Arab Modernism(s)

Reviews / Votes

Arab Modernism(s): Cities, History and Culture is a most welcome culmination of Yasser Elsheshtawy's decades-long foray into the architecture and urbanism of Arab cities, past, present and future. As one of the leading scholars on this subject, Elsheshtawy successfully brings together his thoughtful critical toolbox to re-examine the region's multi-varied encounter with modernity. With great agility, Elsheshtawy moves from the Arab world's old cities to the region's new centers of power, engaging with themes that cut across the region: the contrast between informal settlements and high-profile developments, the ongoing role of colonial legacies on spatial hierarchies and social fabrics, the role of international architects in gentrification and cultural erasure or the contested realm of memory and preservation, amongst other. The result is a crucial contribution that finally undoes assumed notions around modernity, tradition and identity. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Arab cities and a testament to Elsheshtawy's unique capacity to offer multi-layered depths of understanding as well as passion for the complex legacies and possible futures of Arab cities.

Amale Andraos, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Columbia GSAPP.

Yasser Elsheshtawy's Arab Modernism(s): Cities, History, and Culture provides a lively and incisively argued study that contributes important new thinking to debate about the global impact of architectural modernism. Compared with the prevailing scholarly bias towards Europe and North America, the author offers a pioneering account of how the Arab world encountered, absorbed, and refashioned modernism and how those encounters have continued to shape the built environment. Weaving together an impressive grasp of architectural theory and practice with personal anecdotes and insights from literary fiction and films, Elsheshtawy presents a kaleidoscopic survey of the heritage and lived experience of architectural modernism in cities from north Africa, the Middle East and the Gulf. In doing so, the narrative highlights significant issues that include the relationship of modernism to cultural identity, colonial legacies, oil wealth and globalization, commodification, spatial inequality, marginalization of migrant workers, sustainability, and urban resilience. Case studies highlight numerous little-known projects from across the region alongside celebrated schemes such as Hassan Fathy's Gourna Village at Luxor and Le Corbusier's Plan Obus in Algiers. Its final chapter supplies a moving tribute to the author's father Hassan, whose architectural work bridged modernist ideals and regional traditions. It is a fitting conclusion to a book that is intellectually rigorous but always deeply personal.

John R. Gold, Honorary Research Fellow, University College London.

Establishing the broader Middle East as the domain of his inquiry, Yasser Elsheshtawy's new book takes stock of the highly variable modernist influences on the cities and conurbations of the region. Algiers, Riyadh, Beirut, Doha, Cairo, and more - the book walks readers through the abandoned projects, the grandiose aspirations so typical of the modernist era, the aging infrastructures around which many of these cities once blossomed, and the glistening new skylines that have burst forth on the Arabian Peninsula in recent decades. With Elsheshtawy, readers travel into these cities, meander their streets and byways, connect with those cities' durable histories, and gauge the seams and interstices where urban public life often takes shape. The built landscapes that are the legacy of modernism are his entry point, but Elsheshtawy's focus is, as always, on the people who inhabit these urban spaces.

This remarkably ambitious undertaking arrives at the perfect juncture. Few other urbanists are capable of surmounting the panoptic regional vantage point from which he surveys the cities of the region. And his comprehensive, detailed, and balanced assessment of the modernist legacy is full of surprises: the autobiographical thread woven through these chapters is most welcome, as are the illuminating connections he draws with a bright constellation of literary work.

As a critical and fair-minded assessment of the enduring modernist legacy, Elsheshtawy's book is about form, function, and architectural style, certainly. But it's also about people, and about the diverse urban lives that these spaces and structures have allowed and sometimes encouraged.

The book will be treasured by many.

Andrew Gardner, University of Puget Sound, Author of The Fragmentary City, 2024.