Saving Aleppo’s Heritage Stories from Local Graduate Architects

London Festival of Architecture in collaboration with Places of ARcture with the support of the British Council are inviting Local Graduate Architects who practice in Aleppo, Syria to host a talk and debate at the Victoria & Albert Museum discussing the importance of protecting cultural heritage in their home city of Aleppo, within their own practice.

In a country devastated by 11 years of conflict, this event will highlight some of the surviving architectural heritage in the ancient part of the Aleppo city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The discussions will explore the challenges of preserving and restoring a living heritage site, whilst respecting and incorporating the needs of the local people connected to the area.

Through a series of presentations, short film screenings and a Q&A, we will discover the different ways that these architects are positioning the identity of the city, its tangible and intangible heritage, as the cornerstones of its reconstruction.

Speakers
- Laura Searson, Cultural Heritage Preservation Lead, V&A (Host)
- Muhammad Achour, Director and Founder of Places of ARcture
- Dania Al-Shelhawi, Graduate Architect, Projects & Events Coordinator at Places of ARcture
- Mohamad Al-Assali, Architect, PhD student majoring in Archaeology at the Higher Institute for The History of Arabic Science, Aleppo Syria.

This event is programmed in collaboration with the V&A’s Culture in Crisis Programme, and was made possible with the support of the British Council.