Understand the expression of identity as part of socio-cultural sustainability Identify the different types and levels of identity expressions Discuss examples of projects incorporating socio-cultural identity in the design

1. AIA Middle East 2016
AIA Middle East
International Conference
November 17, 2016 in Cairo, Egypt
From Concept to Completion: How
Architects & Urban Planners are shaping
the Middle East
Theme:: Architecture & Sustainability
The Expression of Socio-
Cultural Identity in ME
Architecture
Presenter:
Dr. Yasser Mahgoub
Adjunct Professor of Architecture, AUC

2. Learning Objectives
• Understand the expression of identity as part
of socio-cultural sustainability
• Identify the different types and levels of
identity expressions
• Discuss examples of projects incorporating
socio-cultural identity in the design

3. The Middle East
►The Middle East is a subcontinent with no clear
boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in
opposition to Far East.

4. The Middle East
►The term "Middle East" was popularized around 1900 in the
United Kingdom; it has a loose definition traditionally
encompassing countries or regions in Western Asia and parts
of North Africa.

5. Far EastMiddle EastNear East
North Africa
Europe
Asia
UK
South East Asia
India
Africa
North
America
South
America

7. Middle East Architecture

8. Middle East Modern Architecture

9. Middle East Modern Architecture

11. The Middle East
Geography

12. The Middle East
History

13. The Middle East
Traditional Architecture

14. The Middle East
Contemporary

15. Architecture in the Middle East
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

16. Architecture in the Middle East
Beirut, Lebanon

17. Architecture in the Middle East
Tehran, Iran

18. Architecture in the Middle East
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

19. Architecture in the Middle East
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

20. Architecture in the Middle East
Cairo, Egypt

21. Architecture in the Middle East
Dubai, UAE

22. Architecture in the Middle East
Abu Dhabu, UAE

23. Architecture in the Middle East
Kuwait

24. The Middle East
Confllict
Oil
Straits
Traffic
Unrest

35. 35
Introduction
• The phenomenon of
expressing cultural identity in
architecture is recognized in
many parts of the world.
• It started after the spread of the
international style, during the
second half of the 20th century,
and intensified as a result of the
spread of globalization as a
dominating world view at the
end of the century.

36. 36
Introduction
• The phenomenon of
expressing cultural identity in
architecture is recognized in
many parts of the world.
• It started after the spread of the
international style, during the
second half of the 20th century,
and intensified as a result of the
spread of globalization as a
dominating world view at the
end of the century.

37. 37
Introduction
• The phenomenon of
expressing cultural identity in
architecture is recognized in
many parts of the world.
• It started after the spread of the
international style, during the
second half of the 20th century,
and intensified as a result of the
spread of globalization as a
dominating world view at the
end of the century.

38. Manuel Castells
Manuel Castells states
that “the construction
of identities is
fundamental to the
dynamic of societies”
and that “cultural
identity is the process
by which social actors
build their own
meaning according to
cultural attributes.”
38

39. Charles Correa
Charles Correa defines
identity as a process,
and not a found object.
“The search for identity
is a by-product of
looking at our real
problems, rather than
self-consciously trying
to find identity as an
end in itself.”
39

40. Identity
Economic
Political
Social
Urban
Cultural
Historical

41. ME Rapid Change

42. ME Rapid Change
• The ME region has experienced rapid political,
economic, physical and technological change
during the second half of the 20th century.

53. Doha 2005
Doha 2007
Doha 2010
Doha Skyline Development
Doha 1960

54. Socio-Cultural Change
• These mega projects were
based on 20th century
planning and architectural
design theories that
focused mainly on modern
and technological
advances.

55. Super Projects
• This change was
introduced through super
projects including urban
master plans,
infrastructure projects and
individual buildings.
Kuwait
Doha

58. Neighborhood
Extended Family Individual Houses

59. Key Aspects of Change
• A mixture of expensive materials
• A range of surface treatments in
terms of environmental control,
• Arbitrary expression of internal
functions
• Range of forms
• Lack of cohesion.
Kuwait
Dubai
Doha

60. From Alleys to Streets
People Cars

61. From Alleys to Streets
People Cars

62. From Vernacular to Modern

63. From Vernacular Houses to Modern Villas

64. From Vernacular Houses to Modern Villas
Social Individual

65. From Traditional to Modern Interiors
ModernTraditional

66. Modern vs Vernacular: Climatic Responses

67. Sustainability

68. Concerns
68
• 1960’s Vernacular
• 1970’s Energy
• 1980’s Environment
• 1990’s Sustainable (Economic, Environment, Equity)
• 2000’s Green
• 2010’s Integrated Sustainability Systems (Smart Strategies)
• 2015 Resilient (Change)
1960’s
Vernacular
1970’s
Energy
1980’s
Environment
1990’s
Sustainable
2000’s
Green
2010
Integrated
2015
Resilience

69. Sustainability
• Sustainability as 3Es:
Economic, Environmental
and Equity (Socio-
cultural).

70. Sustainability
• Most projects focus on
economic and
environmental
sustainability.

71. Sustainability
• They usually ignore socio-
cultural sustainability due
to lack of knowledge and
strategies.
• This is due to the difficulty
to identify and design for
specific people, society
and culture.

72. Sustainable Building Design
72
Socio-Economic

73. Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects

74. Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects
Identity is constructed from the person through family, society and culture. This understanding will help
architects and planners design better environments that correspond to social and cultural needs.
Identity
Culture
Society
Family
Personal
LevelsofUnderstanding

75. Levels of Socio-Cultural Aspects
• Several levels of understanding should be addressed to
study and design for a specific society or culture:
1. Personal level includes the position of individual in
society and culture, and privacy requirements based
on gender and age.
2. Family level: includes immediate and extended family
members and family members relationships and
obligations.
3. Society level includes relationships between men,
women, children, society, ethnicity, kinship, and
nationality.
4. Cultural level includes history, language, religion,
sacred and profane, traditions, customs, and
costumes.
5. Identity level includes personal, social and cultural
identity.

76. Socio-Cultural Change

77. Socio-Cultural Change
• This transformation
influenced many cultural
aspects of societies
through the introduction
of the villa in place of the
traditional courtyard
houses.

78. Cultural Constants and Variables
• The problem of current
approaches to socio-
cultural applications is that
they view culture as
constant relating it to
the past only and not as a
variable that relates to
the present and the future.

79. Socio-Cultural Change
• Change is an integral characteristic of
culture, yet cultural change is slower than
techno-physical change.
“Culture is variable, designed environments respond to
variable definitions of needs and priorities as expressed in
varying schemata: environments are culture specific.”
Rapaport
CORE
PERIPHERAL

80. The Middle East Contemporary Culture

81. The Middle East Contemporary Culture

82. The Middle East Contemporary Culture

83. The Middle East Contemporary Culture

84. The Middle East Contemporary Culture

85. The Middle East Contemporary Culture

86. Core
Peripheral
Built Environment
Culture
Contemporary
Traditional
Understanding Socio-Cultural Aspects

87. Public
State/Official
Governmental
Technical
Gulf
Socio-cultural
Arab
Islamic
Global
Private
Pragmatic
MetaphoricCanonicIconic
Analogic Symbolic
Semi-Public
Institutional
Economic

88. Approach
Identity
Scale
Economic
Gulf
Technical
Arab
Islamic
Global
Cultural
Public
State/Official
Governmental
Private
Semi-Public
Institutional
Pragmatic
MetaphoricCanonicIconic
Analogic Symbolic

89. Design

90. Purpose and Function in Design
• Design of built environments should address
equally the socio-cultural and techno-physical
aspects of spaces.
• There is a deficiency in the flow of
information during the design process that
tends to ignore socio-cultural aspects in favor
of techno-physical aspects.

91. Design Considerations
Design
Socio-
Cultural
Technical
Formal
Programmatic

92. Design Considerations
• Design methods and
process should
address the three
dimensions equally;
the techno-physical,
the visual-aesthetic,
and the socio-cultural.
Socio-
cultural
Techno-
physical
Visual-
aesthetic

93. The Built Environment
Interior Design
Architecture
Landscape
Urban Design
Urban Planning
Architecture is not enough!

94. From Livable to Lovable Environments
• This approach will achieve the goal of
transforming Gulf cities from only Livable to
also Lovable environments.
From Livable To Lovable

95. Expressions

111. THANK YOU.