مختارات من عمارة العالم العربي 1914-2014 (ص 14)

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مختارات من عمارة العالم العربي 1914-2014 (ص 14)

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as to preserve privacy, was often used as a storage space and asa
private majlis where male guests were received. In some settlements,
it was common for first floors to be extended over the street to link to
the neighboring house opposite. Such a room bridging a street was
called a sabat; this not only provided an increase in private living
space, but alse additional shaded areas for the streets.
Available building materials in the local context usually deter-
mined architectural form: for instance, in settlements along the
coast, readily available coral stone and gypsum were often used for
constructing walls, along with sun-dried adobe. Poor families often
lived in barasti huts, which were simple structures, made from date
palm fronds. Further inland, adobe deposits which could be found
along the wadis or dry riverbeds, was used as a basic building mate-
rial for walls and ceilings; these were supported by strong beams
made from palm trunks. Adebe was not only in plentiful supply as a
local building material, it also improved the indoor climate because
of its natural insulation properties and its ability to absorb air mois-
ture. The location of narrow rectangular openings positioned slightly
above the floor or just below the ceiling served to maintain constant
airflow and cooled the indoor temperature. This system of natural
ventilation was perfected by the introduction of wind towers; these
functional structures were up to fifteen meters in height with at
least two separate chambers: one for catching the wind currents and
one for releasing the air. Although architectural design was mainly
characterized by such adaptations to climatatic conditions, there
was also widespread use of ornamental features such as wooden
screens and crenulated roofs. Such decorative elements could differ
from region to region but were uniform within individual settlements.
In addition to the Ottoman-influenced urban houses of Jeddah,
the most notable examples of the pre-oil era are the Seif Palace in
Kuwait and Bayt Burj al-Riyah in Dubai, The prominent location of
the Seif Palace at the waterfront of Kuwait City made it one of the
first coastal landmarks in the region. The wind tower house, Bayt
Burj al-Riyah, is located in the Bastakiya district and shows distine-
tive traditional elements. It is built around a courtyard, with two
floors indicating that it belonged to a wealthy merchant family. Its
foundations were constructed of masonry blocks, the upper level
was constructed using columns of petrified coral blocks, the roof
structure was made of wooden beams and palm fronds, and the wind
towers were located above the major living spaces.
Oil Architecture: Petrochemical Dollars
From the 1930s to the 1990s
Oil production began on the Arabian Peninsula in 1938 when the first
oil fields were discovered in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and
on the island of Bahrain, during explorations conducted by British oil
companies and adventurers. No other region of the world is as rich
in oil reserves as the Arabian Peninsula; approximately 50 per cent
of all currently known oil resources are located there. The largest
single oil field, the Ghawar Oil Field, with a length of 240 kilometers
and a width of 35 kilometers, was found in the eastern province of
Saudi Arabia. Although the first oil flelds were allocated to British
and American oil companies in the mid-1920s, the oil boom and its
inevitable effects on society and economy, only began after World
War Two. 1
Countries on the peninsula began to develop into independent
nation-states a few decades after the commencement of the oil
boom. The precise area and borders of each country's territories
were demarcated sometime during the mid-1950s. At the beginning
of the twentieth century, the western part of the Arabian Peninsula
and most of its population were still under the control and influence
of the Ottoman Empire. Only the settlements along the trade route
to India were under the protection of Britain and its political allies.
After World War One, the poweriul Al Saud tribe of the Nejd succeeded
in uniting various Arab tribes and factions, in a concerted effort to
liberate the peninsula from Turkish hegemony. In 1932, the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, incorporating the Hejaz, the northern Asir, the Nejd
and the Eastern Province, was founded under the leadership of the Al
Saud tribe and its astute leader, Abdul-Aziz bin Saud.
Flushed with success, the Al Saud rulers harbored ambitions of
annexing the neighboring coastal sheikhdoms. However, the attempt
to unify the Arabian Peninsula under the flag of Saudi Arabia failed
due to the opposition of the emirs in control of the coastal Trucial
States (later the United Arab Emirates), who were fearful of losing
their land, power and influence. in this aspect, they were supported by
the contracts and treaties that had been signed with their longstand-
ing protector, Great Britain. in 1961, Kuwait was the first sheikhdom
to become an independent state; this was soon followed by Bahrain.
Qatar and the Trucial States parted ways in 1971 after their attempt
at a unified entity failed; thus Qatar rejected the opportunity to
become the eighth Arab Emirate. With the exception of Yemen and
the Sultanate of Oman, the new Gulf coastal nation-states were
founded as oligarchies, based on the tribal hierarchy of ruling families
in each country: future successors are members of, and appointed
by, the ruling family. Economic and political cooperation among the
countries and emirates was not a major political priority until 1990,
when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Then, all countries, apart from Yemen,
joined forces to strengthen the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
initially founded in 1981 in order to unify regional foreign policies and
defend common interests.
In tandem with increasing oil exports, an intense and accelerat-
ing process of industrialization began in the Peninsula in the 1970s;
this industrialization was initially limited to a number of generally
oversized projects and was the beginning of a short-lived industrial
revolution lasting no more than three or four decades, In addition to
aluminum and copper smelting industries, numerous dry docks and
petrochemical plants were constructed. The new building industry
started to boom and required vast investments from the state, as well
as ambitious local entrepreneurs and shareholders. At first, major
infrastructure projects such as streets, energy infrastructure, desali-
nation plants, airports and harbors were the main focus of public
investment; eventually, however, after this first stage of industrial
and infrastructural development, investment became more directed
toward establishing industries designed to help decrease the need
for the import of basic commodities such as food, furniture and
building materials. The industrial praduction of other non-essential
consumer goods, such as plastics and fertilizers, was the last stage in
the so-called industrial revolution. Most industries in the region were
based directly or indirectly on oil and gas production and its profits.
However, almost all the other elements needed by industry had to be
imported, for example, labor, various raw materials and trade licenses
and permits. This meant that industry in the Peninsula often had to
rely on public subsidies mainly derived from oil exports.
The introduction and development of modern infrastructure led
to a rapid transformation process in most oil cities, wherein the for-
mer compact town model with its clearly delineated boundaries was
replaced by a new ever-expanding agglomeration of peripheries and
outskirts. The inland or coastal topography also had a major impact
on general land-use decisions: wind direction has led to the establish-
ment of industrial areas in the south and, with them, poor residential
areas occupied by substandard and badly maintained worker camps
and accommodation. On the other, more salubrious side of towns,
large areas were transformed into suburbs, predominantly for the
local population and upper-income expatriate groups. Airports soon
developed into important regional and global hubs and therefore busi-
nesses as well as administrative buildings soon lined up along main
roads, thus linking them to old centers and new facilities. Because of
limited accessibility by vehicles, former core centers gradually lost
their function and attraction as main commercial districts and were
soon abandoned by local residents and entrepreneurs. Businesses
and high-end markets were gradually replaced by multi-purpose com-
mercial developments sprouting along newly built airport roads, The
first shopping malls were built along the urban periphery and due to
their attractive, modern air-conditioned environments and accessi-
bility along main roads, they have become not only new marketplaces
but also the most significant and widely used public leisure spaces.
Generally, the oil city can be understood in terms of three major
areas — the old city core, new business districts along growth cor-
ridors and the suburban outskirts. The largest part of the urban area
of an oil city is occupied by the suburbs that are typically structured
within a system of streets and highways arranged in a rigid geometri-
cal grid. The most common residential typology in oil cities became
the walled two-story villa built on a square or rectangular plot. For
the most part, the old city core remained a mixed-use center with the
expansion and reconstruction of old market areas for lower income
locals and expatriate groups. In addition, foreign workers were often
accommodated either in the city core or in fringe areas nearby, where
multi-story apartment buildings were constructed to accommodate
them. As a result, the densest spaces of oil cities tend to be found in
these old core areas. In contrast, the mix of high-rise and low-rise
typologies in the suburbs and outskirts, due to privacy concerns, was
generally restricted.
While there have been different movements and trends within
this 60-year period, a number of notable examples can be selected
to highlight various isms, primarily centered on striking a balance
between tradition and modernity while endeavoring to meet envi-
ronmental, socio-cultural, and contextual constraints. In Kuwait,
the water towers evoke high symbolism due to the reference they
make to the ideals of humanity and technology that are signified by
the globe and the rocket. On a square site, the National Museum
represents an efficient response to climate with an intervention
that comprises four buildings, rectangular in plan and irregular
in their massing, set around a central garden and linked to each
other through bridged galleries and a covered atrium. The National
Assembly is inspired by the expansive structure of a bazaar street
and tent structure. The building was one of the first projects to intro-
duce contemporary modern design for a government building and it
has a particular significance for the first democratic movements in
the Arabian Peninsula.
In Saudi Arabia, the National Commercial Bank Headquarters
was designed in Jeddah with great attention to climatic conditions
and incorporating two important features found in traditional Islamic
architecture: natural ventilation and inward orientation. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs is designed in a manner rooted in two Islamic
‎aud‏ الجزيرة العربية
العمارة خلال قرن في شيه الجزيرة العر
‏بية

هو جزء من

مختارات من عمارة العالم العربي 1914-2014

تاريخ

2014

المنشئ

جورج عربيد