PORTFOLIO - ARCHITETURE - MEDIA - DIMA MEIQARI by DEMA MEIQARI

2022

DIMA MEIQARI

PORTFOLIO

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

DIMA MEIQARI

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

2022

“….and The Cities of Salt rise, they grow tall, and they grow big, but if the water comes they evaporate as tho they never were! ”

Abdul Rahman Munif Cities of Salt - 1988

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI

“Sunrise is Universal” Damascus Suburb - 2012

DIMA MEIQARI

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CONTENTS:

00I SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE & URBAN DESIGN / PHASES 1-4 / greeen architects Düsseldorf Office .......................................................................................................................... Housing.......................................................................................................................... Hotel .......................................................................................................................................................................................

01I MEDIA-ARCHITECTURE I Interactive Design

II Visual Communication

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Interactive Light Installation ......................................................................................................................... SonnenGarden ........................................................................................................................................... kinetic 3D balloons........................................................................................................................................ Camping Bamboo installation .................................................................................................................... MAG-LAB .................................................................................................................................................. Site in-Side I Site in Sight I ..........................................................................................................................

War and Media, Data visualization.......................................... Narratives of Ethnicity, Media, Art and Architecture....................................................................................

I Architectural design & Building Technology

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02I ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM

Spa and Therapy Centre ........................................................................................................................... Syndicate for Architects & Engineers Damascus HQ ................................................................................ Diploma Thesis I Archiculture Centre ......................................................................................................... Community Centre .................................................................................................................................... A-Twin House ............................................................................................................................................. UV- House ................................................................................................................................................. Vertical Housing ......................................................................................................................................... II Urban planning and Urban Design Highway in an Informal Settlement ............................................................................................................ Urban renewal I Alhal Suok .....................................................................................................................

Hotel renovation ............................................................................................................................................ Villa .............................................................................................................................................................

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III Interior Design

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00I SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE & URBAN DESIGN I PHASES 1-4 IGREEEN ARCHITECTS I DUSSELDORF I GERMANY I 20192020

In 2019, I started working for “greeen architects”: an office dedicated to developing sustainable, future-oriented and innovative concepts. For 18 month, I participated in the design and planning process as a concept designer, a planner and a visualizer. I worked on several primary design projects (Vorentwurf/Entwurfsplanung) for a range of services, including ecological wood construction, district development, and urban planning and redevelopment. The building typologies of those projects include housing, hotels, offices and mixed-used programs. The work was done in collaboration with several real estate investors in Dusseldorf, Solingen, Berlin and Erfstadt. My work involved presenting several scenarios and planning variations for projects with different scales (3.200 m² - 1 7.000 m² BGF), calculating spatial values for each variation, and creating digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of the space to allow the clients for effective comparison between variants. It has been an excellent opportunity to practice architectural design within the context of the German culture, market and regulations.

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I WOOD DESIGN I HOLZ BAU I DESIGN I VISUALIZATION I GREEEN ARCHITECTS I 2019-2020

The main focus of the work in green architects is on the building’s energy efficiency. Therefore,I have work on several wood construction projects including using wood moduels for Mikroapartments and hotels. The projects are in line with the environmental architecture design needs. They presented a high sustainability levels by using renewable construction material, delivering the best possible floor plans, load-bearing capacity, thermal, acoustic and moisture insulation, fire resistance and a long life cycle.

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12 #ECOLOGICA L #A R CH I TECTUR E #H O L Z B AU # L A ND S CA PE # B U I L D I NGCO D # VI S UA L I ZAT I O N

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I URBAN DESIGN I STADT BAU I URAN DESIGN I GREEEN ARCHITECTS I 2019-2020

The inner-city planning area to be developed for the Stadtraum Bayerischer Bahnhof project is located in the southern suburbs and centre-southeast of Leipzig, on the western side of the railway trough to the city tunnel, between Kohlenstrasse, Lößniger Strasse and Kurt-Eisner-Strasse. Along Lößniger Straße fragments of a closed residential area can be found. To the east, the planning area is bordered by brownfield, which is being developed as a district park with a total area of approximately 8 ha. Planned is the development of a new urban quarter in continuation of the structure of the inner southern suburb with a mix of residential, service and residential-compatible commercial uses with a compact building density typical of the city centre. A small-scale mixture will create a liveable and innovative urban quarter. Different forms of housing will create a wide range of housing for different population groups. A diverse and flexible mix of uses will enable the urban character of the quarter. Small-scale retail, retail-related and gastronomy uses serving the planning area are to be provided for. Within the individual blocks, a mixture of residential forms will create a dynamic urban quarter.

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14 #ECO LO G I CA L #UR BA N D E S I GN # L A ND S CA PE # VI S UA L I ZAT I O N

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01I MEDIA-ARCHITECTURE I RESEARCH & DESIGN

In 2014, I started an interdisciplinary master’s program called Media Architecture in the Bauhaus Universität Weimar. But my story with this ambiguous field started way before. I got interested in the connection between digital fabrications and architecture while pursuing my diploma. Then, a deeper shift happened with on hand experience while working with an experimental design and teaching lab: MAGLAB founded, by Aref Maksoud. After a year of working with MAGlAB, I decided to get a wider theoretical background about the characteristics and concepts that connects media and the physical space. I was hoping of Combining research and creativity. Also, I got interested in the cultural, social, political, and economical influences of new information and communication techniques on urban and architectural space. Thankfully, these interests were fulfilled during my time at the Bauhaus Universität. There, I have learned about many concepts and practices, such as: interactive architecture, responsive environments, media facades, urban screens, media theory, smart architecture, interactive installations, immersive spaces, kinetic architecture, urban media environments, light architecture, façade mapping, mobile applications, the internet of things, and adaptive architecture. So far Media Architecture encompassed a number of my design and research projects in diverse forms: from digital fabrications, human space/computer interactions, digital media, interface design, urban media and even filming architecture-themed documentary.

“The Medium is The Message”

Marshall McLuhan

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01-01

I INTERACTIVE LIGHT INSTALLATION I DESIGN I

2014 I students project I project proposal I Germany Weimar Bauhaus-Universität I Collaborator : Carina Weiss

The ‘Urban Interface’ Project was directed by Dr. Sabine Zierold, Prof. Dr. Jens Gelhaar, Prof. Andreas Kästner and Susa Pop, the artistic director of the City Visions Festival. The project aimed to contribute to the city of Jena during the UNESCO International Year of Light 2015 by designing suitable intergenerational communication patterns that would be addressed to both children and adults. My partner Carina Weiss and I developed conceptual, creative ideas related to light installations through interactive sensor control.

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Refractography expermentation Meiqari,Weiss 2014 19

RESERCHING THE INTERACTION People with their physiological (sensory) and communication parameters were the medium for the design of the tangible interactive realities. The considerations of interaction with light included the fusion of real and virtual, knowing and not knowing, near and distant, light and dark. The light insulation as a communicative interface should reveal hidden information, data, stories or structures to be actively shaped and experienced interactively in architectural spaces. Finally, we chose to use the physical medium of the interaction using sensor. Our conceptualization included the use of a heartbeat sensor; however, for the development of a functional prototype, we used a distance sensor. As Jena is the home of “Abbe Center of Photonics”, it was logical to use the medium of glass and light for visualization and design. We did several experiments based on “Refractography”, which is the effect created by light when it passes through a transparent object. Also, we experimented with several materials like: plastic, glass, coloured glass, and lenses. At the end, we decided for the light installation to consist of a light source with a medium glass element (columns). The generated light will go through the medium glass which is patterned and coloured. The result will be a cast of a coloured patterned light on the projection canvas. The pattern design is based on “Biomorphic Patterns” to make the invisible microscopic data, which a person normally sees only through lenses, visible. The final product will be not only scientific but also meditative and inspiring.

LED sheet

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Distance sensor

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Tangible prototype of the light interaction

DESIGNING THE SPACE The theoretical and conceptual approach of the project considered the spatial urban contexts of the city of Jena with concrete requirements of social communication and individual interaction. Therefore, our development of interactive communication of knowledge was related to the chosen localities of the space in “Collegium Jenense”. To connect the present with the physical and virtual spaces, we designed a canopy to merge the insulation in the spatial context. This design integrated the light elements (columns) within the courtyard of “Collegium Jenense”. This element also created a special interaction of the elements with the daylight, by directing the sunlight into the space through the installation.

2022 PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI 21 #ARC HITECTUR E #MEDI A #I N TER ACTIVE # A RT I ST I C # S E NS O R S # A R D U I NO # GR A S S HO PPE R # 3 DPRINT ING

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The emergence of ambiguous realities is the fusion of virtual and current states. The mutual influence of digital media and architecture are leading to increase the enlightenment through physical and digital cross-linked medial space.

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01-02

I SONNENGARTEN INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION I CONSTRUCTION I

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2015 I City Visions Jena festival I Collaborators : Till Fastnacht, Johannes Marschall, Abraham Ornelas, Afroditi Manari, Emir Genc, Dima Meiqari, Majd Murad, Dhora Thego

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The ‘Urban Interface’ Project was directed by Dr. Sabine Zierold, Prof. Dr. Jens Gelhaar, Prof. Andreas Kästner and Susa Pop, the artistic director of the City Visions Festival. The project brought together students of the Masters Programme MediaArchitecture in collaboration with students from the research group ‘Human-Computer Interaction’ which is directed by Prof. Dr. Eva Hornecker and Patrick Tobias Fischer at the Bauhaus Universität Weimar. The project aimed to design and produce sustainable light installations for the ‘Sonnenhof’ of the WG “Carl Zeiss”. “Sonnegarten” was the selected installation by the City Visions Jena Festival to be realized. The design team included three of my colleagues: Johannes Marschall, Till Fastnacht and Abraham Ornelas Aispuro; I was part of the construction team. The ‘Sonnengarten’ installation at the ‘Sonnenhof’ of the housing co-op WG “Carl Zeiss” demonstrates urban interaction with urban nature. By touching the plant, the proportion of its associated light gets reduced – for a short period of time the plant is symbolically deprived of its energy of live. The shape of the installation was conceived from the geometries of the given space. During the day, it creates a dialogue between the concrete of the space and the green walls of the installation. During the night, the dialogue between people and plants take the form of a play of lights that is activated by touching the plants.

DIMA MEIQARI 25 #URBAN #I N TER ACTIVE #A RTI STI C # C R E AT IV # S E NS O R S # WO O D # CO NST R U CT I O N

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I KINETIC 3D BALLOONS I CONCEPT I DESIGN I

2014 I students project I project proposal I Germany Weimar Bauhaus-Universität I

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The idea was to transform pix¬els to surfaces to 3D geometry. Using the forces of floating in the top layer of free-floating balloons filed with helium and in the connected bottom layer the forces of gravity of the freehang¬ing balloons filed with oxygen, the kinetic wheels connecting the 2 layers represent the dy¬namic structure that would interact the horizontal with the vertical.

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01-04

I CAMPING BAMBOO INSTALLATION I DESIGN I COMPETITION I PUBLISHED I

China is known as the Kingdom of Bamboo because it has the most bamboo of any country in the world. More than 400 species of bamboo, one third of all known species in the world, grow in China. Bamboo’s resistance to stretching and its ability to support weight are at least double those of other kinds of wood, making bamboo an ideal material for houses, scaffolding, supporting pillars, and work sheds. Our aim was to merge the historic and environmental value of Bamboo in China with the image of the modern architecture in china within the borders of our Bauhaus education. To achieve that we chose the Golden Ratio as a guiding box of our vertical symmetry. We also aim to achieve both simplicity and complexity without the need for complicated detailing and construction. The adaptation to different isolation and weather condition as well as maintaining the openness to the nature is a major focus in our design. We achieved that by adding an inside tent that can be easily hanged up and down as the campers like.

6.7m

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LOUNA International Academic Design and Building Competition I China I Collaborators:Ramiah Lemma

Right Elevation

Front Eletvation

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Section 2-2

Plan layout

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7.2m

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01-05

I MAG-LAB I REASERCH I TEACHING I 2010 - 2012 I Collaborator: Aref Maksoud

While working as an architect assistant with MAG LAB (Materials- Advanced Architecture – Generative laboratory) as a part of Maksoud Architectural Group, I participated in organizing workshops for architecture students on Rhinobsession Program Algorithmic Modelling (CAD) and Creative Art (installations). The teaching workshops were devoted to the design and prototyping of architectural immersive environments via computational generative methods. The aim of our work was to explore craft, developing an understanding of materials, tools, and techniques to directly inform the design process. Our work framed this exploration in a larger context of analogue and digital design and fabrication, highlighting both the efficiencies and limitations of digital fabrications.

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Recyceling

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Laser Cutting

CREATIVE ART WORKSHOPS ARAB INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY The workshops were organized in collaboration with AIU, a private university in Syria. The workshops focused on showing students the different creative processes in a multidisciplinary artistic context, based on the new “making of” culture. Students were able to explore different ways of representing ideas through art concepts applied by an intensive search for spatial conditions in order to configure architectural spaces. Different spatial possibilities in a specific site gave the students the opportunity to generate several prototypes using realistic, raw and smart materials. The ultimate aim of these workshops was to give students an insight on different ways to generate and represent ideas combining exercises based on art examples and natural processes as paradigms. Students achieved this through theoretical classes, personal research and practical work. The outcome was always outstanding, colorful, and energetic.

32 #A R CH I TECTUR E #A RTI STI C # C R E AT IV # T E AC HI NG # CA D # L A S E R CUT T I NG

Folding

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Tensile

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IN 2SPACE WORKSHOP

ESCOLA TÈCNICA SUPERIOR D’ARQUITECTURA (ESARQ) UNIVERSITAT INTERNACIONAL DE CATALUNYA

The “In 2SPACE Workshop” took place in Barcelona, Spain on February 2012. The workshop explored advanced techniques in modeling to help participants better understand how to apply modeling tools in practical situations. The main objective was to extract the information from the research and the visits in Barcelona as input in order to generate real scale installation “the canopy and the facility object” as output. The design process was to be showed by applying the new digital skills taught during the workshop; where students concentrated on exploring architectonical potentials seen and done by digital tools and usage of materials. After the workshop, students knew about: how to construct a design processes through digital tools and basic scripting tools and how to apply this knowledge to create architectonical proposals and physical prototypes. The Digital/Physical Design Process followed the next steps:

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Step 01 – Ideas Inception: This part of the workshop was alimented by visits, conferences, brain storming and dialogues; followed by the translation of the accumulated ideas and information through communication tools such as sketching, 3D modelling, photos, and videos.

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I Reaserching Concept

Step 02 – Applying Infos: After idea inception, a general meeting was organized to discuss ideas for project selection. Participants were divided in groups with professors to work on the selected project; the work division gave the participants the chance to try different methods, tools and techniques. Step 03 – Construction: After finding a form through material behaviour testing, the first real scale structural performance test on the chosen site was carried out in this third and final part of the workshop.

II Cutting and Folding

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III Assemble

35 # I N-2- SPAC E #IN TER N ATI O N A L #WO R KS H O P # I NSTA L L AT I O N # C R E AT IV # T E AC HI NG # CA D # L A SE R CUT T ING

01-06

I SITE IN-SIDE I SITE IN SIGHT I DESIGN I COMPETITION I PUBLISHED I

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2012 I Competition I Damascus I Paris I France Collaborator : Nour Harastany

Seeing is the first link between architecture-built environment and the users; therefore, understanding this relationship between site and sight and its effect on both architecture and local community is one of the main challenges in architectural profession. This means that the work of architects is not only focused on how to add value to the city physical design and planning but also on how to improve the people’s awareness of the space. As people move through the city, the images that imprint on the minds of those local observers become as insensible as the physical building. The project aimed to rebuild the mental understanding of an existing area through the visual communication in order to create a new approach to see the timeline of this site through showing its past and observing both its present and future directions.

THE EXPERMINTS In order to test the visual communication concept, we adapted the camera obscure which is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen and used it in two experiments. 01 – Pinhole Camera: The camera obscure (Latin; “camera” is a “vaulted chamber/room” + “obscure” means “dark”; “darkened chamber/ room”) is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside where it is reproduced, upside-down, but with color and preserved perspective. The image can be projected onto paper and can then be traced to produce a highly accurate representation the experiment was to create a simple prototype for the pinhole camera to investigate the methods of how it works

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THE SITE “Beirut Street” is a crucial axis in the city of Damascus that contains a lot of historical buildings as Takiyya Al-Suleimaniyya, The National Museum, and the oldest hotel in Damascus. This street has radically changed through time on the level of architecture and urban planning; therefor people`s visual understanding of the area as well as their attitude has also changed. The change was reflected in transforming the culture of this place from a cultural gathering space into a crossing path. This project’s concept and design aimed to highlight this change in “Beirut Street” and the population of Damascus City.

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THE CONCEPT The main purpose of this design process is to stimulate the individuals’ behavior, attitude and actions towards the built environment; by developing a new perspective of a site, which may not necessarily provide a promotion of it, but rather, the development of using, noticing and imagining its elements The visual communication was the basic method to represent ideas, whether by signs or through drawing or writing. This type established a horizontal communication between community members (a sensed relation) and vertical communication through written symbols or language and even architectural drafts (non-sensed relation). The vertical communication meant the conversations taken place among individuals of the same generation and across generations

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02 – Projection: Projecting images on a wall to see the effect of interaction between a person and the projected image

37 #ARC H I TECTUR E #I N TER ACTIVE # C R E AT IV # D E S I GN # CO M PE T I T I O N # L I GHT BY D E S I GN

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THE OUTPUT We designed a building which has two functions: first, seeing the present and the past through a gallery of the city models and drawings as well as the “Camera Obscure Box”; and second, discussing the future through cultural events in the architectural social club which consist of an auditorium and a temporary gallery as well as workshop halls. The process of creating the (Site in-side \ Site in sight) was as follow: Site in-side: The “Camera Obscure Box” is a proposal to create a space where people could interact with the surrounding images. Using this box which is designed to function as a camera obscure, the outside surrounding would be projected upside-down on a wall inside the building. People will interact with the images, and these images will be recorded by a video camera and sent to a computer - Site in sight: The transformed images from the “Camera Obscure Box” would then be projected to an exterior wall in the landscape and become the backdrop of performing art. This will create an interaction in the building landscape. To accomplish this formula, the project had been directed by three elements: Element 1 – “Camera obscure Box”: It was used as a vantage point; the location and the height of the box was determined to get the right angel of view in the box. Element 2 – “Host Mass”: It was designed to carry the box to the right height, and to present the transparent skin for the social club facilities to insist on the inside-outside interaction with the built environment. Element 3 – “Interactive Outside Landscape”: It aimed to provide a space where the users can interact visually with the virtual built environment created inside the box. The design included a public space with a screen which provided the main entrance of the project.

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01 MEDIA-ARCHITECTURE I VISUAL COMMUNICATION I

Media has always been a primary tool for dissecting the physical environment. My studies in the Bauhaus was an opportunity to critically investigate this intersection between architecture and media, and to understand cultural techniques in architecture using several corridors, channels and thresholds. The first project under this theme was “War and Media” studio; it investigated the connections between intangible elements (e.g. media war documentation) and tangible elements (e.g. architectural post-conflict destruction). In this studio, multiple tools were integrated as part of conducting the research and data visualization processes. The second project was a research of urban integration of refugees in the region of Thuringia, the project research the various media platforms refugees use to facilitate their daily needs. Finally, my master’s thesis aimed to reflect my understanding of the main characteristics connecting media platforms to architecture with focus on use of research narratives. The thesis investigated ethnical and vernacular architecture history, and included data visualization, interface design, and film production. As a result, I developed technical knowledge in pre and post-production techniques, motion graphics, and basic composition and editing techniques.

“We are searching for some kind of harmony between two intangibles: a form which we have not yet designed and a context which we cannot properly describe”

Christopher Alexander

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01-07

I WAR AND MEDIA I VISUALIZING URBAN DESTRUCTION I DATA VISUALIZATION I

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2015 I students project I Group project I Germany Weimar Bauhaus-Universität I Tutors Nick Axel, Prof. Dr. Ines Weizman, Prof. Dr. Andreas Kästner, Prof. Dr. Eyal Weizman I Researchers Mila Atanasova, Ramiah L. Eshetu, Pol Foreman, Armin Fuchs, Johanna Glock, David Keogh, Dima Meiqari, Majd Mrad, Francisco Javier Rives Manresa, Athina Stefani

A project done in the department of architecture in The Bauhaus university - Weimar in ‘The Centre for Documentary Architecture (CDA)’ is an interdisciplinary project that explores buildings as documents and built environments as archives in which destruction is inscribed. Gaza had suffered from several attacks during the last decay. The most recent one was on July 8th, 2014 when Israel military forces launched the operation “Protective Edge” into the Gaza Strip that lasted for 50 days. Starting with a brutal indiscriminately shelling into the city causing buildings to be destroyed or severely damaged. Later on July 22nd 2014 Israel extended the traditionally one hundred meter “no-go zone” to three kilometers from the wall. Military forces were used bulldozers to tunnel their way through the urban fabric allowing military vehicles to penetrate deep into the center in a process called by Israeli military jargon “Reshaping the battle space” . Over the course of the war more than 2,200 people were killed, the vast majority of whom were Palestinian, and over 7,000 homes were completely destroyed with almost 90,000 damaged. Due to its proximity to the Israeli border, Beit Hanoun was exceptionally damaged during the war and was witness to undergo a significant violence. A lot of the housing in Beit Hanoun was considered uninhabitable at the end of the war. Beit Hanoun - Before

Beit Hanoun - After

BEIT HANOUN

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500 Meters

3 kilometres

THE EXPANTION OF THE “NO GO

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1500 Meters

ZONE” IN GAZA 2014 45

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DIGITAL WORK-FLOW

Due to our geographical distance and inability to access the sites, we had to rely on our ability to survey of online media sources, everything ranging from AFP and Getty Images to Facebook and Twitter, keepin track of metadata, such as the image source, photographer’s name, time and date taken, GPS coordinates, etc and efficiently organizing and presenting the information.

I DATA COLLECTION

II GEO-LOCATING DATA ARCHIVE ISOVIST CODING

This was done largely based on the contents and perspective structure of the frame. Landmarks became recognizable as repetitive or distinctive elements such as a water tower or a high-rise. The location of identifiable landmarks, whose location we can devise through looking at the map, will allow us to situate the position of the photographer within the urban context and the perspective structure of the photograph. Then allow the rest of the frame’s contents to be reconstructed.

All the located media was used to 3d model the destructed buildings.

IIII 3D MODELLING

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Based on the architectural analysis produced for the geo-location of media, students built a digital model and draw a site plan of the sites. This was done by photo matching using the media archive to remodel the buildings.

III PHOTOS MATCHING

Length

F Sa

F=H/S

S Orthographic Projection Top-View

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Hight

S Satellite-image perspective S=Sa+Sb

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DESTRUCTION MAP

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Sever damaged Moderate damage Damaged

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Destroyed

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PLACING DESTRUCTION MODELS

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01-08

I NARRATIVES OF ETHNICITY, MEDIA , ART AND ARCHITECTURE I DIASPORA CROWDMAPPING FOR DIGITAL NARRATIVES I MASTER’S THESIS I DATA VISUALIZATION I 2017-2018 I students project I Germany Weimar Bauhaus-Universität I Supervi-

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sors: Prof. Dr. Frank Eckardt, Nicola Hens

Media has been a strong element in human culture. Works by artists, photographers and filmmakers have provided a documentation of human lifestyles’ evolution as much as historians did; this evolution also include architecture. One part of human live is the process of displacement which was experienced by the Circassians. This study investigated the vernacular architecture of one ethnic minority. The “Circassians” or “Adyghe” ethnicity is one of the indigenous people of the North-West Caucasus that has been exiled from their land during the late 19th century as a result of the Russian conquest to the Caucasus. Therefore, this study also aimed to estimate the effect of forced displacement on vernacular and cultural practices in resettlement land. The evolutionary development of the Circassians society has always been of interest to researchers and significant segment of the general public as well. The process of looking for the indigenous methods for building forms and construction followed a historical and sociological research process utilizing literature review and filed research.

Circassian territories 18th century [Source: Meiqari, 2017]

Map of Circassian deportation [Source: Meiqari, 2017]

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Map with a visual representation for Circassians Diaspora [Source: Meiqari, 2017]

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DATA COLLECTION Online platforms and websites were searched to identify historical and literately sources about the life of Circassians in the Caucasus before and during the Russian conquest until the deportation in 1865 and in the resettlement communities in the Middle East first-established in 1878. The identified and collected data included: written documents and pictures produced by travellers, journalists, archaeologists, architects, artists, and historians who passed through the Caucasus and the Middle East between the mid-16th century till the first decade of the 20th century. In total, approximately 1,200 documents have been collected.

CLASSIFY In the course of this research, 756 “Historical Archival Objects” has been collected from online platforms. This reflects the role of social media and its broad connectivity, online participation and online observation in making these “Historical Archival Objects” widely accessible and converting them into “intangible cultural heritage”. The majority of these objects were visual imagery; and all of them had been verified and traced back to their original source. However, the social media is limited when it comes to exploring the relations of those objects’ content with their historical physical and social settings. Therefore, the first phase of analysing the “Historical Archival Objects” was to categorize them based on the preceding research and familiarity with the historical background.

Distribution of historical archival objects collected (n=756) by media [Source: Meiqari, 2017] Twitter (n=45), Facebook (n=482), YouTube (n=19), Instgram (n=50), VK (n=120), Blogs (n=25), Flicker (n=15)

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Timeline of the date of the production of the collected objects [Source: Meiqari, 2017]

DIMA MEIQARI

VISUALIZATION As a result of data analysis and classification, this Metadata was mapped over time and location. For example, a timeline of these objects (1600s-2015) was drawn and divided into two categories: objects documenting Circassians in the Caucasus (n=357) and those from the diaspora (n=475); the timeline shows how the distribution of these objects differed relative to specific time periods and geographic locations.

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02 20 03 20 04 20 05 20 6 0 20 7 0 20 8 0 20 9 0 20 10 20 1 201 2 201 3 201 4 201 2015

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55 #ARC HITECTUR E #TH EO RY #DATA VI S UA L I ZAT I O N # CO D I NG # FI L M I NG # S O C I A L M E I DA # M A PPING

DIMA MEIQARI

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02 I ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

I started studying architecture in 2004. After 5 years of university work, I took part in many studios: 20 architectural design studios, 4 architectural details, 1 historic preservation, and 5 urban planning and design. After graduation, I also worked on competitions, commissions, and constructions. I worked with different typologies such as hotel, office buildings, and housing. I also worked with interior architecture design and construction projects. These different experiences have helped me in developing a large set of tools while looking forward to improving my understanding of the better process to work with architecture.

2022 DIMA MEIQARI

John Cage

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“I can’t Understand why people are f rightened of new ideas. I’m f rightened of the old ones”

I SPA AND THERAPY CENTRE I DESIGN I 2013 I Proposal I The Red sea I Jordan

This design was created taking into account a mixture of constrains of function, social aspects and the site consideration. This generated several layers within the building: private spaces contain all the therapy areas (e.g. spa, gym, physiotherapy and swimming pool) and public point for open commercial use (e.g. supermarket, restaurant, a hotel) integrated within the steep landscape and connected through communication spaces. The connection spaces within a box in box structure provide separated open and enclosed movement between the sections. Each box is standing out like a private independent element, while the void between the boxes is the public common space

DIMA MEIQARI

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02-01

58 #A R CH I TECTUR E #P O STG R A D UAT I O N # L A ND S CA PE # B U I L D I NGCO D

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SUPER MARKET SPA HOTEL

RESTURANT

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The whole complexity of the building induces spiritual calm through natural light. The building merges with the nature and composes a respond of surroundings completed by natural lights and shadow. And the light shading on interior concrete walls instigates and provokes different visual experiences and moods.

2022

“ “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Rumi

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DIMA MEIQARI

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02-02

I SYNDICATE FOR ARCHITECTS & ENGINEERS 2010 I COMPATETION I DAMASCUS

For this office building, the design is organized around two natural rhythms: pedestrian movement and façade perception. As a result, two major elements will make the potential form of a building in constant interaction with the surrounding: Element 1 – The Stairs: The goal was to experiment with a new definition of the stairs and its surrounding urban fabric to create not only stairs but a path: a path to transform the site into a balcony to the surrounding. This path will also be defining the pedestrian activities as a landscape element. It will not only link

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DAMASCUS HQ I DESIGN I

64 #AR CH I TECTUR E #P O STG R A D UAT I O N # L A ND S CA PE # CO M PE T I T I O N # M AT HE M AT I CS

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down and up but also outside and inside. Additionally, it will attract attentions horizontally while raising vertically. Element 2 - The Façade: A materials balance was constructed following a fading mathematics occupation, Fibonacci, forming a symmetry group of a two-dimensional design which is both finite and infinite. The façade’s grid is arranged in a linear series of vertical and horizontal fading; therefore, the building’s texture is gradually transformed form a semi-transparent (by the offices) to extreme transparent (by the halls and corridors). This ordered mathematical information in façade generates spatial transformational perceptions and positive emotional responses.

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI

1 , 1 , 2 , 3, 5 , 8 , 13, 2 1, 34 , 55 , 89, 144 , 2 33, 377, 6 10, 987, 15 97

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tranc n en Mai y Lobbting Wai ption rece

Basement Floor -01

Ground Floor

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Basement Floor -02.-03. -04

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Floor Plan +01 +02

Floor Plan +03 +04 +05 +06

Floor Plan +07 +08

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Floor Plan +09

C-C B-B A-A

I DIPLOMA THESIS I ARCHI-CULTURE CENTER I 2010 I Student work I Damascus University

Traditions and heritage in architecture are mostly misunderstood and taken out of the framework of continuity. This misunderstanding is imposed on the postmodern architectural forms through stable relationships, where time stopped and the process of design is highly suggestive. The reality does not eliminate the experience of human interactions with the surrounding and does not give the human a sense of freedom. In the context of heritage, we can say that the real architecture is able to respond to the needs of man given that these needs are a form of a perception of reality. However, the response is restricted by the data of reality. This is what architecture has always come out of idealism which sought traditions as highly romanticized and always in connection with nostalgia, while awareness of the real nature of the mechanism of traditions as responsive analysis transforms traditions and heritage from constrain into a part of the natural engine of evolution.

DIMA MEIQARI

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02-03

68 #ARCHI TECTUR E #PR EG R A DUATI O N # L A ND S CA PE # U R B A N- HI STO RY # M AT HE M AT I CS

THE CONCEPT The project aimed to create a better public understanding of architecture and culture, through the tangible and intangible exploration of the history of architecture in Damascus and to make a little bit of understanding the reasons of the current situation of the city’s architecture through emphasizing on the role of past in shaping the present and the future (if you know the past, you will understand the present and prepare yourself to the future).

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An understanding of the urban history the old city of Damascus has been made to understand the evaluation of structure of the city that made the city change through ages from “straight streets intersecting” city into a true living cell as a “net walk”. This evaluation was imprinted to the form of the design, which was the base of the project’s concept.

2022

The buildings of the ancestors’ architecture “The Postmodern Architecture” have been a real response to their needs and addressed a clear and frank realities of their time and all of its possibilities. The modern generations must continue the development process. However, what is happening in our present now attempts to mimic the form of the past without understanding its content and context; attempts to give a picture of that past in the form of arches and yards, and the tendering of these forms without providing the basis of how and why these yards started, evolved and were used.

DIMA MEIQARI 69

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THE SITE The chosen site was attached to the old city as it lies by the western edge of the eastern “Damascus’ Wall” but included in the modern extension of the city. This gave an opportunity to make new understanding through the image of the past. I defined the main grid of the site and the main axis and the existing trees to decide the best way to locate the building and the entry points. When looking at the map of Damascus made by the French expedition by early 19th century, no traces of urban fabric can be found for this area. The main purpose of this analyses was to dissect the ancient (Roman) and the modern (colonial) morphologies of the city. As a result, the open public space was transformed into a specific typology for the space based on old city morphology (boxes) within a bigger clear shaped liner form.

Old Damascus

Modern colonial dDamascus

the old city wall The site

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C E

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sho

DIMA MEIQARI

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Ground Floor

A B

digital library

library

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C C

THE OUTPUT The proposed project aimed and acted architecturally to place education as its goal. Education is the key to cultural and artistic growth. The building emphasized education as the central ground wing, while the museum is planned as an open space underground stimulating curiosity and inviting exploration of all its wings.

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internet cafe

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Basement Floor -01

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In order for the architecture to convey a culture, it must have some sort of patterns. By patterns, I do not mean pre-fixed techniques, and I don’t eliminate creativity. By patterns, I mean the soul of that architecture. It is like when you hear a piece of music and you know that this piece is from that place or from this place.

2022

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DIMA MEIQARI

02-04

I COMMUNITY CENTRE I 2006 I Student work I Damascus University

DIMA MEIQARI

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This center was aimed to act as an educational-cultural facility which has workshop halls, a library and a 300-meter-squared gallery.

78 #A R CH I TECTUR E # PR EGR A D UAT I O N # EXPE R I M E NTA L

First Floor a

Ground Floor a

Section A-A

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Basement

Section D-

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02-05

I A-TWIN HOUSE I 2005

I Student work I Damascus University

DIMA MEIQARI

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The main concept of the project was to have a coherent contextual design with the downhill by creating a cohabitation void through the main mass.

80 #A R CH I TECTUR E # PR EGR A D UAT I O N # HO U S I NG

First Floor

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DIMA MEIQARI

Section C-C

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02-06

I UV HOUSE I 2004 I Student work I Damascus University

DIMA MEIQARI

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This Project was a challenge because the total area was only 324-meter-squared land, and the design was restricted to have a square-like courtyard, with 3.6*3.6-meter dimensions, in the center of the house.

82 #A R CH I TECTUR E # PR EGR A D UAT I O N # HO U S I NG

2022

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Ground Floor

First Floor

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B-B

DIMA MEIQARI

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02-07

I VERTICAL HOUSING I

2008 I Design I Details I Student work I Damascus University

DIMA MEIQARI

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

2022

This project capitalized on the relatively large scale and scope of contemporary architecture in Damascus, Projects explored the traditional new model of architecture in the country during a studio in construction details and building laws that was held in parallel with the studio project. The projects deal with integrating the most common building massing, structure and skin into a functioning 4 flats floor plan.

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85 #A R CH I TECTUR E #PR EG R A DUAT I O N # HO U S I NG # CO NST R U CT I O N D E TA I LS

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Section A-A

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DIMA MEIQARI 87

02 II URBAN DESIGN AND URBAN PLANNING

DIMA MEIQARI

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

2022

During my studies in Damascus university, I took part in urban scale projects which introduced me to the core technical principles that govern key aspects of infrastructure such as transportation, energy, water and waste, in addition to a theoretical and practical experience on the role of the built environment in society’s environmental and economic footprint.

2022

“A city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time” Patrick Geddes

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI 89

I THE AREA

02-07

II ANALYSE

I HIGHWAY IN AN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT I 2008 I Urban Plannig Workshop I Group Project I Damascus, Syria

The workshop was set to analyse one of the major threats that Damascus is facing which is the fast spread of the informal settlements. The main concept was to connect the informal buildings using mixed combination of metal and cement, and to add commercial and mobile facilities to provide this area with services, create work opportunities, and transfer the area into an attraction point inside the Syrian capital. The plan was based on the creation of an isolation element along the highway which included a bridge that could carry different facilities with the possibility to contain the noise and pollution generated by cars and trucks. During the workshop, students had to visit and analyse one area of those informal settlements and then break into teams to propose alternatives and solutions for the highlighted problems. One of the problems that my team focused on was how the rapid urbanization of Damascus had endangered the green farms of Al-Ghouta which has provided Damascus with its agriculture needs and with an ecological balance for the past thousands of years. As a result, our solutions included a proposed spatial design that would help to reinstall the missing green element within the area, and a long-term strategy that would reduce this urban population growth by creating and attracting investments outside the main cities. It was a valuable experience in which I noticed how combining different perspectives of students from two different cultures and variety of methodologies has enriched the research and the project objectives. It also reinforced my understanding of the inherited built environment and provided in-depth understanding of the dynamic interaction between architecture and community.

DIMA MEIQARI

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

2022

Joint workshop for Syrian and German students to work on a project analysing the problem of informal settlements and highways in a case study from the city of Damascus, Syria, in order to explore a more sustainable structure to local informal settlements in Syria.

90 #URBA N PL A N N I N G #UR BA N DEVE LO PM E NT # U R B A N P O L LUT I O N # I NFO R M A L I TY

III INTERVENTIONS

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02-08

I URBAN RENEWAL I ALHAL SUOK I

2010 I student project I Damascus university I Collaborator: Anas Al Kassas

The selected area is located near the old city and it is part of the first master plan for Damascus prepred in 1935 by a French firm which was headed by the renowned urbanist Rene Danger. AL-HAL Area has gone through economic and social changes which in turn affected its urban fabrication. This study included two steps: first, to analyse the current situation of the area; and second, to propose alternatives to identified problems. As part of our study, we tried to include illegal/informal employment in our analyses, as previous research in other Middle Eastern cities found that “activity in the urban ‘hidden economy,’ which might be as big as the reported one, partially relieves economic pressures. Informality is not only the experience of the urban poor. Informality, therefore, cannot be considered independently of the formal economy and construction” (Haim Yacobi & Relli Shechter (2006) Rethinking cities in the Middle East: political economy, planning, and the lived space, The Journal of Architecture, 10:5, 499-515, DOI: 10.1080/13602360500285500). In Damascus, inhabitants of these areas tend to work in the service sector as taxi drivers, waiters, garbage collectors, and manual labourers. However, employment statistics of the informal sector are not available. This reflects weaknesses in drawing and adapting evidence-based policies that would effectively analyse and solve urban problems facing communities in Damascus.

2022 PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI 93 #URBAN PLA N N IN G # U R BA N D E V E LOP M E N T # UR BA N R E N E WA L # UR BA N P O L LUT I O N # I N FO R MA L ITY

2022 PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI 94

SWOT analysis: • Strength: Area is located by the main southern highway • Weakness: Random rapid urbanisation which affected the area by having several unmatched facilities all by having a highly crowded commercial building in the center next to a residential area, in addition to the spread of the informal settlements • Opportunity: The site performs as a vocal point • Threat: The high level of pollution Housing Analysis: • Informal Housing Area : 1.5 Hectare • Population : 640 persons • Density : 400 P/H Traffic Analysis: The design transforms the current Huge Parking Spot into a Net Walk, Creating axis for people to walk through.

ESTCODE

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New Local Density... • Total Area : 18.6 Hectare • Density : 150 P/H

DIMA MEIQARI

• Suggested Housing Area : 3.8 Hectare • Private Density Target : 280 P/H • Population :2800 persons • Families : 500 families • Parking Needed : 500 cars • Parking Provided on the ground : 1/5 = 100 cars • Parking Capacity underground : Total housing blocks GF area : 1.85 Hectare Area needed for 1 car parking : 25 m2 Capacity : 740 cars

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

The suggested solution was based on several points: to keep the buildings with a good visual status by changing it function after rehabilitation; to plan the area by solving the problems of density and contextual informal settlements; and to expand the green areas.

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PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

DIMA MEIQARI

02 III INTERIOR DESIGN

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During my work, I was part of many projects of interior rehabilitation and design. The projects involved architectural restructuring of the planes, technical detailing for the existing and the proposed conditions. The projects included 2 Villas, a hotel and an office. I have designed around 10 interior spaces in several functions e.g bedrooms, office, bathrooms, restaurants.

2022

“No pattern should be without some sort of meaning” William Morris

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI 99

02-08

I HOTEL ROOM INTERIOR I DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION I

200

153

109

2012 I Damascus I Syria I Build

166

113

191

150 204

201

32 2

256

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113

278

200

113

180

489

200

565

278

400

193

200

WOOD

177

276

565

153

545

547

WOOD

556

334

361

20 58

187

300

54 34

50 120

120

240 122

130

122

156

109

WOOD

119

122

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK DIMA MEIQARI 100

188

603 30

150 2,5

137,8

145

2,5

137,8

5,1

51,5

6 16,1

85,5

29,5

57,4

2 32 141,9

2 32

177

272,7

272,8

26,5 2 2 33

15 15 15 5

2,5

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2,5 2,4

20,8

10 90

15 5

100 25

5 25

8 302,6

282,6

90 225

100

20,8

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I A BEDROOM IN A VILLA I DESIGN I 2011 I Damascus Syria I

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R 25X25

103.0

14.0 19.0 31.5

60.0

90.0 88.0

226.5

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50.5

90.0

30.0

261.0

102.5

267.0

90.0

90.0 34.0

63.5 51.0

90.0

17.0

60X30

90.0

17.0

113.5

84.0

56.5

144.0

112.0

60X15

90.0 85.0

9.5

72.0

215.0

14.0 60.0

123.0

196.0

44.0

128.0

28.0 44.0

33.0 72.0

357.0

60X30 A

F' 72.6

Ncs s 0300-N (Jotun Paint)

132.5

5.0

109.0

25.0 1.0

312.0 224.0

30.0 1.0

WALL PAPER

F' 48.0

87.5

WOOD

30.0 5.0

30.0

64.5

224.0

166.4 262.0

5.0

162.0

181.0

Sony

5.0

70.0

63.0

30.0

5.0

15.0

5.0

15.0

25.0 71.0

60.0

34.5

5.0 63.0

144.0 31.0 25.0

16.0

Section:D-D'

102

14.0 211.0

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14.0

54.0

170.0

14.0

226.5

DW 3/4"

14.0

262.0

30.0 10.0 45.0

88.0

34.5

71.0 111.0

57.0

30.0

288.0

200X10

66.0

Section:C-C'

37.0

55.0 76.0

86.0

25.0

68.0

183.0 25.0

Section:B-B'

112.0

30.0 16.0

Ncs s 0300-N (Jotun Paint)

B''

A''

54.0

10.0

69.0

10.0

15.0

45.0

2022

10.0

23.0

39.0

144.0

45.037.0

67.0 16.0

5.0

91.8

B''

5.0

3.0

176.0

200.0

A''

281.0

2.0

C''

5.0

57.5

B''

C''

A''

53.2 4.0

60.0 5.0

4.0 1.5

4.0

121.8

44.0

2.0

48.0

5.1 1.5

40.0

4.8 6.0

176.0

B''

101.6

33.5

1.5 5.1

5.0

A''

4.8

B''

A''

206.5

B''

A''

144.0

249.0 15.0

55.0 5.0

15.0 15.0

4.8

19.4

3.9

19.4

4.0

90.0

5.0

4.0 57.5

2.0

44.0 29.5 2.0

5.0 4.0

29.5

5.0

15.0

12.0

A''-A''

44.0 29.0

20.3

3.0

114.0

33.5

1.5

4.0

31.0

241.0

B''

A''

46.0

5.0

55.0

8.0

A''-A''

13.1 24.5 4.8 1.5 4.0

4.0

2.0

262.0 28.0

10.0

27.6

4.0

22.0

121.8

5.0 30.0

86.0

27.0 4.8

4.8

55.0 25.0

17.7

1.5 5.3

170.0

B''-B''

1.5 4.0

16.5 1.5 4.0

4.0

31.0

19.0 6.0

1.5 5.3

16.5 4.0

B''-B''

6.0

61.0 31.0

4.8

17.7 42.7

19.4

81.0

4.0

30.0 4.0

107.2

41.0

10.0 15.0

2.0

19.4

22.0 40.0 4.0

4.0

112.5

26.5

2.0

4.0

241.0 4.0

2.0

27.0

4.0

343.0

25.0

15.0

32.5

26.5 112.5

26.5

4.8

17.0

26.5

262.0

3.9

4.0 4.8

1.5 4.0

20.0 5.0

5.0 20.0

3.0

2.0

2.0 26.5

C''-C''

4.0

57.5

29.5

2.0

26.5

2.0

5.0 17.0

37.0

60.0

4.0

57.5

5.0 176.0

5.0 20.0

144.0

5.0

57.5

5.0 44.0

176.0

45.0

A''-A''

55.0

10.0 15.0

5.0

15.0 5.0 26.0 8.0 17.0

68.0

55.0 5.0

5.0

20.0 76.0

73.0

31.0

25.0 5.0 19.0

44.0

4.0

89.0 195.0

6.0

4.0

2.0 4.0

54.0

11.0 2.0 4.0 2.0

5.0

A''-A''

45.0

5.0 66.0

76.0

5.0

4.9 37.0

A'''

48.0

15.0

25.0 1.0

60.0

4.0

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

60.0 5.0

6.0

18.0

A''

86.0

31.0 5.0

B''

36.0

46.0 4.8

30.0 1.0 30.0

37.0

166.4 27.0

17.0

5.0

52.0

B'''

47.0 281.0

9.0

Ncs s 0300-N (Jotun Paint)

72.6

C'''

Ncs s 0300-N (Jotun Paint)

5.0

5.0 72.0

A''-A''

C''

B''

C''-C''

A''

60.0

229.0

7.0

A'''-A'''

15.0 2.0

211.5

55.0

109.0

27.0

37.0

8.0 1.0

263.0

94.4

19.0 128.0

60.0

8.0

5.0

26.0

170.0

84.0

46.5

44.0 7.0

5.0 81.0 55.0

72.0 71.0

30.0

B'''-B'''

15.0 44.0

47.0

50.0

30.0

5.0

37.0

102.0

7.0

8.0 1.0

1.0 19.0

52.0 64.5

64.4

19.0 72.0

DIMA MEIQARI

C'''

94.4 64.4

5.0

Section:A-A'

Section:F-F'

C'''-C'''

15.0

5.0

50.0

102.0

37.0

7.0

B''-B''

1.0 19.0

C''

B''

A''

103

104

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105

DIMA MEIQARI

PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

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106

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PORTFOLIO OF SELECTED WORK

DIMA MEIQARI

107

108

DIMA MEIQARI

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