canada in 1990 and in Lebanon in 2000
RESEARCH & PUBLICATION ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY WORK
West & North Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf
ARCHITECTURE IN WEST AND NORTH AFRICA:CROSSING of AFRICA Through
the SAHARA in 1978 IVORY COAST, Mali, BURKINA FASO, NIGER, Algeria & MOROCCO
ARCADE VISUAL LIBRARY Samir N. SADDI photographer
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, UAE, BAHRAIN & YEMEN
ARCADE VISUAL LIBRARY Samir N. SADDI photographer
CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE in the GCC:
KSA, UAE,Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain RECONSTRUCTION OF BEIRUT CENTRAL DISTRICT
LEBANON
ARCADE VISUAL LIBRARY Samir N. SADDI photographer
OLD CITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
JEDDAH, SANA’A, CAIRO, ISFAHAN
ARCADE VISUAL LIBRARY Samir N. SADDI photographer
DOCUMENTING ARCHITECTURE
IN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES PAKISTAN, IRAN, JORDAN & TURKEY
WORKING WITH THE AGA KHAN FOUNDATION
ARCADE VISUAL LIBRARY Samir N. SADDI photographer
ARCADE has built over thirty years a consistent image library of more than 20,000 images of historical, vernacular & contemporary architecture worldwide including:
• North America (USA, Canada) • Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Greece
etc.) • Western Africa (Ivory Coast, Mali,
Burkina Faso, Niger) • North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia,
Egypt) • The Middle East (Lebanon, Syria,
Jordan) • The Gulf (Saudi Arabia, the Emirates,
Yemen, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar)
ARCADE Image Library
Samir Nicolas SADDI
Architect registered in Lebanon (1975) and Canada (1990) Designed projects in Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Canada and Saudi Arabia
Lectured in 2 schools of Architecture during 7 years Founded ARCADE or Arab Research Centre for Arachitecture and Design of
the Environment in Canada in 1990 40 years of Architectural Photography
Managing the design and construction of Museum projects in the Arab World since 2004
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon
AWARDS:INTERNATIONAL WINTER CITIES COMPETITION
FIRST PRIZE & AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 1990
MAJOR CULTURAL & MUSEUM PROJECTS STATE OF QATAR 2004-2008
CLIENT: QATAR MUSEUMS AUTHORITY
Sheikha Mayassa Al Thani, Chairperson
Museum of Islamic Art, IM Pei architect National photography Museum, Santiago Calatrava architect
QATAR National Library, Arata Isozaki architect National Museum, Atelier Jean Nouvel architect
Position: Qatar Petroleum Lead Engineer, in charge of QMA projects
MAJOR EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
CLIENT: QATAR FOUNDATION CHAIRPERSON: Sheikha Moza
Qatar Leadership Academy, Roger Tallibert architect
Convention centre, Arata Isozaki architect Texas A&M & Carnegie Melon, Legoretta architect
MAJOR MUSEUMS & CULTURAL PROJECT IN QATAR
NCCAH & QATAR MUSEUMS AUTHORITY
Museum of Islamic Art, IM Pei architect MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART IN NUMBERS
• Man made peninsula:6ha • Building GA:45,000 sqm • Height: 63 m • Length: 186m • Width: 66m • Bridge: 50m • Palm Trees: 392 • Permanent Galleries on 3 levels: 5000 sqm • Temporaray Gallery:700 sqm • Educational space: 600 sqm • Mediathèque:2700 sqm • Auditorium: 300 sqm • Book/Giftshop: 300 sqm • Restaurant: 700 sqm • Conservation labs: 1060 sqm • Art Storage: 1700 sqm • Nbre of Galleries: 18 • Nbre of showcases: 392 • Lighting fixtures: 1600 • Fibre optics: 32 km • Collection: 2500 artifacts and growing
THE NEW QATAR NATIONAL MUSEUM Atelier Jean Nouvel, architect
DOHA 2002-2014, project IN CONSTRUCTION
Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum
Zayed National Museum
Guggenheim Museum
Promote Abu Dhabi and Saadiyat Cultural District as an International Cultural destination for cultural awareness and education for future generations
MAJOR CULTURAL & MUSEUM PROJECTS UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 2009-2010
Client: TOURISM & DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY (TDIC)
Guggenheim Museum, Frank Gehry architect
Zayed National Museum, Norman Foster architect Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, Atelier Jean Nouvel architect
Position: (AECOM) Director
Base Building and Museography Design and construction
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture
Snohetta, designer Lord Cultural Resources, Museum Consultant
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Beirut National Museum Basement Samir N. Saddi, exhibition designer
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
Baalbeck Festival Museum-Lebanon Zaha Hadid, Museum Consultant
Samir Nicolas SADDI, Project Director
Top Related