Guess The Types of Architecture

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The Beginning of A New Era

        

           Modern architecture was introduced as a new design of architecture that appeared in Western countries at first during the nineteenth century. Modern architecture comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. Usually, the shape or form of a modern building is based on its function. It was built with different modern materials, such as: clay, sand, wood, metal, concrete, plastic, rock, glass, and etc…  One of the buildings that Illustrate  modern architecture is Burj Khalifa. Burj Khalifa is the tallest man-made building in the world.  This fascinating  tower was built with modern materials that reflects the countries  prosperity and development.

Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest  building in the world

Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest  building in the world



Burj Alarab, the second tallest hotel in the world that looks like a sailing ship

           Several countries around the world wanted to develop ;therefore, they replaced their traditional architecture with modern architecture.  The United Arab Emirates was one of the countries that started to focus on modern architecture. The new architecture reflected the country’s prosperity and wealth, and its new social and cultural values.  Some people were concerned about the fast development and the new values. Therefore,  His highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan spread awareness that it is important to combine the past and the present.  This awareness made people transform old buildings into museums and some new building had a combination of new and old traditional features. One of the new buildings that had a combination of both modern and traditional features is Mina AlSalam. They used new materials such as concrete and kept the structure of traditional buildings.









Mina AlSalam, Dubai

Vernacular Architecture

             

              Vernacular architecture is a method of construction in which people use the local resources to address the local needs.  This kind of architecture develops over time and can be influenced by the natural environment, the cultural and social factors. Different materials were used for construction based on the environment of the area they live in.  The materials are stones, mud bricks, palm tree reeds, and wood.   In the United Arab Emirates there are various types of vernacular houses:

1-      Tents: Tents were made of animal skin and hair. Bedouins used them as shelter during the wintertime. They divided it into two parts, one for men and the other for women. Some tents were used as kitchens and as stores. The tents were settled around the oasis area.

An old tent

1-      Al Arish: Al Arish houses were made up of palm fronds. They were used as houses during the summertime. Also, they were divided into two parts:  a main area for sitting, and a small area for cooking and raising animals.

Al Arish

1-      Permanent houses:  Permanent houses were made of guss (mud mixture made as blocks) or stones and the roof was covered with palm fronds. The houses were built for both, winter and summer. The permanent houses were composed of a central courtyard, an eating area, and a storage area.

Permenant houses

Materials for vernacular architecture

Islamic Architecture

Islam architecture spread over the years, which influenced many countries in the world to use Islamic characteristics in their buildings. In the earlier days, Arab architectural designs were developed and influenced by culture and religion.  The Arab architects were inspired by the design and details of the Prophet’s house. The house was built with sun-dried bricks, a courtyard, and an open porch, which is made from palm trunks. The porch of the Prophet’s house became a prayer hall and its roof was supported by rows of columns. There were also rows of arches and domes, which are the traditional architectural forms of Islamic architecture. The minaret, is a  squared tower and the Mihrab, is an empty niche set. These forms are in every mosque.

The Prophets house that was turned into a Mosque in the Madina

There was an exchange in culture between Islam and Byzantium which can be seen in AlHambra the great mosque in Spain.  Arab artists used geometric patterns, plant forms, and Arabic scripts for decorations. Islamic architecture was also affected by the culture of Persia. Their architecture inspired new forms of mosques that can be seen in the Friday Mosque at Isfahan.  This mosque had an iwan which is a hall set on each side, which was something standard and common in Persia. 



 AlHambra mosque in Cordoba, Spain that was built by Muslims when they wrote most glorious chapters in Islamic history.







A Dome from inside of AlHambra mosque in Cordoba, Spain.





 Arches in the  AlHambra mosque in Cordoba, Spain.



Visuals of Traditional Architecture

These pictures show some traditional architecture:




     

 A museum in Dubai, UAE



 

Traditional houses in Dubai, UAE



Al Fahidi Fort in Dubai, UAE

               

"Old Is Gold"

 Traditional architecture is a type of architecture that is usually designed based on the society and culture. Although, it comes from an old design it never goes out of style. Traditional architecture represents each country’s identity in which you can read the past of each country from their old construction.

 Unlike other countries, United Arab Emirates’ traditional materials consist of coral, mud brick, wood, dry stone, and thatch. In the oasis areas, they built the lower parts of their walls from large stone blocks, which supports the houses from water and wind destruction. Also, there were houses that did not last for a long time such as: the houses that are made up of palm fronds and on a wooden frame such as, the houses that were built in Al-Ain on the Omani border. Other  houses that were built in the mountains were made up of irregular-shaped blocks laid without mortar. These houses were built on the ground and their roofs were made up of palm fronds. There are also round stone houses in central mountains of the United Arab Emirates. There are towns in the Gulf Coast that were deeply influenced by their Iranian neighbors in which they took the Iranian designs of their houses such as, the wind towers. These houses can be found in the Bastakiya quarter of Dubai.

Al Bidiya Mosque, Dibba, UAE

There are little or very few old mosques in the United Arab Emirates, but the old ones that can be found are usually in the small villages. However, the large old mosques of the cities have undergone renovation and reconstruction. One of the oldest mosques in the United Arab Emirates is the mosque of Bidiya, which is near Dibba. The Bidiya mosque is designed as a rectangular building with a central pillar that supports four flat-topped domes with pointed finials which is an architectural device carved in stone. It also includes a deep-set mihrab and a fixed minbar of four steps.

Stepping Into Architecture

         Architecture represents each country as itself when it comes to the society, culture, religion, and tradition; it reflects a country’s social and cultural values.  It is a beautiful form of art and science because of the technical knowledge needed to apply a design created from scratch. There are many factors to consider before designing anything such as, materials, texture and mass, which are needed for any architectural form. Theses factors differ from one architecture type to another.   

The Story

"The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization" - Frank Lloyd Wright

      Our blog will concentrate on the following areas of architecture: traditional, Islamic, modern, and vernacular architecture. We are three girls who are trying to impress people by starting this blog for our English class in Zayed University. Despite that reason we hope that we will be sharing interesting and new information about architecture.