Category Archives: Archnet News

Architecture and Plurality Now Available for Download

The complete 2016 Cyclical Monograph of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Architecture and Plurality, is now available on Archnet. The book features the six projects that were 2016 recipients of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA), as well as the 13 other projects that were shortlisted. It was the 13th cycle (2013-2016) of the Award, presented every three years to recognize projects “that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture” (Source: Aga Khan Award for Architecture). Projects that received the 13th Cycle Award span the globe form China to Denmark. Shortlisted […]

New on Archnet: José Luis Argüello, AKPIA Posters (2001-2016)

A virtual version of the exhibit José Luis Argüello, AKPIA Posters (2001-2016) is now available on Archnet. Curated by Sharon C. Smith, AKDC@MIT Program Head, and introduced by Nasser Rabbat, Aga Khan Professor and the Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT (AKPIA@MIT), the exhibit contains examples of posters for AKPIA events and courses over a span of 15 years. In addition to posters like those in this exhibition, José Luis Argüello also designs the graphics for the AKPIA@MIT website

New Archnet Collections Page

This morning Archnet rolled out a redesigned collections page that will allow users to see more collections on a single page, and to more easily browse collections by category or in their entirety. The initial page shows thumbnails for all collections in a randomized order. Each collection thumbnail contains an image representing it contents, a title bar whose color corresponds to the category of the collection, a brief description, and the category name. Users can switch between categories either by clicking a category name at the bottom on a thumbnail, or by using the menu at the top of the […]

AKDC Organizes Workshop and Seminar on Cultural Heritage in Morocco

The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT), in collaboration with the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM) to organize a workshop and seminar on the topic of “Documenting Cultural Heritage in Morocco.” The workshop, to be held on April 11, considers standards and best practices for documenting and presenting cultural heritage, and includes participants from museums, heritage sites, and cultural institutions throughout Morocco. The seminar will be held the following day, and focus on documenting, preserving, and raising awareness of architectural heritage in northern Morocco. The seminar is generously sponsored by OCP Group. Sharon C. Smith, AKDC […]

Women’s History Month on Archnet

Today, the 8th of March, is International Women’s Day. Since 1975 the day has been designated by the UN as a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. (http://www.un.org/en/events/womensday/) To mark the day, Archnet highlights the role of women in Islamic architecture and in the built environment of Muslim societies more generally. Click around the sliding tiles on our homepages to see monuments of Islamic architecture that were built through the generosity […]

Exhibition from the Archive of Paul Collart Includes Previously Unpublished Images of Palmyra

Archnet announces a new collection of black and white photographs taken by the Swiss archeologist Paul Collart (1902-1981) during travels in Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Turkey. The collection is curated by Lobna Montasser, Media and Documentation Officer at the office of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Geneva. It provides a representative sampling of Collart’s photography in the region, and features previously unpublished photographs taken while Collart was leading an excavation of Baal Shamim in Palmyra. Montasser selected the images in the Archnet collection from thousands of photographs in the Paul Collart archive at the Institute of Archaeology […]

Archnet’s Growing International Appeal

In last week’s article on the growth of Archnet in 2017, we noted the increasing globalization of Archnet’s user base, as evidenced by the fact that approximately 87% of Archnet users initiated their visit from outside of the United States. In this article we will look a bit more deeply into those figures. According to Google Analytics, Archnet received visitors from 208 countries and territories (as defined by Google) in 2017, literally an A to Z of countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. This this article compares statistics on sessions initiated in those 208 areas during the period of August 1 […]

2017 Growth in Archnet Resources

Approximately 12,357 records were published in Archnet between January 1 and December 31, 2017, increasing the total number of records by approximately 10%. While much of the new material expands existing collections, new collections added in 2017 include sketchbooks and other items form from the archive of architect and designer Ali Tayar, the Isfahan Urban History Project undertaken by Lisa Golombek, Renata Holod and Claus Breede between 1974 and 1976, and photographs from the scholarly archives of Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Curator Emerita, Department of Islamic Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Yasser Tabbaa, a prominent scholar in Islamic art and […]

Archnet Online Office Hours: August 22, 2017

Join us on August 22, 2017 at 9:30 am EDT for the first in what we hope will be a continuing series of Archnet Online Office Hours. This 1 hour pilot session with Archnet Co-Director Sharon C. Smith and Archnet Content Manger Michael A. Toler. The session will begin with a brief demonstration of the most recent Archnet enhancements, followed by an extended Question and Answer session. The session will be in English, and headsets are required. Registration for this pilot session is limited to 30 the first 30 registered participants. Registration closes on August 14th at 11:59 pm EDT. […]

New Archnet Features

This morning’s Archnet update, the first of the 2017 development cycle, includes a number of enhancements intended to improve the user experience. Users will no longer have to drag, zoom, and click the map in order to apply country filters to a search. It is now possible to find and select countries simply by opening the Geo filter, typing a country name, and hitting the return key. Also in the realm of geolocation, users will find the site maps contain considerably more detail, often including place names written in local alphabets. Frequent users of social media will be happy to […]