Opinions, Academic Insights, and Literary Critiques
At the end of Spring Semester 2024, my friend and classmate Edmond Drenogllava invited me to the final review of a housing studio he taught this semester at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, with 3rd year undergraduate students of architecture. It was exciting for me to see the kind of […]
Le Corbusier’s Towards a New Architecture, originally published in 1923, emerged around the same time as fascism and colonial regimes were developing in Europe as well as other parts of the world. A lot of the general dogma surrounding colonization was infiltrating the conversations about architecture during that period. As a result of which, Corbusier […]
This afternoon, I presented my research on the writing skills of architecture students in Dhaka, at the 14th Annual UC Graduate Student Conference, organized by the Department of English at UC. This research was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of one of my courses for the Master of Architecture degree I was pursuing […]
In his book Moderne Architektur, published towards the end of 19th century, Otto Wagner brings forth the idea that it is necessary for an architect to find a sense of fulfillment that is inherent within themselves. He argues that this feeling of satisfaction should encourage an architect to continue working with love and dedication, even […]
I came across this book when it was listed as one of the top thrillers of 2023 by New York Times Books, and needless to say, it does not disappoint. It has all the essential elements of a great murder mystery: protagonist with a questionable past, a creepy house, horrific murders of a wealthy family, […]
For my course on Visual Arts Research Methods, I decided to research on how museum settings can become a space of healing for indigenous communities whose cultures have been appropriated by museum authorities of western ethnological museums. Part of the arts-based research method was incorporating a non-written element into the research paper or Living Inquiry […]
If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English tells the story of an American born Egyptian woman, who returns to Cairo following the revolution, and her relationship with one of the activists from the revolution, a photographer from the rural part of the country. They find each other interesting because of their differences, but it is the […]
Leon Battista Alberti begins his treatise On the Art of Building in Ten Books by mentioning that architecture is made up of two elements: lineamentia or linear characteristics of a building, which is obtained from the mind; and matteria or materials of a building, which comes from nature. Additionally, with regards to the linear characteristics […]
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is easily one of the best books I have read this year. The story starts off at a very slow pace, when it introduces the protagonists, twin sisters Stella and Desiree who are light skinned and black. Eventually, the sisters run away from their hometown Mallard and then Stella decides […]
Such a Fun Age is a very timely and relevant portrayal of white savior narrative and the very subtle layers performative activism and woke culture. The writing style flows naturally and is written in a simplistic manner, despite its serious theme which deals with the nuances of race and class privilege. The plot centers on […]