In his lecture, “MOVE,” Architect Jaafar Chalabi will focus on the topic of movement and kinetics in architecture as exemplified in his set designs for ballet and his firm’s cultural buildings.

These architectural stage designs, which materialized during 12 years of collaboration with the Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato, interact in congruence with the choreographed movement of dancers. Over the course of a performance, new scenes and spatial settings come into being. Flat surfaces transform into three-dimensional units that develop into more complex architectural bodies.

Dr. Chalabi will discuss the link between his set designs and the larger scale and permanent building designs that his firm is engaged in. The current construction site of the SZDLC Museum in Abu Dhabi/UAE exemplifies a direct application of computational design methods used on larger scaled buildings.

Jaafar Chalabi is an Iraqi/Austrian Architect with a practice in Vienna. Born in 1962, he is Managing Director and Principal of Chalabi Architects and Partners ZTGmbH, earned a Master degree and Doctorate from Vienna University of Technology. He has been a Vienna University Adjunct Professor for Housing from 1996 till 2003, Lecturer for Urban design and Building Construction from 2004 till 2010. Since 2004 he has been a regular guest professor at the Ecole Nationale Superior d’Architecture de Versailles/Paris.
 
Besides his architectural career, Jaafar has been the recurring Stage Designer of the Spanish National Dance Company CND from 1999 until 2009, the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Jaafar designs theatre environments that are transformed by the performers. Jaafar's lecture will focus on this body of work that relates to the exhibit but his range of interests and type of projects built by his firm is quite extensive. Most recently Chalabi Architects completed the Sheikh Zayed Learning Center in the UAE after winning the competition in 2008, and have created sustainability codes and guidelines for rebuilding Iraq.

The School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at the University of Maryland is home to four academic disciplines: architecture, urban planning, historic preservation and real estate development. Committed to educating its students and community about the importance of sustainability and smart growth, the School practices an interdisciplinary approach to education, research, creative work, and community and professional service. For more information, please e-mail us or call 301.405.8000.

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