Architectural Links Between the Islamic World and Latin America Study Guide

The Reconstruction of Santa Barbara: From Disaster to Spanish Colonial Revival

• The 1925 Earthquake: On June 1925 (specifically June 29), a $6.8$ magnitude earthquake struck Santa Barbara, California. At the time, building codes were poor, and the disaster decimated the downtown area.     * Impact and Damage:         * Cost of damage: Approximately $8,000,000$.         * Human cost: 13 people were killed. The low death toll is attributed to residents knowing to stand in doorways or go outside.         * Destroyed structures: A small courthouse was damaged beyond repair.         * Repaired structures: One of the California missions, originally built using enslaved indigenous labor and the expertise of Spanish friars, was damaged but later repaired.
• Pearl Chase and the Grassroots Movement: Pearl Chase, a local advocate who studied at UC Berkeley, resolved to make Santa Barbara beautiful after being ashamed of the city's "dirt and dust and ugly buildings." She saw the post-earthquake devastation as a Tabula Rasa (clean slate) to create a unique city identity.
• William Mooser III: Chase worked with chief architect William Mooser III, who was educated at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and lived in France and Spain for seventeen years. His classical training was essential in shifting the city's aesthetic from an eclectic mishmash to Spanish Colonial Revival.
• Urban Ordinances: The Community Arts Association worked with planners to develop local urban ordinances. In the first year after the quake, approximately $2,000$ building permits were processed under new design review guidelines that standardized the city's style based on Grand Haciendas and California missions.

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse: A Masterpiece of Revival Architecture

• Scale and Function: Designed by William Mooser III with input from Pearl Chase, the complex is an L-shaped plan covering approximately $140,000\,square\,feet$. It houses a court wing, a jail, administrative offices, and a record service.
• Architectural Features:     * The Triumphal Arch: The most recognizable feature, standing $39\,feet$ high. It features articulated sandstone quarried locally and is flanked by two Corinthian columns.     * Latin Inscription: The entablature reads: "God hath provided the ground, man hath built the town."     * Decoration: Abundant use of sandstone, wrought iron, and terracotta.     * Spirit of the Ocean Fountain: Sculpted by Ettore Cadorin, it features a large basin and two siblings holding a dolphin (often mistaken for a mermaid).     * The Clock Tower: Rises $111\,feet$ above street level with an observation deck and four clock faces.
• Interior and Gardens:     * Sunken Garden: Designed by Ralph Stevens, it occupies the footprint of the original Greek Revival courthouse.     * Defensive Architecture: The plan mimics a Spanish castle, serving as a seat of government with a striking sense of identity.     * Mural Room (Board of Supervisors Meeting Room): Features a mural program by Dan Sayre Groesbeck (who worked for Walt Disney). The murals depict:         * Indigenous Native American villages.         * The landing of Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542.         * Spanish friars and Native Americans building the mission.     * Ceilings: Intricate ceilings that evoke the richness of the Umayyad dynasty in Southern Spain.

Historical Context: The Islamic Presence in the Iberian Peninsula

• The Formation of Al-Andalus: In $711\,AD$, during a period of instability in the Visigothic Kingdom (capital: Toledo), Arab troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. They rapidly conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain and Portugal).
• Societal Structure: Islamic rulers allowed Christian and Jewish inhabitants to practice their religions in exchange for a tax.     * Mozarabic: Christians living under Andalusian rule.     * People of the Book: A term for Jews and Christians, acknowledging shared Abrahamic roots.
• Moorish Architecture: A subset of Islamic architecture defined by styles in Al-Andalus and North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria). Characteristics include:     * Intricate geometric patterns.     * Horseshoe arches.     * Elaborate tile work.     * Emphasis on interior gardens and courtyards.

The Caliphate of Cordoba and the Great Mosque

• The Caliphate: Proclaimed by Abd al-Rahman III in $929\,AD$; lasted until $1031\,AD$. Cordoba became the capital and was one of the largest cities of the Middle Ages with up to $500,000$ inhabitants.
• The Great Mosque of Cordoba (Mezquita):     * Hypostyle Hall: Features a "forest of columns" using spolia (recycled Roman and Visigothic columns).     * Double Arches: Predominantly two-tiered, symmetrical arches made of alternating stone and brick, creating a striped, polychrome effect.     * The Mihrab: Lavishly decorated with gold tesserae (glass and gold pieces), calligraphic bands, and a shell-shaped dome.     * Ribbed Vaulting: The dome preceding the mihrab uses crisscrossing ribs to create pointed arches in a radial pattern, anticipating later Gothic techniques.     * Triumphal Appropriation: In the 16th century, Charles V built a Baroque Christian cathedral in the center of the mosque. The original minaret was encased within a square bell tower.

Moorish Architectural Language: Sebka, Minarets, and the Alhambra

• Reales Alcázares (Seville): A palace complex (9th–16th centuries) mixing Islamic and Christian layers.     * Patio del Yeso (Courtyard of the Gypsum): Features early examples of the Sebka/Subka motif.
• The Sebka Motif: A decorative, non-figurative net-like pattern consisting of interlacing rhombus-like shapes. Variations include:     * D’arge waq tauf: "Step and shoulder" straight and curved lines forming a fleur-de-lis shape.     * Interlacing multifoil (lobed) arches.
• The Giralda (Seville): Originally the minaret for the Almohad Mosque (built late 12th century). After the Reconquista, a Renaissance-style bell tower body was added to the top. It remains the symbol of Seville.

The Architectural Legacy of the Alhambra

• Site Context: A fortified royal city on the Sabika hill in Granada, built in the 13th and 14th centuries. It covers $26\,acres$ and is surrounded by a mile of walls and 30 towers.
• Internal Divisions:     1. Residence: For the ruler and family.     2. Citadel: Barracks for elite troops.     3. Medina: Where court officials lived (near the Puerta del Vino or Wine Gate).
• Key Palaces:     * Partal Palace (Portico Palace): Built by Mohammed III. Features a five-arched portico reflecting in a large pool. Contains the Oratory, a private prayer room with a hidden mihrab and windows offering views of the city.     * Palace of the Lions: Built by Mohammed V (Nasrid dynasty). Features the Court of Lions with a marble basin on 12 carved lions and two water channels forming a cross.     * Hall of the Kings: Features paintings on leather inset into the dome representing ten kings and chivalric virtues.     * Room of the Two Sisters: Contains a perfect Mukanas/Muqarnas (honeycomb/stalactite) dome that dissolves the square walls into a star shape.
• Charles V Addition: A Baroque palace with a square exterior but a uniquely circular interior courtyard.

The Linguistic and Cultural Bridge: Islamic Influence on Spanish Identity

• Loanwords: Many Spanish words have Arabic origins including: Caf, Chivo (goat), Zorro (fox), Ole, Alberca (pool), Alcoba (bedroom), Aldea (village), Alfombra (rug), Azulejo (tile), Barrio (neighborhood), and Yeso (plaster).
• Alhamidos Texts: Spanish language written using Arabic script, used by Moriscos who had forgotten the Arabic language but retained the alphabet.

The Colonial Period: Mudejar Architecture in the Americas

• The Viceroyalties: Spanish control focused on Mexico and Peru for mineral extraction (gold and silver). Architectural types included churches, convents, and missions.
• Mudejar Ceilings: Islamic-style wood ceilings built for Christian patrons.     * Technical Terms:         * Cruia: Space between two load-bearing walls.         * Paresthes: Beams supporting the roof.         * Nubileo/Knuckle: A horizontal knot linking beams for stability.
• Notable Examples in the Americas:     * Tlaxcala, Mexico: Cathedral featuring 8-pointed star panels.     * San Francisco, Quito (Ecuador): Features a Mudejar roof and a pyramidal dome at the crossing of the nave.     * Jesuit Missions (Bolivia/Paraguay): Utilized indigenous woodworking expertise. Structures include huge overhanging roofs for rain protection and twisting wooden columns.

Architectural Motifs: Polylobed Arches and Lima Balconies

• Polylobed Arch: An arch with multiple circular arcs (lobes) in its interior profile. Examples include the Government Palace in Tlaxcala and the Torre Tagle Palace in Lima.
• Balconies with Lattices (Mashrabiya): Derived from Cairo, these balconies afford privacy while allowing ventilation.     * Asymmetrical Filter: Allows residents (historically women) to see the street while remaining invisible to the public.     * Lima Balconies: So common in Peru that they lost their Arabic association and became local symbols. They were often glazed in later centuries.

Neo-Arab Style and Orientalism (19th-20th Centuries)

• The Shift in the 1800s: Post-independence, Latin American nations looked to France, England, and Germany. This brought Neo-Arab fashions as part of European exoticism.
• The Moorish Kiosk (Mexico): Designed for World’s Fairs (New Orleans 1884, St. Louis 1904). Inspired directly by Owen Jones' illustrations of the Alhambra.
• Juarez Theater (Guanajuato): Uses horseshoe arches and Mudejar-style coffered ceilings in spaces dedicated to leisure.
• Del Valle Palace (Cuba): An orientalist fantasy combining Mughal chhatris (domed pavilions), Venetian arches, pumpkin domes, and "fake" Islamic calligraphy.
• Or Torah Synagogue (Buenos Aires): A Sephardic synagogue for a Jewish community, designed by a Christian Italian immigrant in the Neo-Arab style.

Contemporary Interpretations: The Work of Jeff Shelton

• Context: Practices in Santa Barbara under Spanish/Moorish design guidelines.
• Ablett Tower: Features striped ablaq tile patterns on a garage and horseshoe arches at the tower peak.
• El Jardin: Incorporates a massive clock and a scalloped parapet.
• El Andaluz: Includes a Lima-style balcony, orange trees in the courtyard honoring the Cordoba caliphate, and ablaq tiles with a unique "splatter" motif.

Questions & Discussion

• How does style shift? Style moves through education (Ecole des Beaux Arts), disaster (1925 earthquake), publications/treatises, and immigration.
• Local Savannah Context: The SCAD Student Center (a former synagogue) is an example of the Sephardic/Middle Eastern inflected style found locally.
• Cultural Appropriation vs. Appreciation:     * Discussion Points:         * Appropriation vs. Appreciation: Is it mocking or respectful? Does it acknowledge the source?         * Education: The responsibility to understand the symbolic significance of a motif before using it.         * Tourism: In some contexts (like The Bahamas), culture is "packaged" for travelers, complicating the line between selling identity and sharing it.         * Context: Cultural appropriation often depends on the power dynamics of the country where it occurs (e.g., historical contexts in America vs. Zambia or The Bahamas).     * The Architect's Creed: Owen Jones stated, "The designs of the past belong to us, but not the results." Modern creators are encouraged to be inspired by history without "slavish copying," bringing themes into a new modern context.