Basil Al Bayati
| Basil Al Bayati | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Basil Younis Rasheed Al Bayati 13 May 1946 Baghdad, Iraq |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Baghdad, University of London |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | King Saud University main Mosque Competition first prize, Abu Dhabi City Competition third prize, Las Terrenas Architectural Competition Honourable Mention, MECO Architectural Competition First Prize |
| Buildings | Edinburgh Central Mosque, Palm Mosque King Saud University |
Basil Al Bayati (born 13 May 1946) is an Iraqi-born architect and designer who has lived and practiced for the most part in Europe, in particular, London and who Neil Bingham, in his book 100 Years of Architectural Drawing: 1900-2000, has described as "an architect in whom East meets West." Al Bayati is considered to be one of the most important names in Metaphoric Architecture, an area he was at the forefront of pioneering, which uses analogy and metaphor as a basis for architectural inspiration as well as the "exploration of geometric and design patterns found in nature" .
He is also the inventor of what he termed "the mechanism of the wasitah (or excitor apparatus)" a geometric feedback mechanism for generating form and a method he himself often uses in the design process.
Throughout his almost 50 years working in the field of architecture, he has also designed furniture and artistic pieces for the household using such varied techniques as metalwork, inlay, glass and ceramic work and stonework as well as authoring 9 books, principally on architecture but also fantasy/fiction and autobiography.
"His work is manifested in plans and publications that express an exuberance for visual forms rare in the Arab world today…… His projects encompass a wide variety of architectural possibilities and transcend generally accepted patterns……. In all of his buildings an organic obsession with flower forms and old Islamic symbolism has been merged into a fantastic alternative architecture for the future."
He currently resides in Málaga in the South of Spain where he runs a successful architectural practice and cultural centre as well as continuing his writing.
Basil Al Bayati was born on 13 May 1946 in the neighbourhood of Adhamiyah in Baghdad, the sixth of ten children.
He began his architectural studies in the Faculty of Architecture at the College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, under the guidance of Dr. Mohamed Makiya. Soon afterwards he became a member of the Iraqi Engineering Union, the Society of Iraqi Architects and the Society of Kuwaiti Engineers.
In 1970 he moved to London to continue his studies and once there, was granted a British Council Scholarship to attend University College London, School of Environmental Studies, Development Planning Unit, studying under Professor Patrick Wakely before attending the Architectural Association School of Architecture, where he worked with Paul Oliver, Geoffrey Broadbent and John Chris Jones. At the A.A he received a diploma in the post-graduate course of ‘Design Method and Creative Process’. From here he continued his research into the psychology of creativity with Andrew Szmidla and spent a year researching structural engineering with Paul Regan before acquiring a BSc (Bachelor of Science) in Professional Practice from the Polytechnic of Central London in 1978. Later that same year he was registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and in 1980 he was elected into corporate membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In 1981 he became a Fellow (F.F.B) of the Faculty of Building (now known as the Forum for the Built Environment), in 1982 was elected member of the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors, IAAS (now known as the Chartered Association of Building Engineers) as well as the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID).
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