Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2023 Centers Indigenous Building Knowledge

The second edition of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, titled 'The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability,' opened across the former classrooms and courtyards of Al Qasimiyah School. Curated by British-educated, Nigerian-born architect Tosin Oshinowo, the triennial focuses on rediscovering traditional, historic, and indigenous modes of designing places to provoke questions about reducing reliance on industrial manufacture unsuited to most climates and cultures. The triennial features 46 named collaborators, including Sandra Poulson, who created an immersive installation using discarded cardboard and starch to revalue waste; BUZIGAHILL, a Kampala-based clothing brand that upcycles discarded fast-fashion into high-value garments; Henry Glogau and Aleksander Kongshaug's low-tech bamboo and cotton pavilions; Wallmakers' cave-like tunnel made from 1425 waste tyres; Hive Earth's rammed earth structure; Sumaya Dabbagh's mudbrick space; 51-1 Arquitectos' movable chairs and canopies; and Papa Omotayo and Eve Nnaji's birdcage-inspired tower. Oshinowo's curatorial framing positions the Global South in binary opposition to the Global North, a simplification that risks losing nuances given the UAE's cultural, political, and financial prowess exceeding many Global North nations. The triennial runs until 10 March 2024.