Take this short quiz and see how much you know about this year’s nominated projects of the prestigious Aga Khan Awards for Architecture.
Click on the one correct answer.
Children’s library of Aga Khan Award for Architecture shortlisted project Micro Yuan’er, is built of which material?
Concrete
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Steel
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Plywood
Correct. Read more here: http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project/micro-yuaner
Chinese Hutongs are a lane or small streets, commonly associated with northern Chinese cities. The word Hutong is of which origin?
Indian
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Indonesian
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Mongolian
Correct. Hutong is a Mongolian word meaning water well. It originated during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). Read more here: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/hutong/
What is the ultimate purpose behind building Micro Yuan’er project in Beijing?
It is to rehabilitate the local population with proper housing
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To build and renovate the alleyways and roads
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Modern development is threatening the old part of the city. The project is to renew and renovate the dwellings of local communities
Correct. Hutong is a Mongolian word meaning water well. It originated during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). Watch the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7oLaXpcE8E
In which century, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture shortlisted project’s original Manouchehri House was built?
16th century
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18th century
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19th century
Correct. Click here to read more http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project/manouchehri-house
Iranian Architect, Ostad Akbar Helli has restored how many historical houses in Iran?
More than 500
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70
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More than 100
Correct. Watch this video for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMnDIpU-6Mg
Who is Saba Manouchehri Kashani?
Architect
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Interior Designer
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House owner
Correct. She is a Manouchehri house owner. Click here for more information: http://www.manouchehrihouse.com/en/manouchehri-house
When was the Aga Khan Award for the Architecture 2016 shortlisted project King Fahad National Library completed?
December 2013
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September 2001
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November 2013
Correct. It was completed and went into use for its intended purpose in November 2013.
Which geometrical shape of the new building surrounds the old building of the King Fahad National Library?
The hexagon shape
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The trapezoid shape
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The cuboid shape
Correct. The cuboid shape of the new building surrounds the old 1980s library building on all sides, thus giving the National Library a new appearance in the cityscape. Click here for more information: http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project/king-fahad-national-library
How did Gerber Architekten International reused the dome of the old King Fahad library building, after encasing the old structure into the new building?
Replaced it with the flat roof
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Opened it up for sunlight
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Reconstructed it in steel and glass
Correct. Its dome has been reconstructed in steel and glass to bring in daylight. The former roof of the existing building now provides a well-lit reading landscape.
Quiz adopted from the following three blog posts.
Researched & Compiled by Arif Ali
All quizzes in the series:
All 19 Shortlisted Projects
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 19): Makoko Floating School, Lagos, Nigeria - The Floating School is a prototype structure whose main aim is to generate an alternative building system and urban culture for the populations of Africa’s coastal regions. The triangular A-frame or pyramid
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 18): 40 Knots House, Tehran, Iran - Creating a small and low budget apartment building in Tehran does not leave much space for creativity, yet an architect can try to do something with the material, textures, outer envelope and light.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 17): Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, Dhaka, Bangladesh - In an increasingly dense neighbourhood of Dhaka, the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque was raised on a plinth on a site axis creating a 13-degree angle with the qibla direction, which called for creativity with the layout.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 16): Bunateka Libraries, various locations, Kosovo - A series of public libraries for disadvantaged youth in rural areas. “The idea is that books are a source of knowledge just like water is the source of life,” says the architect.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 15): Casa-Port New Railway Station, Casablanca, Morocco - Casa-Port railway station (French: Gare de Casa-Port) is a "Moroccan National Railway" station in the centre of Casablanca. This transport hub, designed to anticipate 25 million passenger trips-per-year in the future
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 14): Ceuta Public Library, Spain - Ceuta, is a small Spanish enclave city on the Moroccan soil. The site of the Ceuta library is located on the original Marinid dynasty's archaeological area...The excavation ground was included in the interior space of the public building, and the architects
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 13): Doha Tower, Doha, Qatar - It is a cylindrical volume that measures 45m in diameter. The steel and concrete structure follows a diamond shaped grid that bends along the virtual surface of the cylinder. The façade uses a double skin system. The exterior skin is composed
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 12): Friendship Centre, Bangladesh - The Friendship Centre in Gaibandha, Bangladesh, was built for the local NGO Friendship, which provides services for poor citizens of the region. Built by Dhaka-based architect Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury, it was designed
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 11): Guelmim School of Technology, Morocco - Situated in Guelmim, Morocco, 200 kilometres south of Agadir and known as the “door of the Sahara”, the School was conceived in line with a policy of decentralisation and making education more accessible to those living in remote areas.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 10): Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, Beirut, Lebanon - The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) building at the American University of Beirut (AUB) advances the university’s academic mission in the 21st century
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 9): King Fahad National Library, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The King Fahad National Library is one of the most important cultural buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was completed and went into use for its intended purpose in November 2013.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 8): Manouchehri House, Textile Centre & Boutique Hotel, Kashan, Iran - The Manouchehri House is a boutique hotel and textile centre situated in Kashan’s historic residential neighborhood, in the province of Isfahan. The project entailed the restoration of a 19th century merchant home
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 7): Micro Yuan’er – Hutong/courtyard Renovation, Beijing, China - Micro Yuan'er is a project by zhang ke’s Beijing-based standardarchitecture, which revitalizes a historic hutong courtyard. The inserted structure, which contains a miniature art space and library
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 6): Restoration of Nasrid Tower, Almeria, Spain - This project by Castillo Miras Arquitectos explores the dichotomy between the solid, ageless construction of the existing 13th century Nasrid Tower, and the provisional, light, and degradable nature of the contemporary. 
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 5): New Power Station – Baku, Azerbaijan - The Power Station is located on a natural harbor in the Bay of Baku, which used to serve as a small shipyard for the ships working for the oil platforms. The original brief asked the architects to demolish the old
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 4): Royal Academy for Nature Conservation – Ajloun Forest Reserve, Jordan - Royal Academy for Nature Conservation in Ajloun Forest Reserve of Jordan is “the first centre in the Arab world” specialised in offering training on nature conservation.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 3): Superkilen – Public Park – Copenhagen, Denmark - Superkilen is a public park in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. A public space promoting integration across lines of ethnicity, religion and culture. A meeting place for residents of Denmark
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 2): Tabiat – Pedestrian Bridge – Tehran, Iran - Tabiat Bridge, literally: “Nature Bridge” is the largest pedestrian overpass built in Tehran, Iran. The architects first conceived the two-to-three level, 270-metre-long curved pedestrian bridge of varying width
Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2014-2016 Cycle (Shortlisted Project # 1): Thread – Artists Residency & Cultural Center – Senegal - Thread is a socio-cultural centre that houses two artists’ dwellings and studio space for local and international artists. An ecologically sensitive meeting place which demonstrates how art and architecture can be part of rural life
Ismailimail 