Nonument Group, in collaboration with the Centre for Creativity at the Museum of Architecture and Design, invites you to three Field Events, which will take place in June in three locations: in the park of Villa Rafut near Nova Gorica, in the park of Villa Bled in Bled, and next to the Plečnik Stadium in Ljubljana.

As a prelude to the event in Villa Rafut park, we invite you to a lecture by educator and artist Mohamed Adel Dessouki, who will present the varied state of Anton Laščak's architecture in Alexandria: from the many demolished buildings to the buildings where informal construction is flourishing and the building that today houses the Museum of Royal Jewellery. This reading will also serve as a starting point for understanding the complex situation of the erasure of Alexandria's architectural heritage in general. Dessouki is also a founding member of the Save Alex initiative, which has been advocating (since 2012) for the protection of the city's rich architectural heritage, and drawing attention to the alarming state of its erasure.

Anton Laščak or Antonio Lasciac was a Slovenian-born architect from Gorizia. He built a successful career in the metropolises of colonial Egypt at the end of the nineteenth century. For his architectural merits, he received the noble title of bey and title as an Egyptian court architect. In his old age, he wanted to settle down in the oriental surroundings of Villa Rafut, which he built in his native Goriška. He died in Cairo.

Mohamed Adel Dessouki is an educator and a visual artist who lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt. He got his bachelor degree in architecture from Alexandria University in 2000 and earned a master’s degree from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology in 2003 and a Ph.D. in Architecture from Cairo University in 2012. He is currently an assistant professor of architecture at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology. Dessouki's artistic practice focuses on memory, architecture and the everyday. Dessouki is a founding member of the Save Alex initiative which has been advocating, since 2012, to protect the built heritage of the city of Alexandria. He also blogs about the city of Alexandria, its endangered heritage, and its history in Gudran Medina Mot'aba (Walls of an Exhausted City).

The lecture will be held in English via Zoom.

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Nonument Group v sodelovanju s Centrom za kreativnost, pri Muzeju za arhitekturo in oblikovanje, vabi na tri Terenske dogodke, ki se bodo junija odvili na treh lokacijah: v parku Vile Rafut pri Novi Gorici, v parku Vile Bled na Bledu ter ob Plečnikovem stadionu v Ljubljani.

Za uvod v dogodek v parku Vile Rafut vabimo na predavanje aleksandrijskega arhitekta in umetnika Mohameda Adela Dessoukija, ki nam bo predstavil raznoliko stanje Laščakove arhitekture v Aleksandriji (od mnogih porušenih stavb do stavb, v katerih se razrašča neformalna gradnja, in stavbe, v kateri danes domuje Muzej kraljevskega nakita). To branje bo tudi izhodišče za razumevanje kompleksnega stanja izbrisa arhitekturne dediščine v Aleksandriji nasploh. Dessouki je namreč tudi ustanovni član iniciative Save Alex, ki od leta 2012 zagovarja varovanje bogate arhitekturne dediščine v tem mestu in opozarja na alarmantno stanje njenega izbrisa.

Anton Laščak ali Antonio Lasciac je bil goriški arhitekt slovenskega rodu. Bleščečo kariero si je zgradil v metropolah kolonialnega Egipta ob koncu devetnajstega stoletja. Za svoje arhitekturne zasluge je od egiptovskega podkralja Abasa II prejel plemiški naslov bega. Na stara leta se je želel ustaliti v orientalskem okolju Vile Rafut, ki si jo je zgradil na domačem Goriškem, vendar pa je po spletu okoliščin v visoki starosti devetdeset let umrl v Kairu.

Mohamed Adel Dessouki je pedagog in vizualni umetnik. Diplomiral je iz arhitekture na Aleksandrijski univerzi leta 2000 in magistriral na Arabski akademiji za znanost in tehnologijo leta 2003 ter doktoriral iz arhitekture na Univerzi v Kairu leta 2012. Trenutno je docent na oddelku za arhitekturo na Arabski akademiji za znanost in tehnologijo. V svoji umetniški praksi se Dessouki v osredotoča na spomin, arhitekturo in vsakdanjost. Dessouki je ustanovni član iniciative Save Alex, ki se od leta 2012 zavzema za zaščito stavbne dediščine mesta Aleksandrije. O mestu Aleksandrija, njeni ogroženi dediščini in zgodovini piše blog za Gudran Medina Mot'aba (Zidovi izčrpanega mesta). Živi in dela v Aleksandriji v Egiptu.

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Predavanje bo potekalo v angleškem jeziku preko aplikacije Zoom.