مختارات من عمارة العالم العربي 1914-2014 (ص 15)

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مختارات من عمارة العالم العربي 1914-2014 (ص 15)

المحتوى

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‎Arabian Peninsula
‎A Century of Architecture in the
Arabian Peninsula Evolving Isms and
Multiple Architectural Identities in
a Growing Region
‎Dr. Ashraf Salama
‎This article presents a positional interpretation and highlights the
issues of identity, tradition, and modernity by critically outlining a
number of voices that represent selected architectural interventions
in the Arabian Peninsula. Through a reading of projects that emerged
over a century from 1914 to 2014, an articulation is made to place
such a reading into focus by classifying different trends under three
economic eras: pre-oil, oil, and post-oil. The analysis manifests a
continuous struggle to absorb modernity and construct identity and
concludes with a number of questions regarding challenges facing
architecture and future developments in the region.
‎FrameWORKS for Understanding
Architectural ISMS
‎Several approaches can be adopted to interrogate the evolution of
architectural isms on the Peninsula, One approach is to portray its
architecture within the context of geo-cultural politics, and the amal-
gam of influences it enjoys, including ‘Mediterraneanism, ‘Middle
Easternism, ‘Pan-Arabism, and ‘islamism. Despite these isms being
constructs that serve political and ideological ends, they are also of
important heuristic value, bringing into focus questions regarding
identity and the sharing of deeper cultural and existential mean-
ings. The unique cultural and geo-political position of the Arabian
Peninsula, coupled with the contemporary global condition, creates a
fertile environment for architectural experimentation; a considerable
number of voices in search of identity and meaning have emerged
over several decades. Another approach is to trace socio-political
and socio-economic events, and examine their impact on the evolving
architecture of this evolving region while mapping the relevance of
these events on examples of projects and the expressions they con-
vey. A third approach could be the examination of the impact of the
evolving global condition and the rise of a connected global society,
and explore the impact of this on architecture and place typologies
in selected cities.
‎Since this is a linear exploration spanning the century from 1914
to 2014, | adopt a fourth approach, namely one which integrates
the previous three and better exemplifies this region's architecture.
it anatomizes architecture within the framework of pre-oil emer-
gence, the resulting impact of oil production on architecture, and
the predicted decline in the oil and natural gas reserves. The latter
is coupled with less reliance on energy sources generated from oil
and gas, which is a matter of rising concern and is having profound
repercussions on the economies and societies of the region, While
such an approach is less pertinent to the case of Oman and Yernen, it
is highly relevant to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United
Arab Emirates.
‎Pre-Oil Architecture: Desert and Tribal
Tradition From 1914 to the 1930s
‎| argue that the desert climate and tribal tradition are the most promi-
nent constituents for articulating a discussion about architecture
and its context in the pre-oil era. Yet, there were also significant
geo-political events which had an impact on architecture and the
shaping of settlements. These can be exemplified by the 1914 British
and French agreement to establish a united and independent Arabian
Peninsula, in the case of a successful defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
The national awareness that subsequently emerged, had long-term
repercussions on urbanism in the Peninsula. In 1918, the end of
Ottoman reign in the Peninsula led to the introduction of new munici-
pal structures in cities such as Jeddah, which had a significant impact
on urban development. This was coupled with the development of
global trade in cultured pearls from Japan in 1921, which led to the
end of the pearl diving industry along the Gulf coast. The subsequent
economic collapse led to new socio-economic structures and the
relocation of many merchant families from India and Persia who had
been living in the Peninsula. Their relocation resulted in the loss of
certain construction techniques and the shrinking of settlements
during the 1930s. Nevertheless, the first electricity network in the
Peninsula was introduced in Kuwait in 1923, and supplied electricity
for the Seif Palace and other settlements.
‎The particularly inhospitable environmental circumstances of the
Arabian Peninsula have made it one of the least populated regions
in the world. Tribal affiliation and family structure have, at all times
been the key element in survival. Strong social networks and kinship
groups helped weaker members to survive, and the clear hierarchy
beneath tribal leaders or sheikhs, made for an effective organiza-
tional structure that advocated for and defended common interests.
The size and wealth of a tribe determined the amount of land under
its control and jurisdiction. As a result of the constant struggle for
survival in the harsh environment, many tribal conflicts occurred in
the history of the Arabian Peninsula; the need for protection and
support led to the establishment of tribal alliances with a strong clan
and kinship identity.
‎From generation to generation, tribes passed on the knowledge
they gained on how to build settlements and houses, well-suited to
environmental constraints. One example of this is the construction
of wind towers, a traditional and practical architectural feature
designed to keep dwellings comfortably cool, introduced by Persian
merchants, builders, and craftsmen who settled in various harbors
and hamlets along the Gulf coast.
‎islamic traditions regarding male and female privacy prescribed
stringent building rules. Privacy was ensured by following certain
building practices such as a designated minimum building height, or
constructing curved entrances, making it impossible for passers-by
to look inside a dwelling. In such communities, the Friday mosque,
besides functioning as a religious center, was also the most impor-
tant public arena for the inhabitants of the area. It was often used
as a courthouse to arbitrate disputes or dispense justice, or as a
religious school, particularly in smaller settlements. The mosque's
simple cubic form included an internal courtyard and was adjacent
to an additional square. In fact, the size of the Friday mosque and its
courtyard was often an expression of the number of inhabitants of
an oasis town or coastal settlement.
‎The typical pre-oil settlement was characterized by a core that
constituted an ensemble of the Friday mosque, the courthouse, and the
ruler’s house. Along the roads leading to the core, which had to have
the width of at least two packed camels, the soug or the traditional
marketplace extended in a linear fashion, often sheltered and shaded
by adjoining roofs. A settlement was characterized by the strong seg-
regation of public and private life. Private housing and shelter occupied
the most land. Smaller alleys led from the main roads to the private
homes of the oasis settlers. These narrow labyrinthine streets usually
were obliged to be the width of one packed camel while the height of
the camel dictated how low the boundaries of courtyards or finas could
be constructed. The narrowness of the streets and the tight spaces
between buildings served two major purposes; on the one hand, so
as to maximize land use within the settlement and, on the other, to
provide cooling and shade for passageways and the houses that lined
them. Apart from these functional purposes, the network of narrow
side roads and cul-de-sacs or dead-end alleys served to reinforce the
private character of neighborhoods, known as fareej. These neighbor-
hood can be regarded as urban cells: they were developed on a system
of branching side streets, which ended in a cellular arrangement of
houses of related clans and kinsfolk. Thus, traditional settlements
were strongly segregated according to tribal or kinship affiliations.
The majlis, or reception hall, was used by families to meet for reli-
gious debates or social gatherings and to discuss issues concerning
the community.
‎The application of the same building rules and the use of the same
materials and construction techniques resulted in similar settlement
typologies, with some minor variations. Differences in typologies
were based on the unique particularities of a locality. In addition
to the traditional courtyard house, which formed the most common
housing typology, simple cubic buildings were often constructed in
rural settlements. The height of houses was standardized and often
Hmited to two floors. The Bedouin would construct temporary one-
story houses on plots, which were surrounded by fences or walls, at
the outskirts of settlements. Flat-roofed courtyard houses provided
not only a protected open space for private family life but also a bet-
ter supply of ventilation and light in the narrowly built settlements.
The flat rooftops were important open-air spaces that the family
could use for cooking or sleeping in the hot summer months. The
ground floor, which normally had very few windows or openings so

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مختارات من عمارة العالم العربي 1914-2014

تاريخ

2014

المنشئ

جورج عربيد