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The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
7 posts | 1 read | 7 to read
An architects gripping account of living and working in war-torn Syria, and the role architecture plays in whether a community crumbles or comes together Drawing on the authors personal experience of living and working as an architect in Syria, this timely and fascinating account offers an eyewitness perspective on the countrys bitter conflict through the lens of architecture, showing how the built environment and its destruction hold up a mirror to the communities that inhabit it. From Syrias tolerant past, with churches and mosques built alongside one another in Old Homs and members of different religions living harmoniously together, the book chronicles the recent breakdown of social cohesion in Syrias cities. With the lack of shared public spaces intensifying divisions within the community, and corrupt officials interfering in town planning for their own gain, these actions are symptomatic of wider abuses of power. With firsthand accounts of mortar attacks and stories of refugees struggling to find a home, The Battle for Home is a compelling explanation of the personal impact of the conflict and offers hope for how architecture can play a role in rebuilding a sense of identity within a damaged society.
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Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
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Pickpick

This book is hard to review. Some chapters felt drifting/not so useful-I either didn't need so much or needed to know more about the region & how it functions to get more out of it. Others were more to the point with some amazing ideas, but in the end they didn't quite feel fleshed out enough-by the time she got down to brass tacks, she ended too soon. But I still enjoyed it & I was introduced to fascinating ideas I want to learn more about.

tagged users iconJenP, Alisnazzy
Natasha.C.Barnes #readaroundtheworld #rotw #syria #diversenonfiction (edited) 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes 2nd book finished of #litsypartyofone! 7y
Cinfhen Honest, thoughtful review 💚 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Cinfhen Thank you! To add more to it and to clarify, it's not that when she got to later chapters she didn't put forth or get to her ideas, it's more that they turned out to be bigger ideas than I'd anticipated and I wanted to know more about them and how she reached her conclusions! Especially because the lessons she's trying to teach feel VERY necessary for us to learn. 7y
69 likes4 comments
blurb
Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
post image

I WILL finish this book today, and I will do it by this lovely fire. #litsypartyofone

tagged users iconAlisnazzy
77 likes
quote
Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
post image

Thesis statement

#readaroundtheworld #rotw #syria #litsypartyofone

tagged users iconJenP, Alisnazzy
52 likes1 stack add
quote
Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
post image

If I've learned one thing about #Syria from #readaroundtheworld #rotw, it is that the real estate industry in Syria was a real disaster, well before the bombs. #Litsypartyofone

tagged users iconJenP, Alisnazzy
52 likes
quote
Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
post image

#readaroundtheworld #syria

tagged users iconJenP
53 likes1 stack add
quote
Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
post image

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Wbabdullah Tell me more! Is it an engaging read? How‘s the writing style? 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Wbabdullah I'm not very far along so I'll have to update you. These quotes come from the intro. The first chapter was good, lots of her personal story. I'm in the 2nd chapter which is denser bc there is more history of her city, but I have high hopes anyway. Architectural theory is tough reading always, but the preview of her ideas in the intro made me want to read more, so we will see. You def have to care about arch to read it though I think. 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Wbabdullah When I finish it I'll post a "take-away" bc I think ideas about architecture are important for everyone to be exposed to bc they affect us very very deeply, but you can't ask everyone to read a bunch of dense stuff on every important subject, you know? I think ppl who love it enough to do so have a responsibility to share what they've learned with others--we've all got to split up & report back bc "ain't nobody got time for that" 7y
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Wbabdullah Thank you @Natasha.C.Barnes and love it! “Ain‘t nobody got time for that” 😂🤣 I hear ya! I wonder if I could get through the book. I have an art degree rather than an architecture degree. If u post enough enticing highlights, I might very well try or see if there is an audio version! Looking forward to your further comments!! 7y
Wbabdullah Love the idea of all of us reading our fave dense subjects and reporting back...splitting up and coming together to conquer the world through our mass literariness 😍. Very important point! @Natasha.C.Barnes 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes #readaroundtheworld 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Wbabdullah Well reading about art is similar to reading about architecture, at least in my limited experience, so I'll bet you'd find something to get excited about. My degree also isn't arch, it's interior design (but commercial so educational, hospitality, healthcare, retail, workplaces, multi-family housing, etc instead of indv. homes) but it feels the same in the ideas bc the only thing I'm not doing is engineering or a building facade. 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Wbabdullah I was going to ask what you do now after your art degree but I see from your profile that you were a librarian and are now writing a book perhaps? That's awesome, congrats. I'm just beginning my career, nothing to report yet. 😆 But reading about Al-Sabouni's story sure makes me grateful for the opportunities I have in the industry that she did not, in Syria, especially as a recent grad. 7y
Wbabdullah @Natasha.C.Barnes I was working as an art teacher in public and private schools. I also was a librarian a long, long, time ago. Now I‘m a homeschooling mom who really wants to finish writing the stories that are telling themselves to me in my head...so I‘m doing a lot of reading for inspiration. I can‘t imagine the architecture book being any denser than my art history books!! Congrats on beginning your career!! 🎉🎊 7y
Natasha.C.Barnes @Wbabdullah Oh cool, you're homeschooling! Good luck--I was homeschooled for much of my life and it was a really great experience for me. It always works best in a family of readers, so I'm sure you're doing fabulously! 😄 7y
Wbabdullah @Natasha.C.Barnes Thank you! I always wanted to be homeschooled but was sent to public school so...lol, I‘m testing the waters!! Children seem to be enjoying it so far, and so do I! I am learning a lot by teaching them and it helps that I actually have an art education degree so the teaching comes easy! 7y
Wbabdullah @Natasha.C.Barnes I just read a book to my children and thought about you. It‘s about the architect Zaha Hadid from Iraq and how she used her environment to inspire her in creating building designs (and this new environments). I‘m seriously thinking of purchasing the book you are reading ☝🏽and this one.
[tagged book]World Is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid
7y
51 likes3 stack adds12 comments
quote
Natasha.C.Barnes
Natasha.C.Barnes
The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria | Marwa al-Sabouni
post image

Im not really in the mood for nonfiction, but when I saw this book about architecture that also worked for #readaroundtheworld #syria I knew it was right up my alley. I just finished a degree in commercial interior design and I care deeply about the built environment and how it affects us. It may seem ridiculous to focus a discussion on architecture in the midst of horror, but I think this has a place and is very important. #rotw #designmatters

tagged users iconJenP
readinginthedark Not ridiculous—this sounds amazing! Sometimes the best way to understand something is by observing how something else that seems completely separate is affected. 7y
57 likes1 stack add1 comment