Published by Khalifa International Date Palm Award ،Arish: Palm-Leaf Architecture

المهندس أمجد قاسم 10 ديسمبر 2011 علوم و طبيعة تعليق واحد 53 زيارة

Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa Award , the General Secretariat published the first book in English entitled “Palm Leaves Architecture” by the researcher Sandra Piesik. The book was published by Thames & Hudson Publishing House. The book talks about the role of the palm tree in the history of the UAE and the region and the heritage of their people in different areas of life. Further, the book is the first of its kind, and it goes so deep in the Palm Leaves Architecture which as such are considered among the basic parts, though disappeared, of the history and heritage of the UAE.

Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, the General Secretary of the Award asserted that the book is a translation to the instructions of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa Award and come in response to the goals of the Award to spread the culture of loving the palm tree and transferring the specialized scientific knowledge of the blessed tree to all specialists and interested people all over the world.

The book focuses on the role of date palm trees and their leaves in constructing simple houses which provided shelter from the severe and harsh climate in the Arabian Peninsula for many decades.

These buildings are considered one of the few shapes of the vegetarian life in such hot and sandy conditions where the palm leaves were used creatively and innovatively to find structures suitable for living and which resisted climate conditions and remained with generations for a long time. With the introduction of the modern and western architecture and the trend to build skyscrapers in the Gulf Region, many of the local and traditional methods of building disappeared against the spread of urban building.

As bamboo is considered a main component of Asian building so are date palm leaves which occupy the heart of heritage of the UAE and the neighboring countries in the region. This book, which is the result of a three –year research program, presents a panorama about the architecture date palm leaves, its history and traditions.

The book consists of three sections: An overview with historical photos, a comparison between the regional variations in the UAE, focus on the architectural details and the artistic method in building, modern uses of the date palm leaves architecture, a special section for references and resources including a gradual introduction to the making of arbor (Arich) from the main substances and the shape of the building as well.