Overview
Sharjah Art Foundation’s Al Mureijah Art Spaces have been shortlisted for the prestigious 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. A jury of nine will select the awardees from 20 shortlisted projects located in 16 countries. Established by the Aga Khan in 1977, The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to innovative projects that set themselves apart in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and historic preservation.
Inaugurated with Sharjah Biennial 11 in 2013, Al Mureijah Art Spaces were designed by Mona El-Mousfy, founder of SpaceContinuum and Architecture Consultant for Sharjah Art Foundation over the last decade, and Sharmeen Azam Inayat, architect, researcher and former member of Sharjah Art Foundation’s design team (2010–2014). Five new buildings were designed in close dialogue with the existing historic neighbourhood to reactivate the area with multilayered and accessible spaces for the exhibition of contemporary art. A range of interiors to support various media and scales along with exteriors such as courtyards, open squares and an interconnected roofscape are intended to provide diverse art experiences and moments of engagement within the context of Sharjah’s core urban area.
Al Mureijah Art Spaces serve as a venue for Sharjah Biennials and Sharjah Art Foundation exhibitions as well as a community space for residents in the surrounding neighbourhood.
The 2019 Award Master Jury
The nine members of the 2019 Master Jury are Anthony Kwamé Appiah, a British-born Ghanaian-American philosopher; Meisa Batayneh, founder and principal architect of maisam architects & engineers; Sir David Chipperfield, whose practice has built over 100 projects for both the private and public sectors; Elizabeth Diller, founding partner of a design studio whose practice spans the fields of architecture, multi-media performance and digital media; Edhem Eldem, Professor of History at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, and the Collège de France; Mona Fawaz, Professor in Urban Studies and Planning, Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy, at the American University of Beirut; Kareem Ibrahim, architect and urban researcher who has worked extensively in Historic Cairo; Ali M. Malkawi, Professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and founding director of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities; and Nondita Correa Mehrotra, an architect working in India and the United States and Director of the Charles Correa Foundation.