Issam M. Fares | Former Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon

The Graduate Programs in Urban Planning and Policy & Urban Design Presents City Debates 2012

01 May 2012

AUB – ArD – MUPP-MUD
City Debates 2012 Re-Conceptualizing Boundaries: Urban Design in the Arab World
May 3-4, 2012

Conference Program
Day 1: Thursday, May 3, 2012 [INTRODUCTION COFFEE 9:00-9:30 AM]
09:30 - 10:00 AM - Howayda al-Harithy (ArD-AUB). Welcome Note and Update on the “Urbanism in the Arab World” Initiative at AUB - Robert Saliba (ArD-AUB). City Debates 2012: Framing Urban Design on the Margins: Global Paradigms and Regional Implications
10:00 - 11:30 AM Panel 1. Design Networks and Emerging Regional Discourses - Angus Gavin (Solidere). The Corporate Discourse: New Planning Mechanisms, Design Competitions, Regional Branding - Omar Abdelaziz Hallaj (Aga Khan Award for Architecture & The Syrian Trust for Development). The Cultural Discourse on Regionalism in Urban Design: A Case Study on the Role of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture - Howayda Al-Harithy (ArD-AUB). The Social Discourse: Community Activism, Postwar Reconstruction and the Arab Uprising > Discussant: Nezar AlSayyad (UC-Berkley & IASTE)
[COFFEE BREAK 11:30 AM-12:00 PM]
12:00 - 01:30 PM Keynote I. Nezar AlSayyad (University of California-Berkley & IASTE). The 'Islamic', 'Arab', 'Middle Eastern' City: Reflections on an Urban Concept > Commentary: Robert Saliba (ArD-AUB)

[LUNCH BREAK 01:30-02:30 PM]
02:30 - 04:00 PM Panel 2. Operational Research: Spatial and Ecological Focus - Christoph Wessling (BTU-Cottbus). Merging the Intercultural and Cross-Cultural: The Case of Joint Urban Design Workshops between Germany and Universities in the Arab World - Thomas Stellmach (GIZ & Uberbau). Aleppo City Development Strategy: An Ecological-Regional Design Perspective - Sandra Frem (Hashim Sarkis Studios). Transforming Nahr Beirut: From Obsolete Infrastructure to Infrastructural Landscape > Discussant: Leon Telvizian (LU)

[COFFEE BREAK 04:00-04:30 PM]
04:30 - 06:00 PM Panel 3. Operational Research: Social and Speculative Focus - Peter Gotsch (FH-Frankfurt). Decoding Private Urbanism and Sustainability: Lessons from Neo-Towns - Rabih Chebli (FAFS-AUB & CCES). Environmental Design between Research and Practice: Case Studies by the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service at the American University of Beirut - Lee Frederix (NDU & AUST). Cultural Infrastructure for the Margins: A Machinic Approach to Nahr Beirut > Discussant: Abdul Halim Jabr (ArD-AUB)

[COFFEE BREAK 06:00-06:30 PM]
6:30 - 8:00 PM Keynote II. Matthew Carmona (University College London). Decoding Design Governance > Commentary: Mona Harb (ArD-AUB)

City Debates 2012
2 of 2
Day 2: Friday, May 4, 2012
9:00 - 10:00 AM Panel 1. The Cross-Disciplinary: Intersection and Fusion between
Design Disciplines
- Mohamad Kashef (AlHosn University). Theory of Urban Space:
Straddling the Divide
- Sam Jacoby (AA). Architectural Urbanism: The Operativity of Built
Form
> Discussant: Carole Levesque (ArD-AUB)

[COFFEE BREAK 10:00-10:30 AM]
10:30 - 11:30 AM Panel 2. Sites of Worship
- Giuseppe Cina (University of Turin). Urban Requalification of the
Abu Hanifa Mosque Neighborhood, Baghdad
- Mohamed Al Assam (Dewan Architects & Engineers). The Urban
Renewal of “Holy Shrine” Cities in Iraq: Case studies of Kadhimiya /
Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala
> Discussant: Sateh El-Arnaout (World Bank)

[COFFEE BREAK 11:30 AM-12:00 PM]
12:00 - 1:30 PM Keynote III.
Anne Vernez Moudon (University of Washington-UFL). From
Research to Practice: Re-Designing the Automobile City
> Commentary: Youssef Fawaz (CEE-AUB)

[LUNCH BREAK 01:30-02:30 PM]
02:30 - 04:00 PM Panel 3. Sites of Globalization
- Heiko Schmid (University of Jena). Dubai’s Economy of Fascination:
Urban Growth between Sustainability and Economic Success
- Anne-Marie Galmstrup (Henning Larsen Architects). Designing a
New Financial District in Riyadh
- Caecilia Pieri (Ifpo). Baghdad: A Pending Globalization?
> Discussant: Ala Al-Hamarneh (University of Mainz)

[COFFEE BREAK 04:00-04:30 PM]
04:30 - 06:00 PM Panel 4. Sites of Contestation
- Momen El-Husseiny (UC-Berkley). Tahrir Square: The Dialectics of
Modernity
- Rachid Chamoun (SArD-LAU). Reclaiming Beirut’s Central District
Public Square(s)
- Sinan Hassan (ArD-AUB & S.O.S.A). Two Squares and One City:
The Umayyad and Abbasid Squares in Damascus
> Discussant: Shahira Fahmy (SFA)

[COFFEE BREAK 06:00-06:30 PM]
6:30 - 8:00 PM Keynote IV.
Yves Lion (Ateliers Lion associés & ENSAVT): Urban Projects in the
Arab World
> Commentary: George Arbid (ArD-AUB)
[Closing: Robert Saliba (ArD-AUB)]