The Arab countries of the eastern Mediterranean refer to gardens as little paradises (jnaina): bounded boxes of green - delicate curations of plants in an ordered composition. Across the Arabian peninsula, on the coast of the Gulf, they are referred to as hadayiq, from the word 'to bound or encircle‘.
A conversation between Civil Architecture and Lebanese landscape firm studiolibani about their collection of waterless public gardens, presented for the Hangar Exhibition under the name 'Minor Paradises'.
About Civil Architecture x studiolibani
Civil Architecture is a cultural practice preoccupied with the making of buildings and books about them. The work of Civil asks what it means to produce architecture in a decidedly un-civil time, presenting a new civic character for a global condition. Since its founding by Hamed Bukhamseen and Ali Karimi, the practice has attracted a strong following for their provocative works and their offer of an alternate future for a nascent Middle East.
civilarchitecture.org
studiolibani is an agency of landscape architects, urban strategists, and design visionaries invested in alternative thinking in landscape architecture and urbanism. In their work and design research, the founders Dima Rachid and Leah Moukarzel Sarkissian focus on shaping resilient environments and crafting spaces of social meaning and ecological and aesthetic value. studiolibani operates from Beirut, across scales, systems, and geographies.
www.studiolibani.com
