One hour with Safia Qureshi

The Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015 is North America’s largest international survey of architecture. Launched by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the biennale aims at convening some of the world’s leading names in architecture and conduct a global discussion on the future of the discipline. This year, Safia Qureshi, a British-Pakistani architect residing in London, has been chosen to showcase her work there.

In the span of a few years, Qureshi has emerged with a style of her own, merging the world of architecture with social change and innovation through her designs. After graduating from The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, in 2002, she worked with some high profile architects, such as Sir Peter Cook who famously led the Archigram movement of the 1960s. In 2008, she started her master’s in architecture at The Royal College of Art. “The thing that attracted me most [to architecture] was the ability to produce something that was tangible, that was physical, and could be experienced by many people,” she says.

For her, architecture is a growing field which is merging various other disciplines in it. “The work [architects] can offer has diversified and multiplied.” They are developing digital applications, making buildings, producing different systems for communities to function in and much more. For example, ‘smart textiles’, which essentially combines textile design with electrical engineering, is “something we are developing as a new clean tech product called Tectyle”.

The desire to emulate what some classify as successful Western design often produces a cityscape alien to its occupants. Cities tend to develop best when allowed to grow organically

Qureshi’s Studio [D] Tale, which operates out of London, Cape Town and Harare, is a multidisciplinary design studio with a focus on social innovation. The whole idea behind it is to be the harbinger of change by challenging how design is approached and understood, through public discussions and publications and by having a selection of buildings and projects dotted across the globe. The nature of the services this studio provides “cross-borders between architecture, product innovation, urban design and communication”.

She and her design partner, Maxwell Mutanda, work as “researchers and journalists following a story, talking to key organisations, students and the wider community to really engage with projects”. Ultimately, a good design will always have an interesting story behind it, Qureshi says.

Such an approach allows the two to explore a variety of social innovations and analyse the impact their projects can have for the community they are meant to serve. Their Urban Mining project, for instance, ultimately benefits the community of waste recyclers living in Accra, Ghana. “The project allows new products to be made out of the recycled material, which generates new learning and skills development as well as creating new revenue and economic independence for locals living in the area.” The impact of the project is not limited to physical environment. “It also brings economic empowerment to a community besides creating awareness [about environment].”

Another project, called Peponi House, in London uses film to capture the experiential qualities of the designed spaces to complement the actual built work. “The film expressed personal stories and memories to evoke a home away from home experience for the Kenyan client.” A third project, Crossroads, based in Harare, was shown at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, in June this year. It looks at stalls and markets set up to cater to everyday needs from a roadside 7eleven shop, conceived organically using found objects.

Qureshi stresses the need for innovation that respects local culture. “Cities undergoing rapid urbanisation suffer from quick turnaround projects that offer little in the way of community engagement. The desire to emulate what some classify as successful Western design often produces a cityscape alien to its occupants. Cities tend to develop best when allowed to grow organically.”

What usually holds back innovation in design is convention. Seen in this perspective, social innovation becomes a reactionary by-product as opposed to a fundamental design objective. This is something that challenges architects globally as well as in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, however, Qureshi notes some local architects have capitalised on history, culture and the heritage of the country. “Across Islamabad and Lahore, in particular, there are numerous successful explorations of post-modern Islamic architecture.”

Qureshi has been operating in many countries except in her own homeland. She, however, does not rule out working in Pakistan in the future. But, as the Chicago Architecture Biennial approaches, it is important for Qureshi to demonstrate to Pakistani youth that it is “completely possible to succeed in a male-dominated industry and still come out on top as challenging as it may be”.