The  International Conference of the Center for the Study of Architecture in the Arab Region (CSAAR)

Organized by:

The Center for the Study of Architecture in the Arab Region

In Collaboration with

Department of Architecture, National School of Architecture and Urbanism, Tunis, Tunisia

Sponsored by:

Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Keynote Speakers:

Dr. Liane Lefaivre, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria >>

Dr Rasem Badran, Dar Al Omran, Jordan >>
 

Introduction

Developments in transportation, communication and networking technologies in recent decades have instigated unprecedented flow of people, goods, and information across the globe, a phenomenon that has shaped the all-powerful thrust of globalization. This phenomenon led a drive for taking a universal outlook on social, economic, and environmental issues, but at the same time, instigated a wave of criticism. With its tendency to blur the boundaries among nations and cultures, globalization is seen as benevolent and progressive by some, and malevolent and regressive by others. While one camp promises economic prosperity for partners of global exchanges, the counterpart protests the potential of the exchanges to breed erosion in societal identities of regions and nations. The opposing views tackle all aspects of human living, and as such, spread broadly to the academia and the professions where heated debates on global issues are now enduring. CSAAR 2007 conference addresses regional architecture and identity in the built environment in the context of globalization. The conference will focus on the study of increasing contradictions between the "modernization" of regions on the one hand and the cultural identity of these places on the other.

Though the recent tide of globalization is very strong, it is clear that there is also a countervailing need for regionalism. We propose that globalization can only succeed on the basis of healthy regionalism. It is evident that under strong globalization trends, regional identities did not disappear. On the contrary, they have tenaciously continued to express themselves urbanisiticlly, architecturally, and behaviorally. The conference intends to use this proposition as a point of departure to explore and examine the various discourses regarding regionalism, globalization and their impact on the built environment. Questions to be asked and issues to be considered include: regional architecture and how it is being (re)defined, the interaction(s) between the regional and the global, the intersection between colonial past and contemporary architectural productions, the regional dynamics of architectural/cultural flows, the trends of regionalism and how they coexist, compete or contradict with the process of globalization, the role of architecture in connecting people and cultures across geographical and chronological boundaries, the role of the state in promoting/ constructing various types of cultural identities, bridging the gab between Regionalism and Modernization, how regional architecture can surmount the limitations of constant forms of the past, to what level features of contemporary urban developments respond more to global (economic) conditions than to local or national ones, to what extent regionalism accept other regions traditions and incorporate and integrate new technological, and environmental inventions.
 

Topics of Interest

We invite scholars and practitioners in architecture, urban design and related fields to submit papers on any topic related to conference theme. Papers may reflect on a wide spectrum of issues related to regional architecture, identity and globalization. The conference is structured around a number of themes that include -but are not limited to:
 

Architecture in the Global and Regional Context

Architecture between Regionalism and Internationalism
Impact of Globalization and Regionalism Trends on Architectural Production
Contextual Architecture
Sustainable Architecture
Architecture and Postmodernism
Critical Regionalism
Critiquing Critical Regionalism
Regionalism and Digital Media
Trends in New Regionalism
 

Globalization and the City

Urban Morphology and Identity
Re-humanizing the Built Environments: the Regional Dimension
Social and Spatial Problems of Suburbanization
New Urbanism
Sustainability at Urban and Regional Levels
City Form/ City Image between Internationalism and Regionalism
Locality and Globality in the Built Environment
Tourism and the Packaging of Region
Cultural Heritage and Tourism
 

The Built Environment and Identity

Forms of Cultural Identities
Localization and Delocalisation
Contested Identities in Architecture
Modernization and Cultural Regeneration
Reinventing Traditions/Identities in the Globalized Context
The Meaning of Regionalism in Architecture
Identity in Postcolonial Architecture
The Construction/Production of Architectural Identity in the Information Age
Natural Identity versus Constructed, Forced, Global and other Identities
Architectural Heritage, Authenticity and Modernization
Rehabilitation, Regeneration and Restructuring
Beyond the Vernacular Threshold
Conservation and Meaning of Place
 

Key Dates

Abstract Submission

Abstract submission must be in English with about 700 words. Full paper submission could be either in English or Arabic. Abstract and full paper submissions should be sent in MS Word or PDF document format. Abstracts should be e-mailed to conference co-chair (jamalq@kfupm.edu.sa).
Full paper submissions are required to be done online at the conference Website.  

Full Paper Submission

• For full paper format and submission guidelines, click here>>.

• On-line  paper submersion system is open now >>.   

Posters, Panel Discussion & Workshops 

CSAAR 2007 also welcomes proposals for:

* Poster papers
* Plenary Session/ Panel Discussion
* Workshops

Proposals may address any of the topics falling within the scope of the conference themes.

Schedule (for Posters, Plenary Sessions/ Panel Discussion & Workshops Proposals)

Proposals due: April 15, 2007
Notification of Acceptance: May 30, 2007
Position papers due (panels): July 30, 2007

General Note: Workshops and Panel Proposals & Samples of Work should be submitted by e-mail or by surface-mail (Work Samples) to conference co-chair (jamalq@kfupm.edu.sa)
 

Instructions for submitting proposals for poster papers, workshops and panel Discussion available here>>.

Conference Fees and Registration

Authors are invited to complete the registration process before August 15th, 2007. Deadline for sending registration fees is October 1st. Failing to send the registration fees on or before this date will result in excluding the paper from the proceedings. Click here for online registration.   

Conference Proceedings

All papers presented at CSAAR 2007 conference will be published in a conference proceedings, which will be available to delegates at the time of registration.  In addition, papers will be published in a volume of CSAAR Transactions on the Built Environment (ISSN 1992-7320).

Location & Accommodation

Tunis is the capital of Tunisia with an ever-growing population of nearly one million people. The city is situated on a large Mediterranean gulf, the Gulf of Tunis, behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Halq al Wadi), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At the centre of a modern development (colonial era and post) lies the old medina. Beyond this section lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said.   Information regarding location, accommodation and travel information is now available. Click here>>

Excursion

For those who might be interested to extend their stay in Tunisia to discover the undisclosed corners of the country, we strongly recommend the post-conference excursions. You can choose from the price range of following packages: <click here>

Conference Program

Coming Soon

Conference Secretariat

Samer Taweel
Conference Secretariat
CSAAR 2007
samer @ csaar-center.org