In this exclusive interview, we delve into the world of Ali Karimi, a prominent architect whose work traverses the intricate landscapes of social housing, public space, and the GCC countries. As co-founder of Civil Architecture and curator of the Kuwait Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale, Karimi brings a unique perspective shaped by his commitment to contextual relevance and collaborative engagement. With experiences ranging from teaching at prestigious institutions to exhibiting at international platforms, Karimi shares his insights on architectural philosophy, collaborative endeavours, the role of education, and the global dialogues shaping contemporary architecture. Join us as we uncover the multifaceted approach of Ali Karimi towards architecture and its evolving role in shaping our built environment.
- Your work delves into social housing, public space, and the landscape of GCC countries. Could you share the underlying philosophy that guides your architectural approach, particularly in addressing the unique socio-cultural contexts of these regions?
I’m interested in practices that generate their context. For us, this means unearthing histories and piecing together narratives that explain and reconfigure our relationship to buildings and the landscape they inhabit. For example, our proposal for the Abu Makhrouq park competition in Riyadh built off the history of farm plot subdivisions in Arabia to propose a productive landscape for a public park. Moving back and forth between research and design is the only way we can imagine producing architectural work that is both contextual and didactic. It allows buildings to operate as miniature ideas of the world – reinforcing an experience or a way we want to inhabit the world around us.
- As co-founder of Civil Architecture and curator of the Kuwait Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale, you’ve engaged in collaborative projects on both local and international scales. How do you see collaborative efforts shaping the narrative and impact of contemporary architectural discourse?
Architecture by definition is a collaborative effort – its vision is typically singular and authored by a practice but its commissioning, production, execution and habitation are collective and collaborative. It is impossible for us not to see our projects (and architecture in general) as open-ended and incorporating many different authors. Also, and maybe more importantly, we just enjoy collaborating and learning from others – so it’s not just that we can’t imagine operating otherwise, it’s that we wouldn’t want to. We’ve collaborated with illustrators to render projects, with textile artists to produce textiles and with furniture designers to produce objects for buildings. Each project allows us to experience new ways of making, drawings and thinking – and for us, this helps both reinforce how we see things as architects, as well as push the limits of our disciplinary perspective by enfolding different perspectives on making, collaborating or thinking through the design process.
- Having taught at Rice University School of Architecture and the University of Bahrain, how do you perceive the role of education in shaping the next generation of architects, and what insights from your professional journey do you bring into the classroom?
I try not to go into a classroom or studio with a set of insights to share or to shape the next generation of architects. Rather, I go into a classroom with the idea that I am interested in things – landscapes, histories, ways of seeing architecture – and there are people in the room who are equally interested in the same things and want to explore them together. Most of my teaching has been in seminars and design studios, so the work ends with collective explorations of a topic until we feel like we’ve answered the questions we started with. If I treat the process like I have all the answers to share with students or insights for them to absorb then it runs counter to what I feel my role is as an educator: which is to encourage students to be curious about their subject of interest and to find a way of being passionate about resolving their curiosities. That process only works if I’m equally curious and passionate about their work as they are.
- Your work has been exhibited in prestigious events like the Sharjah Architecture Triennale and Oslo Triennale. How has exposure to such diverse international platforms influenced your creative process, and what global dialogues do you believe are crucial for the evolution of contemporary architecture?
Exhibiting in the region and abroad has been important because it allows us to think through ideas with different audiences. If we show something in the Gulf to a regional audience there are different resonances, questions and take-away than to a European, East Asian or Latin American audience. We like seeing how ideas travel and where they resonate. There’s no such thing as ubiquitous global contemporary architecture. There are factions and localities, strands and genealogies. For us allowing ideas to travel helps us expand them and put them in conversation with other modes of thought.
- With a Master’s in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, you’ve experienced diverse architectural landscapes. How do you navigate the delicate balance between preserving traditional architectural elements, particularly in the Gulf, while incorporating innovative and forward-looking design concepts?
I don’t see it as a delicate balance, nor do I see any tension because we don’t think of architecture in those terms. There’s no vector from past to present, nor is there tradition and externality – there are only ideas that dictate practice and the buildings that practice produces. We focus on what we feel are important ideas and produce buildings that manifest those ideas. Everything else is just idiosyncrasies and particulars.