Between Two Generations: Architecture that Belongs

This special talk brings together renowned architect Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil with Jeddahbased artist and designer Ahmed Angawi in a cross-generational conversation on architecture, belonging,memory, craftsmanship and the living identity of place.

El-Wakil’s architectural legacy is deeply connected to Saudi Arabia and Jeddah through his work on mosques and projects that draw from Islamic architectural principles, craftsmanship, climate-responsive design, and the spiritual experience of space. In dialogue with him, Ahmed Angawi brings the perspective of a contemporary Saudi artist and designer whose practice is rooted in Jeddah’s material culture, traditional crafts and the relationship between people, objects and place. Through his work with wood, mangour, pearl inlay, making traditions and community-based creative practice, Angawi explores how heritage can remain alive through experimentation, collaboration and contemporary interpretation.

The conversation will bring together two creative positions: one rooted in the revival and reinterpretation of traditional architectural knowledge and another shaped by artistic practice, craft research and handson engagement with local materials and makers. Through Jeddah as a shared point of departure, the discussion will explore how architecture and craft move between memory and the future, betweeninherited forms and new ways of living, and between the built environment and the human stories itcarries.

Book & Research Display: A selection of books, and publications related to both speakers’ work will bedisplayed alongside the program, allowing audiences to explore their thinking, projects and researchbeyond the conversation.

Materials: Microphones, armchairs and moderator seating, projector, presentation clicker, speakerbiography slides, water and coffee, small book display featuring publications related to both