The Royal Academy for the Conservation of Nature has been shortlisted for the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. OHK Consultants’ Chris Johnson, Ahmed Hassan, and Adam Kucharski worked with Jordan’s leading conservation entity, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, to propose a teaching academy for conservation sciences as the leading institution of its kind in the MENA region. The project is part of a larger RSCN and OHK-led initiative, funded by USAID and the Hashemite Royal Court, that introduced a qualification scheme for skilled conservation specialists and nature guides in Jordan.
On a visit to the academy site in September 2015, Chris Johnson (shown in photo) and Ahmed Hassan toured the complex with architect Ammar Khammash. Photo © OHK Consultants
Led by Mr. Johnson, the OHK team worked for over two years with leading Jordanian architect Ammar Khammash to develop the concept for the 3,000m2 academy building. Mr. Johnson was instrumental to a multi-year effort to secure funding for the initiative, while Mr. Hassan developed an economically viable vision for the complex. Upon Mr. Hassan’s recommendation, the Academy was moved from the RSCN’s Azraq Wetland Reserve to the Ajloun Forest reserve, taking advantage of the latter’s proximity to Amman and dramatic setting and making the complex a commercially viable learning and tourism destination. Mr. Kucharski benchmarked the proposed complex against international entities with similar educational mandates and worked with the architect to optimize the development program and commercial bottom line.
OHK Consultants worked with the architect to optimize the 3,000m2 building development program, drafting a feasibility study, a PPP framework for concessions, and a curriculum strategy for the Academy. Photo source: Malek Kabariti (left) and Ammar Khammash Architects (right).
The Aga Khan's award nomination brief highlights the rationale behind its decision to shortlist the Academy, finding merit in a design philosophy that:
“uses parts of nature which have been injured in the past, instead of adding a new intervention on virgin land. Encompassing an academy that provides educational programs on the environment and features a high-end restaurant and crafts, the Academy follows a quarry cliff cut-line, creating a linear addition of constructed stone to the bedrock. Arrival is via a stone bridge spanning 30 meters and the longest in Jordan to the mid-point between the restaurant and the Academy. The massive southern facade consists of very small windows with giant vertical blade-like stone cracks shearing into zero width. Corridors are defined by a crack in the ceiling that lets natural sunlight in. On the opposite side, the Academy touches the forest.”
-- The Aga Khan Foundation
Take a tour of the Academy design in this video prepared by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, in which architect Ammar Khammash narrates his design.
OHK helped realize a conservation qualification institute that is notable not only for being the first of its kind in the Middle East but also for deploying a sophisticated mixture of uses and a business model based on a synthesis of tourism, travel, and education. The Academy is at the heart of the RSCN’s commercial transformation strategy and “design with nature” development model, and as the latest in a long line of groundbreaking design initiatives, the complex is the RSCN’s first building project with an explicit land reclamation agenda.
Since its establishment in 1977, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture has become one of the most respected international prizes in architecture. Created “to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence”, the award is unique for its holistic view of architectural excellence, prioritizing community improvement and development, reuse and area conservation, and improvement of the environment alongside contemporary design excellence or visual aesthetic. Previous award winners have included architectural icons like Hassan Fathi, Geoffrey Bawa, Louis Kahn, Jean Nouvel, Snøhetta, César Pelli, and Foster + Partners.
To celebrate this occasion, OHK has published a case study detailing the vision of the Royal Academy for the Conservation of Nature, how it links to various transformation strategies proposed for the RSCN, and the various programs being implemented to support the design vision including human resource development, community engagement, and curriculum development. Download the case study below:
Case Study: Building Excellence through Competence-based Qualification
To see the Award nomination, go to http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project/royal-academy-nature-conservation. For more information on OHK’s client for this project, the RSCN, please visit http://www.rscn.org.jo/. For more information on this project and our ongoing efforts in the region, please contact Adam Kucharski in OHK’s San Francisco office.