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Courtyard_concept_A_sustainable_strategy_for_the_future_housing_buildings_in_Palestine.pdf | 3.22 MB |
Since the British mandate, particularly after the foundation of the Palestinian
national authority (PNA) in 1994, Palestine has been witnessing enormous
transformation of political, economical, social and cultural nature. As a result,
the forms and the concepts of residences are changing from introverted schemes
into extraverted ones. In general, the contemporary housing is poorly adjusted to
local conditions and also failed to meet the expectations of the dwellers.
Moreover, this modern transformation has caused an obvious divorce between
the internal spaces and the external ones (balconies, verandas and yards). Herein,
the vital connection between these spaces has been lost as opposite to the
traditional courtyard houses where these spaces formed an extension of each
other. This paper investigates the concept of outdoor spaces in contemporary and
traditional housing in term of sustainability. The socio-cultural, economical,
functional and environmental dimensions were examined to study the potentials
for reincorporating the distinctive qualities of courtyard concept in the design of
future housing. In order to address this issue, a comparison of outdoor spaces’
features between traditional and contemporary housing in two different cities of
two climatic zones of Palestine was carried out. Contemporary housing was
evaluated by conducting a survey over 300 dwellings of different housing
typologies (detached/apartment flats). The characteristics of traditional concept
were analyzed from the old historical part of these cities. Results of this paper
demonstrate that the concept of traditional outdoor spaces is a culturally,
economically and environmentally responsive design that could be reintegrated
in term of sustainability for our future Palestinian housing. Traditional
architecture is still the source of inspiration to design an environmentally and
culturally responsive housing, which will contribute in improving the quality of
life of the residents.
Keywords: Sustainable design, Courtyard, Modern Outdoor spaces, Housing
building, Palestine.