The last week saw a handful of meetings affording context to the academic project I have in mind. A few new projects, too, promise to keep me busy in case the intensity of "real work" wanes from time to time.
A meeting with the Dean of Morgan's College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Mbare Ngom, was both productive and inspiring. led to a discuss of how "Making Water" fits within Morgan's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) initiative. Discussions about Israel's water management practices -- and of the trans-border issues that include both technical and political challenges -- lead obviously to discussions of similar challenges around the world, including elsewhere in the MENA region and the United States. We discussed my plans for a symposium to be held Spring 2020, which would highlight Morgan's growing stake in MENA studies.
A meeting later in the week with a representative of the Jewish National Fund's US operations was especially helpful, both in outlining the role of the JNF in water infrastructure development in Israel and in providing contacts with Israel developmental experts. Thanks to David Weiss, of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, for making the connection!
And... completely unrelated... two academic RFPs crossed my desk. Both piqued my interest sufficiently to resuscitate a couple of projects that lay dormant for the last few years. The first was an opportunity for a writing grant sponsored by dpr-barcelona solicits proposals to write about projects submitted to "Future Architecture" and its Ideas competition. Writing about architecture is, in fact, what I do for a living, so why not do so more imaginatively?
My proposal was inspired by a gift from my colleague Mohammad Gharipour: a catalogue of the exhibit "Falnama: The Book of Omens" held at the Sackler Gallery in 2009. Why not create a book of "architectura" omens? (LINK to the proposal.)
The Architects’ Falnama: Accounts from a Book of Omens
Descriptions of Open Call projects can serve the act of architectural “bibliomancy,” the prediction of our shared environment’s future.
Leaders of 16th century Iran turned to illuminated books for predictions of success or failure. Tools of prognostication, these volumes were called “falnamas” and represented the unity of speculative with cosmological thinking – inspired by religion, in most cases, but also by politics and culture.
Today’s architecture embodies a contemporary cosmology based on social and spatial narratives. Future Architecture, furthermore, embodies speculation. Each Open Call project divines an alternative promise of architectural success... or failure. How can such architectural omens more effectively serve the world to come?
This project will create new texts for the purpose of architectural “bibliomancy,” the forecast of our environment’s future. Graphics culled from 6 Open Call projects will inspire new, accompanying narratives. Taken together, these stories will focus readers’ attention upon the shared ethos of Future Architecture and the liberating spirit of speculation itself.
No doubt my proposal's selection is a "long shot," but why not give it a try? :-)
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