Report compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT
(Publisher-Editor, Simerg, Barakah and Simergphotos)
On April 25, 2019, the Director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) Farrokh Derakhshani, was in attendance at the Kazan Expo Exhibition Centre for a major International Economic Summit entitled “Russia – Islamic World Kazan Summit 2019″ at which he introduced the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture’s 20 short–listed projects for the 2019 Awards. Among those present at the Expo, was Shams Kassim-Lakha of the University of Central Asia. At the time, it was also confirmed that the 2019 Aga Khan Award ceremony would take place in Kazan. In the video posted below (see first 3 minutes), the Tatarstan President is seen getting an overview of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture through a panel display.
Tatarstan with a population of nearly 3.8 million is a federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is located 800 kms east of Moscow and is situated at the confluence of two large rivers – the Volga and the Kama. It is a kind of bridge connecting Russia’s European and Asian parts. As a meeting point of civilizations, a symbolic crossroads of eastern and western, Asian and European religious and cultural traditions, Tatarstan has accumulated extensive experience in maintaining inter-ethnic and inter-faith accord.
The capital of the republic is the city of Kazan with a population of over 1.1 million. The pearl of the thousand-year-old city is the Kazan Kremlin that is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Islam and Orthodox Christianity are traditional religions in Tatarstan, while Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism and other faiths are also presented here. Balance of interests of the two faiths and full equality before the law for all religions lay in the basis of inter-faith agreement in the republic.
One of the winning projects of the 2019 AKAA is from the Republic of Tatarstan. The Public Spaces Development Programme has to date improved 328 public spaces all over Tatarstan. The ambitious programme sought to counter the trend toward private ownership by refocusing priorities on quality public spaces for the people of Tatarstan. It has now become a model throughout the Russian Federation.
In her piece, The Winners of the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Cathleen McGuigan, the editor-in-chief of the prestigious 125 year old Architectural Record magazine, writes: “In a profession crowded with prizes, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture remains one of the world’s most significant and influential honors. Established in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan, the awards, which are given every three years, shine a light on parts of the globe that are often overlooked by Western critics and professionals…rather than being judged merely by photographs and architect-supplied text, as so many design awards are, the short-listed projects are visited by technical experts who submit detailed reports to the jury.”
Barakah looks forward to providing a comprehensive coverage of the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture in the coming week, with reports, photos and speeches from the event. The actual Award Ceremony will take place on Friday, September 13, and will be webcast at the.ismaili/live. Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, will preside over the ceremony and present certificates to the winners.
Date posted: September 8, 2019.
Last updated: September 10, 2019.
Before departing this page please take a moment to visit Barakah’s Table of Contents for links to more than 170 pieces dedicated to Mawlana Hazar Imam and his family.
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CREDIT: This post has been prepared using material in Wikipedia and the official website of Tatarstan, http://tatarstan.ru/, under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
2019 AGA KHAN AWARD PRESS KIT: For a full on-line press kit, which includes briefs on each of the winning projects, high resolution images, broadcast-quality video (for use by television stations and websites) and other information, please see https://www.akdn.org/2019AwardWinners.
Other external links:
- https://www.cnn.com/style/article/aga-khan-awards-intl-scli/index.html.
- https://www.canadianarchitect.com/six-projects-win-the-2019-aga-khan-award-for-architecture/
- https://www.archdaily.com/923923/the-2019-winners-of-the-aga-khan-award-for-architecture
- https://archpaper.com/2019/09/2019-aga-khan-award-for-architecture-winners/
- https://scoopempire.com/three-arab-sites-win-the-prestigious-aga-khan-award-for-architecture/
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