Farid YounesFarid Younes combines two opposites: He is devoted to serious ideas . . . and yet he pursues them with the glee and abandon of a child at Christmas. He is a beloved teacher, because he designs buildings and cities . . . so his rarefied ideas do have tangible outlet. It is hard to overestimate the appeal of a kind man who is devoted to thinking and craftsmanship . . . in a land where insane violence and governmental incompetence have made a frontal assault on Lebanese culture-which is probably the finest and most appealing way of thinking, living, and being . . . ever. Farid has served as the Chair of Architecture at Notre Dame University, Lebanon with a PhD from U of Montreal in Canada. When he is not sipping wine at the stunning Calatrava Winery or munching tasty morsels at the Darien Restaurant, Farid enjoys chit-chatting about Sacred Art and Architecture, the intersection of Maronite Christianity and Islam, and the intertwining of Sociology in Architecture. A favorite subject is the musico - architectural theory of the Pythagoro - Platonic. Be sure to ask him about his concept of "Resonant Architecture" . . . specifically the way Architecture and Music reflected each other during the Abbasid phase of the great medieval Islamic Empire.Farid also has fun with City Streets, (which may, indeed, be a Lebanese version of the TV show "Parks and Recreation"). He never misses a meeting of the City Street Technical Committee at his university. Naturally, a guy with this much delight in virtually everything a person can do with his or her mind is in mad demand as a judge for competitions in his field. If you think that students must follow this man through the streets, well, you would be right about that.In a world where brutish ardor seems to be the order of the day, Farid Younes is one who loves to think and to build. You gotta love this man! -Scott C. Davis Read More Read Less