Find out how we can improve life for people in cities by looking at award-winning architecture projects from across the globe. This open online course looks at the challenges of enhancing the quality of urban life as they have been addressed by projects from across the world that have received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. All of these projects have benefited Muslim communities, but the messages they communicate are universal.
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Over 115 projects have received the Award since 1980. Many of these projects directly address the urban scale and essentially are planning projects. A number of them are works of architecture that nonetheless have an impact on the urban fabric.
What topics will you cover?
Architectural projects premiated by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture that belong to the following categories:
- Public buildings as urban landmarks.
- Urban infrastructure: Transcending the utilitarian.
- Co-existing with the surrounding natural context.
- Developing public spaces in the city.
- Improving housing conditions for the urban poor.
- Protecting and revitalizing the city’s built heritage.
- Addressing the needs and challenges relating to post-conflict cities.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of the challenges and opportunities affecting cities across the world, with an emphasis on the Islamic World.
- Reflect on the varieties of innovative and effective solutions that can be implemented to improve the quality of life in cities.
- Reflect on the diverse and multifaceted nature of cities as physical entities that are equally defined by geographic, social, cultural, economic, historical, and political factors.
