Final project: style of architecture

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Style of architecture:

Any Moroccan city you visit will have a distinctive architectural fusion of Islamic, Moorish, Berber, and French styles. Modernist structures are becoming more common, but they still fit in with the colorful mix that makes Morocco so amazing. (Hachami, 2023)

After doing some research, I found that Riad gardens originated in the eastern Persian world, and scholars generally credit this to their eastern Islamic ancestors.(Marçais, Georges (1954)).The Idrisid Dynasty in Morocco's early domestic architecture was influenced by the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. (Boele, Vincent. Ed. (2005)).

A restored house in riad-style

These homes have an arcade or gallery encircling the gardens (Marçais, Georges (1954)). Moroccan architecture placed a strong emphasis on interior design, providing families with seclusion and weather protection. The absence of large windows on the exterior walls made of mud brick or rammed earth, as well as the centrally located interior garden or courtyard, conveyed this inward focus. Support for this design principle was also found in Islamic social mores, which valued privacy highly and promoted a division between semi-public areas used for receiving outside guests and private family spaces, where women were primarily employed (Wilbaux, Quentin (2001)).

Special features:

After further research, I found that many architects have been using different forms of earthquake-proofing. As it turns out, the first application of seismic isolation was done by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of my favorite architects of all time. He used it in the design of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan which was completed in 1921. His idea was to put an 8-foot layer of good soil and add another 60 to 70-foot layer of soft mud, which he described as a good cushion to absorb the energy from the earthquake. 

The base isolation method is a way to protect structures against earthquakes, it consists of separating the base from the structure. As a result, the energy generated by the earthquake is significantly reduced by the foundation.

With that being said, structures are often heavy and need some type of foundation that would be able to bear with it. For example, elastomeric pads, plates, or inverted pendulums. What is particular about these is that they can dissipate some energy, yet, what is often used is hysteretic damping. Nonetheless, this component has a limited amount of energy that is absorbed, in addition to the possibility of exciting higher modes in particular cases. (Base Isolation Systems | Seismic Isolation | Taylor Devices, Inc., n.d.)




example: L.A city Hall.

This building is 138.4 meters tall, which makes it the tallest base-isolated structure in the world. After a succession of earthquakes, it was necessary to refurbish it from the ground up, mainly focusing on a seismic upgrade which is the reason why it was closed in 1998. As a result, this structure today can manage and keep the damage minimal after an earthquake of a magnitude of up to 8.2 (Los Angeles City Hall Renovation | Murray Company | Mechanical Contractors, n.d.).






References:

  • Base Isolation Systems | Seismic Isolation | Taylor Devices, Inc. (n.d.). https://www.taylordevices.com/base-isolation/#:~:text=A%20base%20isolation%20system%20is,an%20earthquake%20is%20reduced%20significantly.

  • Makris, N. (2018) ‘Seismic isolation: Early history’, Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics, 48(2), pp. 269–283. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.3124.

  • Los Angeles City Hall Renovation | Murray Company | Mechanical Contractors. (n.d.). https://murraycompany.com/los-angeles-city-hall-renovation/.

  • Marçais, Georges (1954). L'architecture musulmane d'Occident. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques

  • Boele, Vincent. Ed. (2005). Morocco: 5000 years of Culture. Amsterdam: KIT Publishers

  • Wilbaux, Quentin (2001). La médina de Marrakech: Formation des espaces urbains d'une ancienne capitale du Maroc. Paris: L'Harmattan.

  • Hachami, N. (2023) Riads, traditional accommodation for your stay in Marrakesh. [Online] Royal Mansour. Available from : https://www.royalmansour.com/en/blog/riads-traditional-accommodation-for-your-stay-in-marrakesh/#:~:text=THE%20RIAD%2C%20AN%20EXAMPLE%20OF,face%20the%20bright%20patio%20centrepiece.

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