Dr Claire Hardy-Guilbert, a member of the French Archeological Mission in Qatar, speaking on ‘Qatar’s Traditional Architecture,’ during the opening of a photo exhibition held as part of the ‘Traditional Gulf Architecture Week,’ at the Qatar National Libra
DOHA: Qatar National Library yesterday opened a week-long event to explore the architectural heritage of Qatar and the region.
‘Traditional Gulf Architecture Week’ includes an exhibition, lecture, and conference examining the region’s architectural history, forms, and identity from the 1700s to the 1960s.
The event begun with the opening of an exhibition of historical photographs taken in 1984-85 by the French Archeological Mission in Qatar for a survey, and recently acquired by the QNL. The photographs were taken by the Mission’s photographer, Vincent Aïtzegagh.
The Mission’s entire photographic survey includes 1,700 color slides in total and a small sample of which is showcased the exhibition. The photographs portray the broad range of Qatar’s vernacular, domestic, public, religious, and military architecture.
While, Dr Claire Hardy-Guilbert, a senior researcher at Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris delivered a lecture on ‘Qatar’s Traditional Architecture.’ She was a member of the French Archeological Mission in Qatar.
At the subsequent conference, some of the world’s leading experts on architecture will meet under one roof to present, discuss, and debate the fascinating history of the region’s architecture and its influences.
Expert panels will examine the region’s architectural identity and its wider cultural and economic history through the story of its traditional architecture between 1700s to the 1960s.
Scholars will discuss architectural projects, the varieties of vernacular buildings, the influence of pre-oil trade and migration flows between the region and the wider world.
Discussions will be on topics such as, ‘Building Types and Their Influences,’ ‘Connections, Exchanges and Influences,’ and ‘Interior Settlements and Architecture.’
QNL is co-convening the conference with Liverpool University’s School of Architecture, Qatar University’s Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, and Ibrahim Jaidah, CEO and Chief Architect of the Arab Engineer Bureau.
Traditional Gulf Architecture Week forms part of the QNL’s Traditional Gulf Architecture Project, which seeks to create a digital archive of historical photographs, architectural maps and drawings, and publications relating to the region’s architectural heritage, for use by scholars, architects, students, and the general public in Qatar and around the world.
