Vernacular Mudbrick Architecture in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt: And the Design of the Dakhleh Oasis Training and Archaeological Conservation Centre

by Schijns, Wolf; Kaper, Olaf (CON); Kila, Joris (CON); Mills, A. J.; Hope, C. A.

• ISBN13: 9781842170595
• ISBN10: 1842170597
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-12-30
• Publisher: David Brown Book Co

Summary

More than one third of the world's population lives in houses made of unfired earth bricks or stamped earth, materials also known as mud brick, adobe, "terre crue, pise, or rammed earth. Houses in the middle east have been made out this material for at least 10,000 years, but in many places this form of architecture is slowly being superceded by more recent building techniques using reinforced concrete and concrete blocks. This study contains a description of the remaining mud brick architecture in several villages in the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt. It includes a brief history of mud brick, a discussion of the distinct local building techniques of the Oasis, and three architectural case studies of traditional mud brick houses in the Oasis, and it has many plans and photographs of local houses. The study was carried out as preparation for the design and construction of an archaeological working and training centre in the Dakhleh Oasis, which has been made according to the local traditions in mud brickvernacular. It is based on a field trip carried out in 1997 by Wolf Schijns (architect), Margriet Schijns (architect), Olaf E Kaper (Egyptologist) and Joris D Kila (art historian).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction to the Project	p. 1
The D.O.T.A.C.P	p. 3
The need for a D.O.T.A.C.P. centre	p. 3
Designing and building the centre	p. 4
Geographical and Historical Background	p. 5
The geography of the Dakhleh Oasis	p. 7
A brief history of the Dakhleh Oasis	p. 8
A brief history of mud brick architecture	p. 10
An introduction to Hassan Fathy and his work in the oasis	p. 12
Description of the Mud brick Architecture of Dakhleh	p. 15
A history of mud brick architecture in the oasis	p. 17
The distribution of the ancient settlements in the oasis	p. 18
The urban fabric	p. 19
Typology of buildings in the ancient villages	p. 20
The traditional building techniques	p. 22
Mud brick minarets of the Dakhleh Oasis	p. 29
Case Studies of Houses	p. 31
House 1 in Bashendi	p. 33
House 2 in Bashendi	p. 38
A house in Balat	p. 42
The D.O.T.A.C.P. Centre	p. 49
Bibliography	p. 55
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