Friday, June 23, 2006

Nostalgia | maktabet el-funoon

Every architecture student in Jordan must’ve passed at least once by “maktabet el-funoon” – Arts stationary/book shop!
For five faithful years I used to go there! And always coming out loaded with cardboards, balsa, UHU tubes, foam, coloring pencils, papers and the ultimate archi students’ power --- brown corrugated cardboards “contour =)”.
Space wise, Maktabet el-funoon is very small and tight… yet somehow it always got the whole dof3a “class” in! Or so it would seem! We would be buying stuff, discussing concepts, wondering what best material to use, inventing stuff, complaining about the lack of time as the deadlines are getting closer, and as always chatting with either Adel or Imad….
Maktabet el-funoon for me isn’t just a shop! But an event that was repeated harmonically in the plot of my archi years!
Yesterday I went to the ECA shop! Which turned out to be Edinburgh’s version of maktabet el-funoon… when I was there I totally lost track of place and time… I sank in my own nostalgia as I was delicately checking the modeling materials, the pens and pencils… and the old good UHU! I couldn’t stop… at each turn I took I thought that a familiar archi face would pop out from behind and ask me what I’m looking for!
Amazingly enough I found ECA’s version of the maktabet el-funoon sketching books! [one of my favorite stuff ever] Of course I couldn’t resist the temptation!
And as I walked out of the college shop holding the foam board and struggling against the [gentle] wind of Scotland my heart was [just] pleased!

me sinking in my own fifth year spot! uh those were the days


last minute rush... my lovely dof3a!


sketch books... right> maktabet elfunoon... left> ECA shop


No comments: