People as an Architectural Material: Dwelling in the Reconstruction of the Nural Yaqin Mosque and the Memorialization of JFK
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ehsan Sheikholharam Mashhadi
Department
CACM – Architecture
Abstract
A tsunami, and an assassination. Architecture serves multiple purposes. At times it offers relief or respite to the victims of a tsunami; at others, it creates monuments to the victims of an assassination. But can these two types of functions relate? The JFK Memorial Library was built by I.M. Pei as a national response to the assassination of JFK. Dave Orlando and Fandy Gunawan designed the Nural Yaqin Mosque in response to the 2018 tsunami. Both architects share similar characteristics but in drastically different manners. I.M. Pei, a Pritzker Prize winner, has a vast body of monumental modernism. Orlando and Gunawan, on the other hand, have a single project recognized by the Aga Khan for its service to the community and the region. Both pay homage to past tragedy and lift it to a new plane of existence. But how can tribute be paid without independent agents—without free and active participation? The answer is—it cannot. This paper will shed light on the cross-pollination between these two works: one birthed in modernism, the other in regionalism. Although there are clear differences between the two movements and their ideologies, the intersection that exists in the articulation of their memorial spaces is fascinating. While one is characterized as placeless and the other might be seen as vernacularized, their similarities lie in how humans are given the pedestal to fulfill the space in both instances. As a philosophical anchor, this research draws from Martin Heidegger’s seminal essay Building, Dwelling, Thinking (1951) to deepen the understanding of these claims. Although not an architect, Heidegger’s writings inspired thinkers exploring belonging on a broader scale. These comparisons allow us to see through this lens—what it means for humans to be a material of architecture.
The use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT was utilized in the refinement of this abstract.
Disciplines
Architectural History and Criticism | Other Architecture
People as an Architectural Material: Dwelling in the Reconstruction of the Nural Yaqin Mosque and the Memorialization of JFK
A tsunami, and an assassination. Architecture serves multiple purposes. At times it offers relief or respite to the victims of a tsunami; at others, it creates monuments to the victims of an assassination. But can these two types of functions relate? The JFK Memorial Library was built by I.M. Pei as a national response to the assassination of JFK. Dave Orlando and Fandy Gunawan designed the Nural Yaqin Mosque in response to the 2018 tsunami. Both architects share similar characteristics but in drastically different manners. I.M. Pei, a Pritzker Prize winner, has a vast body of monumental modernism. Orlando and Gunawan, on the other hand, have a single project recognized by the Aga Khan for its service to the community and the region. Both pay homage to past tragedy and lift it to a new plane of existence. But how can tribute be paid without independent agents—without free and active participation? The answer is—it cannot. This paper will shed light on the cross-pollination between these two works: one birthed in modernism, the other in regionalism. Although there are clear differences between the two movements and their ideologies, the intersection that exists in the articulation of their memorial spaces is fascinating. While one is characterized as placeless and the other might be seen as vernacularized, their similarities lie in how humans are given the pedestal to fulfill the space in both instances. As a philosophical anchor, this research draws from Martin Heidegger’s seminal essay Building, Dwelling, Thinking (1951) to deepen the understanding of these claims. Although not an architect, Heidegger’s writings inspired thinkers exploring belonging on a broader scale. These comparisons allow us to see through this lens—what it means for humans to be a material of architecture.
The use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT was utilized in the refinement of this abstract.