Building with a Future Vernacular | Wael Al Awar
The chief curator of the UAE's National Pavillion for the 17th Architecture Bienalle di Venezia (2020 and 2021) – and recipient of the Golden Lion Award – architect Wael Al Awar joins us on the afikra podcast for fascinating conversation about the problem with modern and globalized architecture, and building with the future in mind. Waiwai's founding partner and principle architect takes a deep dive into cement as a material and discusses the disconnect between standardized architecture and cultural and geographical contexts. Wael also explains why architecture as a profession has become intertwined with ego, and answers whether we're truly stuck with skyscrapers.
Wael Al Awar is an architect and founder of waiwai alongside Kazuma Yamao — an architectural, landscape, urban, interior and graphic design studio with offices in Dubai and Tokyo. Waiwai takes a highly contextual approach to address social, environmental and technological questions through design. Wael was the chief Curator of the National Pavilion of the UAE for the Bienalle di Venezia 2020 and 2021, and recipient of the Golden Lion Award.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media, and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
