Bilal Hammad, The Architecture Experience in During the Nineties

It was no more than a small village when The Architectural Education a series of Circassian migrations settled Two major schools of architecture were in the valleys of at the turning established in the late seventies. These point of this century. This was followed by were the University of Jordan (UJ) and additional migrations from surrounding Jordan University for science and countries especially after the passage of technology (JUST). They were followed the Hijazy railway through Amman in 1905. fifteen years later by another three private It was not until the arrival of Prince universities: Applied science university, Abdullah in 1921 that Amman began to Petra and Al-Isra’. emerge from obscurity- especially after the prince’s decision to choose it as his The Five schools continued to provide the seat of government. This date marks the market with scores of new graduates with beginning of the modern history of Amman an average of 130 annually; about 50% and Jordan. of them are females leading to a total of 4000 architects. The local market was Bilal Hammad: Architect in private practice, Since then, Amman has undergone a rapid capable of absorbing these graduates, but Amman, Jordan cycle of expansion. The year 1948 Amman signs of unemployment among architects witnessed an influx of Palestinian refugees started to emerge in the last two years followed by another one twenty years later especially among junior graduates. About in 1967. The population reached the figure 60% of those 4000 architects graduated of 500 000 inhabitants. Once again, in from local universities while the remaining 1990 a third influx of immigrants primarily 40% graduated from abroad. Those who of Jordanian and Palestinian expatriates studied abroad joined universities in who used to work in Kuwait, combined neighbouring countries like , Beirut, with natural growth and internal migration Damascus and in addition to from rural areas, increased the population other Western countries like U.S, U.K, to the figure of one million. The population Italy, Romania, India and even The of Jordan as a whole is 4.5 million in the Philippines. This phenomenon happened present. due to the inability of the local universities to absorb the large numbers of students Jordan has witnessed an economic who would like to study architecture. In recession since 1988. The last influx of the early days, students travelled abroad emigration in 1990, which was a result of because of the lack of local architectural the gulf crises/gulf war, left negative marks departments. These architects who mostly on the local economic scene. It created a studied in Cairo and Beirut during the false feeling of an economic boom, which sixties and early seventies were the faded down in less than a year and was founders of contemporary Jordanian followed by a deeper recession that architecture. remained throughout the whole decade. Jordan is considered as a professional and manpower exporting country. A good

104 Bilal Hammad percentage of these graduates find their its members landscaping, and graphic design, as well way into Saudi Arabia and the Gulf ·Abundance of work for architects as in the field of conservation of old countries, producing a continuous leakage ·A huge number of offices dealing with buildings and in the different crafts of of the best professionals. On another front, the business of design and supervision building in general. Jordanian based offices are establishing - Positive evolution in the requirements of a presence in the markets of Saudi Arabia, This in turn has created a spirit of the client whether as individual or as an the Gulf, Yemen and the newly opened competition between designers and even institution, with a marked increase of market of Palestine. Another new breed between clients, who like to build their own awareness, choice, and demands. of Jordanian based offices who have “villa” which reflects their status within the nothing to do with the local market are new Ammani society. They started to look specializing in offering services for distant for the appropriate architect capable of markets, with the help of advanced reflecting their liking. Consequently, this Trends and Tendencies computerization, electronic mailing, and has created great opportunities for Jordan has experienced the same cycle the Internet. designer architects, especially in villa as most of Third World Countries. The first architecture or single family houses. The phase started in the sixties, adopting To conclude, Jordan has a surplus of prominent architects in Jordan always modernism and the international style until architectural talents with up-to-date started as designers of villas. The modern the 1980s when another phase started experience ready to jump at any new history of Jordanian architecture can be embracing versions of regionalism, market, as individuals or as an integrated read through the villa architecture of referring to history and addressing set up. Amman. concerns about identity. The debate around the need for an authentic regional or national architecture assumed an important place within the architectural discourse of Professional Institutions Building and Architectural Atmosphere the 80s. This phenomenon is possibly the The order of architects in Jordan is part During the Nineties appropriate local version of of a bigger umbrella that covers all the On the level of the built environment: postmodernism. Lately, this trend showed engineers. It is named: “The Association - Explosions of high rise buildings dotting signs of a slowing momentum possibly as of Engineers” (Naqabat Al-Muhandissin). the skyline of the city, 5star hotels and a result of the information revolution and The political rivalry has affected the commercial centers. globalization or possibly because simply performance of Naqabat Al-Muhandissin. - The emergence of developers and the the cycle is over. Postmodernism is now The architects’ merger with the engineers vicious spread of 4 storey apartment considered something of the past. As a has affected them more negatively than buildings. result, the latest works in Amman are positively. The architects have succeeded, - The dramatic increase of multi-leveled showing decrease in their content of four years ago, in creating an additional road crossings, tunnels and bridges. folkloric local vocabulary. body that represents them independently - The development of Amman Plaza in from the engineers. Entitled “The Ras El-Ein in the Downtown area- the new The main players in Jordan during this Architectural Society” (Al-Jam’iah Al- ground for experimenting contemporary decade can be categorized into three Mi’mariah), this Society is still too young architecture and urban design. generations: to stand on its feet. - The first appeared at the end of the 60’s On the professional level it is obligatory On the level of the professional and the like Jafar Toukan and Rasem Badran, to have an architects signature on any human environment: - The second appeared at the end of the design for a single building with an area - The increase of architectural schools led 70’s like Farouq Yagmour, Bilal Hammad. that exceeds 50 m2. This architect should to an increase of graduates, which led to - The third generation appeared at the perform through a registered office at Al- an increase in researchers and holders of end of the 80’s like Mohammad Khaled of Naqabah- not to forget that he/she should higher degrees. Gdar, Ayman Zuaiter of Teebah, Ismail be a registered member at Naqabat El- - The prevalence of computer in design Tahhan & Zaher Bushnaq of Muhandissin. This practice has resulted and drafting, enhancing the quality of work. Tahhan/Bushnaq and Nimer and Bashar in: - Accumulation of experiences Amman El-Bitar of Bitar Consultants. has produced an obvious maturity in the ·A strong hegemony of Al-Naqaba over fields of architecture, interior design, I will run through some of the buildings 105 The Architecture Experience in Jordan During the Nineties that demonstrate the architectural form of well-staged aphorisms, images, discourse on the Jordanian scene. I will rationalized infrastructure, and historic start with the works of Rasem Badran. preservation scheme that exclude and contrast with the remaining city. This paper, Rasem Badran by now is a well-known on the one hand, offers a critical review of architect. His reputation as a talented these images, plans, and the liminal spaces designer has crossed the Jordanian that they produce based on conceptual borders into a much wider circles. He themes of perception and representation seeks to develop an Islamic Arab as a visual arrangement/control of contemporary architectural language knowledge. On the other hand, positioned referring to past historic models. His best upon the ideological representation of the works are definitely not in Jordan, like city center floats an informal and transient Qaser Al-Hukum Development in Riyad, city of culture and public space whose the museum for Islamic Art in and tensions criticize the formal scheme of Al-Kharj Mosque in Saudia Arabia . The Solidere. Building on the actual dynamics work of Badran is considered as a model of the city center, the paper sheds light on among many young Jordanian architects the problematic of Solidere’s formal and students. strategies while arguing for a new and different mechanism in mediating a “public Jafar Tukan is a well-known contributor to space” that helps the reconciliation and the Jordanian architectural scene. Rooted healing process of the war-torn society. in the modern movement, his work sits simultaneously in the Jordanian context. He managed to set a balance between modernity and indigenous local forms. His works has crossed the Jordanian border into neighboring countries like UAE, Saudi Arabia and Palestine. His architecture prevails in its massing, use of material, sensibility and care for details.

Farouk Yaghmour: Although he started his career in Amman, his largest work is in Beit-Lahem in Palestine.

The Lebanese Share Holding Company (Solidere) in charge of the reconstruction of the historic city center of Beirut is shaping its program along an ambitious Master plan based on a speculative vision of a city that is struggling to regain its competitive location in the global/regional economy. This project discloses itself through a binary reading of the city and a historicism in the urban design strategy that strives to build the city center market value on the basis of its past character and a state-of-the-art financial district. Solidere’s intentions are manifested in the

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