INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 1: ARCHITECTURE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: A BACKGROUND 9
Geopolitical and Environmental Characteristics 10
Cultural and Religious Influences 17
Architectural and Urban Classical Local Antecedents 31
Colonial Architecture, East-West Encounters 43
Decolonising Architecture: Nation Building 49
Architecture of Development: An Urban and Housing Quest 52
Contemporary Architecture: Faster and Higher 54
Conclusion 56
References 57
CHAPTER 2: ARCHITECTURAL VOCABULARY: ELEMENTS OF LOCAL STYLES 59
Site Typologies 62
Biological Layer 65
Cultural Layer 72
Physical Layer 75
Social and Communal Layer 92
Environmental Layer 94
Massing and Volumetric Composition 97
Compactness 102
Connectedness 104
Transition 104
Fragmentation 106
Skyline 108
Function and Space 110
Space/Function versus Place 110
Space as a Process 112
Space Configurationality 113
Scale and Proportion 115
Human Scale and Proportion 117
Materials and Scale 118
Size and Scale 119
Light and Form 123
Light as Energy 125
Light as Space 127
Light as Form 129
Light as Metaphor 131
Order and Geometry 134
Geometry and Order as Design 135
Geometry and Order as Structure 138
Geometry and Order as Allegory 139
Ornament and Symbolism 142
Ornament as Motif 143
Ornament as Symbolism 146
Building as Digital Ornament 149
Patterns, Textures and Colours 151
Architectural Patterns versus Decorative Patterns 152
Local versus Imported Patterns 156
Composition of Patterns, Textures, and Colours 157
Conclusion 162
References 163
CHAPTER 3: CULTURAL AND CONTEXTUAL MEANING 165
Cultural Value Judgment and Symbolic Codes (Cognitive Schemata, Transmission) 167
Representation and Expression of Cultural Meaning 171
Representation/Expression 171
IDENTIFICATION/COMMUNICATION/TRANSMISSION 174
INTEGRATION/DEVELOPMENT 176
Spatial-Cultural Arrangement (Transformation and Experience) 177
Climate and Environment (Adaptive and Creative Sustainability) 181
Building Know-How and Processes of Production 189
Local/Global Building Know-How 189
Technology-Based Culture 191
Morality, Ethics and Responsibility 193
Conclusion 195
References 196
CHAPTER 4: TRENDS AND DISCOURSES OF CONTEXTUAL ARCHITECTURE 199
Regionalism and Internationalism: A Design Reference 204
A Paradoxical Design: Reactivating or Mimicking ‘Islamic’/‘Arabic’ Architecture 207
Reinvention of Tradition or Heritage in Design: Continuity or Discontinuity 211
Designing with Nature 215
Nationalist, Post-Orientalist and Fantasist Design 220
‘Theme Parks’ and Megaprojects: Designing in the Gulf 225
Sustainability-Based Design 227
Conclusion 230
References 231
APPENDIX: ORIENTATION: TOWARDS A MODEL OF CONTEXTUAL ENQUIRY-BASED DESIGN 233
CONCLUSION 239
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS 241
INDEX 242
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