1

Introduction

Survey

of Middle Eastern Architecture

ARCH (4183+5183) 900 Thursday 06:30p.m.-09:20p.m. Gaylord Hall (GLRD) 2010 College of Architecture, The University of Oklahoma Dr. Khosrow Bozorgi kbozorgi@ou.edu Office Hours (T+R) 10am-11:30am. Gould 270

This course is going to explore the universal sense of the transcendent unity of the diverse Middle Eastern architecture. In this region, architectural tradition has accrued over the past thousand years a rich legacy of eternally valid responses to the perennial dictates of man and nature. These environmentally adaptive and culturally relevant principles and forms are treasuries of correct, wholesome and balanced building design. The principles of Middle Eastern architecture is based upon human scale and the bodys golden mean proportions, while eliciting in the viewer a profound sense of archetypal meanings of spiritual transcendence, sustainability, and cosmic unity. The impact of climate, which is an important factor of diversity, is clearly conspicuous in residential architecture. Without being influenced by official stylistic developments, this diversity has gradually emerged in the course of time and is rooted in the geographic location. On the contrary, the diversity of official architecture has been associated with political-cultural developments. For example, Seljuq architecture takes shape following the same stylistic particularities in Iran, Turkey and Syria. The geographic domain of Timurid architecture involves Iran and Central Asia, and Safavid architecture is reflected in Isfahan and can be traced in Taj Mahal. Another secondary, but significant variable, is the ethnic mobility and the quiet frequent migration of architects throughout the Middle East. This is why the work of Iranian architects can be seen from Syria to India. Middle Eastern architecture is neither entirely an expression of harmony and unity, nor entirely one of opposition and plurality. Rather all at once, it fluctuates between these opposed features. Introversion and the interior-exterior dialectics are among familiar subjects, but our aim, instead of pointing out to introversion in the current architectural vernacular is to indicate, the interior-exterior dialectics in terms of its intellectual definition and its characteristics. Another point which deserves discussion in the architecture of cities neighboring the desert is the precise order of the plan of public buildings and the sinuous

disposition of streets in residential areas, which exhibits a conspicuous opposition between order and disorder in traditional urban form in Middle East.

Introduction

This course is offered through the Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture (CMEAC) at the University of Oklahoma, College of Architecture. The Center seeks to advance knowledge of the Middle Eastern built environment and culture for its intellectual and academic values. Therefore, the Center supports scholarship that is of historical and contemporary importance, by acting as a coordinating body for participating universities and institutions whose research focus relates to this geographic area and beyond. The Center also welcomes interdisciplinary perspectives in the study of architecture and culture of the region. The Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture aims for allencompassing study of building in the Middle East, building here being taken in a broad sense, comprising all means by which humans give shape to their environment, including architecture, town planning, landscaping, etcetera. Centering on this specific region has its justification in the fact that in building their environment, humans are required to take account of natural conditions such as climate and landscape, as well as of the social and cultural traditions of their society. Depending on these contingencies, certain large regions in the world can be discerned where architecture is characterized by certain common traits. One such large region has the Middle East as its nucleus, while also encompassing parts of North Africa and central Asia for brevities sake, we speak of this region as the Middle East. The architecture and culture of the Middle East have developed distinct traits which set them apart from other regions. For building in the Middle East, it is important to take into account not only the natural, technical and economic possibilities of the region, but also the expectations and desires of the inhabitants which are due to local traditions, as well as the demands posed by developing relations with the world outside the Middle East. Especially in a time of incisive social and technological changes, it is important that architects, scholars, and artists maintain the regions cultural heritage in order to preserve and shape a sense of identity. The aim of the Centre is to study the architectural traditions of the region and the way these traditions, in the course of history, have been formed by social and cultural factors over the course of centuries; to contemplate the consequences of modern dynamics which presently are putting new demands on architectural developments in the region; and to make plans-based upon these insights for future activities in the countries of the Middle East. The ways the Center will pursue these aims will include teaching, research, the organization of conferences, workshops and seminars, as well as other cultural activities which may highlight relevant developments in the Middle East. The Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture acknowledges and celebrates both the similarities and diversities of the region and aims towards bridging differences through a convergent academic stance concerning architecture and its constituent cultural and technological makeup, ultimately providing an opportunity for dialog supporting the greater good of all involved.

Objectives

Expand students abilities in the methodology of architectural research. Develops students ability to integrate information from multiple disciplines and to think critically. Introduces methods of graphic and verbal analysis of architecture and architectural writing. These objectives are in accordance with NAAB Student Performance Criteria. Familiarize student with non-western tradition focusing on the unique type of architecture in Middle East. To discuss an architectural tradition that focuses upon the design of spaces to the exclusion of monumental form, shape and mass.

Studying the concept of sustainable desert city, the role of encompassing walls, which are pursued through its tripartite sequence of path, portal and enclosure. To understand the fact that space-positive approach need not merely be seen as historical phenomenon and it is rather a viewpoint that increases awareness of the existential focus of architecture and urban fabric. How do we define and/or qualify Middle Eastern architecture? What is the relationship between such architecture and culture?

Required Reading Textbooks

The primary required textbooks for ARCH 4183-900 are:

Islamic Architecture: Form, Function, and Meaning Written by Robert Hillenbrand

You are required to purchase this book

Architecture of the Islamic World Edited by George Michell

Will be provided by class

Class will be provided with the key reading materials on the following topics: Isfahan and Its palaces Formal Structure in Islamic Architecture of Iran and Turkistan Bazaar of Isfahan Geometry: The Tiles of Infinity Wind Catcher and Its Effect on Natural Ventilation Persian Gardens Qantas Wind Catchers For further research you can use the OU libraries in Gould Architecture, Bizzell, and Fine Arts. The following books are recommended: Ardalan, Nader. The Sense of Unity. The University of Chicago Press, 1973. Blake, Stephen P. Half the World: The Social Architecture of Safavid Isfahan, 1590-1722. Mazda Publishing, 1999. Blunt, Wilfrid. Isfahan, Pearl of Persia. New York: Stein and Day Publishers,1966. Clark, Kenneth N. Desert Housing. The University of Arizona Press, 1980. Creswell, K.A.C. Studies in Islamic Art and Architecture. The American University in Cairo Press, 1965. Critchlow, Keith. Islamic Patterns: An Analysis and Cosmological Approach. New York: Schoken Books, 197

Dutz, Werner Felix. From Pasargade To Darab. Tehran: Farhangsara (Yassavoli) Press, 1997. Grabar, Oleg. The Great Mosques of Isfahan. New York University Press, 1990. Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. Micham, Roland and Sabrina. Coulour and Symbolism in Islamic Architecture. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Moynihan, Elizabeth B. Paradise As A garden. New York: George Braziller,1979. Michel, George. Architecture of the Islamic World. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1978. Shani, Raya. The Case of the Gunbad-I Alawiyan Hamedan. Oxford University Press, 1996.

Semester Schedule
January 01/16/14 01/23/14 01/30/14 February 02/06/14 02/13/14 02/20/14

TP = Team Presentation A = Attendance CR = Class Report MTE=Mid-Term Exam FE=Final Exam PRP= Presentation: Research Project

M.I M.II M.III M.IV M.V M.VI

Orientation Class Report 01 Lecture + Class Report 02 Team Presentation A+B Lecture + Class Report 03 Team Presentation C Lecture + Class Report 04 Team Presentation D Lecture + Class Report 05 FILM SCREENING: Lawrence of Arabia Directed by David Lean +Class Report 06 MID-TERM EXAM Team Presentation E Lecture + Class Report 07 Team Presentation F Lecture + Class Report 08 Spring Break Team Presentation G Lecture + Class Report 09 Team Presentation H Lecture + Class Report 10 FINAL EXAM PUBLIC LECTURE: The Afterlife of Paradise Dr. Annette Gieseck + Class Report Presentations: RESEARCH PROJECT Presentations: RESEARCH PROJECT

(TP150+A10+CR10) points (A10+CR10) points (TP150+A10+CR10) points

(TP150+A10+CR10) points

(TP150+A10+CR10) points

(A20+CR20) points

02/27/14 March 03/06/14 03/13/14 03/20/14 03/27/14 April 04/03/14 04/10/14 04/17/14

M.VII M.VIII M.VIX M.00 M.X M.XI M.XII M.XIII

(A10+MTE175) points (TP150+A10+CR10) points

(TP150+A10+CR10) points

(TP150+A10+CR10) points

(TP150+A10+CR10) points (A10+FE175) points

(A20+R20) points

04/24/14 May 05/01/14

M.XIV M.XV

(A10+PRP200) points

(A10+PRP200) points

Grading

Five components will determine your grade Attendance 170 Class Report 130 Class Presentation 150 Research Project . 200 Exams . 350 Total . 1000

Project themes, goals and objectives will be clearly explained. Points

A = 910 - 1000 B = 810 - 909 C = 710 - 809 D = 610 - 709 F = 0 609

Graduate Assistant: Farzad Motaghi Pishe:

motaghi@ou.edu

Policies and Information

a. Any student in this course with a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities, are requested to speak with the professor as early in the semester as possible. The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities must be registered with the Office of Disability Services prior to receiving accommodations in this course. The Office of Disability Services is located in the Goddard Health Center. More information about their services can be found here: http://www.ou.edu/drc/home.html b. The Writing Center here at OU is an important resource. You will soon learn, and early in your career, the importance of good communication. The instructors at the writing center will be glad to talk to you about your writing, and for any course you may be taking. They are available for appointment, either online or by phone, or you can drop in anytime they are open. Please familiarize yourself with their website: http://www.ou.edu/writingcenter.html c. Plagiarism is severely punished at OU and all Universities. This problem has become exacerbated by the extensive outreach of the internet. It is possible to obtain voluminous information on any subject, and a temptation for many students to lift entire paragraphs or entire essays from the web PARTICULARLY WHEN PRESSED FOR TIME. Please make it a practice to cite all references using Chicago Style, and never present anyone elses work as your own. Policies regarding student rights and responsibilities can be found at the Office of Student Conduct, please see http://studentconduct.ou.edu/ for more information. Students are governed by the Student Code of Conduct and Responsibilities, available here: http://www.ou.edu/content/dam/studentlife/documents/AllCampusStudentCode.pdf