Sherif Hussein

With the construction of the High Dam at Aswan, Egypt, 50,000 Nubians were resettled from their informal houses to new public housing resettlement. The aim of this paper is to note, and analyze the difference in potential privacy before and after the resettlement - between the informal and the institutional housing units. A sample of nine dwelling units, both informal and institutional, was selected. Comparative analysis of potential privacy between the two samples was carried based on ‘space syntax’ techniques using a justified permeability graph and other measures of privacy on two levels; the relations of spaces within the unit, and the relations of spaces with the outside world. Findings reveled that traditional informal Nubian houses, in general, have more permeability and accessibility, with potential privacy more considered and more successful than potential privacy in the institutional sample which have more visibility from outside. These measures of potential privacy have to be taken into consideration and previously calculated in any coming resettlement projects.

Some buildings are organized around a central enclosed courtyard. Courtyards have been built during different periods of history with various types and forms. This paper follows the meaning and typology of the domestic courtyard in different historical cultures. It first views a brief historical development of the courtyard and its topological variations. The research then focuses on two different, and contrasting, typologies of the courtyard: the courtyard in Islamic architecture, and the traditional Chinese quadrangle courtyards (Siheyuan). By analyzing each of them on the levels of form, utility, culture, and meaning, differences and similarities are identified through comparison. A sample of traditional courtyard houses, both Islamic and Chinese, was selected. Comparative analysis of spatial properties and typology between the two samples was carried based on series of measurement for courtyard space on both levels of formal and spatial relations. The research finds that all courtyards share similar characteristics of being suitable and adaptable for variations of uses and changing patterns. However, some differences exist as well, related mainly to enclosure, order and orientation. These measures of courtyard space have to be taken into consideration in any new design projects for this type of houses.