Thesis Defense – Louai Al Hussein (MSARCH)

 
 

Thesis Defense – Louai Al Hussein (MSARCH)

 
Louai AL-HUSSEIN   M.Sc. Architecture

Assoc. prof. Alessandro CAMIZ – Advisor

Assoc. prof. Guilia Annalinda NEGLIA – Co-Advisor

Date:  28.12.2021

Time:  15:00

Location:  ​Özyeğin University, FB4 room 124

 

FROM ROMAN TO UMAYYAD: THE FORMATION PROCESS OF THE GREAT MOSQUE OF DAMASCUS AND OF THE SURROUNDING URBAN TISSUE

Jury:

Assoc. prof. Alessandro CAMIZ , Özyeğin University

prof. Dr. Alper ÜNLÜ , Özyeğin University

prof. Dr. Banu MANAV , Kadir Has University

 

Abstract:

This research reconstructs the formation process of the Great Mosque of Damascus and the surrounding urban tissues by reinterpreting them as a result of the continuous transition from Roman to Umayyad phases. The imperial palace mentioned in early sources, located within the church’s enclosure requires further attention (Sack, 1989) as part of the Mosque resembles the layout of a Roman praetorium, as well as the arrangement of the palace of Theodoric, depicted in the mosaic of st. Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna (Camiz, 2008). Process-based morphological analysis (Maffei & Maffei, 2018) revealed that the temenos is part of a larger organization derived from Roman headquarters (Burns, 2003). Similar arrangements of fortified enclosures located at the Strata Diocletiana with the parts of the Mosque and the surrounding urban fabrics supported the presence of partial transformations which took place during inter-transitional phases. Thus, this study hypothesizes that the temple’s outer enclosure of the peribolos was enlarged during the empowerment of the military structures in the region under the reign of Emperor Diocletian in the late 3rd century. The other part of the study investigates the pre-Islamic building forms and their transformation processes by analyzing the current urban context including remaining monuments and examining other building variants in the Syrian region. The study reveals that the inner architectural order of the western side of the Mosque is remarkably similar to the remains of the western arcades still visible outside the walled enclosure. Finally, this study represents phase plan diagrams on the transformation process of the Umayyad Mosque and the surrounding urban tissues by combining historical sources and synthetical morphological analysis observed on the current urban structure as well as the architecture form of the Great Mosque of Damascus.

Bio: 

Louai Al Hussein grew up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia until he completed his Secondary Education in 2014 from the Natural Sciences Section at Dar Al-Thakafa High School. In the summer of 2014, he attended a Master Class in Architectural Visualization (Arch-Viz) at the State of Art Academy in Venice, Italy. In the same year, he joined the Department of Architecture and Design at Özyeğin University, Istanbul, Turkey. In June 2018, he graduated with honor rank and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture. After his graduation, he worked as an Assistant Architect and a Freelance Designer until the end of 2019. Then, he went back to his academic path by enrolling in the Master of Science program (thesis) in Architecture at Özyeğin University. The objective of his thesis is to reconstruct the formation process of the Great Mosque of Damascus and the surrounding urban tissues. In the summer of 2021, he was given the opportunity to act as a tutor at the 2nd International ISAR Architecture Summer School in Castelvecchio Calvisio, Abruzzo, Italy, and in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. In the same year, he has been assigned as a participant member in the Dynamic Research of Urban Morphology (DRUM) where he has been conducting several research projects and participating in academic events and conferences. His research interests include Islamic architecture and urbanism, urban morphology, building typology of historical towns, environment behavior, and energy efficiency. he was given the opportunity to act as a tutor at the 2nd International ISAR Architecture Summer School in Castelvecchio Calvisio, Abruzzo, Italy, and in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. In the same year, he has been assigned as a participant member in the Dynamic Research of Urban Morphology (DRUM) where he has been conducting several research projects and participating in academic events and conferences. His research interests include Islamic architecture and urbanism, urban morphology, building typology of historical towns, environment behavior, and energy efficiency. 

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