Aslam Architects

A word on drawing lessons from ancient architecture for the modern world. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the more curious architectural marvels of the world, seeming to almost teeter on the brink of falling over for centuries. The reason for the tower’s tilt is equally curious; the marshy land it was built on went unaccounted for, which caused a precarious tilt that was later remedied with engineering ingenuity. However, the by-then famous tilt was elected to be preserved, making it the...

Space is a curious dimension. Readers of Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ might recall how his detailed description of the protagonist’s bleak lodgings evoke a sense of helplessness that perfectly encapsulates the mental spiral that forms the crux of the work. Tolkien enthusiasts, on the other hand, would perhaps agree with the fact that his mastery over describing the wide open spaces of Middle Earth lent life to the epic proportions of his stories. Both cases highlight a very distinct...

From the historically persevering settlements of Damascus to the meticulously neat grids of Mohenjo-Daro, the “City” has, for thousands of years, been a staple of human civilization. From the very first agrarian settlements, the organic development of cities was not an unforeseeable milestone. As culture evolved alongside a settled lifestyle, the meaning of the city itself also underwent significant transformation. It came more to be defined by the interplay of life it hosted more so than the...