THE ART: BRIGHT STARTS IN THE EAST THE AGA KHAN AWARDS... - 2001-10-25

The Independent- United Kingdom; The Arts: Bright stars in the East The Aga Khan awards were set up in 1977 to stimulate appreciation of Islamic architecture. But their influence today, argues Jay Merrick, now goes far beyond mere bricks and mortar. 'Some may think architecture in Muslim countries an irrelevance to the West. What do its vernaculars, or copycat internationalism, have to do with us? But the lessons of architecture are not always purely architectural. The Aga Khan's award-winners - the tip of an iceberg of similar work invisible to the West - remind us that architecture is crucial to cultural survival, and to evolution. In that sense, the Barefoot College is no different from the Magna Centre. The pride of Northerners in their new cultural magnet is no different from that experienced by the people of Tilonia in Rajasthan.'