Irreducible Essence: Tectonics and Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling A Thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies Of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE In the School of Architecture and Interior Design Of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning 2011 By Mae Al-Ansari Bachelor of Architecture, Kuwait University, 2006 Committee: Aarati Kanekar, PhD (Chair) Karl Wallick Irreducible Essence: Tectonics & Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling Abstract The adoption of new construction techniques and materials, after the sudden shift in Kuwait's economy in the 1950s, yielded an architecture that is today locally unsuitable. This thesis attempts to reconnect Kuwait's rich heritage with its lost architectural identity through explorations of the ways in which architectural tectonics express culture in traditional forms of Kuwaiti dwelling. Tectonics comprises relationships between structure, surface, and assembly; what Kenneth Frampton calls poetic construction. The irreducible essence of the building unit informs architectural form. Tectonics, as Marco Frascari and Vittorio Gregotti claim, is expressed in relationships between part-to-whole, material, texture, surface, and joinery, all capable of articulating specificities of culture and context. Analytical approaches are used to study architectural drawings, sketches, and photographs to interpret the cultural expressiveness of tectonics. Archives, artwork, and books support inferences about culture, construction methods, and assembly. Detailed tectonic interpretations of three Kuwaiti case studies (the mud-brick beit, Bedouin beit sha'ar, and the dhow) support these claims, exploring questions such as: How does tectonics relate to architecture? To culture? How is this relationship expressed? What socio-economic, religious, political, and historical contexts shaped pre-1950s Kuwaiti building culture? How is culture tectonically manifest in each traditional form of dwelling? This work affirms the ways in which tectonics is linked to culture, reinforcing details as tell-tales of culture and valuable elements in architecture and its discourse. This thesis bridges architectural identity with culture, present with past, and Western architectural theory with Eastern architecture, to enhance and better appreciate the built environment and the profession. iii Irreducible Essence: Tectonics & Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling iv Irreducible Essence: Tectonics & Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling Acknowledgements I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend the Master of Science in Architecture program at the University of Cincinnati. I have grown to love the University and the city of Cincinnati for their rich histories, great architecture, and kind people. First and foremost, I would like to thank God, most Gracious most Merciful, for all the blessings He has given me. I would not have been able to succeed without the persistence, wisdom, sacrifice and continued support of my parents. Thank you for instilling in me a strong love of knowledge and respect for education. Most importantly, thank you for being there when I needed you. This work is dedicated to you. To my siblings, thank you for your support and, without complaint, allowing one parent to always be missing from home. I appreciate your patience and compromises. Moudhi, thank you for sacrificing your vacations to accompany me. I loved our time in Cincy. To Stacy Dellinger, my Academic Advisor at the Embassy of the State of Kuwait – Cultural Division, thank you for your continued assistance and support. Special thanks go to the Architecture Department-Kuwait University for awarding me this scholarship. To my friends in Kuwait, thank you for continuously asking about me and always keeping me in the loop so I didn't miss out. To my cousins, thank you for your support. To my colleagues in the MSArch program, thank you for your friendship. Your company made even the toughest classes bearable. Your strength and support helped me get through my thesis. I know the ties that have been made will be life-long. To my professors at SAID: thank you for your support, wisdom, and guidance. Your faith in me opened new doors and opportunities in my life. To Professor David Saile, thank you for taking us in as first-year international students and making us feel welcome in the MSArch program. Thank you for teaching us to appreciate the significant contributions of culture and society in architecture. You are missed. To Professor Adrian Parr, thank you for your patience and willingness to help us grow as critical thinkers, researchers and intellectuals in the MSArch program. Most importantly, thank you for challenging us to improve our work and always pushing us to participate in the world around us. Thank you for reminding us that being nervous, anxious, or scared of a topic is only a sign that we want to do our best at it. To Professor John Hancock, thank you for your support and encouragement. Your continued guidance during pre-thesis research helped set the stage for my thesis and made it so much easier to write. To Professor Aarati Kanekar, thank you for the guidance, support, and advising you provided throughout my involvement with the MSArch program at UC. I appreciate everything you have done to assist me in my studies. v Irreducible Essence: Tectonics & Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling To Professor Karl Wallick, thank you for the support and contribution you gave to this thesis. Thank you for allowing me to benefit from your experience and permitting me to freely bounce ideas on my topic. I appreciate your participation in my work. To Professor Nnamdi Elleh, thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the MSArch program and students. You have been an inspiration to us all. Thank you for the extraordinary effort you put in for your students, and for believing in me. Thank you for teaching us to look beyond the words on the page, and encouraging us to keep asking questions and read between the lines. Thank you for sharing with us your writing practices and allowing us to benefit from your work and experience. Last but not least, to Professor Edson Cabalfin, thank you for keeping Place & Dwelling alive. We learned a lot from that class. Thank you for mentoring me and allowing me to walk into your office to freely discuss my issues. Thank you for the many opportunities you gave me to review your students' studio work and gain experience. I am forever indebted. I wish you the best of luck in your career. I hope the next stage in life will bring more success, health, happiness, and prosperity. vi Irreducible Essence: Tectonics & Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling Preface Image 1: Archway and side street, Kuwait, circa 1938. Source: Alan Villiers, Sons of Sindbad (London: AraBian PuBlishing, 2006). Architecture is a field of intriguing concepts and theoretical relationships continuously undergoing development and modification. While in school, many issues intrigued me regarding the meaning of architecture. One might say its meaning lies in form, function, and structure; the Vitruvian triad of delight, commodity, and firmness. Delight, form or the tectonic, can be defined in different ways, one of which is the detail. I came across this interest as a result of my involvement in studying traditional forms of dwelling in Kuwait. I became increasingly interested in the issue of local identity and its expression in the local architecture. I believe Kuwaiti architecture today is losing its links with its origins and adopting mostly foreign concepts from the West, and I feel there is a need to reconnect with what is relevant and meaningful to the local environment and traditions. It is heartbreaking to realize that indigenous mud-brick vii Irreducible Essence: Tectonics & Cultural Expression in Traditional Forms of Kuwaiti Dwelling houses, which my grandparents had struggled to build, were torn down to make way for newer, more "stylish" foreign structures that in most cases did not respond to local traditions, materials, construction techniques, or environmental conditions. It creates a certain tension and frustration not knowing how to go about designing for the local context and society. Coming upon writings by Kenneth Frampton on critical regionalism, tectonics, and the power of structural units to express cultural specificities, I felt slightly relieved that these issues had been discussed in the architectural realm. I began to wonder how these theories could be applied to Kuwaiti culture and architecture. By exploring these theories in relation to my own culture, I hope to learn about Kuwaiti tradition and discover more about my own identity and the architectural design choices that I have made throughout my career. I also hope to become more aware of my origins and the ways in which they can alter the design decisions I make in the future. Accordingly, my thesis focuses on investigations of the architectural tectonic. The objective of my research is to identify connections between tectonics, cultural expression, and the Kuwaiti tradition, as seen in traditional forms of Kuwaiti dwelling. The work allows tectonic elements in architecture to narrate the story of Kuwaiti culture in particular, and has the potential to enrich the way architects approach