On Friday Basmah Kaki and Hussam Dakkak, Founders of Studio Bound and Directors of the AA Visiting School Jeddah I Makkah vs Makkah, joined us in the unit space to show and discuss a few of their projects. Their presentation started with a talk about their visiting school and the value in collecting data, taking photos, samples and presenting it, especially in the domain of a city like Mecca which has over designed and on time has been given to contemplate its presence. They singled out how the data is compiled and broken-down, first into geographic categories of the city and then breaking down the area into elements according to 4 categories: social groups, materiality, inhabitation, fenestration. This method was applied to all areas in a repetitive way and by way of repetition they established a common denominator and managed to substantiate a research methodology. 

They followed with a brief presentation of their pavilion in Abu Dhabi “Productive Landscapes”. The aim of the pavilion was to engage with the local youth of the city and to promote the cultural district of Abu Dhabi. The project explored Abu Dhabi through its venue of production, departing from the notion of production which is defined within the urban context. They finished with advising us that “Timing is a very critical component when comes to research based projects”.