Under the Eaves of Architecture
Cover of book showing Burnaby Jamatkhana, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Philip Jodidio, educated at Harvard where he studied economics and art history, has written more than 50 books on architecture around the world. These include, amongst others: Iran: Architecture for Changing Societies, Building the New Millennium, Ando: Complete Works and the Architecture Now series.
Jodidio recently compiled Under the Eaves of Architecture The Aga Khan: Builder and Patron. This book highlights Mawlana Hazar Imam’s work as a leading patron of architecture. Anar Simpson, International Editor of TheIsmaili.org talks with Jodidio about this book.
You start this book with the sentence: “This book is not about architecture” and yet your specialty is in writing books about architecture. How would you compare this book with the others that you have written?
The fact that the book is not only about architecture was a surprise to me as well. I had followed activities created by His Highness over the years such as the Aga Khan Award for Architecture or the Historic Cities Programme, and my thought had initially been to focus almost entirely on these very fruitful initiatives. It is in discussions with those most closely associated with the programmes and with His Highness himself that I came to understand that the real focus is not so much on architecture as it is on people. It is about a man and his commitment to bettering the life of many through improvements to the physical environment. Other books I have worked on have been based in good part on the formal and practical issues that concern contemporary architecture, often in the developed world.
You have used part of the phrase “Under the eaves of architecture you can shelter a great many discussions” as the title for the book, can you expand on this?
I believe it is a different way of saying that the book is not about architecture as much as it is about the concept of bringing people together so that they can understand each other better. One reason these initiatives work is that they are based in both the Muslim world and the West – they are intended to improve communication, and to underline the strengths of local traditions, even as they open the horizons of international cooperation. By the very nature of his calling, His Highness sees the world as few can – it is in the breadth of his own experience and generosity that the idea of simply making people meet and talk takes on a spiritual dimension, indeed a planetary one.
The author: Philip Jodidio. Photo: Courtesy Philip Jodidio
You conducted interviews with a large number of persons ranging from professors at Harvard and MIT to a number of architects and heads of the various AKDN agencies involved with architecture. Was there a unifying theme that emerged from your research?
The simplest answer to your question is that there was indeed a unifying theme – that of the “thought process” launched by His Highness. This has led the Aga Khan Award for Architecture to become the most significant prize of its type in the world and animated the Aga Khan Program at Harvard and MIT which has formed a great number of the active scholars in Islamic architecture and art around the world. His Highness always gave a good deal of freedom to those entrusted with these programmes, but the impetus he gave them at the outset has remained a guiding force.
In his exclusive interview with you, His Highness the Aga Khan says “I will be talking about things that I have not talked about before…The first ten years of Imamat caused me to become more and more involved in what you call architecture and what I would call the processes of change”. Is the architecture that you so beautifully describe in this book then a response to change?
Although the real sense of those words might best be explained by His Highness, I believe that he sees architecture as a vector of change. He states clearly in the interview that “The first indicator of a community’s poverty, what you see, is the physical context in which they live. Therefore, my interest in architecture was driven at that time by the question of what to do to improve the quality of life of the ultra-poor.” Architecture, in the sense in which it emerges from the words and actions of His Highness is not so much a response to the processes of change as it is a way to bring about positive transformations. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture has put an emphasis on buildings and projects that combine a sense of the traditions of the Islamic world with a real commitment to facing the challenges of the present and future. Engaging the processes of change, improving the lives of the many, these are roles that architecture can play. I really don’t feel that His Highness sees the built environment only as being responsive to what has happened; in fact he sees architecture is a catalyst for change.
Aerial view of Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt, showing the restored Ayyubid Wall with the Darb al-Ahmar district to the left. Photo: Courtesy of AKTC
Some would say that there is chasm or a leap of faith between building these magnificent buildings and addressing poverty?
Only a part of the book I worked on has to do with “building magnificent buildings”. Where His Highness is concerned the most substantial works of architecture are devoted to the Ismaili community or, in a larger sense to an improvement of general knowledge of Islam. This would be the case of the Aga Khan Museum currently planned for Toronto. In Cairo, the
Azhar Park development brought a badly needed green space to one of the most populous cities in the world. There is indeed something magnificent about it, but it is meant for the people of Cairo, and it is also homage to the Fatimid ancestors of His Highness the Aga Khan. Past, present and future come together here in a way that answers your question in a most eloquent way. In the Darb al-Ahmar district that lies next to Al-Azhar Park, the agencies of AKDN have made it entirely clear that the goals of His Highness go far beyond a magnificent public space. Micro-credit schemes, education initiatives, urban renovation and job training are all part of the work being done. Although a number of the buildings or projects to have received the Aga Khan Award can well be described as “magnificent” many others are precisely intended to improve the lot of the poor in the Muslim world. Nor is this book intended as a full overview of the activities of His Highness the Aga Khan.
As you pointed out at the beginning of this interview, my own specialisation is in the field of architecture. Although I found with a certain sense of discovery that His Highness has a different view of architecture than many people. In my opinion, no other leader of our time has done as much to bridge the very real chasm that has separated the Muslim world from the West as His Highness. It is in the variety of his initiatives that future generations will better judge his real impact.
Recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA). The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur represent a significant step onto the world stage by a largely Muslim city. Occupying a central location in the city, they are symbolic of the emergence of Malaysia as an economic power. Photo: Courtesy of AKTC
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