Ali Ismail Karimi is a Bahraini architect whose work explores social housing, public space, and the landscape of the GCC countries. He is, along with Hamed Bukhamseen, the co-founder of Civil Architecture, an architecture office based in Manama and Kuwait City. Their work has been shown in the Sharjah Architecture Triennale, Oslo Triennale, Seoul Biennale and Amman Design Week. Together they curated the Kuwait Pavilion titled “Between East and West: A Gulf at the 2016 Venice Biennale. 

 

Ali received his Master in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (M.Arch I‚ 16). Ali previously worked in Belgium with OFFICE KGDVS, and in Chile with Alejandaro Aravena/Elemental. Ali teaches at the University of Bahrain as an adjunct professor, and his writings have been published in various media sources including San Rocco, Architectural Record and CLOG. Print CV Contact

 

EDUCATION

 

Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
2016, MASTER IN ARCHITECTURE I
COMMENDATION OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, CLASS MARSHALL, STUDENT FORUM PRESIDENT.

 

Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Architecture
2011, BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE
HIGHEST HONORS, MINORS IN HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY, CERTIFICATE IN CITY PLANNING

 

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

Gulf House Engineering/Ewan
JUNE 2017 - ONGOING, MANAMA, BAHRAIN
PROJECT ARCHITECT ON BIBF COMPETITION, ABU DHABI STOCK EXCHANGE COMPETITION, AND SHERATON REFURBISHMENT.

 

OFFICE KGDVS
JAN - APRIL 2017, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT FOR HAVENLAAN PROJECT
TEAM MEMBER ON CHICAGO ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE SUBMISSION.

 

SO-IL
JULY - SEP 2016, NEW YORK, USA
COMPETITION FOR THE EXTENSION TO THE BERLIN NEUE MUSEUM.

 

HOK
JUNE - AUG 2014, DUBAI, UAE
DEVELOPMENT OF PHASE 2 MASTERPLAN FOR PROJECT IN QATAR EDUCATION CITY

 

ELEMENTAL
AUG 2011 - MAY 2012, SANTIAGO, CHILE
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS FOR CENTRO ANACLETO ANGELINI PROJECT IN SANTIAGO.

 

 

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

 

University of Bahrain
2017-2018, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
ARCG 210 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN I- FALL 2017,
ARCG 320 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IV - SPRING 2018

 

Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
2015, TEACHING ASSISTANT
FALL 2015, STU-01308 - ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT CONTENT 15, KERSTEN GEERS AND DAVID VAN SEVEREN OPTION STUDIO
SPRING 2015, STU-01306 - ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT CONTENT 13, KERSTEN GEERS AND DAVID VAN SEVEREN OPTION STUDIO
SPRING 2015, GSD 1102 SECOND SEMESTER ARCHITECTURE CORE: SITUATE VICTOR NAVARRO

 

 

EXHIBITIONS WITH HAMED BUKHAMSEEN

 

‘Al-Falaj: Water Systems of the Gulf Oasis’
2018, HOUSE OF ARCHITECTURE HERITAGE, BAHRAIN
CURATOR OF BAHRAIN CONTENT
JOINT EXHIBITION WITH UAE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 

’Objects for a Painless Past’ Exhibition
2018, BAHRAIN AUTHORITY FOR CULTURE AND ANTIQUITIES EXHIBITION AREA, BAHRAIN
CURATOR

 

‘A Cheap Ecology’
2017, AL RIWAQ GALLERY 'NEST', BAHRAIN
CURATOR

 

‘Gulf Abridged’
2017, SHAHEED PARK, KUWAIT
CURATOR

 

‘Between East and West: A Gulf’
Kuwait Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2016
2016, VENICE ARSENALE, ITALY
CURATOR OF KUWAIT NATIONAL PAVILION

 

‘Arabistan’
2015, 40 KIRKLAND GALLERY, USA
CURATOR

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

Karimi, A. ‘Four Gateways to Bahrain: Belgrave‘s Modern Monument‘, in Exell, K., & Wakefield, S. Museums in Arabia. FORTHCOMING 2019, OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM: ROUTLEDGE

 

Bukhamseen, H., & Karimi, A. BETWEEN EAST AND WEST: A Gulf. FORTHCOMING 2018, BARCELONA, SPAIN: ACTAR 

 

Kim, F., & Karimi, A. “The Birth and Demise of Modernization in the Gulf“, in Saffari, S., Akhbari, R., & Adbolmaleki, K. Unsettling Colonial Modernity in Islamicate Contexts. 2017, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE: CAMBRIDGE SCHOLARS PUBLISHING

 

Karimi, A.,Editor, Very Vary Veri 3: Exile. 2017, CAMBRIDGE MA: NEWSROOM AT THE GSD CONTRIBUTED THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES:
'HOW AN IRAQI SAVED CLASSICISM: THE LIFE AND WORK OF MOHAMMED MAKIYA'
'INTERVIEW W/RIFAT CHADIRJI'
'INTERVIEW W/PIER PAOLO TAMBURELLI'
'INTERVIEW W/AMALE ANDRAOS'
'INTERVIEW W/FLORIAN IDENBURG'

 

Geers, K. Architecture without Content 13 & 16, 2017, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: BEDFORD PRESS, TEACHING ASSISTANT/STUDIO WORK SHOWN

 

Bukhamseen, H., & Karimi, A. BETWEEN EAST AND WEST: A Gulf, 2016, KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT: NCCAL

 

Karimi, A. ‘Imported Traditional‘ in Holtrop, A.,& Al-Sayeh,N., Places of Production: National Pavilion of the Kingdom of Bahrain at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. 2016, MANAMA, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN: BAHRAIN AUTHORITY FOR CULTURE & ANTIQUITIES

 

Mah,D. & Asensio Villoria. Lifestyled : Health and places. 2016, BERLIN. GERMANY: JOVIS. STUDIO WORK WITH JUSTIN KOLLAR SHOWN

 

Bukhamseen, H. & Karimi.A ‘The Iconoclastic City: Preservation and Demolition in Mecca‘ in May, K. CLOG: Landmark, 2015, BROOKLYN, N.Y: MAY, KYLE

 

Karimi,A. ‘Desert Island Manifesto: Sir Charles Belgrave‘s (Fake) Proposals to the Bahraini Government‘ in Tamburelli, P. San Rocco 10 - Ecology, 2014, VENICE, ITALY: SAN ROCCO

 

GSD Platform Books & Exhibitions | Platform 6-9, 2014 - 2016, NEW YORK, NY : ACTAR

 

 

AWARDS/GRANTS

 

AlSerkal Residency
2018, DUBAI, UAE

 

Julia Amory Appleton Traveling Fellowship Finalist
2016, CAMBRIDGE, MA

 

Heffernan International Travel Grant
2015, CAMBRIDGE, MA

 

Joint Center for Housing Studies & Affordable Housing Institute Research Fellowship
2015, CAMBRIDGE, MA

 

David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Travel Fellowship
2015, CAMBRIDGE, MA

 

Boston Affordable Housing Development Competition
2014, CAMBRIDGE, MA
SECOND PLACE PRIZE AS DESIGN TEAM LEADER

 

Dominique Bonnamour Lloyd Scholarship
2010, ATLANTA, GA

 

 

LECTURES

 

‘Wishful Tropics’, AlSerkal Avenue
2018, DUBAI, ORGANIZER
LECTURE

 

‘We Have Never Been Urban’, AlSerkal Avenue
2018, DUBAI, UAE ORGANIZER
LECTURE

 

‘Prehistory, Prehistory, Prehistory’, UNESCO World Heritage Committee
2018, MANAMA, BAHRAIN
LECTURE

 

‘Shifting Morphology of Gulf Cities’, Sharjah Architecture Triennale Lecture
2018, DUBAI, UAE
PANEL DISCUSSION

 

‘Dwelling and Residue Roundtable’ Thirdline DXB
2018, DUBAI, UAE
PANEL DISCUSSION

 

‘Four Gateways to Bahrain’, Museums in Arabia Conference
2017, MANAMA, BAHRAIN
LECTURE

 

‘GOOD ARAB BAD CITY’, AIA Middle East Lecture
2017, MANAMA, BAHRAIN
LECTURE

 

‘Urban Archival Practices in the GCC’, Mawane Lecture
2017, MANAMA, BAHRAIN
PANEL

 

‘A Gulf Abridged’, Urban Archival Practices in the GCC
2017, KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
LECTURE

 

‘Reporting from Venice’, Dutch Stimuleringsfonds
2016, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
PANEL

 

Unsettling Colonial Modernity in Islamicate Contexts Conference
2015, EDMONTON, CANADA
PANEL

 

'Cuba in Transition' Conference
2015, CAMBRIDGE, MA
CONFERENCE CO-ORGANIZER

 

Harvard Arab Weekend
2014, CAMBRIDGE, MA
CONFERENCE CO-CHAIR

 

 

INVITED JURIES

 

University of Bahrain
2017-2018, ISA TOWN, BAHRAIN
2018 THESIS JUROR
2018 FOURTH SEMESTER FINAL REVIEWS
2017 THESIS JUROR
2017 THIRD SEMESTER FINAL REVIEWS

 

Woodbury University School of Architecture
2017, SAN DIEGO, CA
2017, SPRING 2SECOND YEAR STUDIO FINAL REVIEW
2017, THESIS JUROR

 

Bahrain Royal Council for Women Monument Competition
2017, MANAMA, BAHRAIN, ORGANIZER/TEAM MENTOR

 

Harvard Graduate School of Design
2015-2016, CAMBRIDGE, MA
2016, CORE SEMESTER II MIDREVIEW, JUROR
2016, CAREER DISCOVERY PROGRAM, JUROR
2015, CAREER DISCOVERY PROGRAM, JUROR