Amman-23 June, 2014
On Monday 23 June, 2014, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Mayor, Mr. Aqel Biltaji, inaugurated the Projects Exhibition that was organized by the students of the School of Architecture and Built Environment at GJU, in the presence of Prof. Natheer Abu Obeid, the GJU President, and Brig. Gen. Dawood Hakouz, the Traffic Department Director.
The Projects Exhibition, which was held at Darat Othman Bdeir, and under the supervision of Arch. Kamal Jalouqah, Industrial Professor, Urban Planning, aimed at reviving and increasing the green concerns of the Alshabsough area.
The SABE third year students who designed the projects visited the Alshabsough area and decided to bring back life to this very old place through renewing the informal public spaces of alleys, stairs and street corners.
The projects included strategies which purposes are to form a net of these spaces, add seating areas, greenery and shading structures. The projects are considered as low budget but with high social value, in addition to increasing green concerns and reviving the whole area.
Arch. Jalouqah displayed a short film by New York City’s director of urban planning, the big thinker Amanda Burden, who was working to reshape the entire city of New York, and revive the public spaces of the city, which was a great experience.
During the exhibition, Mr. Biltaji praised the outstanding and scientific level of the SABE and the hard work of its students, pointing out the importance of these projects that can preserve the cultural heritage of Amman.
He further added that it is necessary to enhance cooperation between the GAM and the SABE -Darat Othman Bdeir to serve the whole city of Amman in the aspects of urban planning and development.
For his part, Prof. Abu Obeid said that the SABE – Darat Othman Bdeir has contributed to reviving the memory of the place in Jabal Amman and will have a role in reviving the house of the former Prime Minister, Ibrahim Hashim, in cooperation with the GAM.
Arch. Jalouqah emphasized that the projects which focused on renewing the informal public spaces of the Alshabsough neighborhood is a real emulate for this old area.
It is worth mentioning that the exhibition included several plans for an Amman Open Top Tour Bus with a car-park building that would include shops, a foot bridge market, ARC 346- Urban Studies “Shabsough Street Revival” and the Development of Shabsough Mosque Stairs.
At the end of the exhibition, the attendees took a tour through the Darat, while Prof. Mohammad Yaghan, the Dean of the SABE, gave a brief about the school and its achievements.