At the Edge of Where God Built

Ziad Jamaleddine & Makram el Kadi / L.E.FT Architects

At the Edge of Where God Built undertakes a critical examination of L.E.FT Architects’ diverse body of work from the past decade, reorganizing their designs, research, and pedagogy around five key Arabic spatial terms: tawaf (circumambulation space), jami (mosque space), riwaq (a courtyard’s colonnade), dar (domestic space), and khirba (a ruin). Rooted in the Arab-speaking, Islamic geographies of the Middle East and North Africa, these terms illuminate and conceptualize L.E.FT’s investigations into forms of contemporary religious and non-religious architecture. By reframing Islamic architecture beyond the fixed typologies that have historically defined it, the book proposes a fluid, multifaceted approach to understanding its contemporary manifestations. Through detailed case studies, theoretical reflections, and design analysis, it reveals how L.E.FT’s praxis translates linguistic and historical knowledge to generate architectural strategies that advance intellectual dialogue across religious, cultural, and geographic boundaries.