The Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT (AKDC@MIT) is honored to be chosen recipient of the Mohamed Makiya Prize, part of the Tamayouz Excellence Award programme. 44 entries from 11 countries were submitted for this year’s prize. Michael Toler, Interim Program head, noted that the award is especially meaningful given the caliber of the three other projects shortlisted for the award: the Arab Center for Architecture (Beirut), Michael Rakowitz (New York) and Rana Beiruti (Amman). “It is a great honor to even be nominated alongside such prestigious organizations and individuals,” he said.
Toler added that the AKDC@MIT is a collaborative endeavor. “We are being recognized for the efforts of all our staff, past and present, as well at the support of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT and Harvard, the MIT Libraries, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the School of Architecture + Planning at MIT, and all of our donors, contributors and partners. Most importantly,” he added, “we are being acknowledged for what was accomplished under he leadership of founding Program Head, Sharon C. Smith.” The Mohamed Makiya Prize “is an annual prize open to both individuals and organizations who promoted, encouraged, campaigned or influenced, directly or indirectly, the advancement of architecture and the built environment in the Middle East between 2015 and 2017.”
In the announcement the founder of the Tamayouz Excellence Award, Ahmed Al-Mallak states, “Our warmest congratulations to the Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT and the three finalists, it was a pleasure to see the impact of their works, directly and indirectly, highlighting and promoting architecture, public spaces and the built environment. A fantastic day to celebrate the achievements of the people who work hard to tell our side of the story.”
The award is named in honor of distinguished Iraqi architect and urban planner Mohamed Saleh Makiya who donated his archive to AKDC in 2012, the first of several major archives that now are part of the AKDC collection.
