Shaher Rababeh

Hands-On Heritage! Establishing Soft Authority over Heritage through Architectural Experiment: A Case Study from Jordan

This study identifies ‘heritage as practice’ as an alternative to ‘authorized’ heritage engagement. Heritage, in this sense, is perceived as a source of inspiration and creativity rather than just an asset to be preserved. ‘Heritage as practice’ is informed by the conventional identification and evaluation of heritage, coupled with the architectural and artistic instincts, capacities, creativity, and commitment found in the field of architecture, to interpret heritage. We label the work produced out of this practice as ‘creative material’ that is subjected to further re-creation when it is used as a platform for community engagement. We examine the mechanisms of these engagements through an academic experiment in which architecture students were asked to analyze the representations of the local heritage site of Umm el-Jimal, Jordan. We argue that shifting from ‘authorized’ engagement to informed ‘instinctual’ one gives the students a soft authority over heritage. However, it is the capacity to creatively engage with and about heritage, and use this to continuously and creatively interpret heritage, that makes this authority valid and just.

Factors Determining the Choice of the Construction Techniques in Petra, Jordan

The purposes of this article are to study the types of construction techniques that the Nabataeans used to bring Petras architecture to its peak, and to identify the underlying factors behind their choice of these techniques. To achieve these purposes, the focus will be on the geological setting of the site. Also presented are consideration of the classification of the buildings and analysis of architectural techniques used in the city. The results of the study reveal that the Nabataeans were influenced in the choice of their capital by its site, their outside contacts, and building materials. Their technical knowledge was refined to suit the properties of the locally available materials, most notably sandstones. This article also includes background on the historical context of the buildings and their structural stability. This record of materials and techniques are essential as preparatory procedures for a successful repair and when providing guidance for architects, surveyors, and craftsmen involved in the conservation at Petra structures.

Urban heritage 'space' under neoliberal development: a tale of a Jordanian plaza.

What happens when urban heritage spaces within developing countries, such as Jordan, are subject to touristic development funded by international bodies, such as the World Bank? This question is explored theoretically and practically by considering a popular local plaza in the secondary Jordanian city of Jerash that has been subject to three tourism development projects funded by the World Bank. The study, which incorporates and critiques the discourse of neoliberalism within urban heritage development studies, seeks to analyse the World Bank projects and, more specifically, how they have defined, approached and produced outcomes in the Jerash plaza and its context. In so doing, the study triangulates the analysis with accounts by local respondents that identify major drawbacks in the World Bank approach, particularly its emphasis on conventional ‘readings’ of urban space that highlight universal values and histories, while neglecting and marginalising local values and understandings. The triangulation offers attentive ‘readings’ of the plaza as a place understood and experienced by a people. The challenge is to break with the neoliberal paradigm that dominates urban heritage development programmes (and their associated West–East dualisms and top-down approaches) by presenting local sociocultural and economic contexts as assets to enrich development projects, rather than obstacles to be ‘fixed’ and ‘fitted’ for tourism.

Utilization of tie-beams for strengthening stone masonry arches in Nabataean construction

This paper attempts to demonstrate the use of timber ties in the construction of stone masonry arches in Jordan from the late first century BC onwards. It investigates the techniques used and relates them to present-day structural design. In Nabataean architecture, tie-beams were used for strengthening of masonry structures and, in particular, to strengthen masonry arches and vaults against their most critical failure mechanism. The tie-beams introduce tension resistance. This fact has two important consequences: the capacity of the arch itself is increased, and the lateral thrust transmitted to the piers is reduced, thereby increasing the strength of the arch–pier system. Collapse of an arch typically occurs when no tie-rods or tie-beams are used and the piers are unable to bear the thrust of the arch. While the first effect has been stressed by the existing research, less attention has been paid to the second effect, which nevertheless is very important for practical applications. In this paper, the main methods are critical analysis of archaeological information enriched by structural evaluation of the strength of such systems. From such an approach, reliable hypotheses can be made concerning the design and construction process. The effect of bonding a tie-beam to the intrados of a semi-circular arch on the lateral thrust is evaluated analytically using the non-linear finite element package ABAQUS software (HKS, version 6.5). The results are analysed based on the determination of the thrust line. This study concludes some recommendations for the conservation of historical buildings in seismic regions, based on a thorough understanding of their structure, construction features and materials, which may help to prevent earthquake-induced damage to buildings taking into account traditional and modern materials and techniques.

A Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Model for Construction Enterprise Resource Planning System Selection

ABSTRACT Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are increasingly becoming essential business technologies. Selection of the optimal ERP system among numerous alternatives is regarded as a major challenge for the decision-maker. This choice is complicated by multiple attributes that the decision-maker needs to consider when evaluating different ERP options. The purpose of this article is to propose a multi-attribute decision-making model for ERP system selection based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). The strengths of the proposed DEA model include the input-output framework, which allows decision-makers to incorporate multiple attributes when evaluating different ERP options. These attributes are not required to be congruent. They can be measured by such criteria as monetary sums, time, or subjective score. Additionally, DEA can accommodate a large number of options (i.e., ERP systems) and variables (i.e., attributes). The proposed approach was utilized by a construction contractor to select the optimal ERP option out of eleven alternatives. During the evaluation process, the decision-maker incorporated six attributes to make the decision. These considered attributes are total cost, implementation schedule, functionality, user friendliness, customization capability, and service and support quality. Sensitivity analysis proved that the proposed model is stable and robust.

Technical Utilization of Lifting Devices for Construction Purposes in Ancient Gerasa, Jordan

As one important Decapolis city for the Romans, Gerasa in Jordan was built to display luxury and to show the power of the Roman Empire. Monumental planning and architecture achieved this goal by using heavy limestone blocks. This study aims at determining and analyzing the lifting techniques used to construct the monumental buildings of the ancient Roman city of Gerasa (Jerash). This investigation involves examining the weights of the Gerasa blocks and noting the technical features that could be considered as evidence for the use of lifting devices. The author has to rely on deductions based on clues, which may be found in the monuments themselves. In the light of this reliance, the required information will be gleaned in an indirect way by three methods: first, by observing the traces left on the surfaces of the stone blocks; second, by making deductions from known parallels in antiquity; and third, by proposing hypotheses to describe the actual practice. As a result, a hypothetical reconstruction of a lifting device for the blocks will be proposed based on comparative evidence from other similar sites and ancient literary description of building methods. The technical findings of this study should be considered in restoration efforts and erection of new buildings in any future intervention in Gerasa or similar historical cities around the world.

Colonnaded streets within the Roman cityscape: a “spatial” perspective

AbstractStudies tackling the Roman legacy of colonial cities and Arabian provinces are still grappling with these cities from an urban planning perspective and/or building typologies. They do not provide a ‘spatial’ analysis that allows reading the Roman cities through the features that structured its urban language; one of which is the colonnaded streets. The study adopts a holistic approach to confront the ambiguities about possible origins, uses and meanings of the Roman colonnaded streets when traced in the Roman East as well as other Western cities. Besides its utilitarian and cultural value, the colonnaded streets are nalyzed according to two interrelated interpretations: astrological interpretation to represent an empire of astral divinity and performative interpretation to represent an empire of imperial power. The colonnaded streets is transformed from a ‘line on site’ into a ‘line of sight’ that testifies to the social norms of the Roman people but also to their ideologies, beliefs, and aspirations.