This lecture is the opening event of the exhibition "Spanish Architecture in the Arab World" organized by AUS in collaboration with Casa Árabe (MADRID), the Spanish Architects Council and the Spanish Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The exhibition will be held October 29-November 12, 2015 in AD1-123, College of Architecture, Art and Design.

About the Presenters

JoaquínPérez-Goicoechea and Dr. Nasser Abulhasan are Principals/Partners, AGiarchitects, which they founded in 2006. The firm won first prize of the contest to build La Ascensión del Señor Church in Seville, Spain; the Kuwait Children's Hospital; and The General Department of the InformationSystem (GDIS); and second prize forits proposal for the Qatar Courthouse restrictedcompetition, organized by the Qatar Government. The firms' works have been featured by variousinternational publications and digital media on architecture and interiordesign such as Wall Paper, Domus Web,Detail, Phaidon Atlas, AV projects, Metalocus, Abitare, Home Magazine, CasaViva, Interior Design, Middle East Architect Magazine, Cityscape Magazine,ArchDaily, Plataforma Arquitectura, Dezeen, e-architect, Desmena, Contemporist andDesign Boom, among others.

JoaquínPérez-Goicoechea worked on several majorinternational projects for offices including Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos, SOM andthe Harvard University Planning Office priorto founding AGi architects with Dr.Nasser Abulhasan. He carried out different roles in projects as diverseas the Spanish Pavilion of the EXPO 2000, where he acted as chief architect, thenbecame the director of the Amsterdam office at Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos incharge of the renovation of the National Museum of Holland (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam).He has also held teaching positions at Harvard University, Boston Architectural Center and the ArchitectureSchool of Kuwait University.

Dr.Nasser Abulhasan has extensive experience in the design andimplementation of new communities and has worked on numerous high-profilemaster planning projects in Europe and the Middle East. His design experienceincludes building types such as commercial office buildings and complexes,mixed-use facilities, government buildings and other institutional buildings. Priorto founding AGi architects with Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea,Dr. Abulhasan worked on several major international projects for officesincluding SOM and Hashim Sarkis Architects. His area of research is insustainable developments in arid climates and focuses on the perception oflight in buildings. He has held teaching positions at the Boston Architectural Center and Kuwait University.

For more information, please contact jroldan@aus.edu.