Iraq

Qatar

In 1973, with UNESCO's participation, a preliminary study was launched, aimed at creating higher education facilities for the State of Qatar. As a result, the first phase of the project comprising the academic buildings was inaugurated in February 1985 and now, the University has a student population of over 5000. The Egyptian architect Kamal el Kafrawi is responsible for the overall design and planning whilst Ove Arup Partners were appointed as prime consultants to undertake structural and engineering services design and site supervision. Buildings completed so far comprise:Central Library, administration, and computer centre;Men's and women's colleges;Student activities and sport facilities;Engineering faculty;Science faculty;Educational technology building; andCentral services units. All the academic buildings are planned within a ring road with sports and ancillary facilities to the outside. The concept for high quality concrete buildings in a modular low-rise has allowed the use of repetitive pre-cast elements for both clad and structural walls. The layout of academic buildings is based on grid forms, an octagon 8 4 m in width and a square with sides of 3 5 m. The octagons are adjacent and connected with squares to form the modular pattern. Each octagonal classroom module is linked to at least two "lobbies". One lobby can be used either as an entrance and a transition area between classrooms or an additional but secluded classroom space, the second lobby as a source of natural light and a meeting place. The octagonal units are surmounted by wind-tower structures to provide cool air and reduce humidity. Towers of light are also introduced to control the harsh sunlight, and abundant use of mashrabiyyas and some stained glass also serve to temper the environment. Open and partially covered courtyards, planted and often with fountains, are plentiful throughout the site. Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Qatar University

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IAA16570

Iran

Built at the summit of a small desert hill, this monument is located three kilometers to the east of Abarquh, along the road that leads to Yazd. The patron for this monument is Firuzan, member of the local Firuzanid dynasty in Abarquh. He built this monument in 1055 for his father, Amid ad-Din Shams ad-Daula, and his mother, whose name is not known. The tomb consists of an octagonal chamber that sits on a low base with eight unequal sides and a tall, projecting muqarnas cornice. The four longer sides of the base are coplanar with four sides of the octagonal chamber above. The chamber tapers inward on the exterior so that the structure is wider at the bottom than it is below the cornice. The entrance to the chamber has been located on the northeast side of the building. The structure is now domed, but the extension of the cornice beyond this dome suggests that it was also capped by a pyramidal roof, as was customary of tombs in this region. The tomb is constructed almost entirely of rubble masonry with brick used only in the inscriptions and in the construction of the interior dome. The walls are left plain while the cornice and the entrance receive most of the decorative treatment. The cornice of the monument is a three-tier muqarnas, which tapers outward. Below the muqarnas is a band of Kufic inscriptions in Arabic containing the name of the builder and the name of the person to whom it was dedicated. The entry is set inside a deep niche crowned by a semi-vault and placed within a rectangular outer frame. The entrance is flanked by two columns, of which only the cavities remain. Inside the niche, above the doorway, is another inscription, written in Kufic style that refers to the patron's mother as "seiyyeda", although her full name is not decipherable. Unlike the tombs in Maragha, this tomb has no crypt. The interior of the octagonal chamber is bare, and except for the remains of a plaster mihrab, is faced with the same rubble construction seen on the outside. A band of niches, two on each side, decorate the walls below the drum. The transition to the drum is achieved with eight simple squinches located at the corners of the octagon. Four openings in the dome and a window on the side of the chamber illuminate the interior. Sources: 	 Hatim, Ghulam Ali. Mimari-i Islami-i Iran dar dawrah-i Saljuqian Tehran: Muassasah-i Intisharat-i Jihad-i Danishgahi, 2000. 193-198. Hoag, John D. Islamic Architecture. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.

Gunbad-i 'Ali

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IIR0655

Indonesia

Recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1980. This government-assisted, self-help community planning programme provides three levels of infrastructure: paved access roads, bridges and footpaths; water supply, sanitation and drainage canals; schools and health clinics. These improvements are threaded along existing rights-of-way, with little disturbance to the existing housing. Although the programme does not offer direct housing assistance, the improved access, flood control and increased economic activity within the kampungs has stimulated home improvement. At the time the award was given, 450'000 kampung dwellers were benefiting from the new infrastructure at a cost of US$ 60 per capita. From the jury citation: "[the programme] has improved living conditions, helped to integrate the informal sector with the city economy and encouraged individual initiative in the improvement of housing." Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Kampung Improvement Programme

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IAA17100

Recipient of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. Named after the donor of the land it occupies, the mosque was designed in the Indonesian Hindu-Javanese architectural tradition, yet is well adapted to the Muslim form of worship. The mosque is square in plan, and symmetrical on both axes with deep verandas on all four sides. The upper tier of the two-tiered roof forms a lantern that filters daylight through patterned painted glass along its ridges. The space between the two tiers has been left open for ventilating the prayer hall. If the design conformed strictly to tradition, four interior wood columns would support the higher of the two roofs. To achieve an uninterrupted column-free space for worship, and clear view of the mihrab, these columns were eliminated. The wide spans thus produced required that the double roof be steel framed. This use of contemporary technology is carefully concealed on the interior by wood strips and sheathing, and on the exterior by clay tiles. The roof is well designed for heavy rain and the deep verandas protect the interior from rain and excessive glare. In this mosque, traditional Javanese idioms have been skillfully reinterpreted to produce a modern regional architecture compatible with the best indigenous work. Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Said Naum Mosque

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IAA0605

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Kamal Kafrawi
Iraq

Associated Sites

Documents

Additional Names

Kamal Kafrawi

Associated Sites

Documents

Additional Names