Born in Jerusalem in 1945, Rasem Badran received his school education in the nearby town of Ramallah and later in Germany where he graduated in Architecture in 1970. Following his graduation, he worked in Germany for two years and then returned to Jordan in 1973 where he has since been practising. In 1995, Badran was a recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Great Mosque of Riyadh and the Redevelopment of the Old City Centre.
Badran, Rasem. "A Trinity of Values in Architecture for Muslim Societies." International Journal of Islamic Architecture 10, 1 (2021): 247-256.
Description
Here the author considers the misinterpretation of the term ‘Islamic architecture’ and the use of decorative elements that superficially mark buildings as such. He argues instead for ‘architecture for Muslim societies’ that responds to the social habits and values that unite Muslims. Human-scaled spaces drawing from historical contexts and examples based on the careful study of human interactions are preferred. Projects by the author from Saudi Arabia and Iraq are cited as examples.
