Internal courtyards in Arab Islamic houses - Karbala as a case study

• Main Author: Al-Jaberi, Zaman Auda
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Civilization; Courtyards; Houses; Mathematical analysis; Privacy
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0131174

Internal courtyards form one of the most important design elements in the Arab Islamic house, playing an important role in the lives of Islamic individuals and families in many aspects, including socially, functionally, and environmentally. The success of this multi-functionality lies in the courtyard’s construction style and open aspect towards the interior of the house, yet there is currently a lack of studies examining the impacts of inner courtyard privacy in Karbala’s houses. This research thus aimed to investigate and analyse the most important characteristics of the architectural formation of these inner courtyards based on their emergence in early civilizations, with a focus on Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian houses, compared to their use in the Islamic civilization in Karbala. This comparison is used identify the extent of congruence and the changes in the privacy applications of courtyard houses over time. The research followed a descriptive and analytical approach to examine the house models used in early civilizations and Islamic houses in Karbala, then subjected key samples to qualitative measurement to test the developed hypothesis, which stated that the characteristics of the architectural character of the interior courtyard of the Arab Islamic house were developed to meet social, cultural and religious requirements, which are identical with environmental requirements and thus form an extension of its origins in early civilizations. Further efforts were made to identify the extent to which the vocabulary of the characteristics of the architectural formation of the interior courtyard are now achieved in Islamic house, as extracted from the architectural studies. This study should thus lead to the development of a clearer perception of the privacy functions of internal courtyards in Arab houses and the most important factors contributing to the development of its architectural features. The research conclusions suggest that the same effects were achieved in both samples, supporting the conclusion that the spatial factors, site specificity, and the environment play the main roles in the development of an inner courtyard, and thus in determining its architectural character. The local environmental factors have the clearest impact, however, while social, cultural and religious factors offer variable pressures.