The Flying Saucer Shortlisted for 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Overview

Sharjah Art Foundation’s The Flying Saucer has been shortlisted for the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The 20 shortlisted projects were selected by an independent Master Jury from a pool of 463 nominations for the 15th award cycle (2020–2022).

Acquired by the Foundation in 2012 and used as a venue since 2015, the futuristic, Brutalist structure was constructed in the mid-1970s in the heart of Sharjah and was modified over the decades to house various businesses. Following renovations which began in 2018 and were led by the Foundation and SpaceContinuum Design Studio, helmed by SpaceContinuum founder Mona El Mousfy, the original character of the building was restored.

The star-shaped building reopened in 2020, introducing a new outdoor public space and lower-level community space with a café, library, sunken courtyard and activity spaces. The preserved and adapted building now serves as a place for community gathering around art, public programmes and events.

Photographic representations of the 20 shortlisted entries will go on display in an exhibition in King’s Cross, London, from 2–30 June 2022, as part of the King’s Cross Outdoor Art Project, coinciding with the London Architecture Festival.
The nine-member jury panel will award the prize in January 2023 The jury comprises Nada Al Hassan, Conservation Architect; Amale Andraos, Columbia GSAPP Professor and Principal of WORKac, New York; Francis Kéré, Professor of Architectural Design and Participation at the Technical University of Munich; Lina Ghotmeh Founder and Principal of Lina Ghotmeh-Architecture, Paris; Anne Lacaton, Founder and Principal of Lacaton & Vassal Architects, Paris-Montreuil; Nader Tehrani, Dean of the Cooper Union's Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture; Sibel Bozdoğan, Visiting Professor of Modern Architecture and Urbanism, Boston University; Kader Attia, Artist, Berlin and Paris; and Kazi Khaleed Ashraf, Director-General of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements, Dhaka.

The Foundation’s Al Mureijah Art Spaces were shortlisted for the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Inaugurated with Sharjah Biennial 11 in 2013, Al Mureijah Art Spaces feature five new buildings inserted within the existing historic fabric of the neighbourhood. Old and new structures work conjunctly to reactivate the area with accessible and multilayered spaces for the visitors’ engagement with contemporary art.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. Since its launch 45 years ago, 122 projects have received the award and nearly 10,000 building projects have been documented. The selection process emphasises architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs, but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural aspirations.