By: Azad Karimi
I feel very good about the profession I chose. I am very grateful to all the people I deal with daily, but I work so that my evolution is constant. I consider full satisfaction a utopia and as such I will run after it even though I know I will not be able to reach it.
Interview
Portuguese Architect Paulo Gomes
By Azad Karimi
I consider full satisfaction a utopia and as such I will run after it even though I know I will not be able to reach it...
My dear friend Paulo, says this in one of the parts of his interview answers. Of course, many of his answers are great and amazing. Thanks again to God for allowing me to meet the wonderful people of the world and provide a treasure trove of human knowledge and culture through these interviews. I am sure that these are useful for the development of human societies and the advancement of great goals.
Somewhere Paulo says that he believes in competition and that Portugal is also the land of prominent architects... An idea came to my mind that I think is very good, both in terms of work and in terms of helping some of the problems of the Mosul people in Kurdistan-Iraq.
If you remember, in 2014, ISIS attacked Mosul and captured it .... Finally, after very bloody wars, Mosul was liberated from this hellish group. Now, after five years, the city is in ruins, and unfortunately, the central government in Baghdad cannot rebuild the city due to political and security problems, corruption, and the hegemony of the Shi'a and Sunni militant groups.
Of course, the Iranian government has been able to take control of the city by using its influence among the Hashd al-Sha'bi group, and now, using Iraqi real estate brokers, it has sent its people to Mosul for buying people's houses and the goal is rebuilding this city and changing Mosul into an Iranian-Shi'a city... a Shi'a city there, in Mosul ... and this is very interesting because the cities of Kermanshah in Kurdistan-Iran are destroyed because of the earthquake and after four years the people of those cities live Still in tents...!
More interestingly, most of our people in Kermanshah are Shi'a ... Indeed, the behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not benefited for people of the Middle East except misery and suffering.
Of course, I am also very surprised by the silence of the Iraqi Kurdish government, which does not protest. Everyone knows that the old part of Mosul is a Kurdish city ...I remind that in 2003 before the United States invaded Iraq, President George Walker Bush suggested to Leader Barzani and President Jalal Talabani that they work to turn Mosul into the new capital of federal Kurdistan instead of Erbil after the fall of Saddam Hussein's government. Unfortunately, they did not agree and this caused the fate of that region to change in another direction ... Of course, they were right because they were worried about the Kurdish-Arab wars because it was clear that Mosul had a fanatical and chauvinist Sunni group.
Now, with the efforts of the Iranian government and the Hashd Al-Sha'bi, Mosul is moving towards becoming a fanatical chauvinist Arab Shi'a city.
I wish Paulo would take my proposal seriously, and maybe he can take over the reconstruction of Mosul with the help of the Lisbon Architects Syndicate and the Portuguese government.
In the end, it is interesting to say that the current Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterres, is a compatriot of Paulo. I wish them success and happiness. God bless Portugal.
Thank you!
Vestland-Norway
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1- Please present yourself: Name, education, Civil status and...
. My name is Paulo Gomes, I am an architect, married and father of two beautiful children.
2-What is your artistic speciality?
.I have a degree and a master's degree in architecture. I don't have a specific area of activity. The architecture is very extensive and complex, however, it is in the architectural project and construction that I feel accomplished.
3- When and how did you become interested in this field?
.My interest in architecture came from an early age, but my arrival at the professional activity took place in a sui generis way. As a young man, I was a professional athlete and put my studies a bit apart. In the middle of my career I chose to go back to studying in a more serious way, I opted for amateur sport in order to be able to complete my degree and master's degree. From the end of my studies, I dedicated myself exclusively to architecture.
4- Who was your motivator?
.I cannot say that I had any initial motivator. It was an area I liked, but there were also other areas I liked, namely sport. However, something told me that my path was linked to the arts and I am fully convinced that I took the right option. The fact that Portugal is a country with a wide range of world-renowned architects will also not have been indifferent to my choices.
5- What was your parent’s reaction?
.The support of my parents was essential, not in the sense of choice, but in the belief that I should choose the area that I liked the most, without thinking too much about goals, other than the well being of doing what I love. I have always been taught this philosophy of life, which I will try to instill in my children in the future.
6- When did you become such a professional Architect?
.My clients could answer this question better. I try to be the best professional possible, in an extremely competitive area. I consider architecture a profession of constant learning. I will never be able to say that I reached the peak of my career because for me it doesn't exist.
7- Are you thankful and happy because of your activities as an architect?
.I feel very good about the profession I chose. I am very grateful to all the people I deal with daily, but I work so that my evolution is constant. I consider full satisfaction a utopia and as such I will run after it even though I know I will not be able to reach it.
8- How do you see the view about urban, architecture, culture?
.My view on these concepts will always be from the point of view of interconnection. We currently have technology to do much more for our cities, for our culture and as it could be, from my point of view, architecture has a fundamental role in this demand.
9- Can you become one part of the cultural movement for motivation in youth or new generations in your country and so on?
.I think that would be to attribute myself and my profession to an importance that I consider exaggerated. I intend to make my way in the best way I can and together with other professionals leave the best possible legacy for the future of the younger generations.
10- How can you help our world become a better place to live?
.Always trying to do my job in the most honest and correct way. Take the best options for the customer and the environment. Be faithful to my principles both in my professional and personal life. Be the change you would like to see in the world as Ghandi once said.
11- Have you more words to say or suggest for our readers?
.Dear Azad, thank you! I am grateful for the for the opportunity to make myself known on your website. I wish you happiness in your personal and professional life.
https://www.facebook.com/paulogomes.arq/
