Architecture in Context E-Book

Hassan Radoine

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 319

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Architecture in Context: Designing in the Middle East provides a foundation for understanding the critical context of architecture and design in this region. It does this by:

• presenting a practical overview of architectural know-how in the Middle East, and its potential for cultivating a sense of place
• introducing local architectural vocabularies and styles, and how they can still be reactivated in contemporary design
• exploring the cultural and contextual meaning of forms as references that may influence contemporary architecture
• discussing important discourses and trends in architecture that allow a rethinking of the current global/local dichotomy.

Highly illustrated, the book covers architecture and design in North Africa, the Levant, the Gulf, and Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

Leseprobe

I dedicate this book to all those young architects who are striving to design out of the box, with the aim of improving the human condition through an architecture of sense in all regions of the world.

ARCHITECTURE IN CONTEXT

DESIGNING IN THE MIDDLE EAST

HASSAN RADOINE

This edition first published 2017

© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Registered Office

John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Wiley publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the print version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www/wiley.com

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author(s) have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

ISBN 9781118719886 (pbk); ISBN 9781118719848 (pdf); ISBN 9781118719855 (epub); ISBN 9781119173120 (O-bk)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Executive Commissioning Editor: Helen Castle

Project Editor: Miriam Murphy

Assistant Editor: Calver Lezama

Page design by Jeremy Tilston

Cover design and page layouts by Jeremy Tilston

Printed in Italy by Printer Trento Srl

Front cover images: Skyline of Dubai, Buena Vista Images; Algerian desert, in salah

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book could not have so comprehensive or fully developed without the continuous exchanges with my students and colleagues from the four continents where I have lived (North Africa, Middle East, USA and Europe), and the universities where I have taught and/or conducted research (University of Pennsylvania; Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; Architectural Association School, London; The Prince’s Foundation, London; Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco; University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; American University of Sharjah; International University of Rabat, Morocco; and École Nationale d’Architecture, Rabat, Morocco).

The process of preparing it started as an open dialogue with students and young architects, in response to their queries, after I realised how much they were suffering from the lack of a guiding textbook on contemporary architecture and design in the Middle East. Since I cannot mention all their names, I fully acknowledge my smart students’ great contribution to making this a practical textbook and, I hope, a reference for generations of students and architects to come.

Words cannot express my gratitude to the publishing team – commissioning editor, Helen Castle; project manager, Miriam Murphy; project assistant, Calver Lezama; copyeditor, Abigail Grater – for their close assistance and perseverance. My deepest gratitude goes to the talented illustrator, Insaf El Koussi, who has brought my visions to life by visually interpreting the complex text. I would like to thank Mustapha Semmar for his valuable comments on the manuscript. Appreciation is extended to all professional photographers who have offered their valuable photographs to enhance the presentation of my arguments.

I am highly indebted to the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for nominating me as a reviewer for three cycles, which enabled me to acquire extensive knowledge on the contemporary practice of architecture in the whole region. I am also indebted to the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for nominating me as Curator of the unprecedented exhibition ‘Change: Architecture and Engineering in the Middle East, 2000–Present’, which helped inspire me to embark upon writing this long-overdue volume.

This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my family, my spouse Soumiya and my sons – Khalil, Adam and Rayane.

Last but not least: I beg forgiveness of all those who have been with me over the course of four years working on this book, whether purely offering encouragement or reading and commenting on the manuscript, and whose names I have failed to mention here.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Architecture in the Middle East: A Background

Geopolitical and Environmental Characteristics

Cultural and Religious Influences

Architecture of Development: An Urban and Housing Quest

Contemporary Architecture: Faster and Higher

Conclusion

References

Chapter 2 Architectural Vocabulary: Elements of Local Styles

Site Typologies

Massing and Volumetric Composition

Function and Space

Scale and Proportion

Light And Form

Order and Geometry

Ornament and Symbolism

Patterns, Textures And Colours

Conclusion

References

Chapter 3 Cultural and Contextual Meaning

Cultural Value Judgment and Symbolic Codes (Cognitive Schemata, Transmission)

Representation and Expression of Cultural Meaning

Spatial-Cultural Arrangement (Transformation and Experience)

Climate and Environment (Adaptive and Creative Sustainability)

Building Know-How and Processes of Production

Morality, Ethics and Responsibility

Conclusion

References

Chapter 4 Trends and Discourses of Contextual Architecture

Regionalism and Internationalism: A Design Reference

A Paradoxical Design: Reactivating or Mimicking ‘Islamic’/‘Arabic’ Architecture

Reinvention of Tradition or Heritage In Design: Continuity or Discontinuity

Designing with Nature

Nationalist, Post-Orientalist and Fantasist Design

‘Theme Parks’ and Megaprojects: Designing in the Gulf

Sustainability-Based Design

Conclusion

References

Appendix: Towards a Model of Contextual Enquiry-Based Design

Conclusion

Illustration Credits

Index

Eula

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Early 21st-century postmodern romantic versus global iconic architecture in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

‘Monopolio’ building, Tangier, Morocco, 1884

Cityscape of Cairo, Egypt

Transparent House design agency, Crescent Moon Tower proposal, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2012

IM Pei, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, 2008

X Architects, Wasit Natural Reserve Visitor Centre, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 2016

Map of the regions and countries covered by this book

Chapter 1

Hossein Amanat, Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran, 1970

Deserts in the Middle East

The culture of nomads

Mountains in the Middle East

Rivers in the Middle East

Civilisations and cities in Mesopotamia (now Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran)

Al Hajjara village, Haraz Mountains, Yemen, 12th century

Babylon, Iraq, c 2500 bce: plan

Ur, Iraq, c 4000 bce: plan

Jericho, West Bank, Palestine, c 9600 bce

Climates of the Middle East

Ustad Ali Maryam, Borujerdi house, Kashan, Iran, 1857

Mallaha, Jordan valley, 12,000–10,000 bce: diagrams

Mureybet, Al-Raqqah province, Syria, c 9000–8500 bce: diagrams

Jericho, West Bank, Palestine, c.9600 bce: schematic plan

Çatalhöyük, Konya Plain, Anatolia, Turkey, c 7000 bce: schematic plan

Çatalhöyük, Konya Plain, Anatolia, Turkey, c 7000 bce: perspective view

Ur, Iraq, c 4000 bce: plan

Ur, Iraq, c 4000 bce: concept diagram

Ur, Iraq, c 4000 bce: perspective view

Babylon, Iraq, c 2500 bce: plan

Babylon, Iraq, c 2500 bce: concept plan

Babylon, Iraq, c 2500 bce: perspective view

El-Lahun, Fayum, Egypt, c 1800 bce: plan

El-Lahun, Fayum, Egypt, c 1800 bce: concept plans

Dur-Sharrukin, Iraq, c 720 bce: plan

Dur-Sharrukin, Iraq, c 720 bce: concept diagrams

Dur-Sharrukin, Iraq, c 720 bce: defensive wall

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: plan

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: concept diagram

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: orthogonal concept diagram

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: view of the Decumanus

Miletus, Turkey, c 610 bce: plan

Miletus, Turkey, c 610 bce: concept diagram

Miletus, Turkey, c 610 bce: grid plan

Miletus, Turkey, c 610 bce: agora

Baghdad, Iraq, 760s ce: layout and concept

Medina of Fez, Morocco, 8th to 13th centuries: plan

Courtyard of Al-Qarawiyin University, Fez, Morocco, 16th century

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: Tetrapylon

Ur, Iraq, c 4000 bce: ziggurat

Dur-Sharrukin, Iraq, c 720 bce: plans of the royal palace and fortified city

Dur-Sharrukin, Iraq, c 720 bce: perspective view of the political and religious complex

Sedefkâr Mehmed Ag˘a, Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, 1609–16: perspective view

Mallaha, Jordan valley, 12,000–10,000 bce: house typology (first stage of courtyard)

Jericho, West Bank, Palestine, c 9600 bce: house typology (evolution of the courtyard)

Çatalhöyük, Konya Plain, Anatolia, Turkey, c 7000 bce: house typology (evolution of the courtyard)

Dur-Sharrukin, Iraq, c 720 bce: royal palace with public courtyard

Miletus, Turkey, c 610 bce: house typology with rationalised courtyard

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: house typology with social courtyard

House typology with introverted courtyard in a medina

Mallaha, Jordan valley, 12,000 to 10,000 bce: house typology plans and sections

El-Lahun, Fayum, Egypt, c 1800 bce: house typology plan and perspective view

Ur, Iraq, c 4000 bce: house typology plans

Babylon, Iraq, c 2500 bce: house typology plans

Miletus, Turkey, c 610 bce: house typology floor plan

Palmyra, Syria, 41 bce: house typology floor plan

Sbaa Louyat alley, medina of Fez, Morocco, 13th century: courtyard organisation

Alley in the medina of Tangier, Morocco

Adrien Laforgue, Water and Forestry Department building, administrative district of Rabat, Morocco, 1920: elevations

Adrien Laforgue, Water and Forestry Department building, administrative district of Rabat, Morocco, 1920: first-floor plan

Administrative district of Rabat, Morocco: various architectural elements

Ali Idrissi and Hajji with SOCOTEC, Extension of the Finance Ministry, administrative district of Rabat, Morocco, 1983: facade view and first-floor plan

Ali Idrissi and Hajji with SOCOTEC, Extension of the Finance Ministry, administrative district of Rabat, Morocco, 1983: elevation

Abderrahim Charai, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Rabat, Morocco, 1970

Georges Candilis and Shadrach Woods, Nid d’Abeille (Beehive) block, Ain Chok, Casablanca, Morocco, 1952

Development of the courtyard from horizontality to verticality

Michel Écochard, 8x8 Grid – Moroccan housing under the French Protectorate, 1940s

Hossein Amanat, Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran, 1970

Abdelhak Fenjiro, Qasbah district, new town of Tamesna, Rabat, Morocco, 2004

Mass social housing in Casablanca, Morocco, 2001

Mohamed Ali Abdullah, renovated local market of Souq Waqif, Doha, Qatar, 2006

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Soyak Crystal Tower, Istanbul, Turkey, 2015

Chapter 2

Ghadamis, Libya

The organisation of the chapter

The trend of out-of-context, ‘parachuted-in’ architectural projects in the Middle East

How to prepare for the design process

Ghadamis, Libya

An architect with a deep view of context

An architect with a limited view of context

Elements of the biological layer

Oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis), Istanbul, Turkey

Dragon’s blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari), Socotra, Yemen

Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani)

The cypress of Abarqu, Yazd province, Iran

Uçhisar castle, Nevs˛ehir province, Cappadocia, Turkey

Kandovan, Iran

Ichkeul National Park, near Bizerte, Tunisia

Evolution of vertical urban extension at the expense of fertile land

Evolution of horizontal urban extension at the expense of fertile land

Chehel Sotoun Palace and Garden, Isfahan, Iran, mid-17th century

Azm Palace, Damascus, Syria, 1750

Traditional white-blue house in Kairouan, Tunisia

Perspectives on patterns, textures and colours

Elements of the physical layer

A landscape in northwestern Oman

Settlement in the Luxor area, Egypt

Topographies of the Middle East

Djebel Zaghouan National Park, Zaghouan Governorate, Tunisia

Mount Rum, Wadi Rum, Jordan

The Moroccan Sahara

Roofing techniques: house in Tangier, Morocco

Roofing techniques: house in Ifrane, Morocco

Roofing techniques: tent in the southern Sahara, Morocco

Dealing with climate: house in Tangier, Morocco

Dealing with climate: house in Ifrane, Morocco

Dealing with climate: tent in the southern Sahara, Morocco

Environmental solutions in Mediterranean climatic conditions, Tangier, Morocco

Environmental solutions in snowy conditions, Ifrane, Morocco

Environmental solutions in Saharan conditions, Morocco

Topographical solutions in Tangier, Morocco, and in Masuleh village, Gilan province, Iran

Passive energy versus mechanical air-conditioning

Oil-reliant architecture

Oil-reliant architecture during a power cut

Traditional irregular plots versus modern masterplanning

Medina, Qasbah of Algiers, Sidi Driss Hamidouch, Algeria

Post-colonial urban planning, Narjiss Hay Al Amal, Fez, Morocco

The garden city concept at Ain Zaghouan, North Tunis, Tunisia

Modernist planning at Al Massira district, Rabat, Morocco

Sketch of part of the masterplan by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (with Hyder Consulting) for the Burj Khalifa megaproject, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2010

The new wave of mega-architecture

A street in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture, Samir Kassir Square, Beirut, Lebanon, 2004

Bu-Inaniya madrasa, Fez, Morocco, 14th century: central fountain in courtyard

Qasbah of Tangier, Morocco

Landscape of the city of Tangier, Morocco

Ain Al Barda hamlet, Ghafsai, Taounate province, Morocco

Urbanised banks of the Nile river, Cairo, Egypt

Village of Misfat Al Abriyin, Jebel Akhdar, Sultanate of Oman

Elie Mouyal, residential villa, Oualidia, Morocco, 2014

Ustad Ali Maryam, Borujerdi house, Kashan, Iran, 1857: sections of badgir (wind-catcher)

Perspectives for massing and volumetric composition

Introverted versus extrovert massing

Kenzo Tange Associates, King Faisal Foundation headquarters, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1984

Horizontal versus vertical urban extension

Landscape in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, photographed in 2013

Sketch of IM Pei’s Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, 2006

Medina of Fez, Morocco, photographed in 2012

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2010

Dubai Marina, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, photographed in 2012

Different forms of transition between buildings or spaces in order to reach an integrative massing resolution

Preston Scott Cohen, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2011

Fragmentation of a compact design to enrich the aesthetic level of a volumetric configuration

Sketch of a building in Hassan Fathy’s New Gourna village, Egypt, 1952

The skyline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Elements related to function and space

Free planning versus defined clusters

Extrovert architecture versus introverted social culture

Ustad Ali Maryam, Borujerdi house, Kashan, Iran, 1857: exterior of dome

Ustad Ali Maryam, Borujerdi house, Kashan, Iran, 1857: interior of dome

Perspectives on scale and proportion

The loss of sense in arches

Traditional (harmonious) versus modern (distorted) arches

The effect of giant scale

Wael Al-Masri Planners & Architects, Al-Majaz Waterfront development, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 2012

Evolution of architectural form in the Middle East: introverted architecture

Evolution of architectural form in the Middle East: extrovert architecture

Evolution of architectural form in the Middle East: ‘modern’/‘international’ architecture

Evolution of architectural form in the Middle East: out-of-scale architecture

Appropriate and inappropriate building scales

Sketches of Dar Al Jazera Consultants Al Hamra Tower, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 2010, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s JW Marriott Hotel Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya, 2011

Four perspectives on light and form

The artificial environment: mechanical systems

Sketch of Jean Nouvel’s Louvre Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2015

Jean Nouvel, Louvre Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: model, 2012

Sketches of Norman Foster’s Masdar Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2015

Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha, Qatar, 1995

Historical house in a derb (alley), Sbaa Luyat, Fez, Morocco, 15th century

Changing light and shade throughout the day

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco, 17th century

Charles Boccara, central dome of the Théâtre Royal, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2013

Shibam old city, Yemen, founded 16th century

Courtyard of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada, Spain, 14th century

Bu-Inaniya madrasa, Fez, Morocco, 14th century: interior view

Perspectives on order and geometry

Irregularity and order in a medina

Planquadrat, Maze Tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2012

Sketch of Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamiddin’s Dar Al-Hajar, Sanaa, Yemen, 1930

Foster + Partners, Queen Alia International Airport, Amman, Jordan, 2005

Mimar Sinan, built by Sultan Suleyman, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey, 1558

Sketches of Dewan Architects + Engineers’ Hamdan Bin Zayed Mosque, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (under construction)

Zellij (tile mosaic) in Dar al-Moqri, medina of Fez, Morocco

Perspectives on ornament and symbolism

Youssef Méléhi, Marrakesh railway station, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2008: gateway

Sketches of Jean Nouvel’s Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Spain, 2005, and Burj Doha, Doha, Qatar, 2012

Old Sharjah district, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Louis Kahn, National Assembly Building of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1982

Halcrow Group, Sharjah International Airport, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 1975

Traditional versus modern arabesque motifs

Asymptote Architecture, Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi hotel, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2010

Sketch of Zaha Hadid’s design for Dubai Opera House, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2008

Sketch of Zaha Hadid’s Al Wakrah Stadium, Doha, Qatar (under construction)

Sketch of Zaha Hadid’s Grand Theatre, Rabat, Morocco (under construction)

Perspectives on patterns, textures and colours

Dewan Architects + Engineers, Hamdan Bin Zayed Mosque, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (under construction)

Bu-Inaniya madrasa, Fez, Morocco, 14th century: courtyard

Chapman Taylor, Rabat Centre, Rabat, Morocco, 2015

Bu-Inaniya madrasa, Fez, Morocco, 14th century: zellij

Awkward eclecticism through ill-informed use of arches

Bultin Design, Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Tripoli, Libya, 2001

nARCHITECTS, ABC Dbayeh department store, Beirut, Lebanon, 2012

A range of textures

HOK Planning Group, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, 2009

Alleyway in the Medina of Fez, Morocco, photographed in 2007

Ricardo Legorreta, Victor Legorreta, Miguel Almaraz, Adriana Ciklik and Carlos Vargas, Texas A&M campus, Qatar Foundation Education City, Doha, Qatar, 2007

Chapter 3

Entrance to a dead-end alley (derb) in a medina, Tangier, Morocco

Staircase in the residential district of the Fort of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman, 17th century

Entrance to a private alley, Chefchaouen Medina, Morocco

Entrance to a dead-end alley (derb) in a medina, Tangier, Morocco

Dead-end alley (derb) in a medina, Tangier, Morocco

Dewan Architects + Engineers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2005

Daniel Libeskind, Innovation City, Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2012

Ustad Ali Maryam, Borujerdi house, Kashan, Iran, 1857: summer and winter zones

Ustad Ali Maryam, Borujerdi house, Kashan, Iran, 1857: openings in dome

Traditional house in a medina: ecological dimension of the courtyard

Traditional house in a medina: cultural dimension of the courtyard

Traditional house in a medina: proportions of the courtyard

Traditional house in a medina: proportions of the courtyard

Traditional house in a medina: using environmental factors to produce cool air

Traditional house in a medina: using technical tools to produce cool air

Ingenious methods applied in the courtyard of a traditional house

The takhtabush, as explored by Hassan Fathy in his designs

The malqaf, as explored by Hassan Fathy in his designs

Pump room, as explored by Hassan Fathy in his designs

Master builder with students, Morocco, 1997

WOHA, The Met, Bangkok, Thailand, 2009

Chapter 4

Driss Kettani with Mohamed Amine Siana and Saad El Kabbaj, École Supérieure de Technologie de Guelmim, Guelmim, Morocco, 2011

Sketch of CICO Consulting Architects & Engineers’ (with associate architects SIAT Architekten & Ingenieure and structural engineers Stroh + Ernst), Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar, 2008

Sketch of Zaha Hadid’s Performing Arts Centre, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (under construction)

Rasem Badran, Bujeiri Development, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2015: concept drawings

Rasem Badran, Bujeiri Development, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 2015

Cico Consultants, Supreme Education Council building, Doha, Qatar, 2002

Mohamed Makiya, Kuwait State Mosque, Kuwait City, 1984

Rasem Badran, Dubai cultural village, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2014

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco, 17th century

Hassan Fathy, Public Theatre, New Gourna, Egypt, 1948

Foster + Partners, Aldar Central Market, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 2006

Demolition of the statue of Saddam Hussein, Baghdad, Iraq, 9 April 2003

tvsdesign, Dubai Towers, Dubai, designed 2008

Atkins, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, 2003

View of Dubai from the Burj Khalif

Driss Kettani with Mohamed Amine Siana and Saad El Kabbaj, École Supérieure de Technologie de Guelmim, Guelmim, Morocco, 2011

Driss Kettani with Mohamed Amine Siana and Saad El Kabbaj, École Supérieure de Technologie de Guelmim, Guelmim, Morocco, 2011

Driss Kettani with Mohamed Amine Siana and Saad El Kabbaj, École Supérieure de Technologie de Guelmim, Guelmim, Morocco, 2011

Appendix

Schematic illustration of the different steps of the process of contextual and sustainable enquiry-based design

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Chapter

Pages

c1

ii

iii

iv

v

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

160

161

162

163

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

199

200

201

202

203

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

239

240

241

233

234

235

236

237

238

242

243

244

245

246

247

248

Early 21st-century postmodern romantic versus global iconic architecture in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

In the foreground is the Madinat Jumeirah resort (2003), designed by Eduardo A Robles and Thanu Boonyawatana with DSA Architects in postmodern romantic style, while soaring beyond is the Burj Khalifa (2010) by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Hyder Consulting.

INTRODUCTION

There is a vast amount of architectural activity taking place in the Gulf and other countries of the Middle East, including Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Morocco. In various places throughout this region, high-rise structures made possible by the freedom from structural limitations of materials such as concrete, steel and glass are taking the art of design to heights never reached before. Some embody the new ‘global’ approach that relies heavily on imported forms, while others reflect the ‘local’, pursuing a rather postmodern form of romantic aestheticism. Consequently, contemporary architecture in the Middle East and the north of Africa is at a critical crossroads with regard to the limits of global and local design practices.

However, the striking conceptual framework that underlies the new approaches to designing in this particular area never takes into consideration its entrenched rich architectural tradition and sense of place. Indeed, modern local and international architects have designed most of the new buildings as if there were no context. What is meant by context here is not the ordinary emotional forms but the intrinsic memory and prophecy of a locality to engender an innovative project centred on a sustainable genius loci, or spirit of place. Architects currently designing in this area are instead pursuing an iconic-abstract architecture that is once again dominating worldwide architectural discourse and practice.

Very few local or international architects are trained to capture grassroots contextual elements, and therefore most are unable to creatively translate these into their projects, particularly in those located on sites with high natural, cultural and environmental potential. This is due firstly to decades of modernist ideologies which influenced a whole generation of architects to take a negative position towards any historical or contextual reference, and secondly to the loss of empirical knowledge regarding local building know-how beyond dramatic and superficial pastiche.

‘Monopolio’ building, Tangier, Morocco, 1884

A historic tobacco factory in Tangier is overwhelmed by the standardised international style of the tall buildings around it as they take over the existing urban heritage cityscape.

The current new generation of students and young architects seem to be at a loss about what to do with this discordant state that the previous generation inherited at the beginning of the 20th century, when any contextual form was considered a hindrance to architectural avant-gardism. Even today, students of architecture in the Middle East region are being exclusively taught Eurocentric historical surveys with insufficient focus on those closely relevant to their own context. They are unfortunately not offered the opportunity to grasp local architectural vocabularies and their embedded environmental and cultural signifiers.

Consequently, the redundant internationalist standardised vocabularies and forms of architecture plague all cities in the region, with no consideration for their environmental, ecological, cultural, geographical or social settings. The rich architectural diversity and uniqueness of the region, which once offered the world architectural wonders, has frequently been substituted with monotonous and repetitious forms by designers seeking international fame at the expense of the human factor and its environment that ought to be its raison d’être.

However, if we consider that such criticism or rejection of context is based on resentment or alienation for mere polemical or ideological ends, we will not find a straightforward answer to the question of contemporary design in today’s Middle East. Hence the urgent need for a new orientation to cultivate responsible design practice geared towards a more responsive architecture that communicates with its place while being concomitant with its time. This need echoes a voice that seeks to raise awareness among the architectural community all over the world about the risks of the fast-spreading ego-centred designs that exempt the act of designing from any relevance to its milieu.

Cityscape of Cairo, Egypt

A monotonous cityscape similar to those of most Middle Eastern cities, with conventional forms.

Transparent House design agency, Crescent Moon Tower proposal, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2012

A metaphorical and fantasist ego-centred design with an Orientalist ‘Islamic’ form – the crescent.

Therefore, this book is intended to be a guiding tool and an eye-opener on the long-overdue revalidation of context in current design processes that have been deprived of the quintessence of their locality due to the common alibi of constraining architects’ creativity. Stressing this concern among architects, this book serves as a reminder of the importance of reaching a balance between embracing a creative regionalism that anchors architecture in its site and culture, and adopting an effective globalism without utterly surrendering to an ultra-technological form devoid of any sense of place. This cannot be attained without first training students and young architects in the region to grasp contextual parameters as not limitations, but rather opportunities that can be translated through architectural innovation in order to boost the overall quality and comprehensiveness of the design process. Secondly, the book sets out to provide them with efficient methods and techniques for a judicious exploration of contextual realms. Thirdly, it gives them pointers to explore universal design with its innovative mechanisms, acquiring its scope while embracing the spirit of places.

IM Pei, Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, 2008

Pei’s successful attempt at dismantling the local architectural vocabulary and redesigning it in a contemporary style without falling into pastiche.

Accordingly, this book’s main message for architects is, first, to approach architectural design with more subtlety and responsibility, in order to heighten the vivacity and originality of the region’s buildings – not only for the decades to come, but also to set a referential value for future architectural masterpieces. And second, it is a plea to all architects to re-centre design and creativity around the vital human living condition rather than be satisfied with an ephemeral aestheticism. This will hopefully alert students and future architects to the possibilities of designing a more responsive and sensitive architecture.

Several new terms have recently been coined to voice these contextual concerns in different disciplines, such as sustainability, resilience and smartness. To avoid any confusion in students’ and young architects’ minds, it is imperative to note that this book does not seek to propose a historicist or a nationalist architecture or one that advocates an emotional regionalism. However, it does pursue a programmatic approach that seeks to holistically integrate the genius loci of different places through a responsible process of designing. While taking care first not to fall into ready-made recipes of one of these terms, and second not to blindly surrender to the pressure of sheer consumerist architecture that satisfies only the demands of competitive developers – market rules, monotonous commercial building materials, regulations and fast production – architects, particularly young ones, are indeed called upon to endure the struggle of keeping the profession sustainable and noble. Subsequently, the approach pursued in this book can be applied to any other region in the world while exploring the proposed elements, taking into consideration their own local characteristics and peculiarities.

X Architects, Wasit Natural Reserve Visitor Centre, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 2016

An example of designing with the demands of the site in order to generate a living landscape where architecture is a balanced environmental ensemble.

The key questions to be raised are the following: How should the background of architectural tradition in the Middle East and the north of Africa be comprehended? How can architecture in the Middle East be designed in a way that observes contextual qualities without falling into emotional pastiche? How can context be grasped in order to design responsibly? How can a sense of judgment regarding a responsive contextual design be cultivated? How can contextual elements be explored in an innovative way? What are the different contextual and cultural meanings to be considered in design? How should the practice of a contextual design be situated within the current architectural trends and discourses in the region? How can local anchorage be achieved without discarding positive global input?

Map of the regions and countries covered by this book

This book is thus an attempt to address these questions by critically exploring four fundamental aspects:

the historical background of architecture in the Middle East, presenting the key knowledge elements that need to be mastered so as to situate the content of this book in time and in place, and recall what is essential to design in contemporary theory and practice

the local architectural vocabulary and its elements of local styles, to enable an understanding of the paradigm of authentic local design principles and forms, and how they can still be reactivated in contemporary projects through their stylistic contextual idioms

the cultural and contextual meaning of forms, which allow genuine cultural and contextual references to be set that may influence contemporary architecture in the region by critically questioning all local and foreign preconceived concepts about the architecture of this area

the different discourses and trends of contextual architecture that need to be taken into account in order to position the theories and practices vis-à-vis the current global/local dichotomy – the purpose being to find out to what extent the global interacts with the local and vice versa.

With such a perspective, the book discusses the dynamics of the context of contemporary architecture in the Middle East in both theory and practice. Arching over these four aspects will be the spectre of crisis, change and opportunity that can collectively be understood as the sustainability question. The regions of the Middle East that are covered in the book are North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt), the Levant (Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Israel and Lebanon), the Gulf (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen and Oman), and the zone of Turkey, Iran and Iraq.

This book is intended for a new generation of students and architects who are well versed in visual culture. Its content is interwoven with informative illustrations and photographs that together generate an innovative narrative. It is important to consider that this book is only a modest starting point for a new line of research on the possibilities of reactivation of dormant and dynamic contextual parameters in the making of a contemporary architecture that is continuously becoming detached from its human factor.

Hossein Amanat, Azadi Tower, Tehran, Iran, 1970

An expression of nationalism through architecture and urban planning.

CHAPTER 1ARCHITECTURE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: A BACKGROUND

The Middle East region cannot be ignored when it comes to architectural production over the course of history, and neither should it be disregarded in relation to contemporary architectural trends, particularly in the Gulf area. This is due to the region’s rich characteristics in terms of geographical situation, climate, topography, culture, history and environment. Despite globalism and internationalism, the Middle East has presented a kind of resistance to modernism – as have some other places with rich heritage antecedents, such as Italy where modernism was vehemently questioned before the rush to pursue an avant-gardism of sheer aesthetics devoid of its contextual essence.

This resistance to fast modernism requires some deciphering. It does not necessarily mean the blind pursuit of the trend of reproducing past architectural models. Rather, it involves exploring how contemporary architecture cohabits with the built heritage in the Middle East, not only in the modern era but also throughout the history of their civilisations. By revisiting this practice, the spirit of designing with context or rejecting it can reveal guiding and inspiring lessons for the current period.

Accordingly, it would seem necessary to focus on the different historical, cultural, geographical, environmental, ideological and political characteristics that influence the theory and practice of architecture. It is about how these characteristics contributed and are contributing to generating a portfolio of architectural antecedents. What is critical in this respect is to find how and when these antecedents were essentialised so as to evoke an emotional regionalism, or how and when their intrinsic potentials have been genuinely reactivated in today’s design processes.

GEOPOLITICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Middle East is a vast geographical zone with incredibly diverse landscapes and climates that stretches between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Despite the fact that the term ‘Middle East’ was invented at the beginning of the 20th century to denote the region between Europe and Asia, it is still problematic in terms of territorial and geographical limits, including some distant geographical areas under its umbrella such as North Africa. This is due mainly to cultural and linguistic bonds and some cases of environmental and climatic similarities (Held and Cummings 2014). However, the strategic geographical element that links all these areas of the Middle East, including North Africa, is the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. Therefore, although the term Middle East is not fully accurate, it is commonly used to connote a territory that stretches from Morocco to Afghanistan (Drysdale and Blake 1985).

Deserts in the Middle East

The vast Sahara territories in this region explain the rooted nomadic settings.

Its topography is mainly desert drylands, and includes known deserts such as the Arabian, Libyan, Sinai, Negev, Kara-Kum and Sahara deserts. However, these deserts contrast in the same region with series of chains of mountains such as the Atlas, Taurus, Asir, Hejaz, Caucasus, Pontic and Elburz mountains. The transition from the northern mountains to the southern deserts engenders rich plateaus such as those of Anatolia and Iran.