Decoding the building code in Damascus : a search for culturally reflected built environment

Common urban development patterns have given Middle Eastern cities their distinctive character. This identity is partly due to the climatic and regional similarity. The remarkable degree of unity and homogeneity amongst Islamic cities is also attributed to the common religious backgrounds and the behavioural expectation of Islamic society in its urban context.In the past, when religion and politics acted as one body, the Islamic building principles played a major role in shaping the traditional settlement of Damascus. Political, economic, social and cultural changes introduced a new system of government. The reform movements changed the structure of the administration and established a new judicial system. The authorities implemented the Building Code and other pieces of legislation, with the object of organizing the growth of the urban form of Damascus.This paper analyzes a cluster of traditional houses in a residential quarter of Damascus, with the objective of exploring the reciprocal effect between the physical form of the cluster and the social life that existed within it. Thereafter, in the same manner, the new settlement currently replacing the old one will be analyzed. These two settlements will be compared, with regard to the traditional building principles in the old quarters, and the new building code and regulations in the new settlements. Building guidelines that make the built environment and the social life of its inhabitants complementary will be the ultimate goal of this thesis