M T Altorki (1 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. Original illustrated wraps, landscape format 28x22cm. Printed at the National Offset Printing Press, Riyadh. 58, (1)pp English section + 45pp non-duplicative Arabic section, with colour and b/w photos, artist's impressions, floor plans, elevations, details, and maps throughout. Near fine with light creasing. King Faisal University opened in 1975 with colleges for Architecture and Medicine. In 1980, the College of Architecture hosted a Symposium on Islamic Architecture and Urbanism. In 1981 it launched this Journal to study the negative impacts of urbanisation on quality of life, loss of agricultural land and water, and pollution. Central to this was a desire to reflect the rich traditions of Islamic architecture and preserve Arab and Islamic know-how (English and Arabic Forewords). Its Editorial Board was headed by Ghazi Sahal Al-Otaibi, and included four Professors, a Teaching Assistant, and two students. Much of the content is Saudi specific, with some pieces relaying pertinent regional or general lessons. The English section includes: Dwelling forms and residential patterns in Saudi; Conservation in traditional cities; Traditional plates (ie, illustrations) of the Gulf; Urban forms in Arab-Muslim cities; Damman Metropolitan Area Socio-Economic Survey; Comments on the Colleges of Architecture and Basic Medical Sciences Projects; Regional shopping centre Dammam; Urban growth case study: Malta; a history of the construction of the Holy Mosque in Mecca (from a book by the Ministry of Finance); and Hijra years which looks at the importance of the lunar calendar. There is also a piece on the geometry of soap bubbles as a contribution to the study of spanning large unobstructed spaces most economically. The Arabic section includes research to calculate the number of architects and planners Saudi needs and ways to address the shortage; interview with Riyadh Mayor Sheikh Abdullah Al-Naim; Rural housing in the Southern region; Urban planning effectiveness (by Al-Otaibi); Characteristics of the Saudi family; Umayyad Mosque in Damascus; Ibn Tulun Mosque; interview with Undersecretary Dr Saleh Al-Malik, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Cordoba Mosque; Hammam; Symposium on the Arab City; Arab Institute for Urban Development; and history and architecture of Mecca's Great Mosque. Scarce. Durham also records a second issue dated April 1983.