AASTMT - Vernacular Architecture in Egypt
AASTMT - Vernacular Architecture in Egypt
AASTMT - Vernacular Architecture in Egypt
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
DR. SHAIMAA ASHOUR
Fayoum
Max
Port said
Banha
Aswan
Munofia
Quiser
Baharya oasis
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On 14th of April we arrived to our distention which is Tunis village ,
el-fayoum to make our report about the vernacular architecture in this
beautiful village.
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we go to the masjid to pray through
this wide street which is self shaded
by the side fences and over head
boughs.
the first
building
we visit
was his
lounge.
which is
next to
his home.
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While we are
walking in the
streets we saw
lots of beautiful
wall drawings
on the fences.
The second building we visit was a resedential building but the owner
is coming only in vacation
he said that he designed this building from a-z.
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Then we leave our guide ahmed
abd-allah (the dome builder).
we start to cruse in the streets of the
village we found a board written
on it with handwriting (caricature
museum) we decided to enter to see
what is behind this random board
and our guide in this museum was
one of the most famous caricature
artists in egypt his name is
Mohamed Abla.
After finishing our visit to the museum we decide to ride the car and to
start cruise in the city to see
another things we found a direction board to something called qasr
qaroun.
we follow the direction to see what is we didnot know if qasr qaroun
is a name of a city or a palace name after we arrive we find a huge
pharonic
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after visiting we found a farmer home in the main
road we parked the car and went to this guy asking
him to take some pictures to support our report he
was very helpful and friendly.
then we asked him to enter the corral and he was very welcoming and
asking if we want to enter the home but there was women in the home
so we refused to be silly and they asked to take a dinner with them.
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after leaving the farmer house
we visited the next destination
which is the pottery school this
school was designed by the
famous egyptian architect hassan
fathi but build by local builders.
this design was very hard to construct because the buildings are
about to extinct.
so the builders are very hard to find but in this case they collect-
ed the local builders and teach them how to build this.
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the first building we will analyis in our report is the touristc unit
which is in the area of zad el-mosafer hotel.
2 1
2 open kitchen to
living area with
fixed counter made
of brick which is
the same material
of the building.
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high window sill to take in the consideration
the south facade.
In conclusion this is made to be rent by
tourists but they took the theme of the area
and built it in the same style and try to
make the building to be connected to nature
as much as they could by using natural
the toilet with recessed points on the wall materials.
for the shelves and the toilet unit.
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the second building we will analyis is lounge of the dome builder ahmed
abdallah
2 3
out door
2 Glass block partition
storage for his
to separate between
the kitchenet and the
building tools
seating area.
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toilet
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the third building we will analyis is a residential villa designed and
construct by ahmed abdallah but its
owners are coming only in vacations
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6 1 2
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the forth building is the farmer house which was in the main road
living area
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For the first time to know that Alexandria has a small
branch from the nile except Rashid and Damietta ,
yes its in Max .We went to Max city in Alexandria to
see one of the hidden beauty in Egypt its a truly
Arabs Venice first we saw how the holy Quran
applied in our country like the verse said the Nile
branch goes against the sea flows and the never get
mixed subhan Allah. It was one of excitements to let
us discover more about this beautiful city and go
through every tiny street.
First our timing to go there wasnt that good we went
after a church explosion so we couldnt take enough
data from there , Max city is divided into two places
the city that we all know from Egyptian movies
captured there for example, el shabah &
Bolteia al aima. Etc so this place called
ezzbet el sayadeen its captured in our minds with
the running scene of ahmed ezz between houses and
fighting with bassem samra then he was through In
a sea... Actually this sea wasnt in the ezzbet el saydeen
it was in max chalets.Ezzbet el sayadeen was named
by this name for the reason that all people
there are working in fishing and how to make fishing
boats so all people there were fishers,
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hence the max chalets was one of the best places ever in Egypt
since there residents were all English men after the revolution
accommodate and all the houses were built with wood thats
used in making boats to prevent corrosion and humidity al-
though its easy in maintenance and also play role in thermal
controlling
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shows the different two materials used in building the houses (wood and
concrete).
One of our lucky points that when we were there, there was a semi wedding
they called it
Kind of celebration and showing others the bride and groom furniture. The
celebration was a DJ and some lorry cars and the furniture is on the cars and
people was celebrating and greetings each other .
Each family there their main job is relating to fishing and making boat but
with the new generation there was a pilot, doctor, engineer and teacher , etc
but in their free time they are working with parents in making boats and nets
for fishing.
Almost each house has a boat the he is doing in front of his house
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Then we moved to ezzbet el sayadeen ( the famous
place Arabs Venice ) its two main rows of houses
passing between them a branch of nile river
and behind every row of house its a hill with narrow
pedestrian paths have houses aligned the paths .
This place behind the river is where the running scene
in El-shabah movie is captured there.
Our image about this place before we go there is that
its a huge city penetrated by water branches like
Venice but when we arrived there we found that its
a linear space divides into 3 things river branch
sided by two rows of houses and buildings .
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Some of the houses were left because when the
Raffah Path is closed the boats were useless so
people left this place to go and search for another
vacancy. So they left the place with boats and went.
The most common dress code for men and women
is normal dress code but most of women wore
Jalabya and men a chemise and pants so they are
mostly a city residents but with Mediterranean culture
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Last but not least this was a wonderful experience
for us to discover a place that we are hearing about
it but never visited so we can see the beauty of our
Egypt. Its a beautiful place but our opinion that if
there is someone can redesign the elevations of
ezzbet el sayadeen and it become cleaner it could
be a touristic site again like before when it was a
attraction place for everyone in the world so it can
help the country in refreshing the tourism again . But
everything else was going good however some people
was worry from us especially that our timing to visit
the place was not that right because it was after the
church explosion but another people was kind to us
and very helpful and they wanted to help us by any
way and this trip make us wanted to explore more
places in our country so we can tell the world how
beautiful Egypt and Egyptian people are.
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We see a lot of houses and they are have same concept of building they are build
by bricks and cover it with mud they cove it with mud because it make Moisturizes
the air in the summer and warm the house in the winter and its a great
environmental solution and the take it from the past and also their culture affect the
design of the building . They build the building to divided into apartments the
father built the building and make floors to his children to live with him in the
same building , and also they love the social gathering to meet and talk , and solve
their problems together so each building have a big terrace that is meet every night
in it . And they also have a small conference hall that they do their events .
conference hall
Conclusion
Finally, we considered the village is agriculture land but we didnt find that we
found a residential building, the people in the village love their life and the
environmental around them , the people in village love each other and very
helpful .so, we seen the living affected on their buildings design like the people
we live in building is one family .so, they make their building special like in
every building found very large terrace make social meeting & gathering
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when you see the wide nile branch beside you has
sailing boats and birds with the mountains in the
background after the greeneries creating a Picturesque
beautiful view then you have arrived to Aswan..
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the journey of going to elnuba using launch in the nile and when you started
to sea the features from so far of the nubian village , the colors , the dome
you feel you are arriving at a happy place
Before we visited the Nubia when I hear vernacular architecture the first thing
that came on my mind is Nubia because its buildings represent the vernacular
architecture in a very strong and different way so because of that we decided
to visit Nubia to explore this great place.
And it was a great experience when we visited we felt that the place had a
certain spirt that reflects the peoples life and culture for me the best kind of
architecture is the one that we feel it so it makes us feel what this place is not
only see it and that was applied their its buildings say all of the story their
buildings represent their country.
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Seheil Island in west Aswan
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taking enviromental aspects ino consideration
walking through this place in winter with a comfortable weather
They are Using sun dried mud bricks in building process: Using sun dried
mud bricks in building process is suitable for hot arid areas that experiment
has proved that mud brick is most appropriate for achieving thermal comfort
and mud-brick wall has a high thermal resistance comparing with other build-
ing materials.
The existence of interior courtyard performs an important function as a mod-
ifier of climate in hot arid areas. It allows outdoor activities with protection
from the wind, dust and sun. Interior courtyards serve both as light-wells and
as air-wells into which the cool, dense air sinks at night.
Lack of windows in elevation increases the area of solid walls which help
decrease thermal transfer from outer space to inner space.
Using light colors in painting external walls to reflect sun rays and reduce
absorbance of heat.
Upper openings help good ventilation that they provide access for hot air
which rises up and out through upper openings.
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Urban tissue
walking through the nubian village make you feel the inimate scale
and the shadow of houses
The village is formed according to topography of sight; even inside
the Nubian house may found different levels which not found in
most of other Egyptian traditional villages.
Nubian village is characterized by its Compact urban tissue and roads in
Nubian settlements are not straight and always follow the natural shape
of the site. The size of the road can be so narrow that only can be passed
by two pedestrians. During hot days, the people like to sit outside in front
of their houses. The streets are narrowed to allow the maximum shade
and shadow.
Most of Nubian traditional villages are located in the Nile shore. So the
orientation of buildings and paths related to the Nile.
Nubians try to achieve privacy starting from urban scale, they build
separate buildings which surrounded by four street from all directions to
prevent attachment between building that provide more privacy.
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History of El Qusier:
AL QUSEIR IS AN ANCIENT CITY
FOUND ON THE COASTAL OF THE
RED SEA WHERE THE POPULATION El Sultan Selim I ordered to con-
OF 42,000 APPROXIMATELY struct the fort to protect the com-
mercial port and ensure the safety
of thousands of Muslims who are
going through in this area on their
way to Haj every year . After sev-
eral centuries, the French emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte realized the
strategic importance of the city and
sent his solders to occupy it , but
they didnt succeed
SHIP CANNONS
SOUTH BASTION
1:ships and
red seas
harbours
2:foreign
trade goods
The north bastion is the house of the Ababda, we will talk about them in
a letter chapter. but the architecture talks for its self, the space is well
light
ENTRANCE
Starting with the entrance,
very rustic, there is a lobby
like space with a pot for
vegetation, which shows
that they cared for the
aesthetic aspect of the space
even though it doesnt show
in any other part of the fort.
the door is metallic large
door which shows strength
What is unique about this picture other mud and bricks to make a
than the phosphate train an railway that spots for teing the camels
takes us to a trip to the past is the solar down.
panels. simple structure for a very
imporant use for them.
there is also a time line of the fort British attack on Quseir fort
WATER TANK
Women role is
catteling, rais-
ing children and
making their
own dishes and
cooking pots and
decorating their
homes
They use plants and trees in med-
icen and daily life usage and they
use natural leather in making their
acessories.
Desert greeneries
They decorate their walls
by cladding or drawing on
it stone shapes with warm
colors specially on non
residential buildings
BAHARYA
OASIS
The city of port said is located at the north
eastern Mediterranean coast of Egypt directly
at northern entrance of Suez canal which is
Egypts artificial sea level water way for inter-
national navigation connecting miditterenean
sea and the red sea by shortening the travel
time from Europe to south asia .port said is fifth
largest city of Egypt. City of port said followed
continuous process of urban design and de-
velopment and expansion trying to overcome
natural boundaries of meditterenean sea and
lake manzalah.
way to port saeed
el afrang destrict
Was mainly inhabited by foreigners and few high collar Egyptians working
for scc , or large trading corporations. Although the afrang was planned
according to grid system ,radial roads leads to squares makes it more com-
plex . the buildings plot were distinctly larger than those in the arab giving
a sense of spaciousness. A different quality of life is apparent in its urban
planning decisions where multiple of recreational, social gathering and cul-
tural expressions exists that was witnessed by presence of large boulevards
and trees and arcades and public gardens and sporting clubs . Main streets
are named after Egyptian rulers of Egypt and some important foreign
figures like king fouad , de leceps , the founder of suez canal execution
plan and empress Eugenie wife of napoleon 3 who was a friend of khedive
Ismael and was in vited to the canal inauguration. The urban design of the
place is inviting and humanistic accommodating cultural activities and
gatherings and religious practice like monumental churches beautifully
manipulated and kept as ancient monument.the life style there was more
European in character the residential streets were quite and lined up with
trees.shopping streets were with arcades ,coffee shops that have extension
to the pavemtents.
the frang destrict
the arab district
Originally the area were workers who come from different parts of Egypt
while digging suez canal.After it was decides by suez canal company to be
the neighborhood for natives who stayed after construction work if the canal
was accomplished. They mainly worked in the low ladder of labor like ser-
vices ,manual work and small merchandise , especially bambouties trading
goods with passing ships . how ever the bambouties character was used as
a cartoon to symbolize the inhabitants of port said with all its positive and
negative features and character and personality . the arab was planned as
simple grid system with relatively small buldings , the area lacked any open
space or squares for gathering and do social activities. The grid has two road
widths very large for main roads and very small roads for secondary service
. the main roads is decorated with wooden arcades ,bawaky and the noarrow
is considered service roads the main roads is named after arab and egpytians
heroes which is attempt in incorporating cultural identity.
THE DELICEPS
DELICEPS
One of the main historic attraction locat-
ed on the edge of suez canal and portsaid
museum, portsaian citizen removed it
and throught it in the port of port fouad,
because they believed its a symbol of
hunger and as lots of Egyptian died in suez
canal project.
Avery good starts of portsaid citizen to
represent their love to other couple by
putting a lock on the wall of deliecps and
throught it in water as represent of there
love and looked it.
Touristic walking is new made to watch
the suez canal and ships passing by port-
said. L never seen a ship before its really
very big
traditions in port saeed
semsemya festivals and
traditional music
festivals in portsaeed
Tradition
Semsmya is very famous music in Suez canal cities especially in port said.
It start with the fisher man dancing and singing together in very different
way the music as well as the dance is very unique and looks wonderful.
El fara7
The street is full of light and ballons written on it the name of the brides.
Thats why in some books they called it the city of light
PORT FOUAD
Did you watch el shabah movie they put an scene in it and written down
beiurt. Its avery beautiful spot in Egypt that no one can say its in Egypt.
With its good arrangement of building, street network and square.
what we saw building in port said
light colour facades and the common structure sys-
tem is shear walls and wood in balconies specially in
arab region. and welcoming streets
so clean environment
port saeed is considered one of the most important and biggest ports in egypt
which is very important location and an entry to suez canalt
Conclusion
We choose port said as we heared a bad stuff about it after the match between
alahly and masry.
But we found people there is very nice and friendly. I really would like to
go other again to enjoy the good weather. The styles there are divided to two
main style colonial style this is in el afrang district and portfouad and ver-
nacular style in el arab district. The arab district is consider as a vernacular
as the poor worker build it in in designed way but is also a beautiful building
and unique as its made of wood that is not he point its that 4 stories wooden
building that never happen. Colonial style took a lot of Egyptian concepts in
design and devolve it like masrabya and wooden ballacony. But frenck made
a shape that they feel its besuty the pitched roof that is no nessacary for our
shiny climate.
AL MUNOFEYA
COUNTRY HOUSE
INTRODUCTON
the main difference between north and south country houses is the courtyard
north houses don`t have couryards inside unlike the south hosues that mainly
have courtyards .
al zaribah is the place where farmers put thier animals in and store thier
goods of farming , some times zaribahs located inside or beside the
house and some times it`s standing alone .
building materilas and construction methods.
the structure systems of the houses was bearing walls for one or two
floors using a kind of bricks called mud bricks .
mudbricks is a mixture of loam , mud and water mixed with a blinding
material like straws or rice husks
BAHARYA OASIS
QUSIER
ASWAN
biography:
MUNOFYA BENHA
ABDULLAH HASHEM DINA FATHI
ABDULLRAHMAN
RAGEH SHEREN ABUSHADY
MOHAMED GAMEL
FAYOUM AL-MAX
YASMIN
ALI SOLIMAN
ABDELMONEM
QUSIER
MOHAMED AL MALAH
LOJIN DIDI
NOURHAN AHMED
ASWAN
AHMED FAHMI
SALMA YOUNIS
FATEMA GAMAL