The Sharjah Architecture Triennial is located in two prominent examples of the emirate's surviving 1970s and '80s architecture. Here are six prominent buildings from the era that are being conserved.
The two main venues of the inaugural Sharjah Architecture Triennial are a former school that was built in the mid 1970s and a former fruit market that was built in the early 1980s.
Both buildings are examples of the architecture that was created in the emirate in the years after gaining its independence in 1971. They have been purchased by the foundation organising the triennial as part of a campaign to conserve the emirate's 1970s and '80s architecture, which is increasingly under threat of demolition.
"The foundation wants to keep all the layers in the city ? including the 1970s and '80s," said Mona El Mousfy, who is the architecture consultant for the triennial and partner organisation the Sharjah Art Foundation, which has also been purchasing buildings from the era. Al Jubail Vegetable Market is one of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial venues
According to El Mousfy, the 1970s and '80s architecture in the emirate is often not considered to have architectural merit, which means many buildings from this period have been lost.
"The aim is to keep some layers of the history that were ignored," she told Dezeen. "Prior to the invention of the foundation the only buildings that were worthy of keeping was the historical heritage [from the 19th century].&q...