Left Behind Pieces of the City

A thesis book for the Final Architectural Project
submitted to
the Department of Architecture,
School of Architecture,
Art, and Design,
American University in Dubai
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of
the
Bachelor of Architecture
Fall 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Yasmin Moustafa Kayali
All rights reserved

Approval of the Thesis Book for Final Architectural Project
Department of Architecture,
School of Architecture, Art, and Design,
American University in Dubai
Student’s Full Name: Yasmin Moustafa Kayali
Thesis Book Title: Left Behind - Pieces of The City
Student Signature: ________________
Date: __________________
Professor Name : Abdellatif Qamhaieh
Professor Signature: _____________
Date: __________________

Abstract
The research examines and
study the abandonment types
and effects on individuals,
groups, and places. Many places
just like many people are neglected,
forgotten, and left over
this phenomenon has many effects
not only on the aesthetic
appearance of the city, but
also it affects the society since
many people are seeking for a
place to live in and to survive,
yet the topic itself is neglected
and forgotten. This research
sheds light on the abandoned
people and architecture together
and it reflects the relationship
between human
and architecture by sharing a
common experience.

Dedication
Acknowledgment
I dedicate this book to my parents
Moustafa and Maha the
most supportive and loving
parents. Thank you for believing
in me and giving me the
strength to chase my dreams.
To my sister and brother Leen
and Oday thank you for always
being there for me.
Reemas, my young talented sister,
thank you for always being
there for me. Farah, thank you
for being the purest heart and
most supportive friend anyone
could ask for. Jabbour and
obai, my true brothers thank
you for all your love and support.
Fadi, thank you for being
a source of motivation and
happiness. Zeina, the kindest
girl thanks you for all the laughter.
Haya, my partner in everything,
thank you. Ayla and
Waseem, thank you for being
my small family during this journey.
Natal, my working partner,
thank you. Sandra and Sandy,
thank you for your advices.
Finally, Dr. Abdellatife Qamhahieh,
thank you for
your guidance and effort.
10 11

1 5
Abandonment
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 ABANDONMENT TYPES
1.3 DESIGN PROPOSAL
18-19
20-23
24-27
Relevant Architecture
5.1 Case Study I
5.2 Case Study II
5.3 Case Study III
5.4 Case Study IV
78-95
96-107
108-119
120-127
2
Society
2.1 Children
2.2 Women
2.3 Refugees
6
30-33 130-131
34-37
38-41
Program
6.1 Case Studies Program
6.2 Project Program
6.3 Bubble Diagram
132
133
3
Architecture
3.1 Leftover Cities
3.2 Abandoned But Never Forgotten
3.3 Neglected Buildings
3.4 Art In Abandoned Spaces
44-51
52-55
56-61
62-67
7
Site Analysis
7.1 Site Selection Critiria
7.2 Site Analysis
136-137
138-151
4
Dubai
4.1 Dubai Development
4.2 History
4.3 Unfinished Construction
70-71
72-73
74-75
8
Concepts
8.1 Concept I
8.2 Concept II
8.3 Concept III
8.4 Nominated Concept
154-155
156-157
158
159

“Art is never finished, only abandoned”
Leonardo Da Vinci
F.01

1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 ABANDONMENT TYPES
1.3 DESIGN PROPOSAL
1
ABANDONMENT
16 17

1.1 Introduction
To abandon is to leave a
place, a thing or a person forever.
Abandonment is a very
general notion which can be
applied to many aspects of life.
People abandon each other,
places, habits, religions, homes
and many other things. When
we mention the word abandonment,
many related feelings
come to our minds, we will take
a quick trip inside our memories,
remembering a day in which
we experience abandonment.
Either we have left something,
or something has left us; we
will always remember this day.
18 19
F.02

1.2 Abandonment Types
There are three types of
abandonment, the first being
when people have to make
the decision of leaving something
behind, or changing
something due to many direct
reasons. For example, a person
who moved away from his
home town looking for better
opportunities is abandonment
due to a personal decision.
The second type is not an optional
or personal decision; it’s
when someone has to abandon
a place or something due to
external pressure. For instance,
when a person moved from his
home due to a disaster or war.
The third one is not an optional
or personal decision; there
are some other things that are
abandoned by chance due to
indirect reasons or without any
planning. For example, in the
past people used to stay connected
with their traditions and
habits; however, many people
have moved away unconsciously
from their traditions and
culture because of their openness
toward changing their
habits and indulge in other cultures,
which helps in reshaping
their believes and they started
to abandon inherited traditions.
20
F.03

Although there are
many types or reasons for the
abandonment the results are
similar, everything which is
abandoned became a memory
or a lesson. Usually, we relate
negative feelings like fear,
sadness, or pain. People always
suffer from trauma especially if
they have been abandoned,
or if they left something that
they love or they are used to it.
Sometimes, positivity could
come from abandonment,
some bad habits such as drugs,
smoking or any action that hurt
the person or the society should
be abandoned. Some relations
or people affect our lives and
improvement should as well be
abandoned. There is always a
feeling of fear related with the
abandonment. People think
that they are losing when they
are abandoning something or
someone, they think of the negative
effects and feeling, and
they forget about the bright side.
D.01
22 23

1.2 Design Proposal
Through my research I
will highlight different types and
meanings of abandonment not
only in architectural aspect,
but also in the different categories
of the society. I want to
show how the abandonment
have many effects some are
negative some are positive, but
I insist to highlight mainly the
negative feelings and reflections
of the abandonment in
the society although there are
many efforts to drop the attention
of the society toward the
negative abandonment. After
studying the abandoned cities
and buildings, I found that there
are many places that leftover
and forgotten. Although, some
places are used for tourists and
for the cinema still these buildings
are standing with no function,
holding a space without
providing any profit for the society.
Because these abandoned
buildings affect the society in
an indirect way, and the rapid
growth of the world and the
development of technology required
to be more efficient and
to make a profit or a use of all the
possible opportunities, I want to
suggest to give those forgotten
places another chance.
D.02
24 25

By reusing an exist place
to create a new function and
a new concept will create
more efficient opportunities for
different people. Maybe the
abandoned categories of the
society would find a hope in
an abandoned place, or maybe
this forgotten space would
turn into a beneficial space. I
want to implement the technology
with the design to serve
the needs of a certain society
through an exist building. For
example, in Dubai the housing
is expensive and many people
can’t afford the expenses
of living in a such developed
city, at the same time the city
is growing and there are many
abandoned buildings in many
important location. I think these
buildings would turn into an
interesting place and would
change the people’s perspective
into an abandoned building
D.03
26 27

2.1 Children
2.2 Women
2.3 Refugees
2
SOCIETY
28 29

2.1 Children
When examining the issue
of abandonment, one cannot
undermine the significant
social effects it has on various
parts of society. Since inclusion
is a necessary key element to
ensure social order and cohesion,
it is therefore intuitive that
abandonment is bound to have
a seriously detrimental effect
on the individual and society.
The effects of abandonment on
society can be further explored
when studying the family and
the impact of familial abandonment
on children. Functionalist
sociologists like Talcott
Parsons (1965) stress the importance
of a close knit family and
its contribution to the well being
of society at large, reiterating
the importance of primary
and secondary socialization for
the development of children.
30 31
F.04

With this view in mind,
the neglect and abandonment
of children is a leading factor
that contributes to juvenile
delinquency and adult crimes
with neglected children being
4.8 times more likely to be
arrested as a juvenile and 3.1
times more likely to be arrested
for violent crimes (Diane J.
English, Cathy S. Widom, Carol
Brandford. The correlation
between child abandonment
and rise in crime is one that can
be explained by the psychological
strain abandonment
causes on the child leading
them to adopt a defensive or
even an aggressive approach
in peer interactions due to the
lack of social training by parents
and lack of trust in society
(Simmons and Robertson 1990).
The effects of abandonment
are not exclusive to orphaned
children or those who are rejected
by their parents. The
effects of abandonment are
reaching and can impact entire
communities and genders,
with woman abandonment in
the family or in the workplace
being a significant societal issue
of the twenty-first century.
F.05
32 33

2.2 Women
Although women have a
main role in the life flow and its
continuity, they have been suffering
from different forms of neglect
and abandonment that
vary in brutality from infanticide
to discrimination within the family
and the workplace. While
infanticide can be labeled as
the start of the violence and
the start of female abandonment
in society, the practice
still continues among disadvantage
and low income primitive
societies in remote parts of
Asia due to outdated cultural
beliefs that claim that women
cause a burden on the family.
34 35
F.06

The belief that women
lack economic value in society
in comparison to men who
are deemed to be strong and
more productive is one that
motivates violence and discrimination
against women in
all societies especially agricultural
communities where manual
labor is necessary. Hence,
men are seen as producers and
women are seen as an extra
expense. This view is reinforced
in Indian tradition whereby
families propose a dowry (an
amount of money) to the groom
for marrying their daughter - this
money is sometimes considered
as a reward for the groom
for lifting the “burden” of the
bride’s family. These notions of
female inferiority are reinforced
by a study conducted by the
United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) which found that up
to 50,000,000 girls and women
are missing from India’s population.
In 1994 when the Taliban
took the power in Afghanistan,
they forbade women from their
simplest rights of studying or
working (Agosín P.15). In the
United States and other developed
cities like Europe women
are neglected and abandoned
from political leadership
and decision making (Agosín
P.2). Collectively, these practices
emphasize the neglect of
women in society and have a
main role in the growth of radical
feminism and feminist separatism
our world is experiencing
today (Shugar, Dana R. 1961).
36 37
F.07

2.3 Refugees
The effects of abandonment
can also be observed
among entire regions and communities.
Entire communities
and groups of society in different
geographical areas are often
abandoned by the international
community and deprived
of their rights, including but not
exclusive to low income workers,
refugees and the homeless.
Dire living and working conditions
have become globally
normalized for these groups
consequently leading to higher
rates of crime and drug consumption
in these communities
due to a strong sense of lack of
opportunity and betrayal by the
international community. Some
rural areas and communities
are completely abandoned socially
and economically with a
lack of effort from governments
to create projects that can
drive prosperity. For instance,
the Syrian refugees who fled to
Lebanon or Turkey and are currently
living in camps in appalling
living conditions and suffer
from restrictions on their basic
human rights such as access
to clean water, healthcare,
and education. For instance,
most of the Syrian refuges are
in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey
live in camps with very bad life
conditions due to the limited
economical support from other
countries. The Za’atari camp in
northern Jordan almost more
than half of the refugees is children.
The camp size turned to a
semi city due to the huge number
of refugees who live in tents
and under bad conditions suffering
to get water, food and
to stay warm during the winter.
The number of refugees is
150,000 only fifth of them have
F.08
F.09
38 39

work permit, others are
surviving on the aids which are
given to them or working illegally
to earn their living cost. Although,
there are a lot of efforts
from international organization
to help them with providing
the main key elements for living
which are water, food and
medicine they still not able to
reach the sufficiency, in addition
to the number of children
which are left without study.
(Life in Za’atari, the Largest Syrian
Refugee Camp in the World
| Oxfam International, n.d.)
Abandonment in society is
considered an action against
humanity. People need to
shed light on this issue in order
to spread awareness
and find solutions to create
a more inclusive and cohesive
society that would lead
to ensuring that all members
of society have a productive
role and a share of prosperity.
40 F.10
41

3.1 Leftover Cities
3.2 Abandoned But Never Forgotten
3.3 Neglected Buildings
3.4 Art In Abandoned Spaces
3
ARCHITECTURE
43

3.1 Leftover Cities
Relinquished buildings
or cities are an appalling outcome
of life and development
on our planet because it shows
how cities are rapidly changing.
A city full of life would turn
to a silent and empty scary
place or a rural area would turn
into a developed and growth
city. Every city or a building has
its own story about how it got
that way. The purposes behind
surrendering a city are as different
as the individuals who
once occupied their structures
and strolled their roads. Huge
numbers of these urban communities
are overlooked and
basically line the pages of history.
Some are instances of poor
urban arrangement for the city
connectivity and accessibility
which make people’s accessibility
to the services hard; some
are the consequence of a natural
diseases, wars, or Nuclear
reactors, while others due to an
industry’s or empire’s collapse.
Many cities have been called
“ghost towns” in a very short
time with the absence of the
people and activities in the city.
44 45
D.04

If we study history we can
find many examples of cities
that became abandoned.
One example of an abandoned
city due to the economic
change and industrialization
is Hashima Island in Japan . A
small island facing Nagasaki
was a main destination for
coal mining for a century,
the island is located on a top
of a coal deposit that dives
deep into the ocean. In
1980 the Japanese Mitsubishi
Corporation purchased the
island for the local family and
they tapped the coal mining.
Mitsubishi built a city for the
laborers rather than going
everyday with the ferry. In 1959
Hashima was the city with the
highest population in the world
with 5,259 inhabitants. But this
flourished world didn’t last for a
long time, when the petroleum
came and took the attention
and the advantages. In 1974
the last people on the island
moved away to the mainland
and since that time Hashima
has been closed. (Quirk, 2013 )
F.11
F.12
46 47

Another form of abandonment
cities, are cities that
have been abandoned due to
a nuclear disaster or interaction.
In 1970 a city called Pripyat was
built for the Chernobyl nuclear
power plant workers by the
soviet government in Ukraine.
The city was well developed
with high-rise buildings, stores,
restaurants, and many other
facilities. On 26 of April 1986
the city completely changed
after a recognition of a thick
smoke of nuclear called reactor
four from a flying helicopter.
The government asked the
residents to evacuate the city
for a few days. 50,000 residents
left the city and their belonging
expecting that they will come
back soon for their hometown,
but since that day the city
was abandoned.(Quirk, 2013)
F.13
F.14
48 49

There are several cities
in the USA that have lost their
population and became ghost
towns because people left their
homes due to the economic
decline. Abandoned homes
are indicative of different issues;
they additionally add to neighborhood
decay and baffle rejuvenation.
For instance, the industrial
city of Baltimore which
has been losing its population
from 1950 to 2000 there is a
34.1% decline in the population,
the abandoned houses number
are approximately 42,480.
According to The city’s Department
of Housing and Community
Development (DHCD), as
a result other plans have been
put to the city and many houses
are demolished and a huge
transformation for the neighborhood.
The city of Baltimore
and many other similar cities in
USA have called “undercrowding”
by the director of Yale
University’s Changing Cities
Research Group Douglas Rae.
“Rae and Calsyn (1996) define
undercrowding as a pattern of
persistent population loss that
leaves behind a large surplus
of buildings and land.” (Cohen,
2011) and those leftover buildings
are considered as “unemployed”
buildings because
they are presenting a negative
social and economic worth.
Some houses are left for a period
of time or they’re on hold till
the owner takes action to bring
the life to them, while the houses
which are considered abandoned
are not only uninhabitable
vacant but also the owners
are not taking any action to
bring it to life (Cohen, 2011 )
F.15
F.16
50 51

Some stories and myths
affected the population of a
city or a village. For example,
The Madam village in Sharjah
which was built in the 70s and
abandoned by 1994. There are
two explanations to the abandonment
of this small village.
The first one, is that the sandstorms
affect the life in the village.
The other reason which
most of the people believe that
this the reason is that the village
is haunted by the Jinn. This
beautiful village represent the
form and the life of the traditional
Emirati tribe as it was occupied
by Al Kutaibi tribe. Now
the village is half buried with the
sand and it is called “The Buried
Village” or “The Ghost Town of
Sharjah”. It became a beautiful
touristic attraction and a place
for photoshoots. (Monks, 2020)
F.17
F.18
52 53

3.2 Abandoned But Never Forgotten
Although some cities
have been abandoned and
forgotten and became ghost
towns, other cities have been
abandoned but never forgotten.
Like the town of Belchite
in Spain in the province of
Zaragoza. During the Spanish
Civil War between the loyalist
Republicans and General
Franco’s Nationalists forces
the city was destroyed in 1937.
The city has been left as a memorial
to the war which destroyed
it and never touched
for about 80 years. Some of the
civilization traces still exist till today
in the abandoned city like
the San Martin de Tours church
and the convent of San Rafael
and the city is now open to the
tourist, also the two movies “The
adventures of Baron Munchausen”
and “Guillermo Del Toro’s
Pan’s Labyrinth have been
filmed there”. (Ianvov, 2017)
F.19
F.20
54 55

3.3 Neglected Buildings
Function and people
bring live to the structure.
When we design a building, we
design it with a function which
brings people to the space
and makes it active. Have we
ever asked ourselves Would this
space fit in other function and
will stay active if the function
changed? What will happen
to the buildings if people leave
it? Will they become ruins and
undertaken by dust and nature?
56 57
F.21

F.22
As cities are abandoned
and reused in some cases, also
we can find plenty of abandoned
buildings around the
world. There are many reasons
also behind the building abandonment.
One of the reasons is
cultural or related to myths. For
example, The Orpheum Theatre
in New Bedford, Massachusetts
which has been abandoned
and leftover for several
years due to some beliefs that
the building is haunted. Another
famous abandoned
building which has been used
as a set for the Oscar winning
film “The Pianist” is The Military
Hospital in Beelitz in Germany;
this hospital was built in the
19th century and once treated
Adolf Hitler in World War
I.(Appelbaum & Olito, 2020)
F.23
58 59

The story of some abandoned
buildings didn’t finish
yet. There many architectural
buildings have been leftover
but either it has been used in
filming, or has been converted
into something else, or there
are some efforts to renovate it.
The City Methodist Church in
Gary in Indiana is abandoned
since the 1970s after the crash
of the steel industry. and it was
completely closed in 1975. This
church has chosen to be a location
for shooting many horror
movies like “Transformers 3” and
“Pearl Harbor”. An interesting
building which has been considered
abandoned but it still
attracts some people till now
is The Ghost Tower in Bangkok,
Thailand the tower has been
built in 1990s, but in 1997 after
the Asian Financial Crisis, the
tower has been leftover and
it became an interesting destination
for the urban explorer
although climbing to the top
of the building is very dangerous
people still manage to find
a way to the top, The interior
walls of the tower is full of graffiti.(Appelbaum
& Olito, 2020)
F.24
F.25
60 61

3.4 Art in Abandoned Spaces
The art and creative
hands have reached some
abandoned buildings and tried
to change the unfriendly bleak
feeling of an abandoned building
into a cheerful and interesting
spaces through art. A lot of
abandoned buildings have become
an eye-catching building
and noticed because of
the graffiti art. For example, the
tape art by BUFFdiss. A German
artist called BUFFdiss creeps into
abandoned buildings and draw
beautiful drawings on their walls,
and some of his drawings combine
between tape and paint.
Also, a street in Lisbon, Portugal
has been transferred to a beautiful
public space because of
the “Corno Project”. Street
Artists have been invited from
all over the world to change
the abandoned structures
into art pieces. (Rogers, 2013)
F.26
F.27
https://weburbanist.
com/2011/12/02/art-in-
abandoned-places-14-
inspiring-projects/
62 63

Other creative people
looked at abandoned buildings
from a different perspective,
where they used the elements
of the abandoned buildings
to serve their vision while
creating their art pieces to
convert the leftover space
into a beautiful artistic space.
For example, the “Crocheted
Gas Station” in the US which
was an abandoned dull space
before the colorful conversion
of the 50 years old “Citgo”
gas station with the crocheted
fabric and blanket squares,
amateur and professional artists
from 15 different countries
and more than 2,500 art
students from different states
have participated with the
artist Jennifer Marsh in this
art installation of more than
3,000 fabric Panels. Other
abandoned buildings attracted
lighting designers such as Luisa
Alvarez who used dome lighting
techniques to bring the joy to an
abandoned old house by using
old color-tinted photographic
negatives and gels wrapped
around the furniture, this
project is called “Habitando”
and it brought live and warmth
to a space that has been
dead for years. (Rogers, 2013)
F.28
64 65

Artists express their Political
or social feelings and
thoughts through art. Some
abandoned or occupied buildings
and walls have participated
with street art to deliver
a message to the society, to
catch people’s attention to a
specific topic, and to reflect
or highlight a specific social
problem. Like the graffiti which
encourage people to stop
wars through word or graphics.
Art street has no limits or
specific honored artist for the
creative work, mostly the artist
is unknown, and the street
art can consider unfinished art
because people can add to id
always or change it especially
when it is expressed freely in an
abandoned building. The Before
I Die project is a project applied
to an abandoned building
which turned the building
from a hapless place to a place
full of hope and inspiration. This
installation started by Candy
Chang in New Orleans, he
turned an abandoned building
into a blackboard where people
from the community can
write and share their dreams
with others and remind them
of their goals. (Rogers, 2013)
F.29
F.30
66 67

4.1 Dubai Development
4.2 History
4.3 Unfinished Construction
4
DUBAI
69

4.1 Dubai City Development
Dubai has astonished
the world with its rapid growth in
many aspects, and it became
one of the developed cities
around the world in a short time
unlike other cities which have
been developed through many
stages. The development of the
city moved Dubai from preindustrial
city to post industrial
city, the growth was noticeable
in the economy, culture, and
social characteristic of the city.
In the past Dubai was known
as a small port town city with
a traditional wind tower houses
and narrow alleyways, occupied
by local tribes Bani Yas
and Al Qawasmi, the mainstream
of the city was the pearl
industry. However, in 1966 after
the discovery of the petroleum
the city began to change,
the government started to
adopt new projects such as
port Rashid and Jebel Ali port.
In 1979 the world trade center
was opened and it seemed far
away from the city center but
then it was an encouragement
for the city to expand, and it
was the first high rise building
in the city. In the 1980s the architectural
style of the city began
to change, more high rise
buildings started to appear and
the concept of the glass cladded
buildings became more
familiar, then many other iconic
projects has appeared like Burj
Al-Arab and Burj Khalifa. The
implement of the technology
played a main role in shaping
the city and the connection
between the places, new roads
and new areas has been developed
which attracted many
local and international developers
to invest in new projects.
70 71
D.05

4.2 History
Dubai became an iconic
city which attracts tourists
from all over the world, also
with the development of the
city new businesses have been
started which as well caused a
flow of people who are looking
for opportunities to live in a
such developed city. With this
development and huge number
of foreign people in Dubai
the population has increased
rapidly from 689,420 in 1995 to
961,000 in 2002. (Piacone, 2005)
The increasing in population
invited the developers
to race in investing in new
projects due to the demand of
housing specially in 2006 when
the government allowed the
foreign people to own a property,
before the lands could
only be hold by UAE nationals
and for the non-local people
under governmental developers
such as EMAAR Properties,
Dubai Properties, and Nakheel
Properties. These two factors
were the main reason behind
the boom of the real estate development
in the city. On the
other hand, the fast growth of
the real estate development
affected the rentals in Dubai
and other costs of living. The inflation
of the rentals started by
20-40% in 2005, then it reached
50% and again it increased
15% more in 2006 which made
Dubai the third city in the world
with the highest occupancy
cost per sq. ft. after London and
Hong Kong. (Bagaeen, 2007)
72 73
F.31

4.3 Unfinished Construction
A rapidly grown city like
Dubai has been affected from
the financial crisis which hit the
world in 2007. According to a
report from Al-Masah Capital
Limited in 2011 the UAE contributed
to about 60 percent of
the property boom in the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries, Dubai alone contributes
up to 47 percent of the
total among the GCC nations.
The real state and the construction
sector were the most
attractive section for the global
investors during 2003-2007,
which makes it the most affected
sector by the financial crisis.
A report in 2011 on GCC real
estate showed that rentals and
property prices dropped by 25-
50 percent and 28 percent of
the construction projects have
been put on hold or canceled
in UAE. The report also attributed
other reasons make the
chance of the correction of this
issue low, like the low transparency
in the real estate and construction
dealings in the GCC
compared to other countries
like Australia and USA. According
to the annual Jones Lang
La Salle (JLL) Global Real Estate
Transparency Index the UAE
is considered as a semitransparent
zone. The transparency
played a main role after the crisis;
investors now are looking for
honesty and accurate information
before making their investment.
(Al-Malkawi & Pillai, 2013)
Though the real estate and
construction sector has shown
a recovery from the worst
phase, many of the promised
projects will still take time to
materialize, many projects left
abandoned, on hold waiting to
be demolished and replaced
with other projects. Most of the
abandoned cites are in developed
areas, they affect the
general appearance of the
city and they affect the shining
picture of the developed city.
F.32
74 75

5.1 Case Study I
5.2 Case Study II
5.3 Case Study III
5
RELEVANT ARCHITECTURE
5.4 Case Study IV

Case Study I: Elbphilharmonie
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
Year: 2016
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Function: concert hall
F.33
79

Herzog & de Meuron
Is a Swiss architectue Firm baes
in Basel, Switzeeland. Founded
in 1978 by two Swiss architects
Jacques Herzog and Pierre
de Meuron. Both architects
born in 1950, and studied architecture
at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology Zurich
(ETH) and graduadted in1975.
Project Brief
The Project is a combination
of two parts which have been
built in two different times. The
old building which is the base of
the building is desigend by the
architect Werner Kallmorgen,
and built from red brick in 1963.
The building which is located
on the Elbe river was used as a
warehouse called Kaispeicher
A, till 2007 when Herzog & De
Meuron started the construction
to converte this warehouse
to a concert hall. The building
was completed in 2016 and
it became an important social
and cultural attarction for
the local people and tourists.
80 81
F.34

Context
the project is located in a very
important area in Hambrug
the 2nd largest port in Europe
and one of the buisiest ports
in Europe. The port was abandoned
due to the globalization
and lack of security. A new
plan for the area has been set
to bring the life to the site by
developing new projects. The
Elbphilharmony has an ideal
site surrounded by the river and
accessed to the pedestrian.
82 F.35
83

Concept
the old part of the building is designed
to present the architectural
identity of the city by that
time through using brick, and
since the location is industrial
and the function of the building
is industrial as well, and there is
no need for fresh air or naturaal
lights we can see small openings.
the new part follow excatly the
same layout of the existing building
but instead of having flat roof
the roof is designed to integrate
with the surrounding through its
sloped and curved roof , and the
new part is cladded with glass to
reflect the surrounding as well.
F.36
D.06
84 85

Key Element
The Roof Structure
The roof is designed to blend with
the surrounding. It has a wave
shape. It consists of eight spherical,
concaved sections. The
steep curved roof with its high
peaks is covered with shimmiring
giant sequins. The roof is made of
steel framework and it’s hold by
a star shaped steel framework.
Key Element
The Intersection
the observation deck is a main
element of the design, because
it has two function.It connects
between the old and the new
structure and act as a bridging
element, and it is a free public
space which invites people to
the building and provide a 360
dgree view of the city through it
curtain wall which is acombination
of straight and curved panels
F.37
F.38
86 87

Material
The old building is made of red
brick as it serves the function
of a warehouse, while the new
structure is made of reflective
glass panels to blend with the surrounding
and to provide natural
daylight and view to the interior.
Material
The facade is made of a total of
1,100 pre-pfabricated reflective
glass panels. A variety of treatments
were applied to the glass
panels, like a double texture like
dots and grey circular screen
printing to reduce the solar input
in the building and to enhance
the reflectivity in different parts.
Also the facade has some openings
for the balconies of the residential
parts to provide fresh
air and view for the residents.
F.39
F.40
88 89

Material
White skin of acoustic insulation
applied in the concert hall. 10,000
gypsum fiber panels composed
of a mixture of natural plaster and
recycled paper. The shape and
depth of each panel is different
according to the location and
acoustic needs. The panels meet
the needs of insulation, sound
distribution and fire protection
F.42
F.41
F.43
90 91

Program
Concert Hall
Restaurant
Residential
Backstage Area
Plaza
Conference Area
Parking
Foyer
D.07
92 93

Circulation
D.08
94 95

Case Study II: Antwerp Port House
Architects: Zaha Hadid
Year: 2016
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
Function: office building
96 97
F.44

Zaha Hadid
British Baghdadi Architect,
remagined the architecture
of the 21st century with her
imagination in design and
daring structure. She changed
the world’s vision on how
concrete, steel and glass can
be used in unexpected way.
Project Brief
The project is a combination
of twoe buildings. the lower
part is an old fire station in
the port of Antwerp, and the
upper part is a new building
designed by the architect Zaha
Hadid. The building has been
transformed from a fire station
to a headquarter that hosts the
employees which used to work
in different places in the port.
98 99
F.45

Context
The project is located in Antwerpen
city in Beligum. it is the
second largest port in Europe,
it handles 26% of Europe’s container
shipping. The location
made the construction easier,
the materialsshipped and delivered
easily through the water.
Concept
There are three key elemnt in the
design. One is the old building
which keeps the identity of the
area. The second is the new building
which is floated on the top
giving the building a vertical effect.
The third is the connectivity
between the two buildings wich
is used fo vertical circulation,
and hold the floating structure.
F.46
F.47
100 101

Program
Conference Room
Meeting Room
Open Office Plan
Main Offices
Services
Stairs
Single Offices
D.09
102 103
D.10

Horizontal Circulation
D.11
D.12
104 105

Virtical Circulation
D.13
106 107

Case Study III: Speculative Project For
Affordable Housing
Architects: Beomki Lee & Chang Kyu Lee
Year: 2017, Conceptual
Location: New York City, USA
Function: Affordable housing
108 109
F.48

Project Brief
The project is designed to be
build on the exicting buildings
of Newyork City with the purpose
of having affordable housing
and public spaces in the air
rights of the existing buildings
Project Concept
The project is designed to combine bewtwwen
living and public spaces with a city view.
The Project can be designed to fit the exist
builing and area. It has modules that can
be assemebeled in a structure that is built
to fit the exist builidng which allows for future
expansion of the project responding
to the demand of the affordable housing
F.49
110 111

Project Context
the air rights spcae in New York
city is different from a geographical
area to another.
The designers kept the project
flexible so it can be customizable
to the applied area.
Structure Assembly
F.51
F.52
F.50
112 113

Program
D.14
Housing Activity Circulation
114 115

Circulation
D.15
116 117

Housing Modules
Living Surface
I Shape Module
Area: 24 sqm
1 Bedroom
Kitchen
Bathroom
L Shape Module
Area: 24 sqm
1 Bedroom
Kitchen
Bathroom
Green Garden
Community Stairs
O Shape Module
Area: 36 sqm
1 Bedroom
Kitchen
Bathroom
Living Room
P Shape Module
Area 45 sqm
2 Bedrooms
Kitchen
Bathroom
Living Room
D.15
Activity Play Ground
Gran Curve
D.16
118 119

Casw Study IV: Artist Lofts on Lake Street
Architects: SO-IL and Actual
Architecture Co
Year: in progress
Location: Nerbraska, USA
Function: Cultural, Residential
F.53
120 121

Project Brief
the project builds on arts and
culture history of North Omaha,
which is the center of the
African-American culture . The
objective is to improve reasonableness
for the more extensive
network by focusing on the social
area working together with
human expressions passage
of the North Omaha rejuvenation
plan. Situated between the
memorable Webster Exchange
Building (once in the past the
Great Plains Black History Museum)
and the Showcase Lounge
(when a significant jazz scene),
and neighboring The Union for
Contemporary Art (The Union)
Concept
he main idea is to combine between
live and work art spaces
. the project is integreted between
two existed buildings,
and incorporates 2 new structures,
central public square,
and the remodeled Showcase.
It’s an art campus linked with
public spaces. The ground floor
contains many functions related
to art which encourages
people toshare their skills.
F.54
122 123

Function
D.17
D.19
Studio Appartment
1 Bedroom Appartment
2 Bedroom Appartment
Lobby/Sitting Area
Music Showcase Area
Restaurant
Museum
Recording Studio
Shared Art Studio
Art Studio
D.18
124 125

Circulation
D.20
D.22
D.21
126 127

6.1 Case Studies Program
6.2 Project Program
6.3 Bubble Diagram
6
PROGRAM
129

Case Studies Program
D.23
130 131

Project Program
Bubble Program
D.23
D.24
132 133

7.1 Site Selection Critiria
7.2 Site Analysis
7
SITE ANALYSIS
135

Potential Sites
Site Selection
Sheikh Zayed Road
14,344 sqm
Potential Sites Sheikh Zayed Road Dubai Marina 101 Dubai Pearl
Contextual Relevance
Accessibility
D.25
Exist structure size
Social Diversity
Dubai MArina 101
1,823 sqm
Landmark
Score
4 3 5
D.28
D.26
Dubai Pearl
171,215 sqm
Dubai Pearl
D.29
D.27
136 137

Site Location
Site History
After analyzing the location
of the three abandoned
sites. The Dubai Pearl was the
common site in which all elements
are intersecting.
Location: Dubai Media City
https://www.arabianbusiness.
com/diving-for-answerswhat-s-happened-dubaipearl--643596.html
Construction Started
2009
F.55
Construction Stopped
2011
F.56
Construction On Hold
2020
F.57
D.30
138 139

Landmarks
Site Location
Landmark
Site Accessibility
The site can be accessed
throgh two roads Sheikh
Zayed Road & King Salman
Bin Abdelaziz Al Saud Street
Burj Al-Arab
Palm Jumeirah
Emirates Golf Club
Skydive Dubai
D.31
D.32
140 141

Roads
PEDESTIAN ACCESS
Primary Roads
Secondary Roads
Pedestrian Access
D.33
D.34
142 143

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Metro Station
Tram Station
Bus Station
Public Parking
Distance between the nearest parkin and the plot = 650 m
Parking
D.35
D.36
144 145

Zonning
Building Heights
Educational
Work
Hotels
Financial
G+1 G+4 G+31
G+3 G+6 G+44
D.37
D.38
146 147

Summer Wind Diagram
Winter Wind Diagram
D.39
D.40
148 149

Sun Diagram
Greenery Diagram
D.41
D.41
D.42
150 151

8.1 Concept I
8.2 Concept II
8.3 Concept III
8.4 Nominated Concept
8
COCEPTS
153

CONCEPT 01
MODULES
The concept is baed on modules
which are temperorary elemnts
added to the exist structure.
these units are divided between
living and creating spaces while
the interacting spaces are in the
exist building because they can
provide open plans and free circulation
which is suitable for exhibiting
and hosting events. This
concept will provideflexibility to
the design. The living ubits are attached
to the buildings that face
each other to provide more privacy
and the usage of the exist
structure will servre the residents
Living Unit
D.44 D.45
Living Unit
Exist Structure
Embedded Units
D.43
D.46
154 155

CONCEPT 02
Connecting Ramps
This Concept is highlighting the
circulation and the connection
between the exist structures,
through adding ramps that will
connect between the buildings
and at the same time will
host public events and provide
different views to the site. The
ramos will creat an interaction
between the three main elemnts
of the program which are
living, creating, and interacting
Continious Exhibition Space
Ramp Exhibition Space
D.48
Exist Structure
Intersecting Ramps
D.49
D.47
D.50
156

CONCEPT 03
Platforms
This concept is also based on
connections between the
exist structures, but through
platforms with different
evels, and the platforms are
connected through ramps. The
buildings will hold temporary living
units, the exist structure will
have common working spaces
for the artists, and the platforms
will host the public and interactive
spaces. The platforms
will provide shading to the outdoor
common spaces which
will make it an active space,
and it will provide different views
and experience for the visitors.
Nominated Concept
A combination between concept
1 & concept 2 will provide
a solution for the nglected the
site and will provide the requirements
of the program. the living
spaces will be difned depends
on the need as it is remvable strcutre,
and the ramps wil create
connection between the three
functions Live, work, and interact.
Also it will provide a different
experience not only for the
artists, but to the visitors as well.
They will experience different
views and the continuity of the
circulation will take them from
one space to another easily
D.51
D.52
159

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List of Figures:
Figure 1: https://listverse.com/2017/05/14/top-10-fascinating-unfinished-paintings/
Figure 2: https://500px.com/photo/78434397/Pine-and-the-misty-birds-by-Abhinav-
Kumar/?utm_medium=pinterest&utm_content=popular&utm_campaign=nativeshare&utm_
source=500px
Figure 3: https://www.deviantart.com/drawingsbyderek/art/Abandonment-376292652\
Figure 4: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ill-padrino/4068530742
Figure 5: https://100-beste-plakate.de/plakate/www-aktionsprogramm2015-de/
Figure 6: https://tylerspangler.com/post/160281367908/shop-prints-shop-apparel-instagramfacebook
Figure 7: https://purplewoods.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/inspired-tyler-spangler/#jpcarousel-5811
Figure 8: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/takeaway/segments/living-zaatari-newdocumentary-syrians-refugges
Figure 9: https://www.fauxpop.com/portfolio/zaatari-a-day-in-the-life/
Figure 10: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/02/refugee-crisis-humanflow-ai-weiwei-china
Figure 11: https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/apgu02/the_abandoned_
hashima_island_better_known_as/
Figure 12: https://abandonedplacesmap.com/ngg_tag/japan/nggallery/slideshow
Figure 13: http://www.longshadowofchernobyl.com/photos/the-abandoned-city-of-pripyat/
Figure 14: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/04/still-cleaning-up-30-years-after-thechernobyl-disaster/476748/
Figure 15: https://laughingsquid.com/then-and-now-photos-of-detroits-abandoned-buildingsshow-their-rapid-disintegration/
Figure 16: https://laughingsquid.com/then-and-now-photos-of-detroits-abandoned-buildingsshow-their-rapid-disintegration/
Figure 17: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/al-madam-abandoned-village-uae/index.html
Figure 18: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/al-madam-abandoned-village-uae/index.html
Figure 19: http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/11/21/belchite_a_spanish_civil_war_
town_left_in_ruins.html
Figure 20: https://www.behance.net/gallery/29910387/In-Belchite-some-snapshots
Figure 21: https://www.bucketlistly.blog/posts/sathorn-abandoned-building-bangkok-thailand
Figure 22: https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2011/03/09/orpheum-theatre/
Figure 23: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/df/c8/c5/dfc8c5cf4393d8b002aee9474d4c2d00.jpg
Figure 24: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/city-methodist-church
Figure 25: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/city-methodist-church
Figure 26: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buffdiss/
Figure 27: https://www.flickr.com/photos/buffdiss/
Figure 28: https://www.gearfuse.com/abandoned-to-art-transforming-a-gas-station/
D.01 to D.52: By Author
160 161