Structures of Memory
Qasr Al Hosn Fort Festival, Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi, 2015
Curators: Michele Bambling, with: Adina Hempel, Marco Sosa
Client: Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Lest We Forget Foundation
Graphics: Sarah Alagroobi
Surface: 550sm
Collaborators: Simona Tartaglia, Anita Sala
Responding to the theme ‘Absorbing Modernity: 1914-2014’ set by Rem Koolhaas (curator of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition), ‘Lest We Forget: Structures of Memory in the United Arab Emirates’ presents the seminal findings of Lest We Forget to archive the history of architectural and urban development in the UAE over the past century. With concentrated emphasis on the 1970s-1980s, the exhibition examines how public and residential architecture, built within a rapidly expanding urban context, shaped the newly established federation and prepared the foundation for its emergence on a global stage.