Interruptions | Banana Edition

interruptions experimentations on architecture,art and culture in the Levant

BANANA EDITION --

................................interruptions................................Khaled sedKidarya tarawnehnader Gammas

dr. rami F. daher

................................contributers................................adel samaraahmad humeidahmad sabbaGhali muslehanarchyarchiGramashraF KaFaweenblouzaat / typismdina Khawaldehhadi alaeddinibrahim attaromar Jarradpaola zindelreloadinG imaGesroula yaGhmourruba assisaKhr malKawisuleiman hadidiworoud adhali................................desiGn................................syntax / ahmad sabbaGhsyntaxdiGital.com................................

interruptions | Publicationshttp://int-publications.com/http://interruptions.weebly.com/[email protected]

................................sponsers................................amman institutearamexarab company For white cement industryJacarandawide:screen 16:9................................

interruptions is an independent non-profit initiative enabling non-standardized experimentation on architecture, design and culture in the cultural zone of the Levant and releases publications, (independent or collaborative), in various forms, shapes or contents framed by a shared commitment to the contextual existence we operate within and contribute to.

1interruptions |

................................interruptions................................Khaled sedKidarya tarawnehnader Gammas

dr. rami F. daher

................................contributers................................adel samaraahmad humeidahmad sabbaGhali muslehanarchyarchiGramashraF KaFaweenblouzaat / typismdina Khawaldehhadi alaeddinibrahim attaromar Jarradpaola zindelreloadinG imaGesroula yaGhmourruba assisaKhr malKawisuleiman hadidiworoud adhali................................desiGn................................syntax / ahmad sabbaGhsyntaxdiGital.com................................

interruptions | Publicationshttp://int-publications.com/http://interruptions.weebly.com/[email protected]

................................sponsers................................amman institutearamexarab company For white cement industryJacarandawide:screen 16:9................................

interruptions is an independent non-profit initiative enabling non-standardized experimentation on architecture, design and culture in the cultural zone of the Levant and releases publications, (independent or collaborative), in various forms, shapes or contents framed by a shared commitment to the contextual existence we operate within and contribute to.

1interruptions |

2nd, May 2008

Interruptions | Publications

releases its second publication

titled, Idiom. The issue contained

12 articles by various contribu-

tors and a collective mosaic of

critiques collected from archi-

tects, artists, anthropologists and

social figures on the contempo-

rary transformation of the city.

9th, May 2008

Fierce gunfire between pro-and

anti- government movements

broke out in several districts in

Beirut. Lebanon’s long-simmering

political crisis lurched deeper into

violent civil conflict bringing back

the memory of a brutal civil war

that lasted over fifteen years.

9th, June 2008

Interruptions together with JAE

released a special edition of

Mimarion titled, 4th Architectural

Conference:High-Rise Buildings.

It was distributed throughout the

conference ,included abstracts

of key-note speakers, interviews

edited by Interruptions and

samples of student projects.

27th, December 2008

On 27 December, Israel began

its bombardment on Gaza strip

which lasted for 22 days. At least

1300 Gazans had been killed,

with 70% civilians including

more than 400 children, and more

than 5300 injured in the most

brutal attack on the strip since

June 2008

The price of oil has made a record

jump to nearly $139 a barrel last

June.Crisis impact reached almost

every spot in the world until

finally along with other factors

resulted in the financial crisis to

appear to surface on Septermber

2008 with the US government

taking over Freddie Mac and

Fannie Mae.

8th, August 2008

Beijing held its opening

ceremony for the 2008 Summer

Olympics. The ceremony, held

in the National Stadium, was

attended by thousands, and has

caught nearly 4 billion people’s

eyes worldwide. Featuring more

than 15,000 performers, and have

cost over US$100 million.

4th, September 2008

Interruptions team held a workshop in Damascus upon [Reloading Images:] artistic research platform. Workshop was titled, Damascus: Narrative on Place and the City. a remapping the for the city theatre sets. it published a summary of the workshop in Reloading Images Drat Report.utat, quisi blandre.

17th, January 2009

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

developer Emaar Properties

announces Burj Dubai reached

its final height of 818 m. The

tower is designed by Skidmore,

Owings and Merrill. The design

of Burj Dubai is reminiscent of

the Frank Lloyd Wright vision for

The Illinois.

5th, November 2008

Barack Obama has been elected

the 44th president of the United

States—the first time an African-

American has won the nation’s

highest office and the rare

occasion where a newcomer to

national politics has captured the

White House on his first try.

14th, December 2008

On an Iraq trip shrouded in

secrecy and marred by dissent,

President George W. Bush on

Sunday hailed progress in the

war that defines his presidency

and got a size-10 reminder of his

unpopularity when a man hurled

two shoes at him during a news

conference.

21st, November 2008

There was no evidence of the

global financial crisis as tycoons

and celebrities streamed into

Dubai for the $31 million party.

After Kylie Minogue performed

to 2000 guests the sky lit up with

the world’s largest fireworks

display, opening ceremony to be

seen from outer space.

21st, February 2009

Amman Institute for Urban

Development is hosting a forum

sponsored by Greater Amman

Municipality and moderated

by the architectural magazine

Interruptions. The Form will

host the mayor of Amman, Omar

Maani interacting with the youth

of the city.

preliminary

2 | interruptions

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Dear Interruptionists,It is only now that I finally had the time to write the opening statement, at 5:40 a.m. and only hours away from print submission! Well, this is how hectic it has been! With less than one week left for Amman’s Centennial Forum, we hardly had time to spare for breath, but yet it is beautiful. Perhaps it is most beautiful because every part of this issue has been done with love, as it has been with every release of Interruptions. Two ironic years have passed, and whether Interruptions went on or not, we are very confident that us being here at Syntax at 5:47 a.m. on Valentine’s Day is a celebration of something worthy of every bit we invested in. It may not look ‘celebrational’ while we pulled so many all-nighters for the last two weeks, with so many laptops, stacks of papers and piles of drafts. But we certainly are satisfied.It’s funny when you play it all together at once. Our meeting with Ahmad Humeid literally swept us off our feet when he offered <Syntax> to design our baby! The Centennial Forum that was made true by the help and the blind trust of Gerry Post, Amman Institute, and the generosity of Mayor Omar Al-Maani. All brought us back with loaded energy and passion. Now we’re finally here, with no opening statement. So instead we wish we could thank those with the passion, determination and dedication enough to help us reinvent interruptions:

For Ahmad Humeid and Ahmad Sabbagh of Syntax for helping us redesign Interruptions. For Mayor Omar Maani, Gerry Post, Amman Institute and GAM for allowing us to join hands together with youth to engage ourselves in the growth of our city, Amman. For Dr. Rami Daher, our academic patron, for the unconditional support. For Nader Gammas, Nadine Dihmes, Omar Jarrad and Rasha Aboude for their passion and dedication. For all contributors from Jordan, Syria, Berlin and Mexico for making Interruptions diverse. For all sponsors and collaborators for making all this achievable.

To them, we dedicate this hard work, for helping us place that banana up in front; because at times, it is almost alright to be Interrupted, or even slip as to get up right after, but much more careful than before.

4 | interruptions 5interruptions |

oto essa

illegal For

ms: Qu

y oF p

lace; t

se oF Dh

: i call a

e Frozen

ving t

he Flow

oF ‘th

t’ a

coFFeeJa

oF per

Design

s useD

ion veh

consciou

sness a

resist

avelling w

avel th

e polit

ics an

ctices oF h

lics, act

re “on

: visua

l stor

g gaza

e a lon

g, sust

eD “r

evenge”

on isr

opolis m

opolis

or: ob

servat

ion - r

eFlecteD

lation

sing t

asic b

lock t

FlooDeD

on: Five im

ages oF t

geogra

y oF m

sheesh

vation

s on su

at’s love got

ing im

oJect5s x

oFile: pier

re el k

review

: blou

l Fetish

: on w

e cemen

s From

0810141920

26272932

384042444546474849525458606264656668

Dear Interruptionists,It is only now that I finally had the time to write the opening statement, at 5:40 a.m. and only hours away from print submission! Well, this is how hectic it has been! With less than one week left for Amman’s Centennial Forum, we hardly had time to spare for breath, but yet it is beautiful. Perhaps it is most beautiful because every part of this issue has been done with love, as it has been with every release of Interruptions. Two ironic years have passed, and whether Interruptions went on or not, we are very confident that us being here at Syntax at 5:47 a.m. on Valentine’s Day is a celebration of something worthy of every bit we invested in. It may not look ‘celebrational’ while we pulled so many all-nighters for the last two weeks, with so many laptops, stacks of papers and piles of drafts. But we certainly are satisfied.It’s funny when you play it all together at once. Our meeting with Ahmad Humeid literally swept us off our feet when he offered <Syntax> to design our baby! The Centennial Forum that was made true by the help and the blind trust of Gerry Post, Amman Institute, and the generosity of Mayor Omar Al-Maani. All brought us back with loaded energy and passion. Now we’re finally here, with no opening statement. So instead we wish we could thank those with the passion, determination and dedication enough to help us reinvent interruptions:

For Ahmad Humeid and Ahmad Sabbagh of Syntax for helping us redesign Interruptions. For Mayor Omar Maani, Gerry Post, Amman Institute and GAM for allowing us to join hands together with youth to engage ourselves in the growth of our city, Amman. For Dr. Rami Daher, our academic patron, for the unconditional support. For Nader Gammas, Nadine Dihmes, Omar Jarrad and Rasha Aboude for their passion and dedication. For all contributors from Jordan, Syria, Berlin and Mexico for making Interruptions diverse. For all sponsors and collaborators for making all this achievable.

To them, we dedicate this hard work, for helping us place that banana up in front; because at times, it is almost alright to be Interrupted, or even slip as to get up right after, but much more careful than before.

photo essaysharing a Fountain

Nader Gammas

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of going on a private tour of Old Damascus with Maktab Anbar, the preservation committee for the old city. The house pictured here is one of many fascinat-ing courtyard houses. Larger then most of the courtyards houses, the original owner of the property was the irriga-tion master of Old Damascus, hence the family name, Saqa’Amini. The highly prestigious position of the pasha was controlling the distribution and regula-tion of water to the various districts within the city walls. The house was passed on to family generations then abandoned. It was left to the homeless for shelter.

Currently there are five families living in each of the five rooms, all sharing the central courtyard. I asked one of the residents how long they have been dwelling there. She says she doesn’t remember how long she has been living there, but she says her brother who is now 48, was born in one of the rooms. Many of the residents aren’t welcom-ing, for they fear of being evicted at anytime. Plans to restore the house have been discussed. But due to insufficient funding and lack of housing for the cur-rent occupants, restoration projects are postponed.

photo essaysharing a Fountain

Nader Gammas

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of going on a private tour of Old Damascus with Maktab Anbar, the preservation committee for the old city. The house pictured here is one of many fascinat-ing courtyard houses. Larger then most of the courtyards houses, the original owner of the property was the irriga-tion master of Old Damascus, hence the family name, Saqa’Amini. The highly prestigious position of the pasha was controlling the distribution and regula-tion of water to the various districts within the city walls. The house was passed on to family generations then abandoned. It was left to the homeless for shelter.

Currently there are five families living in each of the five rooms, all sharing the central courtyard. I asked one of the residents how long they have been dwelling there. She says she doesn’t remember how long she has been living there, but she says her brother who is now 48, was born in one of the rooms. Many of the residents aren’t welcom-ing, for they fear of being evicted at anytime. Plans to restore the house have been discussed. But due to insufficient funding and lack of housing for the cur-rent occupants, restoration projects are postponed.

Building procedures are not monitored or under any supervision of engineer/architect.

In some cases a 3 story building is built only with cement bricks and no reinforced concrete in the whole structure, and regarding Form and function, it’s merely developed by the builder

Land division is done by a specialist “that divides it among owners” and in most cases lands are being transferred through in heritage.

Land ownership is being transferred by “inherit age” from father to family members according to Syrian laws, and then each cultivates or takes care of the new territory and in most cases builds that zone.

The building process is done by agreements among the owners of land in collaboration with the builder, they decide together the location of the ally the start and the end of it along with the connection to the street.

[Privacy as a value of the local community is respected from all; no windows are designed in any way to violate that value]one can find that it’s been according to rules that were respected by the people that formed the community [owners of land] no door’s openings that may face each other /property boundaries haven’t changes much since the French’s new distribution of land

Local community services and quali-ty human conditions are hardly noticed, since the whole building process is ille-gal in that part of town; No any wish of community growth or any sustainable thinking regarding the services, open spaces nor kids playing grounds or any recreational area.

The Design is merely developed by the builder in consultant with the owner of “the houses to be”

it’s arbitrary forms with no apparent reference or any systematic operation but after investigating the building pro-cedure and the formation process]

PEOPLE’S ARCHITECTUREPhenomena:

ArBITrAry lOOkINg hOusEs ThAT wErE DEvElOpED By lOcAl INhABITANTs wIThOuT INTErvENTION Of ANy spEcIAlIsTs, ENgINEEr Or ArchITEcT.

illegal Forms: Quality oF space the case oF Dharaya

Woroud Adhali

Whatever encoded message that is being transferred through the images of informal settlements and irregular houses, one must not ignore the hidden value of the community that regulates it’s forms and communications, and maybe we “architects to be” should gain and give back knowledge to such self-developed zones help them reach healthier communities, communities that solve its spatial problems by accommodating the urban policies to the benefit of people.

And eventually we must admit that the informal settlements are the contemporary architecture of Damascus in 2007.

And maybe designers of space” can work with urban policy makers and locals to reach new solutions that are at the same time legal and an elevation the qualities of life by improving the spaces experienced by people in the city of Damascus.

And maybe architects should con-sider lending hand/ instead of punishing people of Dharaya for form violation and changing land description we “archi-tects and designers of space” can work with urban policy makers and locals to reach new solutions that are at the same time legal and an elevation the qualities of life by improving the spaces experi-enced by people.

In dharaya, Jarmana, Kassioun and other periphery spaces have been

the most growing, rapid and vibrant construction in Damascus in the last 10 years.

While architects are waiting a change in urban policies so they could produce or make their unique designs, people are not waiting and they are taking the matter into their hands and they are violating the law to provide themselves with a shelter but eventu-ally it is the

BAsIc rEAsON fOr ThE ExIsTENcE Of ArchITEcTurE.