August 17, 2018

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is pleased to announce that the 2019 AIAS International Conference will be hosted by the AIAS Chapter of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Beirut, Lebanon from March 6 – 10, 2019.

The 2019 AIAS International Conference will be the AIAS’ second international conference. The first international conference was held in Dubai, UAE last March. The 2019 International Conference is a direct result of the success of last year’s conference in Dubai. It provided an opportunity for international members to gather and create a strong and present AIAS community in their region.

LAYER 21

“Cities agglomerate and re-agglomerate through times, building new aggregations or social atomization strategies. This process creates in the heart of the city fragmentations that can generate a confrontation phenomenon or social duality between the inhabitants, districts, cities, politics… leading sometimes to a state of rupture within the urban fabric.”

The theme of the AIAS 2019 International Conference in Lebanon aims to expose various Lebanese cities and the 20 civilizations that has affected them; learning from the past in order to shape the future – LAYER 21.

The iceberg effect -the notion of what exists on the outside is much too small in comparison with what exists on the inside reveals the fact that understanding what is under the surface, in other words the past, is the only way to develop what appears to the naked eye. Therefore, what seems to be chaos only emerges as the diversity that is reflected through the fusion of the old and the new, the 20 layers of cultures that have constructed and reconstructed Lebanon through time. This chronology will hence show the many stratifications that have led to the urban schizophrenia of today, and will confirm that paradox can in fact create one entity, one identity, one nation.

This four-day Conference Event is meant to explore the urban palimpsest which highlights the authentic complex identity that is present day Lebanon. When a nation has been stigmatized throughout centuries by the multiple successive civilizations weaving and unweaving each time the urban environment, how will this 21st century generation interact with the past strata, and simultaneously evolve in order to leave its imprint as the 21st layer?

Stay Tuned for Updates

Interested in attending this year’s 2019 AIAS International Conference? Be sure to check back on the website periodically for updates on venue, registration, travel, and proposal submissions.