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Argument › No. 15/2023

The influence of vernacular architecture techniques and materials in modern architecture. Case study: Irak

https://doi.org/10.54508/Argument.15.05

  • / “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Bucharest, RO

Abstract

Traditional Arabic architecture is closely related to place. It is unmistakable with any other, and this element of uniqueness is given by the climate, the construction materials used and their processing method, the chromatic resulting from the processing of those materials.

Currently, traditional Arab architecture, going through a long process of transformation, has all but disappeared, and the image of Arab cities has lost its particular character.

After successive political regime changes at the beginning of the 20th century, Iraq finds itself in a situation where its traditional architecture is almost lost, where Western imports have captured the attention of the general public at the expense of the local specificity. In response to this gradual loss of identity, local and international architects have tried to bring back to contemporary architecture the elements that are an integral part of the image of the traditional Iraqi city and Arab architecture. The results of these attempts are varied, but each has its merit and proves that a preoccupation with place and a deep understanding of context can only be beneficial at both the scale of the object and the urban scale.

Keywords

Arab architecture, vernacular techniques, traditional, Iraq

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