It all started in 2011 when a group of students had an idea of forming a voluntary group to work on extra curriculum activities and add valuable social experiences to our college life. Back then they were called “Freej 33”. Freej means a neighborhood, and 33 refers to the building with our design studios. Later on, they were encouraged to register and develop their initiative to an AIAS Chapter.
5 years later, AIAS – University of Bahrain Chapter is a well-known student based board in campus. With activities varying from site visits, trips to architectural attractions in Bahrain, workshops, lectures and on campus monthly events!
People
In our chapter, everyone is welcome to join the activities and volunteer. Not only architecture and interior design students, but all students in the college of engineering so we can learn from each other.
Our Events
Our activities focus on different aspects of our education. Some events like “Green week” and short films on our Youtube channel are about sustainability, designing environmentally and following a healthy environmental friendly lifestyle on campus. On the other hand, events like “Consider” and “Being able” were a series on lectures and hands on activities to build an understanding of special needs and the importance of their consideration in architecture. Events like “inspire”, “ArchiteXture” and “Show me what you got” were about art and creativity, concept development and students talents. And of course, other activities mainly about architecture locally, regionally and globally. UOB Vs UOD was an event which we hosted University of Damam students from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and competed in fun contests to exchange knowledge.
Trips
We sometimes like to get some fresh air so we go on trips to study designs of buildings we like! Such as Bahrain Four Seasons hotel designed by SOM.
A collaboration was done between AIAS UOB and Authority of Culture in Bahrain to take students on a trip introducing them the Cultural Passport project by MOC. We all got our passports and went on to architectural cultural locations in our country to get our passports stamped!
Workshops
Aside from all the fun, workshops are a must! Our colleagues benefit a lot from our 3D, graphic design and concept development and sketching workshops!
AIAS UOB on Social Media
We are on the platforms of Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, Twitter and recently, Ask.fm. We aim to create social interaction between students creating a community. On Youtube, we post educational tutorials, short films, events coverage and interviews. Snapchat is a fun way to cover events at the moment! Like that time on Mothers/family day we walked around campus with donuts and everyone was instantly chatting us “WHERE ARE YOU NOW IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME!!” Haha! We also hosted “Archi-Talks”, where architects and well known individuals take our Snapchat as guests and tell us more about life after college and work! Twitter and Instagram are our main accounts which we make sure to update often and interact with colleagues. Our media team loves to surprise us with short funny videos about our struggles!
