Zeynep Fadillioglu, architect, at the Sakirin MosqueWomen and Islam is always a hot topic, whether in the Arab/Muslim world or in the West, where we tend to believe that women enjoy far more freedoms, and naturally are not obliged to disguise themselves in burkas nor hijabs. The debate remains lively even in Turkey—a largely Muslim country with a secular constitution. Now the world's first mosque designed by a woman has opened in Istanbul.

The new Sakirin Mosque's design relies on Turkey's Islamic architectural mainstays and was overseen by Zeynep Fadillioglu, who together with her team of interior designers and architects have created a beautiful if relatively orthodox structure. It is Fadillioglu's first mosque.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Jun 6 2009 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Price: 

Free

Where: 

MLK Junior Auditorium
Main Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica
310.458.8600

Lauren Weiss Bricker, author of The Mediterranean House in America, will give a visual presentation Book Coverexaming the essence and influence of the popular Mediterranean style in America, more specifically in Southern California. Weiss Bricker will explore the evolution of the Mediterranean style, focusing on Mediterranean Revival houses built during the past 100 years. Through decades of change, the Mediterranean style is still appealing. Book sale and signing will follow the discussion.

Lauren Weiss Bricker is an associate professor of architecture at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. She is a specialist on California architecture and historic preservation.

Event Details

Date/Time: 

Mar 19 2009 7:30pm - 9:00pm

Price: 

Artist salon free for Levantine members.
Select guests admitted with members only.
Refreshments will be served.

Where: 

Levantine Cultural Center
5998 W. Pico Blvd. (a block east of Crescent Heights)
Los Angeles CA 90035

Reflections From the Shining Brow: My years with Frank Lloyd Wright and Olgivanna LazovichA Talk on Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright, Green Architecture and Sustainability, Egypt and the Middle East with Kamal Amin, moderated by Christine Magar of Greenform.net

Egyptian-born architect Kamal AminKamal Amin was an idealistic, well-to-do young Egyptian fresh out of architecture school when he traveled to America to join the inner circle of his hero, the internationally famous, groundbreaking genius, Frank Lloyd Wright. He had heard rumors of Wright’s work habits and his eccentricity, but he had no idea of the wild ride that he would experience over the next twenty-six years as a working member of Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship.

[Co-authored with Patrik Schumacher, senior partner of Zaha Hadid Architects]

Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, GermanyIn recent years our design firm, Zaha Hadid Architects, has completed a series of small- to medium-size buildings-the Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati being the most prominent amongst them. [Larger buildings in Wolfsburg and Leipzig, Germany, opened during the summer of 2005.] The office has grown to over eighty people and is gearing up toward faster and bigger projects. However, our ambition remains to innovate the discipline of architecture rather than merely to build more and larger buildings.

The Iraqi-born, London-based architect Zaha Hadid consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture and urban design. Her work experiments with new spatial concepts, intensifying existing urban landscapes in the pursuit of a visionary aesthetic that encompasses all fields of design, ranging from urban scale to products, interiors, and furniture.