Hammad Husain

Infobox Architect
name=Hammad Husain
nationality=Pakistani
birth_date=birth date and age|1970|2|12
birth_place= Rawalpindi, Pakistan
practice_name=Hammad Husain Associates, Architects
significant_buildings=President Pervez Musharraf farmhouse, Islamabad
The Bridge House, Islamabad
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed residence, Islamabad
significant_projects=Artillery Museum, Nowshera
awards=IAP Interior Design Award 1998
memberships=Pakistan Council of Architects & Town Planners, Institute of Architects, Pakistan, Pakistan HVACR Society|

Hammad Husain (b. February 12, 1970) is a Pakistani architect and writer, based in Islamabad.

Early life

Hammad was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. His father, Javed Husain (b. 1938), a retired brigadier, served in the armoured corps and the elite Special Service Group (SSG) of the Pakistan Army. His mother, Nazli (b. 1947) is a religious scholar and a lecturer in Karachi. His brother, Fahd, studied at the Columbia School of Journalism and is currently heading Express News, a private TV channel in Lahore. His sister, Tayyaba, alumnus of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, works in the public health sector. Hammad studied at Aitchison College, Lahore and Saint Mary’s Academy in Rawalpindi. In 1989, he went to Ankara, Turkey to study architecture at Middle East Technical University (METU). In 1995, he married Gulten Cevikel, a Turkish national and a graduate of Gazi University, Ankara. They have two children; Gizem (b. 1998) and Sinan (b. 2001).

Career

Upon receiving his architecture degree from METU in 1994, Hammad returned to Islamabad and joined Sikander Ajam Associates, one of the leading architecture firms of the city. In 1996, he set up his own practice, Hammad Husain Associates, Architects. He has designed farmhouses, villas, resort huts, office buildings and many other projects and is a recipient of Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP) award for interior design.

After an earthquake devastated Northern Pakistan in October 2005, Hammad designed a low-cost earthquake shelter for the homeless called IRAS (Improvised Rapid All-weather Shelter) that was taken up by many international aid agencies including Australian Aid International and Peace Malaysia. Hammad can be credited with being the only architect in the country whose design was mass-produced and used by the homeless all across the earthquake-affected area. The design was eventually taken up by a Malaysian building firm which formally marketed it in Malaysia as an effective low-cost shelter, under the name MIRAS Li.

In 1999, Hammad was appointed Islamabad Correspondent of "Archi Times", the only architecture monthly newspaper of the country. This led him to start a monthly column titled “The Freestanding column” in the process achieving the distinction of being the first regular architecture columnist of Pakistan. He interviewed many prominent Pakistani and international architects for Archi Times including Fumihiko Maki, Itsuko Hasegawa and Kiyonori Kikutake of Japan.

Hammad has oft been mired in controversy because of his outspoken views and undiplomatic writings and has been both criticized and admired by his peers and colleagues. His frank and honest views, however, have made him a preferred choice for television programs and panel discussions and he has appeared on international and local TV channels including CNN, Express News, Geo TV, Business Plus, and PTV. He is now arguably one of the most recognized architects of the country.Fact|date=September 2008

Hammad won a Japanese Government fellowship in 2003 and spent five months travelling and studying architecture in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. He met renowned Japanese architects like Toyo Ito, documented important buildings and briefly worked for Nikken Sekkei Ltd in Tokyo. Hammad’s stint in Japan deeply influenced his architectural philosophy and his understanding of the profession. He learned the value of space utilization and meticulous detailing which transformed his approach towards architecture.

IAP Chairman & Public Campaigns

Two months after his return from Japan, in February 2004, Hammad was elected chairman of the Institute of Architects, Pakistan (IAP), Rawalpindi-Islamabad Chapter, earning the distinction of being the youngest-ever chapter chairman of IAP at 34. As chairman of his institute, he spearheaded public-interest campaigns including a movement to stop the demolition of the Lahore High Court, a 130-year old heritage building in Lahore; a media campaign to highlight the problems in large public construction projects of Islamabad and a drive, along with Karachi’s civil society members, to stop the occupation of Karachi’s coastal beaches by large real-estate conglomerates.

President Musharraf's architect

Hammad gained prominence in 2004 when he was commissioned by General Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan and a front line US ally in the War on Terror, to design his farmhouse in Islamabad. After Mr Musharraf’s resignation as president on August 18, 2008, his farmhouse, along with his architect, came under local and international media spotlight amid speculations whether Mr Musharraf would be able to live in his soon-to-be-completed farmhouse or leave the country. Hammad was interviewed extensively in newspapers such as "The Times", "The Independent" and "Washington Times" and he appeared on local TV channels to talk about the farmhouse, which became the most hotly debated property in the country.

Academics

Hammad has been associated with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) and its various subsidiary organizations such as ArchNet and Aga Khan Award for Architecture. He represented Pakistan as editor in an AKTC-sponsored survey titled “Survey of Architectural Education and Professional Practice in Selected Areas of the Muslim World”, in Geneva in 2006 which was conducted by Professor Peter Rowe, a former dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design. Hammad has presented papers at international conferences including the UIA (International Union of Architects) Congress 2005 at Istanbul, Turkey and International Conference on Humane Habitat (ICHH) 2008 at Mumbai, India. In December 2006, Hammad joined the National College of Arts, Rawalpindi campus, as visiting faculty.

Selected Projects

*President Pervez Musharraf farmhouse, Islamabad (2008)
*Administrative Office building, Rawalpindi (2008)
*Artillery Museum, Nowshera (2007)
*Mechanical Transport car park, Rawalpindi (2007)
*‘Musharraf Lodge’ Guest House, Nowshera (2007)
*Zamzama Resort Huts, Kalam (2007)
*Asad Zahur farmhouse, Islamabad (2007)
*Cafeteria and mass dining facility, Murree (2006)
*Improvised, Rapid, All-weather Shelter (IRAS, shelter for earthquake victims), Kashmir (2005)
*Turkish Embassy interior, Islamabad (2005)
*Khalid Malik farmhouse, Islamabad (2004)
*Bridge House, Islamabad (2003)
*Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed residence, Islamabad (2002)

Sources

* [http://archpresspk.com/May08arseries.htm Archi Times, Pakistan: Islamabad Architects Series 2007-2008]
* [http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=135257 The News, Pakistan: Musharraf may not quit Army House soon]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4576310.ece The Times, UK: The dream house that Pervez Musharraf built but cannot live in]
* [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24203050-25837,00.html The Australian, Australia: Modest dream home awaits]
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/revealed-musharrafs-luxury-retirement-pad-900652.html The Independent, UK: Revealed: Musharraf's luxury retirement pad]
* [http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/08/is-it-curtains.html The Independent's clarification on misreporting: Asian (con)Fusion: Is it curtains for Musharraf's curtains?]
* [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/29/musharraf-eyes-comfy-retirement-home The Washington Times, USA: Musharraf eyes comfy retirement home]
* [http://www.newsweek.com/id/156167/page/4 Newsweek, USA: Musharraf eyes comfy retirement home]
* [http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=113629&d=31&m=8&y=2008 The Arab News: I’m staying in Pakistan: Musharraf]
* [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~agakhan/images/enews/NewsletterAKP06-07.pdf Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Education Programme: Architectural Education Workshop. Page 26]
* [http://www.arkitera.com/v1/haberler/2005/01/28/sergi.htm Arkitera.com - Turkey. Pakistan’da Türkiye’den Bir Sergi Mimar Sinan’ın Anısına (Exhibition in Pakistan from Turkey: In memory of Mimar Sinan)]
* [http://humanehabitat.org/conferences/10th-ichh-2008/ 10th International Conference of Humane Habitat, Mumbai, India]
* [http://jfa.arch.metu.edu.tr/archive/0258-5316/2005/cilt22/sayi_2/51-77.pdf Contribution of Turkish Architects to the national architecture of Pakistan: Vedat Dalokay. Thesis by Neelum Naz, Turkey. Page 71, footnote 31]

Public-interest campaigns

* [http://www.dawn.com/2004/09/14/local33.htm Daily Dawn, Pakistan. President urged to help stop LHC building demolition]
* [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_14-9-2004_pg7_36 Daily Times - Pakistan. LHC west wing demolition illegal: Architects]
* [http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-1053410_ITM Access My Library Online - Pakistan. CDA's developmental projects, policies criticized]

Pakistan earthquake 2005

* [http://www.ciob.org/news/view/906 CIOB - UK. Collapsed Buildings Take Heavy Toll As Pakistan Earthquake Buries Thousands]
* [http://www.buildingtalk.com/news/tch/tch276.html Building Talk - Pakistan. Collapsed buildings toll in Pakistan earthquake]
* [http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?125615 Pak Tribune, Pakistan. Peace Malaysia, IRAS to provide 1500 alternate houses to quake hit areas]
* [http://www.aai.org.au/news/media-releases/iras-programs.html Australian Aid International. Improvised Rapid All-Weather shelter (IRAS)]
* [http://www.neduet.edu.pk/ICCIDC-I/Conference%20Proceedings/Papers/049.pdf First International Conference on Construction In Developing Countries (ICCIDC–I) Malaysia Improvised Rapid All-Weather Shelter Ii (Miras Ii) (a design adapted from IRAS, designed by Hammad Husain)]
* [http://www.rics.org/NR/rdonlyres/C3C4EA27-E793-45B8-A2E0-FEA628E3377D/0/RICS_DMR_pg52_105.pdf Mind the Gap! Post-disaster reconstruction and the transition from humanitarian relief. Collapsed buildings take heavy toll as Pakistan earthquake buries thousands (Page 60)]
* [http://www.pakistanidefenceforum.com/lofiversion/index.php/t28484-1400.html Pakistan Defence Forum - Pakistan. IAP to provide cultural designs (8th News item)]
* [http://www.pakrealestateonline.com/pakrealestatetimes/showthread.php?tid=1453&pid=1533 Pak Real Estate Online, Pakistan. CDA Corruption assists quake's destruction]