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Islamic UniversityAhmed Mohaisen –

Alaeddin ElJmassi – Islamic University

Ali Alraouf - Qatar University

Amer Moustafa – American University of Sharjah

Azza Eleish – Dar Al Hekma College, Heddah SA

Eman Al Assi – Dubai Municipality

Emma Maglio - University of Aix-Marseille / France

Eslam Al Ghunaimy – Al Khobar University

Farid Al-Qeeq - Islamic University - Gaza

Galal Abada – Ain Shams University

Hani Al Qahtani - King Faisal University - SA

Hasim Altan – Sheffield University

Hassan Radoine – University of Sharjah

Jihad Awad - Ajman University - UAE

Khaled Al Sallal – UAE University

Khalfallah Boudjemaa - Mseila University - Algeria

Magda Sibley – Manchester University

Mehdi Sabet - American University of Sharjah - UAE

Mirna Nassrah - Lathiqiyyah University - Syria

Mona Helmy – Dar Al Hekma College, Jeddah SA

Nada Al Nafae - King Abdel Aziz University

Nadia Alhasani – The Petroleum Institute - UAE

Omar Khattab – Kuwait University

Paola Sassi – Oxford Brookes University – England

Rabah Saoud – Ajman University

Rami Daher – German Jordanian University & Turath

Rania Khalil – Qatar University

Samer Abu Ghazalah – Jordan University

Shatha Abu Khafajah - Hashemite University - Jordan

Vinicius M. Netto - Universidade Federal Fluminense / Brazil

Yasser Al Rajjal - German-Jordanian University – Jordan

Yasser Mahgoub – Qatar University

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Lonaard 10 2012Issue

Editorial

Critical reviews: Arab Architects Critics Association (AACA) –

Architecture and Drama: Key Notes on the Identity of Arab ArchitectureBefore Islam (in Arabic) Mashary A. Al-Naim

01

02

16

35

02

09

– (in Arabicthe section with English summary

Analytical Study of the Gated Communities in Egypt:From the Past to the Present Dalia El-Dardiry

1- Analysing Architecture, Routledge, 20102- Regional and Local Economic Development, Palgrave MacMillan, 20113- Green Urbanism, Island Press, 2000- Lessons in Post-War Reconstruction, Routledge, 20104- Survey and Repair of Traditional Buildings, Donhead, 20035- Impressionism, Prestel, 20076- Space, time, narrative, Ashgate, 20117- Metalwork and Material Culture in the Islamic World, I.B.Tauris, 20128- The Architecture of Natural Light, Thames & Hudson, 20099

1 - Vitamin Green, Phaidon, 201201 - 100 Contemporary Artists, Taschen, 20111

A Study of Traditional Built Form of Jeddahwith Reference to its Climatic Design

Mohammad Arif Kamal

The Morphology of the Traditional Arab HouseWaleed Al Sayyed

Interactive Design as a New Tool in Contemporary Green ArchitectureSamah Wakil, Hani Wadah, Ahmed Atiyyeh

Revitalizing City Memory: Conservation of the Hybrid Heritage of CairoDowntown Streets (in Arabic) Galal Abada

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Lonaard Magazine is a peer-reviewed periodical, publication of Lonaard Group in London Issue 10, Volume 2, July 2012, ISSN: 2045 - 8150

9 Lonaard - Issue 10 2012 |

THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL ARAB HOUSE

Examining courtyard and non-courtyard prototypes

Waleed Al Sayyed 1 1. Scholar, Director of Lonaard and Dar Mimar Group – London UK.

Sent for evaluation on (02 June 2012), and was approved on (12 July 2012) Abstract This paper examines a selected small number of traditional Arab houses, where a set of 88 traditional courtyard and non courtyard houses taken from secondary sources and from five different cities across the Arab world was selected for the purpose of this research within the scope to understand their morphology and their spatial organization. The paper explores the morphology of these selected houses in order to investigate the functional and spatial properties where prototypes can be classified against historic data available in the record. This simple examination is meant to provide a start for further subsequent research by means of more complicated methods to study and detect embedded social patterns that these layouts may reveal – which will follow in a subsequent paper.

1. Introduction

It is notable that buildings and settlements comprise differences between their physical layouts that can easily be spotted by means of the naked eye in terms of size, shape, or the way networks of spatial organization are connected or composed together. While some comparable differences are easy to read and grasp, other aspects of differences may prove elusive and evade easy perception, especially in the case of settlements or buildings which belong to the same region, transregion, culture or the same social context, hence appearance can be deceptive. However, despite this ability to recognize and read such obvious characteristics of spatial patterns and layouts, whether similar or different, some available and previous studies that examined the morphology of buildings have proved the existence of hidden deep social and cultural values and

factors that reveal variations across time and regions, let alone variations within the same region. These morphological differences, regardless of the building type, with social and cultural indications, reflect deep embedded codes, practices, and can indicate to strong direct association with social heritage, and most importantly strongly point to social transformations if detected over long periods of time.

For this, the study, and the comparison between settlement or building layouts, takes great importance within architectural, archaeological or social studies. Yet, the problem that manifests itself in this regard in order to retrieve social codes inherited in the physical layout cannot be solved by mere looking at the physical layout with the use of available conventional methods (i.e. description of the physical layouts). Such problematic lack of


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rigorous methodology arises in the form of the following question: how can we find the right objective methodology of compare, classify, or study buildings physical layouts, let alone understand their embedded social patterns?

It seems then that the morphology of settlements and buildings, across the world and cultures, is yet in need for more examination and investigation on deep levels of analysis using a sound informative methodology. The search for such a theory and a methodology by which scholars can study, analyze, or compare two layouts or more has been the aim of countless research papers. No method, so far, has proved to be able to provide a theoretical platform, with tools or measures, to distinguish between different layouts to track or detect, and foremost, to retrieve hidden embedded socio-cultural values, or to account for the physical differences of layouts or the physical organization of space with its association to the multi intertwined factors that shape morphological structures.

It is not the aim or scope of this paper to review previous available studies and efforts in this search for the methodology, though it can be noted that some available studies have paved the way in this direction. To mention but a few, we find Henry Glassie’s novel approach to study the houses of Virginia, as he argued that we can understand the mentality of the designer and those who built it (Glassie, 1975, 1990). Other studies like Amos Rapoport associated the form of the house with a strong cultural association, hence pointing to hidden values embedded within the layout that can, if studied carefully, reveal social and cultural codes to differentiate this house from another (Rapoport, 1996: 46). Such studies and others managed to put forward theories on the evolution of building types with reference to culture or identity, hence sustaining theoretical studies that can be used by historical, ethnic, archaeological or social studies. While On the other hand, it was notable that another type of studies was more concerned with documenting and archiving layouts of buildings that served mostly conservation studies.

Therefore, while not underestimating such efforts to account for, document, or record the physical layouts of settlements and buildings, as they provide the raw material for further research, the question of finding the methodology to study the morphology of buildings and settlements remained unanswered and the search was still on.

It was until 1984, when Bill Hillier and his colleagues at the Bartlett School in London published the first book that put forward a theory to explain the social logic of space (Hillier, and Hanson, 1984). The book summed up their constant efforts to understand space in architecture, as they put forward a novel approach to quantify tabulate and measure qualities of space in buildings and settlements in a theory that associated the changing patterns on buildings and settlements with social patterns, and argued the existence of social logic embedded deep in the physical layouts of space. According to this theory, Hillier explains that social codes and norms can be retrieved by analyzing spatial patterns and layout, and by comparing them taking size differences into account, where results can strongly point towards better understanding of how space is shaped and directly connected with social practices (Hillier et al, 1984).

An elaboration of this theory and research was then followed with the publication of ‘Space is the Machine’ in 1996, which has become a major reference to understand Space Syntax theory (Hillier, 1996). Space Syntax was found to be the most up-to-date theory to extract socio-cultural themes embedded in the physical layouts of buildings and settlements. The tools and measures introduced and explained in Space is the Machine served to date countless investigations to better understand, and most importantly, differentiate layouts that looked at first sight deceptively similar. Moreover, the theory and its tools can be utilized to answer questions about the extent to which heterogeneous layouts can be similar or different locally and regionally.

Against this introduction, this paper is concerned to look at a sample of Arab traditional houses across cities with the aim to examine their

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morphological structure to attempt to recognize certain ‘prototypes’ that may exist in each city, where differences can be found on the distribution of functions with reference to zoning. This elementary exercise aims to introduce, at a very basic level, the morphological characteristics of the Arab house, courtyard and non courtyard. It is not, however, the purpose of this paper, to go beyond this simple purpose to identify possible prototypes that may exist among houses of the same city.

Therefore, the methodology in this paper determines the structure which will be to introduce and discuss the selection of a traditional sample of Arab houses across different cities, then to discuss the sources, the availability of data, the criteria and justification of the selection. Due to the large number of traditional houses, we have selected some cases for this paper to represent morphological and typological variations across the sample in each city.

1.1 The choice of the sample

Looking for a sample of traditional Arab courtyard and non courtyard houses relied mainly on available research and studies conducted by western and Arab scholars, or the publications of local or foreign research centres. Traditional Arab houses are seldom to be found exclusively documented in large numbers in one particular publication, which is one main obstacle for any research, let alone this one. However, some known books published early in the 20th century are known to exhibit a reasonable sample of houses to form a raw material for studies on houses. Among those, we find orientalists’ studies like Cresswell Revault, or Lewcock, where the houses of Cairo Tunis, and Sana’a were documented. In addition to those, the World of Islam Trust, the Royal Scientific Research Society in Jordan, the municipality of Baghdad, or Aga Khan have added more publications where layouts of houses and data on houses can be found. Such organizations were the few which have contributed to the studies on the Arab house, as they subjected some Arab cities, with distinguished heritage, to extensive research and analysis, hence the choice of their publications for this research.

In addition to available data on the record, a field survey was carried out in parts of the Arab world with unstable political conditions or where houses in reality were either deteriorating, or not documented enough with lack of data or drawn layouts, made it out of the question to consider houses in some cities. Therefore the task of finding a reasonable sample was faced by difficulties, the choice of houses and cities was largely determined at the time of preparing this study with the availability of material, hence the study had to rely on secondary sources in some cities.

1.1.1 Selecting a sample and the justification of the selection

In order to form a reasonable sample that allow to explore similarities and differences and study the existence of prototypes of Arab houses across cities, the following criteria for the selection would be ideal to achieve these aims: First, to select a sample of houses as diverse as possible across the Arab world; second, to select as many houses from one city or region, to allow for exploring regional and transregional similarities or differences; third, to select a sample which contains houses that are morphologically different at first sight, in other words, a sample that contains, for example courtyard and non-courtyard houses; and fourth, to select a sample which contains houses that vary in terms of size.

The extent to which these ideal criteria for finding such a sample were successful was greatly influenced by: First, the availability of quality data; second, the inability to find sufficient evidence to relate non-labelled spaces to their actual functions, especially in small houses, where spaces are suspected to be allocated for more than one function, or in other cases where many spaces have no specific function, which is the case in many traditional houses in North Africa; third, in some cities, no more than one or two, or at best few, houses were found to be documented. Therefore, some cities were not included for this reason. While not constituting anything like a scientific sample, the range of superficial similarities and differences in the overall sample seems to give the


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sufficient scope to test ideas and allows to pose research questions.

Therefore, the sample, since secondary sources were being used, is necessarily imperfect and dependant as it is on the existence in the literature of reasonable samples of accurate plans supported by good functional information. In fact, it turned out to be possible to construct a rather good sample with a core of houses of roughly comparable morphology, size and date from two different regions of the Arab world, Tunis and Baghdad, and sample of houses with either differences in manifest morphology, (tower houses from Sana’a), size (mainly small houses from Salt) and time (historic houses from Cairo). Similarities in domestic space culture across such a heterogeneous sample would be likely to indicate some degree of common culture at a strong level; while differences would indicate that where built forms changed, as they do, then domestic space cultures were likely to as well.

1.1.2 Variations in the Morphology of the Traditional Arab House

It may appear that the Traditional Arab houses taken from five different cities across the Arab world is too heterogeneous. But from the methodological point of view they present a great deal of difficulty to deal with different house sizes (where some Salt houses show only few space cells, while others like in Cairo are more elaborate complexes), various regional space labels, and even different morphologies (courtyard, non-courtyard). It was then decided that all house plans studied to be introduced in the form of zoning diagrams showing features, regardless of their local domestic name which varies from one region to another (the Qa'a in Cairean houses, is the Multi function room in Salt houses, is the Mafraj in Sana'a houses, is the T-shaped Maqsura in Tunis, and is the Tarma in Baghdad houses) as sectors within the house. For this, several main sectors were defined; the private sector for family, which will be shown in red that includes family living, kitchen and sleeping, and the public sector allocated for males and guests which is shown in green. This will help to clarify the house

morphology across regions and to show how similar or different the morphology of the houses may be across regions in this first simple investigation.

The sample will be presented in ascending order of average size of houses in cities. The review will contain sources of information, general data on the houses, and an account on the morphology of typical houses in each city.

2. Salt houses / Jordan

The Salt selected sample comprises 44 small houses. They have been surveyed by the Royal Scientific Research Society (RSRS) in Jordan in 1987 and published in ‘Traditional Houses of Salt’, which is the source of this study. The houses were built between the 19th and the 20th century and mostly contain a courtyard. They have one, two or three storeys. (RSRS) has classified the houses, based either on spatial layouts or structural systems, as follows: Firstly, courtyard houses. Under this type there exist variations such as: a house with central courtyard, a house with a courtyard surrounded by semi-covered spaces, a house with side courtyard, or a house with more than one courtyard; secondly, non-courtyard houses that contain a central lobby area; thirdly, one single-unit houses built on certain structural system; and fourthly, cave houses built in the mountain. The houses chosen for this study represent all the above, but not all houses surveyed by RSRS to avoid repetition.

Salt houses, according to RSRS study, are found to exhibit spaces for one or more function. Non-courtyard houses contain a central hall for guest reception and family gathering (Ed., 1987: 19). They also accommodate various functions such as male living and guests’ reception, female living, sleeping and services. However, due to the small size of some houses, many functions take place in one multi-functional space. If the house contained more than one multipurpose space of that kind this in most cases is most likely to indicate the existence of more than one family in the house, especially when the house is big enough to

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accommodate allocated rooms for living and sleeping.

This simply means an extended family where the grown up child who is recently marries is likely to live with his father's family in one room and share other spaces in the house like the kitchen, reception, and family living while using his room for sleeping (Ed., 1987: 25). However, this type of extended family living in one house is rapidly vanishing from the social milieu of Salt city and in Jordan due to radical changes in social lifestyle, education, and the tendency to lead a private lifestyle away from the old generation (the scholar).

Out of the 44 houses we selected, for the sake of introducing the sample in this part of this paper, four cases that show the morphological differences, where these cases are thought to represent the variations that can be found in Salt houses.

The first type (Fig 1/a) is an example of a Salti small house with two rooms, a small kitchen and services. Rooms in such small houses are used often the way the household wishes and according to emergent needs, thus these spaces can be best defined as multi-functional spaces. It is often the case that one room is kept for formal reception of

guests and male usage, while the other is reserved for the household private use.

This linear arrangement of such small houses is often dictated by the harsh topography of the city, hence all spaces open onto a front yard, which acts as the entrance to all spaces.

Another common type with similar size but different morphology is shown in (Fig.2). In this type, which comprises a courtyard, a multifunctional space, a bedroom and a kitchen- the front courtyard is more defined and dictates one option of movement to the central space in the house leading to all other spaces, unlike what we have found in the previous type.

In this type, due to the limited number of spaces and the existence of this central space in the house, functions allocated to spaces can vary in this central space, which is a multi functional room, according the social activities needed. In other words, when the family does not expect or have guests, they can use this space for living and to get access during the day to the courtyard, whilst leaving the farthest room in this case reserved for the very private usage of the family.

Fig 1/b: Zoning diagram of the functions within the house. The outside courtyard has direct relation to all other spaces.

(Color codes in the diagram above: Grey = Courtyard & main entrance, Green = public zone, Red = private zone for family, Blue = services)

Fig 1/a: House type I in Salt. The plan consists of irregular courtyard, two multipurpose spaces, and services.

Key to space names: (MP = Multipurpose space, C= Courtyard, services, entrance)


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In this type the morphology of the house dictates the function of the multipurpose space in relation to all other spaces in the house.

The third type shown in (Fig 3) is a more elaborate type of the first one, where access to the house occurs via a front yard, but in this case there are two options: The first leads to a shallow space from the outside and segregated from all other spaces in the house. This room is reserved for male and guest reception and more or less similar to what we have found in the first type.

The second option of movement manifests itself through the front yard , where inhabitants can enter a central hall that acts as a private family living from which access to all other private spaces can happen. This central Hall is defined, as the RSRS has noted, as the main feature of this type of Salti Houses. It is distinguished for its architectural style and construction method using I-section beams, high ceiling, and pointed arch windows (Ed., 1987, 33).

Fig. 2: Type II in Salt city in Jordan. (Above: Plan) (Above right: diagram showing functional relations in the house).

(Key to space names in Plan: MP=Multipurpose space, K=Kitchen, C= Courtyard, Br= Bedroom, ter = terrace, Entrance)

Fig. 2-b: (Color codes in the diagram above: Grey = Courtyard & main entrance, Green = public zone, Red = private zone for family, Blue = services)

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The fourth type (Fig. 4) has a different morphology in the sense that it has a rectangular-plan with a central courtyard from which all other spaces can be approached. In this type an external stair leads to the courtyard from which one can either go to a multi-functional room or to family spaces. The courtyard in this house, as in the previous ones,

acts as a connector between spaces in the house. However, its central location in this house makes it necessary to pass through the courtyard to move from one space to another.

This type is more likely to accommodate more than one family or an extended family due to the possibility of having a segregated room that can act as a private living and sleeping room for the married son, while other common rooms and services can still be shared with his family.

Fig. 3: Type III of Salt houses. Above: Plan, and relations between functions.

(Key to space: MP=Multipurpose space, K=Kitchen, H=Hall (family living), Br= Bedroom, L=living (Male and guests), C=Court).

(Color codes in the diagram above: Grey = Courtyard & main entrance, Green = public zone, Red = private zone for family, Blue = services).

Fig. 4: Type IV of Salt houses, plan and relations between functions.

(Key to spaces: MP=Multipurpose space, K=Kitchen, C= Courtyard, Br = Bedroom, B= Bathroom, co=corridor).



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These four types reveal morphological differences at this level of investigation where movement from one space to another or the composition of spaces in terms of permeability and access are different which exhibit various social daily lifestyles and social encounter between different users and inhabitants.

3. Baghdad houses

The selected houses from Baghdad have been preserved and documented by the Municipality of Baghdad, as well as John Warren and Ihsan Fathi. ’Traditional Houses of Baghdad’ published in 1982 is the source of the houses for this study, which were built in the 19th century. Warren and Fathi have accounted for the traditional Baghdadi courtyard house and defined its typical spaces.

The houses mainly consist of two storeys and only one courtyard. It is notable that the houses are accessible from one entrance only, which leads the visitor through a series of sub-spaces before reaching the central courtyard.

The Baghdadi house is structured vertically with spaces on different levels in relation to the courtyard. This verticality, according to Warren, is ascribed to the density of population and the restrictions in land area in Baghdad (Warren, 1982: 100). Warren also notes that in contrast to country houses, which are structured horizontally, urban houses often contain two or more levels (Warren, 1982: 101).

The following features acquire their social and functional properties due to their direct relation with the courtyard. These spaces are (Fig. 5): first, the indirect square or octagonal domed entrance called dolan, which leads through a series of sub-spaces to the courtyard (Warren, 1982:50).; second, the courtyard, which rises on two floors, its height is almost as twice its length, hence providing shade from the heat of the sun during the day, therefore, Warren argues that most of the features in the Baghdadi house have climatic value (Warren, 1982: 102); third, the talar; a colonnaded iwan on the ground level that opens onto the courtyard; fourth, the tarma; a colonnaded gallery in the upper floor; fifth, the ursi; a room on the upper floor with sash windows onto the courtyard; sixth, the Sirdab, or as semi-basement called neem, which can be found in some houses, both are brick vaulted rooms, which gain ventilation and light from the courtyard.

From the sample of Baghdad houses we have selected for this review two typical examples. The first has a square plan with a central square courtyard (Figure 6), the second has a rectangular plan with main longitudinal courtyard (Figure 7).

Fig. 5: Section and Sectional Isometric of a Baghdadi house (After Warren-Fathi, 1982)

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The first typical house (Figure 6) can be approached via a side entrance that leads to the courtyard.

The ground floor contains mainly spaces for guest reception, services, in addition to the tallar used for family sitting, which opens directly on the courtyard. The first floor contains family spaces. This segregation between the two areas, according to Al-Azzawi, is seen as an aspect of privacy (Al-Azzawi, 1969: 30). The location of the tarma, ursi on the first floor (See the sections in Fig. 5), Al-Azzawi argues, help the family to sit behind the wooden screens to enjoy the courtyard without being seen (Ibid.).

The other typical house, presented in Fig. 7, has a rectangular courtyard which is not central. The ground floor contains: the entrance, the courtyard, guest reception, vertical circulation and private spaces for the use of family in the far end of the plan. The first floor contains spaces for family use and their close visitors. It is notable that the courtyard separated the public domain and the private domain in both floors (Fig. 7). The location of the courtyard in the back of the house makes it private for the family use unlike the other type.

It is also notable that due to the existence of two vertical stairs that connect the two floors, the courtyard does not connect with all surrounding spaces in the house either on the same floor on in

Fig. 6: Typical Baghdadi house plans.

Fig. 6 /b: Functional zoning within the house.



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different floors, unlike the previous type or Salt typical houses we reviewed earlier. This shows that even at this level of investigation through the morphological structure of houses certain similarities and differences can be spotted, either on the level of the general layout or in relation to the courtyard.

Fig. 7: Plan and functional zoning within the house.


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4. Tunis houses

The sample consists of 24 courtyard houses, which were published in ‘Palais et Demeures de Tunis’ (Revault, 1967, 1971). Most of the houses were built in the 19th century except few which date back to the18th century. They generally contain one central courtyard with few exceptions with two courtyards. They are structured horizontally with one storey and one entrance, but some have more than one entrance.

The morphology of the Tunisian house has been accounted for by Basim Hakim (Hakim, 1986: 126-127). Hakim describes four main features that the Tunisian house consists of (Fig. 8): One, is the entrance. It contains mainly series of other spaces like: a- Driba (a primary entrance vestibule or private lane which allows the Skifa to be further away from the street), b- Skifa, c- Dukkana, d-Ruqba (these are all local names for the series of spaces that form the entrance). Second is the courtyard, which is usually in the centre of the house surrounded by a colonnaded gallery from one side, two, three or four. Third are the Rooms: a- Bit Trida (the most common room type), b- Bit bel-kbu u mkasar (the primary room in a rich or middle class house). The room is T-Shaped and is divided into sections; a central alcove called Kbu; and two small rooms located on each side of the Kbu called Maqsura used as bedrooms. Fourth, the services: a- Matbkha (Kitchen), b- Kommaniya (Pantry), and c- Mihad (Toilet). In a general account of the morphology of the Tunisian house, Sladen notes that the Tunisian house has a flat roof, the staircases leading up may only be used by women to dry clothes after washing them (Sladen, 1906: 462). In the city where roofs adjoin, the ladies are said to exchange visits with their neighbours by walking along the roofs (Sladen, 1906: 460). If the house has two courts, the back one is used only by women. Therefore, Sladen adds, it had all the men’s rooms except those of the master of the house opening off the front court, to which adult males but the master of the house had admission (Sladen, 1906: 462).

Fig. 8: Hakim's analysis on the morphology of Tunisian houses (Hakim, 1986)


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Two main types of the Tunisian house can be found: The first (Fig. 9) is a relatively small one that consists of one storey with a central courtyard. The second (Fig. 10) is a rather larger type with a courtyard which is not central.

The first has a simple plan- form. House type I (Fig. 9) can be approached via a side-entrance that leads through a colonnaded arcade to the central courtyard. This arcade surrounds the courtyard from two sides acting as a buffer zone between the public domain and the courtyard at one end, and between the private domain and the courtyard on the other. The courtyard opens directly onto the private domain on the other two sides, while services are located on the farthest corners from the public domain.

Apart from this general zoning, the house contains these main functional features in each domain. In the public domain it has a T-shaped room. According to Revault, this room he calls Bit bel kbu u l-mkasar, which is used for guest reception (Revault, 1967: 268). Moreover, Sladen suggests that this reception room is where strangers can transact their business with the master of the house without being admitted deep into the house (Sladen, 1906: 457). Therefore, from Fig. 9 we find that it is as close as possible to the entrance. The private domain contains a typical rectangular room, which Revault refers to as Bit Al-Trida (Revault, 1967: 268). This room is used by family members for daily living and for sleeping as well. In other words it acts as a multi-functions room for the family.

Fig. 9: Typical example of a Tunisian house.

Above: Plan of the house, with central courtyard, and the T-shaped room.

Fig. 9/b: Typical example of a Tunisian house.

Above: the zoning of functions in the house.

(Color codes in the diagram below: Grey = Courtyard & main entrance, Green = public zone, Red = private zone for family, Blue = services).

Waleed Al Sayyed


The house contains three of this room type around the courtyard, two of which are open directly onto the courtyard. The private domain for the family contains also services such as the kitchen, storage areas and the bathroom.

The other type (Fig. 10) is more complicated by two means: First, it is bigger with more functional spaces. Second, it is spread beyond the main courtyard in no particular geometrical form. The house contains features such as the courtyard, the T-shaped room, and the rectangular chamber. The public domain is located around the entrance. In comparison with the former type, services in this house are located in the farthest end from the entrance with the courtyard surrounded by an arcade from three sides not two. Also, the T-shaped room lies within the private domain while the rectangular one for guests is closer to the entrance to allow, as Sladen suggests, the households to carry on with their daily life without much interruption (Sladen, 1906: 462).

Fig. 10: Typical example of the Tunisian house.

Left: Plan of the house, which shows the central courtyard surrounded by Riwaqs from three sides the T-shaped room, and the indirect entrance of the house. Above right: the zoning of functions in the house.

Above: the zoning of functions in the house.



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5. Sana’a houses

The World of Islam Festival Trust has surveyed the traditional architecture of Sana’a and published ‘Sana’a: an Arabian Islamic city’ in 1988, which is the source of this study.

Sana’a houses have an average height of five storeys ranging from two to eight. The houses are non-courtyard houses, and were built in the 20th century. Sana'a house has one main entrance, with some exceptions which have two or three entrances.

The typical house in Sana’a is called the ‘tower house’, which according to Varanda and others, probably evolved from the watch-tower. It is built using earth, stone, baked brick, or a combination of these materials with an interior staircase that allows vertical expansion as more space is needed (Varanda, 1982: 80, Evin, 1983: 18). The house is notably narrow in relation to its height. Structurally, as Lewcock notes, the bedecked houses from five to nine storeys high are held together by the strength of the single staircase. They are generally occupied by a single family. According to Lewcock, the average number of people living in such a house is seven (Lewcock, 1983 a: 79).

The typical house of Sana’a is structured vertically. Varanda, Lewcock and others, note that functional spaces are located in this vertical order (Fig. 11): In the ground floor there is the entrance hall, or (dihliz) with store rooms, and stables for house animals (Varanda, 1982: 87, Wald, 1996: 81). In the first floor there is the biggest room used for family gatherings and for reception of well intentioned visitors; it is spread with carpets and mats, and one may enter only after removing one’s shoes. On the floor along the walls are cushions for sitting on, stuffed with cotton, lighter cushions are also provided so that people can rest their backs and heads against the wall – and windows are low so that the seated people can look through (Varanda, 1982: 92, Lewcock, 1983 a: 73). On the second floor is the diwan where family celebrates weddings, births, and religious festivals (Lewcock, 1983 a: 71-80). The third floor contains smaller rooms for women and children, as well as the

kitchen in some houses or, according to Lewcock, can be in the second floor in others (Lewcock, 1983-a: 455).

Varanda points out that this floor is traditionally called the harem (from haram means ‘forbidden’) where men who are not close family members may not enter (Varanda, 1982: 92). On the upper floor on the flat roof is the mafraj, or men’s living, where the householder retires alone or with friends, to smoke a water pipe and chew qat. The mafraj has coloured windows on three sides to enjoy the views (Varanda, 1982: 94, Wald, 1996: 82).

Fig. 11: Typical section in a house in Sana'a, showing elements in each floor. (Lewcock, 1983)

Fig. 12: The composition of a group of houses in Sana'a around a common courtyard. (Lewcock, 1983)

Waleed Al Sayyed


Writers about the house in Sana’a such as Lewcock, Evin, and others note another horizontal distribution of functions based on sun movement. For example, circulation and services areas face north facade, whereas the best rooms face south

Fig. 11: Typical house in Sana'a. Plan and zoning of functions.

This tower house consists of 5 storeys. Each plan contains a central stair that divides two zones on the same floor. The public domain is limited to the second and third floors, but close guests can be admitted to the top floor in the male domain (the mafraj).

Right: the zoning of functions in the house.



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(Lewcock, 1983 a: 79, Varanda, 1982: 85). However, in large houses, room use frequently changes according to the season, allowing people to sleep in the coolest rooms in summer (Varanda, 1982: 274, Evin, 1983: 18). Such a composition can be noted if we study a typical example. For example, in Sana’a house in Fig. 11 although guests are allowed up to the second floor, they can access the mafraj without interrupting the private domain due to the segregation of domains via the staircase. The general composition of the group of houses is unique as houses face onto narrow alleyways, sometimes onto a small square (Fig.12). In this common space, there are often fruit gardens, property of the nearest mosque (Varanda, 1982: 53, Lewcock, 1983 a: 7, 1983 b: 96-101).

6. Cairo houses

The houses of Cairo date back to the Mamluki period (12th century A.D). They resemble the high-class residences at that time built for wealthy merchants and princes, except the Fustat houses which date back to the 10th century. The Aga Khan for Islamic Architecture had surveyed and published many books that documented the architectural heritage in Cairo where data on these houses can be found available.

The source of this study is ‘Palais et Maisons du Caire’ (Revault, 1982 a, 1982 b). The houses are notably bigger in size compared to Salt or Baghdad houses and contain courtyards. However, some contain three courtyards. Only one house has no courtyard which has internal halls instead. These houses have one entrance but some houses have two. They consist of 2 storeys in general, but Fustat houses have one storey only. Some European travelers have accounted for the houses of Cairo. Some depicted rich and official residences while others described modest homes, which were poor, low, flat with thatch-roofed. According to Wiet, the wealthier homes had four or five stories; the lower part of the building was made of cut stone or brick, the upper part of very light wood, palm fronds, reeds, and earth.

Instead of roofs, they had terraces where the inhabitants cooled off in the evening and where some persons slept in the summer. The houses had very simple facades and bare walls with no decorations. Their main ornament facing the street was the ‘mashrabiyya’. These mashrabiyyas helped inhabitants to view the street without being seen (Wiet, 1964: 87). The Cairean house consists of the following main features (Fig. 13): One is the courtyard, which is mostly central, and irregular in shape; second is the Qa’a, which is an internal space for reception of guests or for family living, usually rises on two floors and covered by wooden dome for lighting and ventilation; third, is the Iwan, a semi-covered space that opens directly to the courtyard on the same level; forth, is the Maqa’ad, which is similar to the iwan, but opens onto the courtyard from the upper level.

One of the most remarkable examples of the houses of Cairo is the house of Gamal Eddin Al-Dahabi (Fig. 14). It accommodates the previously mentioned features. The house contains two floors, and a central courtyard. Being an urban house, as it is located on two main roads, the house has therefore two entrances. The public and the private domains within the house are located as follows: the ground floor is mainly reserved for services and public reception, whereas the upper floor is purely private. Therefore, in this big Cairean house, the division between the public and the private domains has been achieved vertically, as in the Baghdad house, unlike Salt or Tunis houses.

Figure 13: Typical section in a house in Cairo.

Waleed Al Sayyed


The plan consists of a central rectangular courtyard, despite the irregular shape of the plan- that can be accessed from two entrances on the ground level. Functions on the upper level surround and overlook the courtyard.

Fig. 14: Typical house in Cairo, ground and first floors. Above: Ground and First Floor Plans. Fig. 14/b: Typical house in Cairo, ground and

first floors.

Above: Functional zoning in the house.

The zoning of the functions in the house reveal that the ground floor is allocated for public domain and for services (storage, kitchen, etc.), whereas the upper floor contains the private domain.


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Conclusion

This brief little exercise in this paper has shown clearly that a small sample of traditional Arab houses across different cities can reveal variations across cities and in each city. The houses in these five different cities, not only reveal prototypes, but also show that spaces can take different names and functions can occur to reflect variations in the social pattern across cities in the Arab world.

It is apparent that this heterogeneous sample proved, as one may expect, to have considerable morphological differences locally and regionally. While the small houses of Salt comprised four different types: one type has two main rooms arranged in relation to a courtyard in which access occurs through the courtyard only, another type has a central space from which access occurs and so on, Bagdad houses have shown more than one type, so did Tunis, Yemen and Cairo houses.

These morphological differences manifest themselves not only on the level of the labeling of similar spaces as opposed to the functions, but it seems that the spatial organization of houses across cities can be said to have deep structural variations. This is quite clear if we look at the location of functional spaces in the house in relation to the courtyard: in some cases we have seen a central courtyard, while in others an off centre courtyard, which has deep impact on the way social interaction between inhabitants and visitors takes place, and this in turn affects the relations between the public and the private zones in the house. In other cases we have seen quite different composition of the house altogether in non courtyard houses; as in Sana’a houses. So differences can be detected within courtyard houses on the one hand, and can be seen also between courtyard and non courtyard houses on the other hand, and between all houses if taken as one group, which means that prototypes found in this study can be a starting point to ask questions about whether we have one mainstream tradition that can reflect unity in the social practices or can lead to another line of investigation that support an argument about many Arab traditions across regions and transregions..

This first simple exercise to track down potential prototypes has been conducted using a simple methodology by means of visual comparison between physical layouts, but, as we have stated at the beginning of this paper, a more rigorous methodology is needed to extract more meanings and possible embedded values, social codes, and underlying concepts, which opens the door wide for further research, and potential subsequent paper(s) based on this research and line of investigation.

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Dammam on ‘Islamic Architecture and Urbanism’, edited by Aydin Germen. Daum, Werner, (1988), ‘Yemen : 3000 years of Art and Civilization in Arabia Felix’, first edition, Penguin- Verlag, Frankfurt Dodd, Stewart, (1946), ‘Social Relations in the Middle East’, American University of Beirut. Ed., (1988-d), ‘The Architecture of the House’, Proceedings of the Agha Khan sumposium in Zanzibar, Tnazania. Ed., (1990), ‘Architectural Heritage in Jordan: Salt City’, Royal Scientific Center publication.(in Arabic). Ed., (1987), ‘Traditional houses of Salt city’, publication of the royal scientific society of Jordan. Evin, A., (1983) ‘Yemen: Economic Development and architectural change’, P7, in ‘Development and urban Metamorphosis’ Vol. 2: Yemen Background papers, Proceedings of seminar Eight in the series Architectural Transformations in the Islamic World, held in Sana’a , Yemen. Freeman , G., (1981) 'The Beauty of Cairo', E-W Publications, London. Gardiner, S, (1975), ‘The Evolution of the House’, Constaple, London. Glassie, H., (1975) ‘Folk Housing in Middle Virginia’, 1st ed., The University of Tennessee Press. Glassie, H., (1990), ‘Vernacular Architecture and Society’, PP 271-284 in ‘Vernacular Architecture’ edited by Mete Turan, 1st ed., Avebury. Hillier, B & Hanson, J, (1984), ‘The social logic of space’, CUP, Cambridge. Hillier, B, (1996), ‘Space is the machine’, CUP, Cambridge. Knapp, W., (1970), ‘Tunisia’, Thames and Hudson, London. Lewcock, Ronald, (1983 a), ‘The old city of San’a’, PP 71-80, in ‘Development and urban Metamorphosis’ Vol. 1: Yemen at the cross roads,

Proceedings of seminar Eight in the series Architectural Transformations in the Islamic World, held in Sana’a , Yemen. Lewcock, R., & Serjeant, RB (1983 b),'Sana'a: an Arabian Islamic City', the World of Islam Festival Trust, Penshrust Press Ltd, England. Petherbridge, Guy, T., (1978), ‘Vernacular Architecture: The House and Society’, in ‘Architecture of the Islamic World: Its history and Social Meaning’, edited by George Michell, Thames and Hudson, London. Pidgeon (ed.), M., (1960), ‘An Anthology of Houses’, Batsford Ltd., London Rapoport, A., (1969), ‘House, Form, and Culture’, Printice Hall, London. Revault, J et al. (1982 a), ‘Palais et Maisons du Caire’, volume I, editions du CNRS, Paris.

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