As Dubai builds unprecedented realms of new newness, other parts of the Middle East grapple with physical and symbolic histories. Relics come up against re-invention and revolution. Micro-mutations in Middle Eastern politics or economics are part of our shared "local" news around the globe.
With/Without is an anthology that casts an eye across the broader swathes of the Middle East today. Featuring an innovative design, this hardback book is essential reading for anyone interested in the spatial politics, design and architecture of Middle Eastern cities.
Each of the fourteen chapters takes an obvious architectural or
institutional typology (the museum, the villa, the street, the skyscraper, etcetera) and illustrates it with essays, interviews, and documentary photographs. The underlying question in all of these inquiries is: how do spaces and territories form fundamental ideas about individuals, communities, and worlds?
Co-published by Middle East arts organisation Bidoun and Dubai-based architectural thinktank Moutamarat, With/Without is edited by London-based architects/critics Shumon Basar and Markus Miessen, with Bidoun editor Antonia Carver, and designed by the award-winning Dubai agency 9714.
With/Without isn't for or against what is 'happening' in the Middle East
today. Nor is it a declaration of love or loathing for what Dubai has come to represent, globally speaking. As the world progresses into new social formations at the beginning of the 21st century, With/Without promotes a plurality of critical positions that are as agile as they are inventive.
Book details:
Editors: Shumon Basar, Antonia Carver, Markus Miessen
Managing editor: Antonia Carver
Design: Jana Allerding, 9714
Format: 15×22 cm, 265 pages
Publisher: Bidoun/Moutamarat
Price: $25 / Dhs90
ISBN: 978-9948-03-453-7
For ordering this book please contact: info@bidoun.com