Architecture and identities: The case study of border areas
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Date
2021
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Master’s Programme in Interior Architecture
Language
en
Pages
247
Series
Abstract
Throughout the history, Nubia region served as an important meeting point where the Mediterranean and the African world connected to each other. The riverine Neolithic populations extending from the middle Egypt to the central Sudan showed a cultural cohesion due to the exchange of ideas and artefacts between people up until the fourth millennium B.C. when Egyptians became an agrarian society living a sedentary life, and they began to utilise the river as means of transport. During the post medieval era, people started to associate themselves with an Arab and Islamic identity. The sixty-year long Ottoman rule set the grounds for the modern-day Sudan (Edwards, 2007). During the colonial and post-colonial times, the nationalist movement took place both in Egypt and Sudan, which lead to their independence in 1900s. Since then, both countries partly claim the Nubian heritage as their own. Pharaohs of Egypt initiated war-like conquests to Nubia to acquire natural and human resources throughout the centuries. Even though, the Nubians felt a strong Egyptian influence, the archaeological remains indicates a strong Nubian cultural identity. After the Arab conquest, the Sudanic people had more effect on the Nubians than the Egyptians from medieval to the modern times, due to continent-wide kinship that was being formed (Adams 1977, 590). The Egyptian influence brought technological enhancement in various fields into the Nubia, which eventually set Nubians apart from the rest of the African neighbours, and the Sudanic influence brought the latest form of Nubian courtyard architecture, which reflects the concept of a house in Islam. I argue that these influences did not claim the Nubian identity, instead, the Nubians used their adaptation skills, and found a way to apply these changes into their lives while staying true to their own cultural identities. The study analyses six different Nubian domestic contexts. The ancient Meroitic house (A1), and the historical houses (H1, H2, H3, and H4) are inundated under the Lake Nasser, a reservoir created by the construction of the High Aswan Dam in 1960s. Consequently, the Egyptian Nubians were displaced in Kom Ombo, an irrigation scheme located at the north of Aswan. The construction of the High Aswan Dam was seen as one of the biggest technological projects of the era, since it was going to control the flow of the Nile, end the shortage of cultivable land, and most importantly, generate electricity, which was crucial for the industrial growth. Nubians were not involved during the planning of the project, and it eventually had a long-term negative impact on people. Even though most of the Egyptian Nubians have gotten accustomed to their new lives in the displacement villages, some of them had troubles putting down their roots and feel a sense of belonging in the new villages. Therefore, they have decided to return to Old Nubia. The modern case study (M1) from 1990s is in Qustul - one of the first the returnee villages that was built by Nubians. In historical research, the application of the space syntax analysis and the depth map analysis is rather low. I present a methodology that combines space syntax analysis with architectural anthropology and environmental and behavioural science, which delivered a comprehensive understanding of the Nubian architecture. This approach helped to distinguish a structural genotype in Nubian architecture that differs from a typical Egyptian and Sudanese domestic architecture. It was also possible to differentiate the northern and southern Nubian identities, and the way these identities are reflected in the built environment in terms of the spatial organisation, the building materials, and the use of space, which were highly affected by the natural environment, the cultural background, and the socio-economic situation. Moreover, it helped to distinguish the shifts in the configuration of space before and after the Islamic era.Description
Supervisor
Kareoja, PenttiThesis advisor
Lorenzon, MartaKeywords
historical research, space syntax, architectural anthropology, earthen architecture, nubia, cultural studies, vernacular architecture, building identities