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The Evolution of Vernacular Architecture in Siwa Oasis, Egypt
Riham Mohammed Jaber Ahmed
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DOI:10.17265/1934-7359/2025.06.004
Bartlett school of Graduate Studies, Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
Not always climate and cultural contexts are discussed at the forefront of architectural discussions on traditional or vernacular architecture, nevertheless, the construction material also plays a significant part in defining places’ architectural languages. Building from the local materials is an essential ingredient of the local distinctiveness, whilst forming the architectural grand gesture in its context. In Siwa oasis, salt architecture has formed that architectural grand gesture. The vernacular vocabularies adopted by old Bedouins using salt bricks generated Siwa’s unique spirit. In this paper, some examples are illustrated based on a series of site visits to three main sites in Siwa, namely: Old Shali, Abu Shuruf, and Aghourmy. This shows the evolution of Siwa’s vernacular architecture and the role of the architectural language or detrimental effect on the overall quality of architecture. From the site visits, it was observed that building with the traditional technique is now becoming abandoned in Siwa, explained by the local builders to be due to the huge costs required; forcing them to shifting to modern architecture. The influx to building using modern techniques has led to a significant transformation in the urban morphology and spirit of Siwa. Herein lies the scope of this paper: to discuss the impact of the evolution of vernacular architecture on the overall quality of architecture in Siwa and thus identifying the problems which will lead to policy formulation and guidelines for the redevelopment of Siwa in order to “revitalize/ resuscitate” its vernacular style accordingly.
Vernacular Architecture, Neo-vernacular Architecture, Siwa, Egypt.
Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 15 (2021) 288-295
doi: 10.17265/1934-7359/2021.06.004
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