Sharjah Architecture Triennial

The Sharjah Architecture Triennial, taking place from 11 November 2023 to 10 March 2024.

The Triennial was established in 2019 as the first major platform for architecture and urbanism from West and South Asia and the African continent. Its aim is to spark new perspectives and reframe on-going conversations about the future of architecture and design within the social, economic, environmental, and cultural context of the region.

Titled The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability, the second edition of the Triennial is curated by Lagos-based, Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo, and will explore links between scarcity, creativity, and design. With the title and theme, Tosin wants to highlight how architecture should take into account indigenous traditions and collective knowledge born out of daily practice, resilience and ingenious coping mechanisms – ‘contextual’ is one of her favourite words. The Global South should not attempt to ‘catch up’ with the Global North, but rather the reverse, as the rest of the world now faces the same challenges due to the climate crisis. The Global South’s resilience suggests alternative approaches to an ethos of ‘permanence’ in architecture pervasive in the Global North, and these methods – shaped by the rhythms of everyday life, climate, and material availability – offer design solutions for the many challenges facing our populations. In her own practice, she draws on her Yoruba heritage and Àṣẹ philosophy to centre contextual design and culturally relevant architecture.

The Triennial’s 29 participants will shine a spotlight on design solutions that draw from indigenous knowledge (Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Hunnarshala Foundation with Aaabhat and AINA), explore the potential of local contextual material such as mud (Hive Earth Studio, Sandra Poulson, Wallmakers) examine the climate resilience and adaptability of communities around the world (Natura Futura, COLLAB: Henry Glogau & Aleksander Kongshaug), to name a few.