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Summer Show 2023
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markaz fan a’nazaha wa-tahtib: Tahtib for Social Cohesion
Tahtib – the art of being straight and honest through the use of stick – dates back to Ancient Egypt as military training evolved into an art performance for social cohesion. In the discourse of cultural rebirth within the contextual futurism of Cairo, the practice of Tahtib aims to destabilise the frontier between social-economic-politically and geographically isolated communities of informal settlements in Imbabah and the off-world of Zamalek.
The proposal draws on the power of Tahtib as a national intangible heritage to re-establish a strong connection between people identifying with the same cultural identity while tackling aggression among youth through the values of honesty and truth, mutual respect for the other, and the balance between power and control embedded in the art of Tahtib. This cultural landmark for the Tahtib tradition, for the Egyptian national integrity threatened by rising aggression and for the balance between Imbahah and Zamalek reflects the trust in the power of the architecture as an agent of change within the contextual futurism of Cairo.
Tahtib Values Inscribed into Movement and Design Gesture
Tahtib Values Inscribed into Movement and Design Gesture
The values of power and control embedded in the movements of Tahtib become permanent through means of motion capture and digital tracing. As the game begins, the two communities engage in the discourse of identity through gestures.
Balanced Intervention between Imbabah and Zamalek
The two gestural intentions of each community read as interior and exterior, intimate and public space articulation, while creating a continuous circulation throughout the building, offering a new typology of bridge centred on the journey.
Gestural Intentions between Touching Communities – First Contact
The two communities come together in a dialogue of cultural identity and national heritage in the context of Cairo's aspirations towards a modern European look. The design draws on two participants in a social cohesion practice, slightly touching.
Tahtib Values Artefact and Practising Environments
Material experimentation informed the ‘almost touching’ relationship between the neighbourhoods at both metaphorical level of identity and culture, and tectonics level, shaping spaces of participation in contrast to self-reflecting practising areas.
Tahtib Centre for National Cultural Identity: Balance of Power and Control
Tahtib Centre for National Cultural Identity: Balance of Power and Control
The cultural landmark for the Tahtib tradition, for the Egyptian national integrity and for the balance between Imbahah and Zamalek reflects the trust in the power of architecture as an agent of change within the contextual futurism of Cairo.
The Bartlett
Summer Show 2023
23 June – 8 July 2023
Summer Show 2023
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