OMER SIDDIG ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANT – OSAC
My father’s practice, OSAC, in Khartoum is where I worked over university holidays and after my graduation in 1988 and were I picked up my experience on design, construction and architecture in general.
My father has kindly shared with me scans from his office, the culmination of many years of work. It has been an absolute labour of love to go through the images and make a selection to upload here. Some of the buildings I remember, some I don’t. Many of the drawings are by people that worked for long or short periods of time for my father. Some are by myself, some are signed and some are not. I will be uploading the full archive online soon.
It has been a walk down memory lane, a time in my late teens and early twenties, when i absolutely absorbed whatever I saw and whatever I heard at the office; it is a nostalgia for rotring pens and the smell of ammonia as the blueprints were being made.
The above examples show the distinctive style of drawing that I was trained in. The work of OSAC most certainly had a clear identity and approach rooted in rationalism and efficiency. For many years the company built prolifically in Khartoum and beyond. The range of building types was also very wide.
The below images are selected from a much wider repository – and cover many years of work, and many young architects’ work, as they transitioned through OSAC. I will be requesting from my father that he writes up a brief history of his experiences in practice. His memory is much better than mine and it will be a wonderful opportunity for younger Sudanese architects to honour the wealth of experience that we have, the heritage of design and building that we can link with and take the profession forward.
I will be working further on this archive to categorise it into SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS; MULTI FAMILY DWELLINGS; NON RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE; FACADES; INTERNAL PLANNING; DETAILING; SERVICING; DRAWING STYLES; CLIMATIC RESPONSE; CULTURAL RESPONSE;
Till then, enjoy the image documentation.
Well, this brings great memories at OSAC. I have had the previlge to work with Dr. Omer Siddig and enjoyed his support while studying at the University of Khartoum and after graduating.
Amira, thanks for sharing.
ماشاء الله تبارك الله
حفظ الله الوالد وامد في عمره
The drawings reflect on the pen and/or pencil being an extension of the design and thought process. They point to the importance of removing the infinite scale when focusing on the archetype and resultant artefact.
Thanks for making this available, Amira. Pause for thought and wonder. Rotring pens, Kuhlmann machines, lettering stencils, Letraset, film prints … . I particularly appreciate the one point perspectival plans. Odd to have one’s past become part of the memory bank!
This is really great. First time to see this marvelious collection.
Thanks for sharing this with me, Amira… what a wealth of expertise, beautiful analog work, a passion for making quality habitable spaces and places…
You can be rightfully proud.
Lovely drawings!
Thank you Amira.. it is really interesting
As a proud niece, this article was so amazing and I absolutely loved it <3. Your dad,- and my grandfather- Omer Siddig, must be very proud that you are continuing his legacy. Much love <3 😘
Thank you Prof Amira Osman.
The OSAC archive brought back nice memories from my years of architectural education at the University of Khartoum as I was priveledged to be educated by both Prof Omar Siddig and by your goodself.
It’s amazing how Architects used to produce such beautiful imagery thru laborious hand drafting. Thanks again for sharing the beautiful OSAC archive.
Thanks a lot Amira for sharing your father’s work with us. It is true that no computer drawing can beat authentic hand drawn images.
Beautiful drawings and one-of-a-kind archive. Salute. Although I’m not an architect I admire the beauty of design shown here, specifically those by Ibtisam E.O. and the three bed room home with the triple umbrella garden. That’s my dream home
what a fantastic collection of drawings! The use of the word prolific is apt..
These are stunning! It’ll be really interesting to read what your father has to say about practice at the time, as well
Also, it’s all the more relatable, because it’s very similar to the situation here in India… Where there is a wealth of hand drafted drawings done all the way up to the late nineties, and now suddenly there’s a disconnect. I hear my parents speak nostalgically about how each drawing was a labour of love. They just don’t teach drafting like this anymore
Salute to your father and yourself Prof. Amira.
A wonderful archive, I really enjoyed these immaculate and intricate images. Thanks for sharing!
Ah, the Rotering pens and lettering stencils. How far have we come!
Thanks for sharing such very special memories, Amira. ‘Drafting’ and ‘designing’ the classic way is such a special skill that you were really good at for sure. What is most interesting also, beyond the techniques and the tools of the trade which are all history by now, is the design vocabulary that is distinctly Khartoum(ish) at the time. Many offices had similar design flair and now that we are distant from that time I find it quite fascinating that was the case!
Please send my regards to your dad. His perseverance throughout all the craziness of Sudan is indeed remarkable and inspiring.