Ashok Mody was a young architect from India on his first international assignment when he arrived in Sharjah in 1975. Over the next five years, he worked on projects that have become enduring landmarks of the emirate such as Al Zahra Hospital, the Oceanic Hotel in Khorfakkan and the biggest public housing development — the 1000 Villas project in Al Ghubaiba. Four decades later, Mody still cherishes his memories of living and working in Sharjah and acknowledges that the experience was invaluable to his career. Weekend Review caught up with Ashok Mody during his visit to the city, in this interview. Read more »
Archives for 2018
Ashok Mody, who built Sultan Al Qassemi’s family home, on the distinctiveness of Gulf architecture
Ashok Mody, who lived in Sharjah from 1975 to 1980, is responsible for a number of buildings in the Emirate. A group of about 80 people packed into the majlis of one of the vast family residences in central Sharjah last weekend for a conversation between the house’s architect – Ashok Mody – and one of the children who grew up in it, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi. Read more »
Meet the Indian architect who built iconic buildings in UAE
In 1975, 26-year-old Indian architect Ashok Mody touched down in the UAE for the very first time. Tasked with designing just one building in Sharjah, his work quickly impressed. So much so he went on to build some of the city’s most iconic buildings that still stand today. Now in his 70s, Ashok Mody sits with Sultan Souud Al Qassemi to discuss his architectural legacy in Sharjah, in one of the very buildings he helped design and build. Read more »
Architect reconstructs his days in 70s Sharjah
Indian architect Ashok Mody sits with Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi to discuss his work on his return to Sharjah after 40 years. Read more »
Understanding Arab Art: A Collector’s Perspective
Watch this short documentary film that explores Arab art, featuring an interview with Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, a prominent art collector based in Sharjah, UAE. Read more »
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi’s mission to celebrate Sharjah’s unsung architecture
‘I want to show people that there was a history between the arish houses and the glass towers,’ Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi says of his new architecture history project called Building Sharjah, in this press article about his work. Read more »