Famous Architect Emilio Ambasz Lectures at Ajman University

The Department of Architectural Engineering in the College of Engineering at Ajman University of Science and Technology is hosting world-renown architect Emilio Ambasz from February 4th through 10th. He will offer a workshop for AE students themed “Towards Green Buildings/Architecture for UAE”, in which he will present his ideas for the development of building models in the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program to make them amply in tune with the country’s natural milieu as well as with the needs of modern life.

The workshop aims to avail of Ambasz’s wide expertise to develop pertinent architectural models that are implementable on the ground, so they can be easily adopted by the relevant housing institutions. The event also provides AUST students with a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the philosophy and style of Emilio Ambasz as regards the design and construction of eco-friendly green buildings.

A pre-workshop lecture was delivered by the visiting architect in the Sheikh Zayed Centre for Conferences and Exhibitions, with the title “Green over Grey”. The lecture was attended by Prof. Fahar Hayati, Dean of the College of Engineering, a number of the college’s faculty members, and a host of students and guests. After an opening welcome address by the dean, Emilio Ambasz introduced some of his flagship projects conducted all over the globe with a particular focus on the design philosophy that marks most of the architect’s works.

Dr. Jihad Awad, Head of Achitectural Engneering Department, said that "this workshop is the 8th in a series of workshops the college has organized over the last two years. The Architectural Engineering Department at Ajman University is the most outstanding among the pan-Arab universities in terms of receiving the world's most famous architects and designers to deliver specialized lectures and workshop programs." Amongst the prominent names who visited the university so far are Rem Kolhaas, Hand Hollein, Daniel Libeskind, Mario Botta, Rasem Badran, Eric Owen Moss, Tom Wiscombe, Satoshi Okada, and lastly Emilio Ambasz.

Born in 1943 in Argentina, Emilio Ambasz studied architecture at Princeton University. He is now a worldwide pioneer in green architecture and a multi-award winning designer. He has many publications and contributions in the design filed.