Architecture of West Asia

Architecture of Kuwait: A style unique to Kuwait, founded in the 18th century.

• Relied on maritime trade, shipbuilding, caravan trade, and the pearl industry before oil discovery.
• Oil discovery led to economic growth.
• Kuwait City was walled with five gates but has disappeared.
• Forts protected Kuwait, including the "Red Fort" at Jahra.
• Traditional building materials: rubble stone, thick mud plaster, mud brick, and sometimes Cora stone.
• Wood was rare; mangrove poles from East Africa and select woods from India were used for roofs.
• Early Kuwaiti architecture: simple, based on common sense, with artistic touches on main doors and windows.
• Houses accommodated Kuwaiti society's communal nature and were divided into separate quarters for family members.
• Central courts served as gatherings for families, common in Arab countries.
• 18th-century Kuwaiti merchant houses were built in the Ottoman style, influenced by Basra.
• Ottoman features: projecting wooden balconies with wooden screens or mashrabiya, covered wooden doorways with European motifs.
• Wind catchers and ventilation were essential because of extreme heat.

Mosques:

• Many mosques were rebuilt several times.
• Oldest mosques: Alkhamis Mosque (1772-1773) and Abd AlRazzag Mosque (1797).
• Minarets before the 9th century were small square towers with small roof canopies.

Modern Architecture:

• Mostly in the International style, but some buildings relate to Middle Eastern themes.
• Water towers: tall pointed conical spires above a spherical water tank.
• Kuwait Towers is considered Kuwait's prominent architectural achievement.
• National Assembly of Kuwait designed by Jørn Utzon, completed in 1972.

Skyscraper examples:

• Al Hamra Tower: skyscraper in Kuwait City.
• Started in 2005, completed in 2011.
• Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Ramshir and Callison.
• Tallest carved concrete skyscraper in the world, 414 m (1,358 ft).
• Utilizes wrapped glass facades (east, north, west) and brushed Jura limestone (south).
• Column-free 24-meter-tall lobby.
• National Bank of Kuwait Headquarters: in Kuwait City's financial district, 300m tall.
• Design inspired by a pearl shell, symbolic in Kuwait's history.
• Floor area of 127,000 sqm.
• Arraya Tower: Completed in 2009 in Kuwait City.
• Grade-A office structure with sixty storeys, 300 metres high (with a 45-metre spire).
• Was the tallest tower in Kuwait until Al Hamra Tower (2011).
• Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) ranked it the 4th-tallest building completed in 2009

Architecture of Bahrain:

• Traditional Bahraini architecture resembles that of its neighbors.
• Forts are of similar style to those in the Persian Gulf region; domestic architecture is unique.
• Wind towers generate natural ventilation, common in Manama and Muharraq.
• Traditional Bahraini houses: pavilions around a courtyard, often with two courtyards for men's reception and private living.
• Rooms organized seasonally, with counterparts on the roof for summer breezes.
• Lower rooms had thick walls for winter use.
• Coral rubble piers with large panels trapped warm air in summer, lined with lime and gypsum.
• Hundreds of such buildings existed, but few are functional due to lack of maintenance.
• Coral's clay core dissolves, causing cracks; yearly maintenance was essential.
• Following independence and the 1970s oil boom, Western-style office buildings were built in Manama's financial districts including the Diplomatic Area.
• Fusions of tradition and modernism, e.g., Al Zamil Tower (Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2007).

Architecture of Qatar:

• Traditional buildings are disappearing in older districts like Al Asmakh, Najada, and Old Ghanim.
• Doha in the early 20th century: tightly packed houses, narrow alleyways for shade and security.
• Houses arranged around central courtyards, semi-private spaces.
• Colonnaded verandas (liwan) provided shade and decoration.
• Majlis for entertaining visitors while keeping it private from household activities.
• Traditional building material: locally sourced limestone, packed mud, gravel, and small stones (no mortar).
• Walls susceptible to erosion, protected by gypsum-based render.
• Wooden water spouts diverted roof runoff.
• Mangrove beams wrapped in jute rope supported lintels and cross beams.
• The rope binding prevented mangrove from splitting and acted as a decorative surface.

Roofs:

• Flat, with functional and decorative elements.
• Mangrove beams from East Africa acted as rafters.
• Split bamboo or reeds layer, palm mat (manghrour).
• Watertight with tamped-down earth layers.
• Mangrove beams protruded beyond exterior walls.

Exterior:

• Rectangular recesses or recessed arches on facades.
• Sawtooth decoration in crenelations.
• Sawtooth designs impressed into wall plaster.

Interiors:

• Wealthier residences had elaborate gypsum plaster panels with geometric designs.
• Wooden or metal doors elaborately decorated.
• Windows with colored glass and embossed geometric decorations.

Elements for Combating Heat:

• Thick stone walls reduced heat conduction.
• Few exterior windows.
• Internal windows and doors shaded by verandas, covered by wooden shutters.
• Badgheer: construction to channel air and cool interiors.
• Courtyard to promote air circulation.
• Wall openings at base create summer breeze.
• Air-gaps in roof screen allow cooling breeze.

Architecture of Saudi Arabia:

• Adapted to geography, climate, and Arabian culture.
• Located on the Arabian Peninsula with Mediterranean and subtropical desert climate.
• Climate dictates construction methods, so architectural styles vary region to region.
• Vernacular and postmodern architecture reflect traditional culture and environment.
• Mashrabiya: traditional architectural element demonstrating local wisdom.

Impact of Climate on Architecture:

• Four distinct regions based on climate influence architecture and construction.
• Hijaz Region: hot and humid, structural skeleton made of coral columns, wood floors and roofs, sleeping on roofs in summer.
• Najd Region: desert climate, hot and dry, houses around open central courtyards, mud bricks used for plastering and thick exterior walls for insulation.
• Eastern Province: hot and humid, courtyard style houses with arcade balconies, compact design, wind catchers for ventilation.
• Asir Region: high mountain province, Mediterranean climate, multi-story houses for humans and animals, separate male reception rooms.

Vernacular Architecture:

• Uses local resources, needs, and materials.
• Reflects local traditions, history, culture, environment, and climate.
• Bioclimatic features: air ventilation, thermal comfort, and suitable lighting.
• Limestone was the main material but unfired mud-brick and wooden beams have been used in recent decades.
• Mud plaster applied with wooden scrapers to leave parallel patterns.
• Limestone used for buildings and mosques.
• Wealthy household wall covered geometric figures carved with plaster and flowers pressed with molds.
• Color used for painting the house only in Asir region.

Postmodern Architecture:

• International style influenced by contemporary architecture since the late 1970s.
• Characterized as sensual, surprising, and humorous.
• Widely accepted and used across Saudi Arabia, responding to social-cultural and environmental factors.

Special Architectural Element: Mashrabiya:

• Traditional wooden screens built on building facades like wooden bay windows.
• Provide privacy, suppress strong sunlight, and keep rooms cool.
• Evaporation cools internal water for natural ventilation.
• Used as window, curtain, air conditioner, and refrigerator.
• Used in mosques to suppress light and facilitate prayer and meditation.

Public Area Design:

• Influenced by Islamic culture and emphasis on gender differences.
• Separation of male and female in schools, work settings, and public waiting areas.
• Shops open on facades overlooking roads.
• Islamic University of Al-Madinah is open to Muslims around the world.

Iconic Buildings in Saudi Arabia:

• Kingdom Center: 99-story skyscraper in Riyadh, completed in 2002, fifth-tallest in the country.
• Height: 302.3 m (992 ft)
• Islamic Development Bank: multilateral development finance institution in Jeddah, 57 member states, Saudi Arabia as the largest shareholder.
• Al Faisaliyah Centre: commercial skyscraper and mixed-use complex in Riyadh.
• Height: 267 metres, first skyscraper built in Saudi Arabia.

Architecture of West Asia (Part 3):

• WEST ASIA
• The westernmost subregion of Asia that includes Anatolia, the Arabian peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Levant region, the island of Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula, and Transcaucasia (partly).
• Separated from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt and from Europe by the waterways of the Turkish Straits and the watershed of the Greater Caucasus.
• Surrounded by eight seas, including the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
• WEST ASIATIC OR MESOPOTAMIAN ARCHITECTURE
• Started on 4000 to 2100 B.C. in present-day Iraq and Iran.
• Named “Mesopotamia or the land between two rivers,” for the fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
• The Mesopotamian cultures regulated rivers for fertile crops, large-scale food storage, and large urban populations.

PERIODS OF WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE

• Divided into three tolerably distinct periods:
• Babylonian (Chaldaean) period (c. B.C. 4000-1275)
• Assyrian period (B.C. 1275-538)
• Persian period (B.C. 538-333).
  • Babylonian Period
• Temples of the Babylonian period formed the centre, not only of religious, but of commercial and social life, and served as granaries, storehouses, and even as money banks.
• Ziggurats (holy mountains) were erected for astrologer-priests to observe the heavenly bodies.
• Sides were oriented in pyramids, and angles faced the cardinal points in ziggurats.
• The Ziggurat, Birs-Nimroud (Borsippa), rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar, was 272 ft. square and 160 ft. high, crowned with a temple shrine to the god Nebo.
• Babylon (Babel = the gate of god) became the capital of the Empire about B.C. 2000.
• Parts of the older city were discovered, indicating that, as early as B.C. 2000, there was a system of town-planning.
• Streets running parallel to the river were crossed by others at right angles, thus making blocks of buildings.
• The houses were three or four storeys high, while the magnificence of the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar has passed into fame, chiefly by reason of its so-called ” hanging gardens,” which were raised on a series of supporting arches, some 75 ft. high.
  • According to Strabo, the water was raised to fertilize them by a screw pump from the Euphrates below.
• The city was built of mud bricks and could not—like enduring stone—resist attacks of enemies, ravages of fire, or decaying influences of time and weather.
• Legends are woven round the country where the cradle of man has been located ; history emerges vaguely from chronicles, and archaeology has only recently begun to elucidate the truth about the early days of man in Mesopotamia.
• Assyrian Period
• Palaces of warrior-kings were the chief buildings of Assyria, while temples decreased in importance compared with these great palaces.
• They were discovered by Botta (A.D. 842) and Layard (A.D. r845), and the bas-reliefs in the British Museum show not only warlike pursuits, but building operations, while some still bear traces of the action of the fire which destroyed Nineveh in B.C. 609.
• ROYAL PALACE OF NINEVEH-
  All these were explored by Layard in A.D. 845, and latterly by Dr. Andraea.
• The Palace of Sargon, Khorsabad (B.C. 722–705), provides the best idea of Assyrian palaces.
• It covers the greatest area of any so far explored, for, with its various courts, chambers, and corridors, it appears to have occupied 25 acres and to have contained some 700 rooms.
• Like all Assyrian palaces it stood some 50 ft. above the plain, on a platform of sun-dried bricks faced with stone, and was reached by broad stairways and sloping ramps for horses and chariots.
• The three entrance portals to the principal court were flanked with great towers and guarded by man-headed winged bulls or lions 12 ft. 6 ins. high, which supported a bold semicircular arch decorated with brilliantly coloured glazed bricks.
• The palace had three distinct groups of apartments corresponding to the usual divisions of palatial residences in modern Persia, Turkey, or India:
• I) the Seraglio or palace proper, which included the king’s residence, state halls, men’s apartments, and reception rooms,
• II) the Harem with the private family apartments
• III) the Khan or service chambers, all arranged round the principal court of about 21 acres.
• In the state rooms a sculptured and perhaps coloured dado of alabaster, 9 ft. high, lined the lower portion of the walls, above which they were probably left plain.
• There was also the usual temple observatory or ziggurat on the west side of the platform.
• We conclude that, as in Egypt, sufficient light reached the interiors without the use of windows ; for none have been discovered, nor are they shown on bas-reliefs except in towers, but numerous terra-cotta pipes have been found which were probably inserted in domes, vaults, and walls to admit light and air, as they still are in the East.
  • Further, the immense thickness of walls (28 ft.) was more than was required to keep out even the heat of the Assyrian plains, and this strength was probably designed to support not timbers, but a heavy vaulted roof—a roof indeed of the same shape and structure as has been found in the drains and water channels under the platforms, as well as in the entrance arches of palaces and city gates.
• A bas-relief found by Layard depicts buildings with domes, both spherical and elliptical, and from this it would appear that the dome, as well as the vault, was in use among the Assyrians, though to what extent we have at present no evidence.
  • Persian Period
• Palaces and tombs at Susa and Persepolis suggest that the Persians adopted certain features from the conquered Assyrians, such as raised platforms, sculptured monsters, slabs of bas-relief, besides glazed and coloured brickwork which it is their glory to have brought to perfection.
• The Palace Platform, Persepolis is a remarkable structure, 1,500 ft. by 1,000 ft. in extent and 40 ft. above the plain.
• The approach on the north-west was by a magnificent flight of steps, 22 ft. wide, shallow enough for horses to ascend.
• The Propylaea built by Xerxes (B.C. 485–465) formed a monumental entrance, flanked by man-headed bulls and massive piers glowing in glazed bricks-
• It was probably the audience hall or throne room of the palace and was 225 ft. square, enclosed by a brick wall, 11 ft. thick, in which there were some 44 doorways and windows.
• Legends are woven around the country where the cradle of man has been located ; history emerges vaguely from chronicles, and archaeology has only recently begun to elucidate the truth about the early days of man in Mesopotamia.
• Seleucid and Sassanian Architecture (B.C. 312—A.D. 642)
• During the Sassanian Dynasty (A.D. 226-642), a number of buildings were erected which form a connecting link between Assyrian architecture on the one hand and Byzantine on the other.
• The Palace, Sarvistan (A.D. 350) is an interesting Sassanian building
• The principal feature consisted of a triple-arched portico behind which rose a beehive dome of brick with openings for light and ventilation, and a long barrel vault over each side compartment, reminding one of Assyrian palaces.
• In this building the central dome over the square hall is carried by means of roughly corbelled angle semi-domes.
• The Palace, Feruz-abad (A.D. 450) was a structure of some importance, with an entrance leading into three domed halls, beyond which is a court.
  The Palace, Ctesiphon (A.D. 550) must have been an interesting structure, built of colored brickwork, but is now only a ruin, consisting of a great central arched portal, about 83 ft. wide, leading into a throne room, 160 ft. deep, flanked by side walls no less than 24 It. thick, and covered with a remarkable vault, elliptical in form, and obviously founded on Assyrian prototypes.
• The facade of this remnant of the palace consists of a wall 112 ft. 6 ins. high, arranged with tiers of pilasters and arches divided by string courses, not unlike Roman facades.
• Jewish Architecture
• The chief characteristics of Hebrew architecture would seem to have been derived from Babylon on the east and Egypt on the west, through the seafaring and trading Phoenicians.
• The structural part of the style followed the Egyptian and Phoenician practice of cutting out tombs in the rock, and to this succeeded the use of huge, quarried blocks of stone.
• Architecture of Palestine
• The urban architecture of Palestine prior to 1850 was relatively sophisticated.
• Nonetheless, the Palestinian townhouse shared in the same basic conceptions regarding the arrangement of living space and apartment types commonly seen throughout the Eastern Mediterranean
• Ancient Architecture
• Excavations in Beidha in modern-day Jordan indicate that the earliest Palestinian houses were constructed about 9,000 years ago.
• Consisting of stone foundations with a superstructure made of mud-brick, they were simple structures, most often not more than one room with a single doorway, and likely without windows.
• Roofs were normally made of wooden supports upon which woven reed mats or brush were laid atop of which were added layers of clay mortar, rolled smooth to make an impermeable surface.
• Many of these early houses contained burial chambers beneath the floor.

Classical Antiquity

• Two of these, the simple house and the courtyard house, typify the domestic architecture of Palestine for some three millennia into the modern
• The other three, seen as characteristic of the Roman-Byzantine period, are the big mansion (domus), the farmhouse and the shop-house.
• The relatively high number of domus structures dated to the late Hellenistic and Roman periods reveal the extent of Greco-Roman influence on domestic architecture in Palestine at that time.
  -Arab Caliphate Period (640-1099)
• Major changes to the monumental architecture of Palestine followed the Arab Islamic conquest of the region in 637 CE.
• The Roman and Byzantine churches were quickly joined by mosques, though the construction of churches continued.
• One of the most famous early monuments expressing the new role of Islam in the region was the Dome of the Rock (Qabbat as-Sakhra).
• Dedicated in 692 CE, the structure was built over the rock where Islamic tradition holds Abraham acceded to God's request that he sacrifice his son
• The Al-Aqsa mosque, built shortly thereafter, was reconstructed many times since with its form today deriving from a renovation carried out during the Crusader period in Palestine.

Crusader Period (1099-1291)

• The most well-known architectural legacy left by the Crusaders were the fortified castles built in prominent positions throughout Palestine.
• A typical Crusader castle consisted of a square or rectangular tower surrounded by irregular enclosure walls that followed the shape of the land.
• Another major focus of the Crusader building effort were churches. Hundreds of churches were constructed during the Crusader period in Palestine, with 60 built in Jerusalem alone.

Ottoman Period (1516-1918)

• New architectural techniques introduced by the Ottoman rulers were gradually adopted, though not universally.
• Jerusalem was redeveloped under Ottoman rule, its walls rebuilt, the Dome of the Rock retiled and the water system renovated.

Housing varied by region, with mud-brick houses common along the coast, of which there are few surviving examples today.

British Mandate Period (1918-1948)

• The British sent a succession of six town planners to Mandate Palestine to try to manage intercommunal tensions that were a feature of this period.

BUILDING MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

• Two types of house predominated in Palestine from the second millennium BCE through to the modern era: the simple house found commonly in rural areas and the courtyard house found mostly in urban centers.
• MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY BUILDINGS

ARCHITECTURE OF JORDAN

• traditional architecture in Jordan can be attributed to many factors such as varying cultures that have inhabited the land and the terrains that feature arid desert climates.

• As a result of increased urbanization and an open approach to global architectural trends, Jordanian architecture began to neutralize the traditional forms of architecture that dominated the region

• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
  -The diversity of style of Jordanian architecture such as temples, castles and mosques can be credited to the wide-ranging cultures that have resided in the land. They include the three kingdoms; Edom, Moab and Ammon, as well as the Roman Empire, Nabataea Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire.

• ARCHITECTURE OF PETRA

  • Petra was a city that was at the center of trade between the Middle East and the Roman Empire
  • Original settlements were constructed of rough stones and clay for travelers to store items.
    • Monuments later incorporated designs of trading partners.

• Rock-cut facades are the most iconic Monuments

  • THE TREASURY -
    • Using only iron chisels and hammers, it was constructed from top down.
    • Ornate Corinthian columns support the various structures.
  • The entrance is guarded by the statues of the twins Castor and Pollux, figures in Greek and Roman mythology.

• The MONASTERY

• This tomb was completed in the mid-first century as a dedication to King Obodas III.
  -The building stands at 50m high and 45m tall. Its simple Doric friezes made up of alternating circular metopes and triglyphs.
  -VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

• Desert House

• The traditional Desert houses of the population who lived in the desert known as the Bedouin people was a tent

• Made from easily accessible materials for protection from harsh weather conditions, the exterior consisted of animal-fiber cloth which was supported by wooden poles

  • Villages of the Transjordan Highlands
    • Before Jordan was established as an independent state in 1946, its population consisted mainly of semi-nomads who settled in villages.
      -Mellakin families mainly lived on the high ground in courtyard-style houses and families resided in small scattered housing in the lower parts of the village (Fellahin)

• Jordan Valley House
  -Traditional houses in the Jordan Valley are typically modular, flat-roofed and single story

• They are built with moulded mud sun dried bricks called adobe

• MODERN JORDANIAN ARCHITECTURE

• rather than following the traditional Vernacular styles, buildings reflected international trends

• commonly, new buildings attempted to incorporate the architectural heritage of past buildings with new international styles in an effort to find an Architectural identity within Jordan

• NOTABLE BUILDINGS

• Jordan’s Parliament Building referenced the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

• Le Royal Hotel is a building that combines Arab and Islamic architecture to resemble the designs of the Tower of Babel

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

• Petra is used as a prime example of ancient Eastern traditions meeting Hellenistic architecture
  • Quseir Amra
    • Built during the 8th century is a desert castle which is part of a larger castle complex
    • The frescoes and murals on the ceiling of the castle which depict the life of earlier settlers in the region is what gives it such cultural significance
• Um er-Rasas -It is considered culturally important due to its biblical connections, with its architecture displaying facets of the Christian and Islamic communities -Wadi Rum
  • Has been the home of many cultures over 12,000 years, is evident through the rock carvings/markings found on temples and rock formations
    -Bethany Beyond Jordan along the east bank of the Jordan River, where John the Baptist baptised Jesus
    -ARCHITECTURE OF IRAQ
    -The architecture of Iraq embraces the achievements of its past in pre-Islamic times.
    -It is in the construction of new building types, particularly the madrasah, that the most originality is apparent.

The main achievement of Ayyūbid, Zangid, or Seljuq architecture in the Fertile Crescent was the translating into stone of new structural systems first developed in brick.

• All the structural forms found in Syria and Iran can be found in Anatolia as well, although they have often been adapted to local materials.
• Typology expansion shows the expansion of patronage and a growing complexity of taste; Iranian architecture has been inventive in the 11th and 12th century.
  -Regional needs and characteristics predominate local ones, demonstrating growth in architectural decoration.
  -These included the houses and urban architecture that started in Samar and Babylon, elements of which are still visible in Baghdadi houses.
  -MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY BUILDINGS OF IRAQ
  -Baghdad’s Sport ComplexWith Iannis Xenakis, stadium for 50,000 spectators
  -Central Bank of Iraq - Stability Solidity, sustainability
  -ARCHITECTURE OF IRAN
  -Displays great variety, both structural and aesthetic, from a variety of traditions and experience.
• Iranian architecture's guiding formative motif has been earthly towers reaching up toward the sky to mingle with divine towers.
  -CATEGORIZATION OF STYLES
  -. Zoroastrian ,Islamic
  -* Available building materials dictate major forms in traditional Iranian architecture.
  -Geometry
• Iranian architecture makes use of abundant symbolic geometry, using pure forms such as circles and squares, and plans are based on often symmetrical layouts featuring rectangular courtyards and halls.
  COLUMNED PORCH OR TALAR
• seen in the rock-cut tombs near Persepolis, reappear in Sassanid temples, and in late Islamic times it was used as the portico of a palace or mosque.
  PRE-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE OF PERSIA post-Islamic architecture of Iran in turn, draws ideas from its pre-Islamic predecessor, and has geometrical and repetitive forms
  ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE OF PERSIA
  -Many experts believe the period of Persian architecture from the 15th through 17th centuries CE to be the pinnacle of the post-Islamic era.
  -CONTEMPORARY IRANIAN ARCHITECTURE
  Contemporary architecture in Iran begins with the advent of the first Pahlavi period in the early 1920s.
  -Borj-e Milad (or Milad Tower) is the tallest tower in Iran and is the fourth tallest tower in the world.
  -WEEK 14. ARCHITECTURE OF WEST ASIA (PART 2)

ARCHITECTURE OF LEBANON

• Architecture of Turkey or Turkish Architecture in the Republican Period refers to the architecture practiced in the territory of present-day Turkey since the foundation of the republic in 1923.
• The architecture of Lebanon embodies the historical, cultural and religious influences that have shaped Lebanon's built environment. -Roman architecture
  • Baalbek is counted as one of the Roman treasures in Lebanon, and is home to many ancient Roman temples built at the end of the third millennium B.C.
• Castler
  • Lebanon is known for its many stone castles, including the Byblos Castle
    -Religious architecture
    -Roman temples include the Temples of Baalbek, Temple of Eshmun and ancient temples in Niha. There are thousands of Churches and Synagogues in Lebanon
• Beit ed-Dine Palace Complex. Built by Amir Bechir El-Chehab II in the early 19th century.
• Ottoman Times. Grand Serail Major building projects during Ottoman times included the Grand Serail (1853), an Ottoman Bank (1856, closed 1921), Capucine St. Louise (1863), Petit Serail (1884), Beirut train station (1895). -20th century and Classical architecture to Modernism
  • Lebanon and Beirut in particular has seen large-scale developments in recent decades, especially after the civil war ended. Some historic sites have been lost as new buildings are erected. Artisans House (1963) in Ain-Mreisseh and Electricite du Liban headquarters in Beirut.
    -Contemporary architecture
  • 21st century projects include the New Beirut Souks by Rafael Moneo, Hariri Memorial Garden and Zaitunay Bay.
    ARCHITECTURE OF CYPRUS
• Cyprus is home to some truly striking architecture, including significant monuments spanning the time from the birth of human civilization right through to the present day. -History of Cyprus architecture -The rich history of Cyprus architecture, of course, is reflected in its building traditions. The architecture of Cyprus began to develop in the bronze and iron ages. Therefore, it finds traces of influence of the Greeks, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Romans. Certain types of structures are inherent in each historical period. Therefore, each epoch is characterized by its own style, which in addition to materials and technologies was strongly influenced by constantly changing concepts of beauty and expediency. -The Age of Antiquity
  • In the era of antiquity (VIII century BC – VI century AD), the Greeks and Romans, who ruled Cyprus, created numerous structures. Of course, archaeologists and historians could not ignore the history of Cyprus architecture. -In the earliest eras buildings were erected from materials available at that time. For example: untreated stone and sea pebbles of various types, with or without a binder solution. -Period of British influence -In high interest is the modern history of Cyprus architecture, which is divided into the period before and after colonization. The colonial period began with the arrival of the British on the island -British people were great admirers of the ancient Greek classics and built many buildings in the style of neoclassicism. The influence of the British is embodied in the archaeological museum in Nicosia
    • modern history of Cyprus architecture in the 1930s when architects from Europe began to come to Cyprus bringing the ideas of architectural modernism
      ARCHITECURE OF ISRAEL
• The architecture of Israel has been influenced by the different styles of architecture brought in by those who have occupied the country over time, sometimes modified to suit the local climate and landscape. -Rural housing
  • Until the end of the 19th century, the traditional Arab rural house in the villages of what was then Palestine consisted of a single room without partitions, divided into levels in accordance with various functions carried out in the house: -Fortified houses were built outside the village core and had two stories: a raised ground floor with tiny windows used for raising livestock and storage, and a separate residential floor with large windows and balconies -Movie theaters
    • The architecture of Tel Aviv's movie theaters can be seen as a reflection of Israeli architectural history: The first cinema, the Eden, opened in 1914, was an example of the eclectic style that was in vogue at the time, combining European and Arab traditions.
  • The Mugrabi cinema, designed in 1930, was built in art deco style. In the late 1930s, the Esther, Chen and Allenby theaters were prime examples of the Bauhaus style.

Week 15 TOPIC: ARCHITECTURE IN WEST ASIA (PART 3)
-WEST ASIA

• The westernmost subregion of Asia, which includes Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Levant region, the island of Cyprus, the Sinai Peninsula, and Transcaucasia (partly)
  -Separated from Africa by the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt and from Europe by the waterways of the Turkish Straits and the watershed of the Greater Caucasus.
• Surrounded by eight seas, including the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
  -WEST ASIATIC OR MESOPOTAMIAN ARCHITECHTURE
• Started on 4000 to 2100 B.C. in present-day Iraq and Iran.
  -Named “Mesopotamia or the land between two rivers,” for the fertile land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
  -The Mesopotamian cultures regulated rivers for fertile crops, large-scale food storage, and large urban populations.
  -PERIODS OF WEST ASIATIC ARCHITECTURE
• Divided into three tolerably distinct periods:
  -Babylonian (Chaldaean) period (c. B.C. 4000-1275)
  -Assyrian period (B.C. 1275-538)
  -Persian period (B.C. 538-333).
  -Babylonian Period
  -Temples of the Babylonian period formed the centre, not only of religious, but of commercial and social life, and served as granaries, storehouses, and even as money banks.
  -Ziggurats (holy mountains) were erected for astrologer-priests to observe the heavenly bodies.
  -Assyrian Period
  -Palaces of warrior kings were the chief buildings of Assyria, while temples decreases in importance compared with these great palaces.
• All these were explored by Layard in A.D. 845, and latterly by Dr. Andraea. -Persian Period -All these were explored by Layard in A.D. 845, and latterly by Dr. Andraea -The Seleucid Dynasty (B.C. 312-280), which succeeded on the death of Alexander, did not produce any noteworthy type,
  • During the Sassanian Dynasty (A.D. 226-642), a number of buildings were erected which form a connecting link between Assyrian architecture on the one hand and Byzantine on the other. -Jewish Architecture -The chief characteristics of Hebrew architecture would seem to have been derived from Babylon on the east and Egypt on the west, through the seafaring and trading Phoenicians. -Architecture of Palestine -The urban architecture of Palestine prior to 1850 was relatively sophisticated.
    • Nonetheless, the Palestinian townhouse shared in the same basic conceptions regarding the arrangement of living space and apartment types commonly seen throughout the Eastern Mediterranean
      Architecture of Jordan
      -The traditional architecture in Jordan can be attributed to many factors, which have played a pivotal role in shaping Jordanian culture, such as temples castles mosques.
• As a result of increased urbanization and an open approach to global architectural trends, Jordanian architecture began to neutralize the traditional forms of