Those constantly looking for good web-based resources on Islamic Architecture will be happy to learn about the recent official launching of
archnet.org. ArchNet is a website that bills itself as "an online community for architects, planners, urban designers, landscape architects, and scholars, with a special focus on the Islamic world". The site was developed by MIT's School of Architecture and Planning as well as the Aga Khan's Trust for Culture. Much of ArchNet's resources are in fact taken from the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT and Harvard.
According to the creators, ArchNet is meant to be a free resource which allows and facilitates the sharing of information worldwide. Aside from allowing access to a great digital library (including 15,000 images) the site allows students, professionals, and scholars of Architecture to register and create a profile as you would in any online community, complete with a listing of your specific interests (historical architecture, contemporary architecture, indigenous building and design traditions, etc). Everytime you log in you can access the latest news since you last accessed the site as well as a digital calendar, discussion forum, and even job listings (although they seem to be mostly academic).
Other great features of the site include the special collections like the Hassan Fathy Archives and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Archives. Highly valuable as well are the numerous publications (over 1500), some of which are hard to find in even a decent architecture library. Included among these is the scholarly journal Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture which has articles that are archived as pdf files. A nice feature for students is the Course Syllabi section which, though small now, contains a collection of syllabi from courses related to Islamic Architecture at various educational institutions (Harvard, Cornell, etc). Also small but useful is the collection of CAD drawings and the Glossary of Islamic Architecture in the Digital Library.
ArchNet has a tremendous amount of information and images online and its hard to imagine any student or Islamic Architecture enthusiast not finding what he or she is looking for. With new additions constantly being added (including rare items) and the added benefit of creating a worldwide community of interested users, ArchNet seems to be THE source for Islamic Architecture on the web.
