Language
English
English
Degree
M.A
Select type of work
CIS Program Old
CIS publications
No
CIS Thesis
Yes
Status
Approved
Student Name
Al-Dousari, Dalal
Year of Graduation
2018
QF Thematic Areas
CIS Program
Abstract
| Hammams or - traditional baths- were an important communal center in any Muslim city: for its social and physical significance that made it an integral part of the city's urban fabric. Unfortunately, hammams nowadays have been disappearing throughout the years and almost have no existence in most of our contemporary cities, and have been replaced with spas as a healing space instead, especially in the Gulf cities. This rupture of long-established traditional patterns and its impact on the Muslim city have been investigated by Hassan Fathy the prominent Arab architect of the twentieth-Century, in his long journey to help find solutions to ensure the continuity of Islamic art and Architecture that have served its community and context alike. This thesis is an investigation on hammams typology as a healing space, given its four predefined dimensions; built, natural, symbolic and social environments. Based on qualitative research, the analysis will draw upon using those categories as a framework to establish a comparative tool between hammams and spas, which is its core contribution. The parameters for the tool are derived through a three-tier perspective, which include Hassan Fathy's views on contemporaneity, Wilbert M.Gesler's four environments of healing places, and finally some interviews made with practicing architects that attain to the contemporary Muslim context. And thus the main objective of this thesis is to study the spatial qualities of traditional Islamic hammams through a chronological analogy of hammam typology and compare them to nowadays spas as a mean to investigate the contemporaneity of traditional cultural patterns. The comparative tool is applied to few case studies of both hammams and spas. First, hammams case studies will be evaluated using the four healing environments dimensions by M. Gesler as a framework. Then, the contemporaneity of spas case studies will be checked using Hassan Fathy's own definition. And finally, the conducted interviews with current practicing architects will conclude some insights about the future of hammams in the Gulf. The aim of this research is to question the validity of traditional architecture in the contemporary context and the importance of spatial qualities in creating experiences of social, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical healing. And finally, investigate new approached towards a contemporary-modern hammam that would bring people together and enhance their well-being. |