the translation of tradition

8/10/2019 The Translation of Tradition

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S V O L U M V I N M B 1

The Translation of Tradition:

me eee n Aot Proor t t

Un of Sotrn Clrn H

ltr qnt t t Prne of l

Inttt ofArttr

A Comparative Dialectic

JAMES STEELE

The rapidity of environmental degradaton and the recent popularity of the concept of sustan-

ability have made clear how success traditonal societies have been n coexisting with nature.

Architects, in respondng to this risng awareness, are searchng for models of the reinterpreta

tion of tradition, seeng examples and guideines. Three practitoners who anticipated the

need for a reexaminaton of vernacular princpes may be seen to oer such examples, and

their methods are now of great interest to others Abdel Wahed ElWai of Egpt, Rasem

Badran of Jordan, and Ricardo Legorreta of Mexco have each sought valid ways to transate

their cultural heritages into archtectural forms The work of these three architects s here pre

sented as oering strateges of intentional derivaton, rationa historicism, and elemental mni

malsm, respectivey The work reveas the diverse ways in whch the complex problem of

reinterpretation may be approached by archtects dedcated to this search, and the dierent

results that may emerge

I c yas, as a su of is osio as a hm of sval mao aioal co-fcs, doci of susaaly as s adly wold's ao O asofo s ouaiy has b s abiiy o sa vousy achous divd bwdvlom ad voma ocio. h doci of susaiably as had a maoimac o os ivolvd dsgg uma sms, ad as hghghd h succsss of adiioa socis i sig a alac bw huma acivis ad au.

Achics hav b aiculaly affcd by h w doc, ad i hi sffo o dvlo mods of susaabl commus, hy hav bgu sachg fo xamls of acios wo hav b ab o bdg h ga w h mod wold adadioal budig acics. hy av dscovd h xisc of alav aoach-s o dsg ha av aald h mo domia dscous o modism, ad ha av


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sough o buil o kowlg ih i paicula aioalbuilig aios Such ffos hav, amog ohs, icluh wok of achics Hassa Fahy i gyp a LusBaaga i Mxco

his pap ooks a h wok of sv of h mos visib

scipls of hs wo impoa gus psg wobachs of h boa gaogy of aiobas sgUsg xampls of h wok of Abl Wah Wakil, asmBaa a cao Lgoa, i is o ii som of hifculs ih ig w paaigms, uig aaslao of aio, a solvig poblms vov iaopig appopa mhos of vioma sposivssa a im of cas pc o cimaic coos. hscio of achics has b pomp by psoal kowl-g of h achics chos, a si fo hmsphc ba-ac, a h ah of publish maial o hi wok hacs popula puic i h ma makpac.

T H E E M E R G E E O " S U SA I A B I L l A N D I TS

M P L A I O S O R A R H T E TU R E

h lavly ap poifaio of h oc of sus-aiabiliy whch ow xs byo achcu io go-al aoa a iaioa plag a policy has b asigulaly cofciv phomo. h s of hoci ca i pa b ac o h U aios WolCommissio o viom a Dvlopm popuaykow as h Bua Commssio which hcocp i h aly 1990S. Foowg h iiiavs of h

Club of om a h Ba Commissio, h BulaCommsso cog susaiabliy as compisig hospahs of soca coomc a poliical pogss ha m hs of h ps whou compomisig h abiliy offuu gaos o m hi ow s.

spi of pobms ha hav sic bcom appa ig such ms as pogss" a s" his visio hasaw ga ao. o h las of h asos why has bs abiliy o o a soluio o h gowh/ogowh ilmmaha pvail fo wo a a half cas bfo h BulaCommssio po h oio of susaiably has o acomplig a wokab mi gou bw pviousych posios By holg ou h possibiiy ha vi

omal pocio a coomic vopm coul b compaibl, v complmay objcivs, susaiabiiy s ows by may as a wcom alaiv o such qusos as hmis o gowh which oc sm so iacabl.

h mmbs of h Bula Commissio w pimaily poliica gus, o viomalss. As such, hyw mi o combi cologica a vopmissus, a hby big vomal polcy o h poica aa. hi po was gv aiioal impus a hah Summ" hl a Sao Ma, a io JaoBazil, i 992 his cofc also sposo by h Ui

aos Commisso o vom a Dvlopm wasogaiz by Mauic Sog, who sa cagoicaly ha hv woul cay o h wok of h Bua Commissio,fuh xpo h fasibi i of susaab vopm amov viomal cocs io h alm of coomic poi-

c Sog was abl o ochsa h sigg of a gobaviomal Bil of ighs. " H was aso abl o isil hoio of susaiabiliy, placig aoal mphasis o vlopm i kpig wih hs poliical a busiss backgou.

O ffc of h high lvl a which h cocp of susaiaby has mg has b ha has civy bupaaoxcay focus aio o pois of sygismbw aioa builig sagis a h ppuaio ofaua vioms h lik bw susaiabiy a hsig of huma slms bcam xplc a h io cofc. Amog h six mai scios of s voumous pocgs l nd 2, af h cuy i which hcommaios w i o b implm) was achap ca h Maagm of Huma Slms. "hs chap ow svs as a uimay famwok fo hamovm i sig which som hav f o as susaabl," coogical," o g" achicu h nd 2chap comms spcic iiavs o ass such poblms as amag o fagil coogcal zos plo of iaua soucs a us of builg maials whch ahamful o huma halh. hs iclu pacics such asusig loca maials a suyg igous soucs poviig icivs o pomo aiol buig chiqus baso gioal soucs a slhlp sagis, gulaig co-sucio o couag gyci sig, iscouagig

cosucio coogicay iappopa aas, usig abo-isiv ah ha gysiv cosucio chussucug ci isuios o fachs h poo cy-cg a usg buig maials caizig h cosucio iusy, a pomoig appopia chologis.

h Bula Commissio ca h basis fo hislkag bw h cocp of susaiabiliy a aioasociis. s po sa ha hs commuii a hposiois of vas accumulaios of aioa kowlg axpic ha liks humaiy wih is aci ogis. hiisappaac is a loss fo h ag sociy, which coul laa ga a fom hi skills susaabiliy maagg vycomplx coogical sysms' Bu h lk was com by

h io Cofc which su i h followig samof picipls fom nd 2

Indinou popl nd hir communii rprn incn prcn of h lobl populion hyhv dvlopd ovr mny nrion holiic rdiionl cinc knowld of hir lnd, nulrourc nd nvironmn . . In viw of h inrrlionhip bwn h nurl nvironmn nd iuinbl dvlopmn nd h culul ocil, co-nomic nd phyicl wbin of indinou popl


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natinal and internatinal rt t implement envirnmental nd and tainale develpment hldrecgnize, accmmdate, prmte and trenhen therle f indigen peple and their cmmnitie.

Momentum behind the concept of sstanaility and itslnk to the stdy and emulation of aspects of traditona societies received an addtiona psh when a nited Nationsprocamation named 3 the nternatonal Year of theWord's ndienous eoples, and when the World Bank oranized a conference n spport of this desination Amonother topics, the conference focused on the application of traditonal knowede to and se plannin and environmentaprotection and t examined ways in which traditional societieshave prered the enera prnciples of the sustainability doctrne. The conference drew on the bureonin nmber ofndenous nowede Resorce Centers wordwide for speakers and panel sts. ts proceedins concuded that there is nocontradicton beween the preservation of traditona knowede and development. To the contrary, tradtional knowledecan be seen as a tool or an instrment to promote cultralsensitivty or appropriate forms of deveopment

A L E R A I V E R O - M O D E L S R E VA L A

A L E R A I V E A R C C R A S O R Y

Meda fallout from the extensive institutional nitiativedescrbed above, combined with the shi from an industrial to aservice economy, which has brouht architects and rban planners

from the developed world face to face wh nfamiliar ctures,has intensied interest in ndin new paradims. There s now ahehtened realizaton amon desin professionals hat theirknowlede abot sustainality, indienos societies, and thethreads that bind them is limited. his h led to increased awreness o and criosiy aout, he methods sed y those who havebeen abe to bride ths ap n the past d arrive at successltrsations of tradition.

t s a tricky usness at best to nd new role models onthe few contemporary architects tyin to make a meaninl con-triution to the crtca interpretaton of the past while asoextendin commentay on appropriate enery systems. The eortreqires nothn less than a revsionist approach to the histoy of

architectre n he last centu The oal of sch a revison mste to rin the eneaoies of severa nationalstic nsrencieslaunched aainst he cultural homoeneiy of the nternationalStyle into hih relie Such a comprehensive revisionst hstory hasyet to e attempted. Bt it mht bein wh the Arts and Crasmovement and the work of Charles Rennie Mackntosh.Mackintoshs work maks the point at which the impets of CeltcRevvasm was dverted, to be replaced y the increasny astracthstorical metaphors of eter Behrens and the sbseqent dstancin from the past hat Behrens fostered

n retrospect, Mackntosh was not a precrsor of the Modern

S L A C O M A A V A L E C 2

Movement at all as ts popaandizin protaonists Nichoasevsner and Thomas owath insst Rather, he was a persstentand perceptive trnslator of Scottish vernac expression, asrecorded in hs volminos sketches of farmhoses, churches andcastles. Bt n alternative rchitectural history, s described

above, would aso need to include the Cataonin aenda of Gadiand Jjol (which has been lionized y modernists as structuraexpressionsm); the historicsm of Dimitris ikionis, and hs serchfor a Greek nationa stye foowin his dssatisfacion with nc-tionalism; and smila attempts at denin a natonal architectralidiom sch as hose of Sedad akki Edem in Trkey, assanFathy n Eypt, Correa and Doshi n nda, and Braan nMexco to name the most obvios. These archtects have alpoduced several enerations of disciples. owever, only a smanmer of these practtioners have ever been abe to arner theinternatona reconition accorded their counterprts who havefollowed more conventiona philosophies, variousy referred to asdrect, positive or neative mutatons of modernism.

Of particuar concern to this paper is the work of dscipes ofFathy ad Barraan. n his sech for n indienous style, Fathyused medieva Cairo as a textbook. e was particlarly strck bythe recurrence of typoloes n historica buildns . For exple,he traced the qa which rohly translates as a sempbic reception hall) fom ts einnn as a set ofTshaped iwa ankn anopen central corard in desert paaces sch as kader n raq,to a simar space n the resdences of Fstat, and to a na covered conration n Caio.? Fathy noted several oher formaland spatial conratons hat typied the medieval cy Amonthese were the magaz (indirect entry), ahn central cort),maqad (rased northfacin oia), takhtah (breezeway

eeen coryds) and malkaf catcher) nd Fathyattempted to adapt sch traditona buidin eements to contem-poray projects sn an ancient Nuan strctura system G.I Since Fathy's death, two of his most pominent advocates havebeen del Wahed ElWakl and Rasem Badran. These achitectshave also concentrated on he se of ypooes, wth EWaklenerally adoptin d exportin them reardess of context ndBadran niversaizin ther applicaton nd attemptin to ndocal examples in particulr cultural milieus.

Barran, for his part, was as much a poet as an rchtectBt, lke Fathy his method was to search for lonstndin charac-terstic of local cltre. n s case, he caimed to draw these fompreColmban sorces. The dscple of Barran whose work s

stdied here, Ricado eorreta, has followed his mentor's attemptsto traslate basc environmental and cra chacteristcs. Bt hehas divered fom Brran n terms of personal interpretations.

I E I O A L D R I VA I O H E W O R K OF A B D E L

WA H E D Lc WA K

n one of hs rst private projects, a summer residence forEsmat Ahmed aawa in Aamy, Eypt, competed in 75,Adel Wahed ElWak revealed the strenth of h s tes to


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Fath No only dd the residence depended on typoloesFathy had already coded bt lWakil tied himself o thesame domeandvat srctral system sed by Fathy to heextent that he employed Fahy's chief mason AladdinMostafa as the contracor Oranized arond a centra hnthe alawa ose is dvided beween a semipblic zone wthts mg and qa at he norhern end of a recanlar seand a family area a the opposte end sereated for privacy(FIG2) The hose was premiated for an Aa han Award n

1980 vin the work of lWakil ts rst exposre in thenernatonal press

At abot the time the aawa ose was nder constrction lWakil also desined the mch smaer amdy osen Giza whch contined themes from the alawa ose at asmaler scale In his projec Wakil employed a proportonsystem to acheve he most efcent se of the sma area andive the hose a sense of spaciosness and order The reswas a plan rohly onehird open and wohirds closed Theproporton system sed a contnosly dobin spral enerated from the center of a fonain in he open coryard creat

in a nmber of increasiny larer sqares n the process Inthis way the desn resed in a oical proression of spacesevolvin o of water the symbol of he beinnin of lifeOnly the slihes hint of this proression is apparent fromotside the hose however in wall heihts that vary fromthe lower encosre arond he cortyard to the slihtly hiherwall a the entry ae o the hihest wall arond the qa thecentra inerior space d a no tme is the wall ow enohso people otsde may see in In fact he characer of the ine

ror is sesed ony by the exerior form locaton and size ofmhbiyy screens covern the lmied nmber of windowsIn this way lWakil was able o mantain he same sense ofprivacy achieved by sereaion at Aamy where more spacewas avaabe

One imporan eement of the desn by lWakl for theamdy ose s he dichoomy beween nside and osideaccenated by the presence of a walled coryard A thepoin beween inside and otside beween he entrance ateway and the door eadin to the inerior is paced a transitona space se apart as a coo shaded place to s This space


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consss of a covd loggia, bil ino h xo wall oincld a mataba (bnch and asd mahbiyya scn, and iis oind owad h pvailing bz. h bz, whichcoms ino Caio fom h Ga Plaa o h noh, scosss h opn coyad wh is coold by h fonan

bfo passing hogh h smal opnngs povdd fo isscap Whil sch dals may sm inconsnial, hyconib mch o h oal nvionmna sccss of hhos wod hav bn asy fo an achc of lss sklo hav msjdgd h coc oinaon of his ogga, o ohav bn nawa of h nd o plac opnings fo a owdicly acoss h coyad fom on anoh, wih h windwad opning bing ag han h wad fo mximm naal vnlaion. A in Fahys Hamd Said Hos a Ma o hisown hos a Sd i (f o FG., hs qa in h HamdyHos aks on highnd impoanc bcas of h smal szof h pojc and h nd o combin a vaiy of ncions inon. ach of h oh spacs in h hos also sms o smany pposs whch is on sc of s conomy Unlikoh xciss n cincy, howv h Hamdy Hos plish spii, showing ha mods mans nd no sl in physcly and psychologicaly limiing achc

Following hs nia pocs in gyp ElWakil soghxpandd opponiy acoss h d Sa a h high of hoil boom. h Siaman Paac was h achics s commission n Sad abia vad a coniniy wih his ai wok in gyp paiclaly in h ypologis sd and n hachics amp o ansla h sngla condiion ofJddah, which was a wald ciy n h aly 94s. lWakil has dscibd his sidnc as folows

In the Suiaman Paace 1wihed t make expicit a phiphy f dei f the aditina rab hue nyarchitecture that erve cie i dynamic and prne tchane. The chaene i t maintain cntinui withinchane by rrrin t cntant and reinterpretin themin a new cntext. The paace i cated in new Jeddahin a recimed deert area t the nrth f the der ciwhere pt are iated by wide avenue and it drm the earier hue in the ci in that it i n anindividua p!

A an xpsson of hs condions, h paac xnds

along a hozonal xis wih is long vaions o h nohand soh o ak mximm advanag of ligh and viwsowad h d Sa (FG.3) h snc of spacs along hsxis bgns wih a smal coyad acing as a maaz and adng no h hos. A ag mai on on sd of his co hasconinos bans facng h xio along h walls in amann ypical of h adional mal cpion oom of hgion. h mai s oganizd as a qa and povids hhighs volm n h long lvaion, comping an impoanmapho of hospiaiy in h hos. Af h qa'a h is asb shf in zoning owad an nn sancm, svd fo

S E C M P V C C 23

clos finds, whch is makd by a chang in vl and sclh chang of lvl is pad in an vn mo xaggadway bwn h smipiva zon and h pva family aaa h nd of h lna snc h oval sl s a ipai division of pblc, smipblic, and piva compamns.

n hs way, lWakil has npd in a hoizonal snch dvisions of h adiional Jddah hos, wh hs fnc-ions a sackd vically.

n ms of nvionmnal sponsivnss h SliamanPalac conind Fahys pcdn of sng naal sysms,whch mad Fahy on of h s conmpoay ssanablachcs. n paicla, living aas n h palac w lado opn coyads conaning vgaion and wa o gnaa naally conolld micocima. And o minmiz himpac of dic soa adiaon, h opnings o ooms wpoply oind and scnd wh shading dvics.Fhmo, h paacs coyads w shadd by highwals, s and pgolas, and iwan w sd as odoo livingspacs wih mxmm shad and vnaion. And, as wasnod n fnc o h Hamdy Hos pvaling wnd pans w hanssd fo coss vnlaion wh a makaffding cool sa ai no h qa (which has a woodn lanna h op o alow ho ai o scap, smila o hos n hhoss of mdiva Caio . Finaly, h paacs hck pfoad acoabick baing walls ca considab hmamass, moding h xm dina mpa swings bypodcing a whl" ffc bwn nna and xnalmpa changs.

h Sliaman Palac bogh h wok of lWaki o hanon of Jddah Mayo EFasi, who askd ha h ach

c bild a sis of moss along h cys Conich hs was h sland Mos Nx cam h Conich Mos,bl as a pa of h mayos baicaon plan fo h cy(FG.4) his poc was basd on a Mamlk pooyp fomCaio, which had a smila composion and a lag nanciwan Howv, h mos nvionmnaly and fomalyinnovaiv of his gop of moss was Alwais, whichoccpis a hgh knoll and commands ons anon as onappoachs fom downown FG.5) Fom h noh hmos is al so a dominan andmak n spi of is scalbcas is backdop is h Jddah wafon and h ciysgowing commcal cn.

h ncssiy of naa vnlaion had o b vigoosy

addssd n all h of ElWakils Jddah moss, boh okp coss down and civ appova fom h mnicipaliy.his imn sld in an lon foma xpsson nAlwais s hyhmica dobl ss of canay vas,sackd so as o civ a mximm amon of sa bz wdvd fom h mak hll a Nw Baz dsgnd by HassanFahy v yas ali. Bhnd h vas h main domabov h mihb was ncopoad wih smal doms on achsid o ca an xmly ffciv sysm of a ciclaon, aswll as a simp, b mmoabl, massng of foms. h gad-a ansiion achivd in hs bankd composion of vals


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and domes was further extended by wo shallow domes abovethe symmetrica entrances to the prayer hall.

ElWail used a specily desined thn cayte brick to

construct the catenary vauts o Ruwais that aowed compressve orces to e transferred and yet maintain an eeantcurved prole. To accentuae the lnearity of these vaulswhich deberately echo the waves o the Red Sea neary buttresses were used to frame the ront elevation and the minaret.nally to assure the unhndered low o natural ventationfrom the sea while providn a measure of privacy rom theroad the mosque was paced on a hh ase and provided withopen rc screens that ll the spans of three of the ve mainarches on ts ront elevaon In a sub le way these screens helpdene the prayer space and yet hey do not detrac rom he

harmonc horizontalty of the tota compostion. A smilar setof screens provdes privacy on either sde o the mihb separatin the nterior rom the waedn aluton area

The pubcrelations success of the Jeddah Aarsmosques (whch rouht ElWail a second Aa han award

for the Cornche entry) opened the door or larer proects inthe ndom. Amon these was the n Saud Mosquewhch is one of ElWak's mos conroversial adaptationsFG6 The main debae wth reard to this buildn concerns he main enrance on is south whch is a d rect copy ofthe entrance o the Suan assan Mosque n Cairo (the cardinal dstriution o the buldins fou iwans was aso based onthis preceden) ElWak has arued that une the modernst emphass on orinal creatvity and ndividuay tradition nvolves borrowin and improvsn on existin forms.or hs reason and because of his eef in he need to redscover os construction techniques (such as those used in makn the eomercaly compex muquarnas or staaciemoldins above he Sulan assan door) and so restore lnks

FGU 3. Suiaman Palac Jdda: lan, ctin and lvatin (Curt

fA l-Wki

in the chain o tectonic nowede mssn since the ndustrarevoluton he eels compleely usied n such dervaton. Inthis atttude ElWakil has extended hmse beyond the athy

vocabuary althouh the structura aspects of that vocabu-lary reman evident in the n Saud Mosque especially in thehue bric dome u in the Nuian method whou centerin The dome aso uses elurian materal of hh hermamass obviatn the need or eneryintensve stee.

A simlar deree o dervation was evident n ElWals lastproect n the ndom the A Mqat Mosque whch used theIn Tuun Mosque n Cairo as a model (FG.7) A Miqat wasntended as the ateway to Madinah A Munawarah It washowever conceved as more than a spacepannin soluon o thepormatc chalene o providn prayer space for 5,000 wor


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F 4 ABOV) Coe Mosqe: pld eleo Cores ofA. W ElWk

F 5 (H Al Rws Mosqe: p

d eleos Cores ofA. W E-Wk

sippers he architect attemped to ceate a synthess of nction-a needs and symbosm ta wold transcend necessi In histe work was in keepin wih te follown obseraion by atyfrom an npbised reatise caled Msqu Architctur

Prmac a simiri frms i.. th symwr sur i cutry a i a Musim cutris

[ y th csma} his simiari cms m th ss f th ith a cutur which a t th chic fsimiar symic rms t t th sam maig . . t a Musims. A survy f th traitia msqusi a Musim cutris, m I i th ast tMrcc i th wst wu shw th rcurrc f crtai si ccpts architctura mts a crativ mt that ar grat rsmac t athrAccrig t th mathmatica ws f praii thisrcurrc cu vr hav ccurr uss cas arus wr cscius appi

S L A C O M A A V A E C C 2 5

Te most basc oftese conceps and he one ta is o f rstimporance in the desn of e Mqat Mosqe, noles se ofhe cenral cortyard in conjncton wt srrondin hypos ilealleres This pactice ad ts oots a te beinnin of slamsince te rst mosqe, which eoled a an extenson of te oseof te rophet wa oranied nside a potectie wa. In the stmosqe aleries consistin of pam rnk wih shadin proded

by ronds were eenally added to accommodate he owinnmbe of worshppers and hese aeries were directy atachedo te extero wall, ean an open co n te center. Raterhan simpy repesentn a spaia remnant or te perpetaon ofa domestic conention ncidentaly appopraed fo relios se,his rs mosqe cotyard also sered the her prpose of podn pysicaly and symbocally sancted space. A EWakilimsel as said abo he arranemen of Mqat

his variati ps th ar msqus i Ism a iscciv y ig a pt f a thrugh th rcti


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26 S 7 . 2

!g

of an ousde wall and esablshng a shaded area alonghe qbla wall ng he dreon of Makkah Ths

gesure of denng spae and onserang o he nameof God and o hs worshp s he bass upon whh spaes onvered om he prone o he sare

As one o he cleares an mos inie exampes o hecenral couryar mosque he Ibn Tuun complex n aroemboies many o he prnciples ha were amplie a Mqa an whch serve as is man source o nspiraion Alare open sie a he me o is consrucion allowe he Ibn

Tulun Mosque o e aine orhoonally whin a zyadahsurrounn precnc an ye si conorm o he irecono Makkah al Mukkaramah Bu access requiremens o anrom he man hhway passin Mqa icae ha szyadah which conans pulc acies on s norhwesernee an aluionaries on oh s souheasern an souhwesern sies neee o paralel his roa

The secon basic concep rom Islam evien in heesn o Miqa nvoves he revalzaion o sacre eomeres ere emeres rom he ransormaion o an oriinaprooype an is commemoraon a a smaer scale hrouh a

series o roain squares As a orm he square is nonreciona wh our sies ha represen he carina pons anhe earh as he paorm rom whch as Fahy has sai :The movemen o he sun an moon an sars n heirunequa course s reenace wih heir meein an reconcl

aon vin resh promise o one more coincience Whenrepeaey roae insie one anoher n a series o close anopen spaces as hey are a Miqa sequeniay imnshinsquares srony impy inniy The las eecion owar heqbla irecion whch serves o cose he seres paces he symbosm n conex In he esin o Mqa he minare(which s no shown n he earlier version o he proec ilusrae n Fure 9 provies he verical marker ha reinorceshs nenion Base on he spral a Samarra his minare is aeomerical oureorce beinnin no wih a square as aIbn Tulun u wih a riane Grauay his rianuar baseiminishes in sie as i rses un resolves isel as a cylinerAs he archiecura expression o human aspiraon owar hevine he minare oay has oen been reuce o servin asa enera sinpos or he mosque Bu a Miqa EWakilmanae o recapure he oriinal inenion o his imporanrelious symbol once aan emonsran he counless creave possiblies ha exs wihin he connes o raion

One ehul consequence o EWakls approach o he

GU 6. LF Kng Sud Moqu pn nd von Cour of

k

GU 7. W Mq Moqu prpv Cour of.

k

esin o he Mqa Mosque s a ush aren o palm reesha separaes he mosque rom he sevce permeer creainan environmenay rienly microcmae ha sans n ramaic conras o he barrenness o he his nearby Such sensiviy o surrounins exens beyon he perimeer wall nouiliarian areas such as he parkn los which are ocae ouo necessy o eiher sie o he complex By usin loosehcolore ravel raher han back asphal EWaki manae o lower he aleo evel in hese areas conserayreucin he ambien emperaure aroun he bun

In s nal orm he Mqa Mosque measures 77 meers


9/16

square sis nsde a 1,000 squaremeer couryard and prodes prayin space for 5000 worshippers s consruced ofloadbearin brck wh a series of arcaded rows oraned nconsecuie bays spaced 6 meers apar Massie piers supporarches ha hod up a barrelauled roof wih a heh a each

apex of 16 meers from round eel Aside from is hermaladanaes and relaely ow cos he consrucion sysem usedfor he mosque also proed ecien in a wder sense, since iaowed he complex o foro he use of such eneryinensemaerials as seel and concree whch woud hae had o haebeen mpored from abroad The sysem also emnaed heneed for cosly wooden cenern and framewor hus reducinhe use of an increasinly rare naur resource.

Taen n chronoloical oerew he alawa and amdyouses he Suliaman aace and he Aarsi Kin Saud andAMiqa Mosques show lWaks approach in form anddeail o boh secular resdenia and sacred archecure Theapproach may enerally be described as nenionaly deriaie, proidin a deliberae wis on he sima placed on harai by moderniss. Wakil has arued ha inenionalderiaon s acually he basis for all noable archiecure inradiional sociees lWaki has also coninued o elaboraeon he formal anuae eoed by his menor ahy Bu hehas ransferred his lanuae o a more durable and publicyaccepable maerial A he heh of his aciiy in SaudiArabia a facory produced clay brck amos exclusiely for hsbuildins) ess a purs han ahy he seems more conizanof pramaic issues and echniques ncludn he use ofcompuers as a desn oo Since hs approach of uncoerinpas echnques noles a horouh knowede of eomery

his pramasm has heped him considerably e characerzeshis role as ha of a ransmier, or one who is redscoerin heway in whch crafsmanshp was mplemened in he pas.This he claims s he posie ncon of deriaion

inally while he is frequenly cricized as bein aconexual and anurban, i should be noed ha he exampes ypcaly cied in makin his chare are he Jeddah mosqueswhich were always inended o be funconal scupure Manyequay compelin nsances exis of lWakil's abiliy o blendhis work ino exisin archecural eds Neerheess hisdesin ab y reardless of is sources, is unquesioned is hisreiance on preexisn prootypes ha has made his work conroersial. Ths is frequenly focused on he coninuin deel

opmen of an esablished heme such as he bn Tuun/AlMiqa model, or he renerpreaion of a radona model,such ha of he Jeddah house i n he case of Suliaman alace

H E U R I S T I T P O O G I S A D R A I O A L S

T O R I S M O R A S E M B A D R A

n comparson o lWakil, Jordanian archiec RasemBadran presens a compleely differen approach o he reinerpreaion of a radiional anuae While he may now pub

S L E A C O M P A V D I A L C 2

cly decne o be considered a discipe of ahy, hs oal hasbeen o cae ou a simiar roe as a moderaor and ranslaor ofradon in hs reon and cuure. nke Wakil Badranhas used many of he mos wellknown cies in he Arab worldas his ed of sudy o deelop wha may be characerized as a

mehod of raionl hisorcism e has speciclly sudied heenironmen nd social derences in hese cies and he waysuch ariaions hae been expressed n forma arranemens.Badran has descrbed hs drecion as folows:

he slutins r any architectural rblem are bundt a set f intercnnected ctrs related t scicultural,envirnmental, and mrhlgicaltechnlgical issuesAs r my rle as an architect in activating these ctrs see it as giving value t human needs thrugh emhasizing the character f ce, its architectural and mrhlgical atterns, and giving meaning t the builtenvirnment t tru relate it t its inhabitants hisbalanced interrelatinshi and crrelatin beteenscicultul and mrhlgical atterns is the inclusive hle that drentiates slamic civiliztin, hilethe inteectual rle f the architect invlvement isrected in the abili t elre the hidden lnks fthese ersectives By this, try t shed light n an eistemlgical amerk f knledge related t a certainarchitectural act hich has been generated m mentalimages sti en t rther reinterretatin By discerning the es sence f an architectural bject avid thetrivial histrici and litel cying m the ast, rducing semilgical images f cntemry architectur

al eressins n my search r the riginali andidenti f a certain culture ithut cying its histrical images kee a distance m ersnal sle, egismand secentered individualism f tday rld"

One recen projec ha reeals hese more eneral concerns as well as his mehod of makn hem manfes inoedBadran n an analca sudy of he urban characerisics ofSanaa Yemen and he similariies and differences beween isarchiecural feaures and hose of oher cies such as CairoQairawan and Bahdad The sudy indicaed o Badran hahe cener, usually consisn of he mosque (al masjid alamand he ciys commercal and nciona aciiies is one of he

consan feaures of Arabslamic ciies oweer Badranfound ha he urban formaion of Sana a was a b differenfrom ha of oher ces n Sana resdences are rouped ericlly around ardens (bustans) whch form he public spaces nhe neihborhoods and proide places where peope can inerac(FGS) n he oher cies Badran suded he residenal nehborhoods were spread horzonaly, dominaed by he inernalcouryard he priae space for each house

n San a Badran also analyzed he eemens of he priaeresidence, ndn ha he erical expression of he residenace resuled from he needs of a nomadic arcuura socey


10/16

28 T

U 8 Skch ofpcal ho oy ofR adan.)

ad he speca oporaphy o he reo, where aiclralad is scarce e also od he hose had evolved i relaoship o ih ad veaio wh opes o varos siescleverly sed o c lae, ye alow dsed lh o ee adecorae ai moveme

Badra has oed ha despe he social dereiaoamo he people o a ve eihborhood, he oramealqay o opeis he Yemei hose acs as a soca leveer Whe he pary was sed hese dwei src

res emphasze simpciy ad modesy o appeaacereeci soca coherece, he eaboaio o eriosalows a idvidal owe o show his socal ad ecoomcsas. This becomes paicay evde he deree oaicaio he opes o he maa he hhes roomi he hose This eare s eqivae o he ieacoryard o he radioa Aab hose whee a simaiees i orame s evde. Badras ypooical sdies cared o larey wh a skechbook ad a pe,descrbe a disic mehodooy he oramea adachieca eemes o he opes:

h sysm of opnings in a pical Ymni hous is basdon h ndamnal phnomna which dicad vricalowh. h ound oor was usd r n and r sorag hrr is opnings a sma and w h upproors hav opnings which dr according o h siz ofh mi/ living in h hous. h uppr oor hmaa is usd o compl h of h hous and rviwing h ousid; hrr, is opnings ar aricudin a way o rprsn h saus of h own 6

Movi o hierarchca proressio, Badra ex sd-ed he orma aspecs o he resideal eihborhoods iSaa (FG9) A hs evel he oed he orresse omaos ad he imporace o wae i ocai bildsBadra caeorzed rba ypooes ad hei morpholoicapaes, sdy he busan ariclral aome), alamimosqe, suq shopp area samsa specialzed commeciaceer) ad aniyar well) addo o aes, walls, sees,aleys ad ersecos rom hese vesaios he aved aa se o eer plai pricipes These iclded he ear


11/16

S L A C O A A I V D A L I C 29

FIGU 9. Sn Ymen pges Cure fR Bdrn

orgnon of vrcl rsdnl un s ornon owrdlgh nd nurl vnlon groupng of dwllngs rondbutan, nd sysm of opnngs rd o nvronmnl ndsymoc spcs hn ppd hs prncpls o hdsgn of nw s dmnsonng h dsgn o pproxmh scl o rdon nghorhood In hs proc hocd plc cvs sch s shops cos o h sr whlh ocd h hgh owrs of h rsdnl complx hprv nd of h s rond butan Th mosqu nd s

ssocd cvs wr locd twn h pc nd prv prs of h complx o srv s sococur lnk.

Bdrn hs n h smr pproch of rsrchngypologs nd prns n hs wor n Riydh. r hs dsgnfor h Jsc lc or Qsr om nd h JmMosqu mnns n mporn ron o h od cy oRydh nd occps srgc pos on n h rn rc

Th rs ssu or Bdrn n hs dsgn ws o rslshh clurl nd rdonl cnr hrogh sds of nrrld mns nd h ponl o usng hs lmns s prooyps for nw cs In hs rgrd h nod h hsorc

rlonshp wn h Jm Mosq nd h rurs rsdnc srroundng clr nd dcon cvs ndpc nd commrcl ldngs lk h uq nd h khanTh nw mosqu rplcd h old Qsr lokm Mosqwhch sl hd n on h rns o h King AdlMosqu Th nw srcur ndd o srv som 4 worshpprs s wll s nohr 6 vsors n n odoor coryrd Th compx lso ncldd commrcl fcl s, schoosrsdncs nd qusgovrnmnl srvcs. Bdrn

xplnd hs n pproch o h proc for whch h wonn Ag Khn wrd n h 995 cycl) s ollows

W rlid havi on our xprin with th BaghdadStat Moqu projt in thi dign W rmd a gomtri ntwork uing a ri of potandlintl aradthat run pall to th qibla Thi ytm i ud inmany loal traditional moqu, inluding alDiryaUing an arad ytm a human al in a largmoqu and bak th pa into mar ara, onnint r human gathring, a lon w ao larnd in


12/16

3 0

Baghda Beaue of it ie and the deni of the urrounding urban bri, the hall wa equipped with ev-eral entryway, ditributed to ahieve a trong ial andviual relationhip with the main gate of the Jutiealae and the ultural ente to unite the three into a

ingle uni

Baran's lanni n sras rct th imoranc ofconncions us to sablish what Baran has cal a balancbwn h raiona h hysical, an th sirtual ascts inth cy In h Jusic alac ths strais wr us torica h morholoy of h o city of Ryah. Traitonalmns an vocabuary, such as walls, ats, an towrs wraso us n h sn so ha th comlx was srony ra o h scal an charactr of th oriinal city rahr thanbn isoa as ar many similar instiutions toay. Infac, h bounary wall o th alac rsmbls h wals ofmany ciis i n h Aab worl an i intracs ostivy wh

h urban stn by rfrrin absractly o such aturs o olRiyah as fns walls ats, roya ntrancs ormal aways, an ublic nrancs. Aminisrativ builns clustrbhn h wall an ths ar back by th alac its withowrs ha rsmbl AMusmaq, th narby for tha KinAbulai aSau catur whn h rst st o ut o uni hKinom. Th rsu o ths ffcts is that h ntr Qasr Aokm comx is arculat on hr lvs lain walls rsmbl thos of ol Ryah massin rsmbls a trational rsintia ara an a ocal oin chos AlMusmaq. As n thast th mosqu s as an quly mortan comonn ointo ohr functons rathr han bn lf on s own, as is nray th cas in cis throuhou h Mi as oay

To stablsh connuty wih h as n ols mns,Bar ao a rsonant smiotic sysm a Qasr aolwhch is scivy ocaiz. Bu in svra othr mor rcntrojcs such as his mbassy for h nit Arab mrats inAmman FGO) an th Scrtariat Oranizaion o Islamicaias an is FlG.) a systm has bcom mor univrsal. In ths lar rojcs Baran has attm to invok anIsamic rfrncs ha woul alin wih his xanin vision ofth otntial of his archicur o rc unty wihn ivrsy

As h ran o issus rsn n Rasm Baran's rocs inicats h s in trsts ar snicanly irn han thoso lWakil aricuarly n rms o his concrn or urban

tyoos An hs mho of nquiry s huristc, rathr thanrivativ .., i is nrat throuh rc, rcor obsrvaton ocusn on univrsa yoois an th slih varaionsthat occur in thm u to ffrin conions An xam oths iffrnc is rahcaly rsn in a suy Baran wascommisson to rorm of wnnin rocs in th cycl by h Aa Khan Awar. r h comar ksniviual scultura aroach n th ornich mosqu oharaonc monumnaly, which h contrast with th contxua intration yicaly foun in ab ciis.

Barans mho alows him to formua rorssons of

xamls bas on consistnt nric similariis. hil h isconcrn wih rstoration of crafsmansh, th is is no his rimary focus, bcaus h sks o rua tys rathr hanchniqus an forms. If h forms that rsu ar similar ohos us n h as, h synhsis is concinal rahr han

inntional bas on oca vouion of a crain y. Such anxtnsiv rocss o invsaon ns o iv Baran's workan asct o auhntcty lictn a ositiv rsons scialyrom stuns.

Barans oa is ulimatly to sach for constants of thkn Ao Rossi has catorz in his rhiteture of the asrsistnc. An in his or h snuishs carlbtwn h rmannt an th transito. In his xoraon ofa rliious an culura traiion that mbois boh rat unityan ivrsiy Baran has concnrat on nin h commonnominator bnath rnc rahr han ruan articular nationa historca symbos. Throuh xtnsv rahcanalysis h has shown tha ths iniviual orms usualy riv

from nvronmnal an conomic factors. In si o hs raonalistic aoach, Barans archtcur rmains a rcv,rathr than rily objctiv, xamination of h worl. As arsul h has rva th sminy inni ossibiiis for crav xrssion ossb wihn th framwork of raion.

A S O O H E B A R R A G A B RA H

T H E E L E M E TA L M I N I M A I S M

O R A R D O E G O R R E TA

In h Wsrn hmshr, Ricaro Lorrta has bnon o f h mos inunia roonns of raional archicur. ik lWaki h has also bn u by a mnor, inhs cas th ot/archic uis Barraan. Athouh Lorrtaswork is frqunly comar tha of Barraan, Lorrta isquick to not thr ar sincant stinctions btwn hmon accoun o rsonal intrrations of basc nvronmntalan cultura charactristcs rat o h hra o Mxico.

Barraan was amost comly unknown ousi oMxco untl Lorra hl oran an xhibion of hiswork a h Musum o Morn A in Nw York iy. Thanion nrat by hs show was rcy rsonsb for hawar of h rizkr rz to Barraan in 19 80 . In hs acctanc sch, rathr han arssin mor rctabl an mun

an ascts o uncion Barraan sok of architcur as asubim ac o otc imainaion comris of bauy, nsraton, maic, srniy sinc inimacy an amazmnt.owvr Barraan no characr himslf as a tratonaarchict an this osiion s insrucv n unrstannorras aroach as wl. Accorin o orta

W hould try to produe with modern arhiteture theame aration that i und in the ue, pae, andvolume of pre Columbian arhiteture a we a olonial and popular arhiteture, but it ha to be done


13/16

A

G. c

S L . C M A I V A C C 3

G R 1 0 A Embs Ammn Coues ofR. Bdrn.

wih a conemporary expreion Obviou we cannorepea hee rm exac bu we can anaze heeence of hee elemen, o ha, wihou copyin heame arden, paio and plaza, we can ranmi opeople he experience of cenurie which may makeheir live a bi more pleaurable i exac whamodern ciie lack he mo.

eorreta as carred over Baraan's prediecton or srace

volme and color as we as or water, wic is centra o the storica memory o Mexco, snce Mexico Ciy was an sand cty atte tme o te arriva o Cortez eorea notes ta these elements e basc to te vernacar architectre o te contry, andta hey ave aways een sed by people o limted economcmeans n this read e clams his work is more ndeted ornspiraton to the spirit o Mexican tradton than to Barraan

reec our Mexican hiory The preHipanicwa ron ancien ark and omeime colorle convey he dini of i maker and he man

cence f ha civilizaion The colonial wa ha a dr-en piriuali no panih or Indian bu meizo, heblend of wo race and reliion The myer nayand enibili of he Indian i married o he con-dence and areive reliioi of pain omeime hewal rie o proe ouide inuence and he rcewhich repre Mexican ih wal our rea muralidepiced boh he ource of pain and our ruleand hope r eedom. hen oher culure inuence

Mexico he wa almo diappear a houh i iembarraed and ha one o hide Unde French inu-ence in he la cenur and American inuence odahe wa doe no hou i hide and crie Y alwayhere i a conan, humble dicree wa ha doe nodie bu erve he e Mexican he loiou vernacularwa a ource of unlimied inpi ion ron, weeand romanic of colo decided MexicanH

Leorrea bean hs career by workn or Jose Vllaranan architect wo prsed a decidedly modernis drection B


14/16

32 S R 7

vK" ,AC rts .

F I G U E Fnl degn Serert of slm Counre nd es (ouresy ofR Bdrn)

eore le his ofce in 1960 becse even hoh heespeced Villrn he ws nble o reconcle he work hews doin here wih hs love of hs cony nd is rich rchiecrl here In he sme yer he ws sricken wih seros illness n even h reinforced his ime s snicnnin poin in his life Soon fe his recovery eorre wscommissoned o desin he Aomex pln whch s compeey Mexicn owned

Auome wa inended o be a homage o and a upporr he Meican who gh o obain a mean o workwih dii Auome wa like a rebellionagain he dicipline and he dominaion of he inernaional world over m counr ha I love o much

The slin mssive simpliciy of he Aomex fcory wh is lon low horizonl wlls pncred only bywo ll rnced cones hosn n diorim nd cisern provided dcl deprre when i ws compleedin 1964 fom he ypic ss nd seefrme bdns

h hen previed in Mexico nd i oched nionlisc chod. Soon ferwrds he Bnco Nconl de Mexicocommssioned eorre o desn hoe on sie nerChplepec k skn h i be open n me fo he9 68 Olympic Gmes The reslin oe Cmino Relfered sndredbr c beri n wlls nd ws onzedrond inernl cors filed wh wer nd rdens sensiive ppoch o he ho id clime (F1G2) Thissensiivi y relized n lo c mer h ws mnfc

ed sn nonenerynensve pprope echnooynd inslled by locl semskied lbor pces eoreswok my wihin he frmewok of he ssinbiliy docrine olined n Agenda

ven more ndicve of eores ineion ofrchiecre nd environmen ws his desin fo heCmno Re chins hoel in Ixp n 98 The checrefsed he sie onlly proposed by he clien b fondnohe on seep sope closer o more conned bech.ee his bdin benefied from beer orienonvew nd connecion o he nd Seppin dmicy


15/16

GR 12 Cmio R Mxio Ci p. (Cour oR Lgorr

down he soe n descendn terrces, the sbstntl,monochromtc bldn, whch reks t n nle n he

mddle to more closey d to the crve of the sloe,seems rt of he lnd s f t hd lwys een thereThe exteror s drk bee, blendn esly wth the densetree cover rond t Bt more nense coors re sed onhe wde, ln srfces of he nteror nd on the wllsdvdn the terrces of ech room, reclln the rhthes of the owers tht row n s nternl cortyrds Alexrneos del hs een elmned from the comlex,lown o convey the owerf, element me ofben t one wth ntre. Moreover, sens tve orent tonnd wde oenns ensre ht nrl venton rovdesdeqte cooln for l sces, whle the mssveness of thewlls nd dee overhns ensres roecton from the sn.

eorre's roch s cerly more nttve hnhersc, nd t seems to dscore rhc exlorton.n fc, drwns of hs rojects re tyclly s mnm she rchtectre self, ben ndcve rther hnexortory In comrso n to EWkl nd Bdrn,eorre s redcvst who hs soht he eemenlsstnce of hs contry's verncr rchectre.Conseqenly, he does not rely hevly on docmentton, on ersonlly drectn conrctors n hs method,exemore chnes tke lce drn he bldn rocess,s they tyclly dd n the st

S L E : A O M A A V I A L C 33

R O L M O D S R R R A O ,

O R C L O S T M O D R S T S ?

The hree rchtects whose work s dscssed here resentdern tttdes owrd the rnston of trdonl rch

ecre Dese he debes whch srrond them ech ofther oches my be consdered eqly vld. he somemy stbly re th or rchtecre, stemmnrom rtclr clre, my reresent the ony rel renterretton of rdton, the work of hese rchecs onts hewy for those ced wth the tsk of nterretn rdton ndresectn the envronment Ech rchect ses echnqesth e wthn the frmework of sstnb y. And hese technqes revel the nce etween ths or conce ndrdtonl envronmentl strtees.

here s, however, one sc sse, whch hs only eenoched on rey here, whch rovdes stext o he rments ove. A f dscsson o t les otsde the scoe of

ths er, bt the sse s ermne enoh h t cn be renrodced here for closre The de concerns wht mh este termed modern nence. Mohmmed AlAsd, one of thefew crcs o ddress how modernsm my ly o rchtectsemtn renterretons of trdton, hs nonted therobem ths

h qution i to wht xtnt w to tt uchchitct within th gnl mwok o Wtnchitctul hitoy nd citicim, nd to wht xtntthy pnt th bginning oth mtion o. . nw ld oinqui on which my qui igncnt

modction to th mnn in which th tudy omodn chitctu h bn ppochd

Fthy, ElWkl Bdrn, Brrn nd eorret wereech edcted n colon nd oscolonl settn, ndhey were ll nlly enmored of moderns docrne Bwhen J M Rchrds mento ned n he A hn monorhon Fthy th hs frend mh be cssfed s modernstbecse of hs ostensble nctonlsm, formlsm, srctrlsm, nd dherence to he trthfl exresson of mter-s, hs seson ored mny o Fthys nner crcleAnd yet some o those who hve been mos t vocl n exressn ths ore, sch s EWkl, hve themselves been sm

rly clssed s hs Bdrn for hs over rtonlsm,relnce on modlr rds, nd refbrced consrctonsystems. One cn only conclde th n the context nwhch these rchtects hve oerted nd conne o oer-te, modernsm remns n nrm for mch more hnsye It my e h the severed chn o trd on mentedy EWk cnno e mended by nyone, rerdless o lent, vson, senstvy o r rty of ntenon


16/16

3 S R

R E F E R N C O T S Our Common Futur Word Commssion on

Evirome and Deveopme Gro Harlem

Brudand Chaiperson (Oxod: Oxfod

Universiy Press 98) p3

2 Id p2

3 D Sarz Agnda 2: Th Earth SummtStrat to Sav Our Plant (Eath Press 1993)

p.63

4 S Davis and K Ebbe eds., Tradtonal

Knowldg and Sutanal Dlopmnt (coer

ece proceedgs) (Washingo, D C. World

Bak Publcaos, 199), p.v

5 ] Helland, "The Crtics of he Ars ad

Crafs The sance o Magare Macdoad

ad Charles Ree Mackiosh, Journal oth

Aoaton oArt Htoran Vol.J7 N.2 une

994) p224

6. See Pikoni Dm Pkon: 887968

(Athes Mpasa-lessa, 1994).

7 H Fay "e Qa'a of he Cairene Arab

ouse s Deveopme ad Some New sages

fo Is Design Coceps Coloqu Intrnatonal

Sur Ltor du Ca 969 sema proceed

gs) (Cairo Miisry of Culure 1972).

8 nerview wh A El-Wakl ]edd

KSA 1988

9 Id.

10 Id

H Fahy, Moqu A'httur (unpublished

ascrip o pagaion) .

12. Iervew wh ElWakil, ]edd

SA. 98813. Fahy, Moqu Ahttur

14 Ierview wth Rasem Badra Geeva 198 9.

15. Iterview wt Rasem ada Amma, 199.

16 I

17. I

18 I

19. Ross Arhttur oth C

(Cambidge M: MIT ress, 1982) 32

20 . Baaga speech afte receiving he

riker ie commemoraive pamphlet.

21 nerview wi Ricardo Legoea Los

Ageles 199

22 W Aoe ed Th Ahttu oa'do

Lgorrta Ausin: University ofTexas ress

1991) p

23 I .4

24. M AAsad The Woks of an Arab

Aciec Rasem Badran 19701986 (upub

lished udaed docmen suppled by Rasem

Badra) 5.

the translation of tradition

Documents