ENHG Lecture: 'The Abu Dhabi Superblock: Adaptation, Evolution, and Livability in the Modernist Grid' by Lukas Sokol

TIME:  Membership signup from 7:15pm, lecture from 7:30pm

VENUE:  NYU Abu Dhabi, building A3, lecture room 001. Click here for a google maps and here for a campus map https://nyuad.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyuad/news/documents/campus-map-with-directions.pdf 

LECTURE TITLE:  The Abu Dhabi Superblock: Adaptation, Evolution, and Livability in the Modernist Grid

LECTURE SUMMARY: Historic photographs, aerial mapping, and computer modeling techniques visually tell the story of Abu Dhabi's planning origins and urban evolution. The Modernist superblock serves as a common thread through time while a quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of the city, block, and architectural scales is conducted. The hidden diurnal rhythms of the downtown block are explored describing the resultant lifestyles of the residents.

This presentation is based on the chapter entitled "The Abu Dhabi Superblock: Adaptation, Evolution, and Livability in the Modernist Grid" by Lukas Sokol from the Lifescapes Beyond Bigness publication for the UAE's National Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Biennale. It is Commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, curated by Dr. Khaled Alawadi and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:  Lukas is the Urban Design Manager at the Abu Dhabi Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities where he has worked for 11 years.. He is responsible for advising the Abu Dhabi Government on matters regarding urban design, master planning, and strategic development. He heads the DPM's Urban Design Studio which serves as an internal think tank and project design and development consultancy responsible for exploring, developing, and testing government initiatives.