Architecture and Urbanism in the Middle East

Marefat...

medical, community, and educational facilities.

Another tested idea developed by architect Hossein Amanat is a styrofoam pan-

el system — lightweight, well-insulated, easy for non-skilled craftsmen to con-

struct and plaster, with sheer walls resistant to lateral forces. This approach also

accommodates a focus on sustainability by allowing solar energy, green roofs,

and geothermal energy for air-conditioning.

In the longer term, as a microcosm of the Persian built environment — as emphasized by noted architect Keyvan Khos-
rovani — the ancient city of Bam offers opportunities to generate ideas for sustainable reconstruction, tapping into
techniques such as passive cooling, solar and wind energy, day-lighting, green roofs, and reliance on local materials and
crafts. Such principles of blending human habitat with natural ecosystems have long been integral to local Persian tradi-
tions of building. Locally aware innovations such as Superadobe and Styrofoam panel systems readily revitalize these
traditions and reinvigorate development in a manner that preserves cultural identity and pride in community while
setting standards for structurally sound building, smart growth, low impact development, eco-urbanism and livable
communities that may be relevant to many places in the world.

The second challenge of Bam was its historic value — the need to
reinforce an existing cultural asset, the Bam citadel, while taking
care to preserve what survived. It is notable that some of the old-
est, abandoned or eroded earth structures in the citadel survived
the earthquake even as heavily restored and modified ones col-
lapsed. (Figures 10 and 11) Seismic concerns encourage a deep un-
derstanding of crucial construction features — base connections,
bracing, types of reinforced walls, and methods of strengthening
existing construction. One thing learned from the citadel of Bam is that architecture, structure, and material are one.
In some cases, as with steel frame buildings destroyed in Bam, it was not the material but the welding — the construc-
tion— that failed under seismic impact. In other cases, carelessly adding straw-reinforced stucco or other material to
walls undermined the underlying integrity. (Figures 12 and 13)

As Rudolph Langenbach, an expert in seismic vulnerability put it: “a core

understanding of building systems” does not take architectural appearance

as indicative of stability. Builders and rebuilders cannot assume that one ma-

terial or another — in this case earth — will behave like similarly sized and

shaped structures or laboratory models used for engineering analyses. Fos-

tering sustainable building means combining scientific understanding with

knowledge recovered from people who knew how to build earthen struc-

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8