In the Perspective of the Educator

Working with place-based architecture, Marwa Dabaieh employs a number of components. A contextual design approach, cultural and historical considerations, working with community engagement, sustainability, esthetic harmony, relation to the surrounding landscape, adaptation to climate, but most importantly; respect the indigenous knowledge in the local community, the residents of the site. Dabaieh emphasizes the connection between human and site. The reason for this is that the local residents have shaped the place, but the place has also shaped them.

An iterative process – learning by doing

For more than twenty years, Dabaieh has worked with indigenous architecture, what is commonly called vernacular architecture, where complex structures for cohesive and harmonious settlements, meticulously built from knowledge and experience accumulated by and passed down from generation to generation. In this architecture, all needs are met, and it is built with local material in a respectful and resource efficient way, built according to their social needs, within the economical means available, and in all this, also built to not only accommodate the community but to make people comfortable and happy. The proper education and training come from learning by doing, by ancestral knowledge. It is an iterative process, over long periods of time where the results you get are achieved by going from try and fail, to try and succeed and finally try and excel. This iterative process, Dabaieh reminds us, means that indigenous architecture has drawn from another asset; the luxury of time. By building with respect to the place, using what is under your feet, you are not only serving but becoming part of the landscape.

Planetary assets

In her teachings, Marwa Dabaieh uses the metaphor of literacy in relation to place. In many ways, the industrial era has turned us into analphabets in relation to place, we do not read well. In essence, we should look at planetary assets on the largest scale – if we went to Mars, we would have to ask what our needs are and how they could be sourced locally. The principle of the habitat – not just for humans but for all living beings – is the key to success. In order to succeed with cultivation, you see already what grows there naturally – placing a palm tree in Malmö takes a lot of resources to maintain, if it is to survive at all.

Place-based architecture emphasize the strong sense of identity and belonging. Often is serves not the end of the project but the not only values specific characters in a site. Sometimes it is a site and you choose a project, and sometimes you have a project and you choose a site. As Dabaieh puts it - as architects and educators we should act as learners, not behave like masters.