Khhirbet abu jaber

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KHHIRBET ABU-JABER
KAN ZAMAN TOURIST VILLAGE
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KHHIRBET ABU-JABER
• Introduction:
• Traditional architecture is an important part of the history and
heritage of Jordan, a part that requires serious and responsible
understanding of its role in establishing the historic and cultural
identity of this part of the world.
• The conservation of traditional architecture in Jordan is a timely
issue that is gaining great concern due to the rapid change in the
urban and rural fabrics which result in serious threats that could lead
to the loss of the significant part of our architectural heritage.
• An important part of the conservation activity that is taking place in
Jordan is the adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of traditional
buildings.

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An Overview
of
Traditional Architecture
in
Jordan
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Diversity of traditional architecture of Jordan
• The rural traditional architecture of Jordan varies
according to the environment, climatic conditions
and the availability of building materials.
The desert Jordan valley Mountain areas

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•In the desert and eastern the Bedouin tent (Beit Al Sha’r) used by the local tribes.
•In the Jordan valley (Al-Ghor) where agriculture is the main source of living ,permanent residences mad of sundry mud brick.
•In the mountainous areas there are tens of traditional villages constructed by stone
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Types of Traditional buildings in Jordan
• The traditional Jordanian buildings
have been classified by Jordanian
researchers into five main types:
• Fellahi House:
• This type of houses were the most
commonly used in the mountainous
region.
• The house consists of a rectangular
building built of thick stone walls. Its
composition is derived from the
structural system based on the use of
the 2or3 parallel arched walls built of
stone and supporting a timber and can
roof.

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Types of Traditional Buildings in Jordan
• The Yard (Hosh) Type:
• This type is considered to be as a later
development of the previous one, where the
rooms or some of them are grouped around
a large open space (hosh), while the rest of
this space is defined by the use of high
walls built on the property line
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Types of Traditional Buildings in Jordan
• The Riwaq Type:
• According to (A.Kammash) this type
was introduced to the region by the
Circassian and Chechens who arrived
to the country at the end of 19th
century
• This type consists of a number of
rooms placed side by side. They are
connected together through doors
opened in the separating walls and by
the front arcade which is a big partially
shaded space that function as a
foreground and a summer living room.

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Types of Traditional Buildings in Jordan
• The Courtyard TYPE:
• The courtyard , as an organizing spatial
element around which all rooms and spaces
are grouped in an introvert manner is one of
the major features in the architecture of the
country.
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Types of Traditional Buildings in Jordan
• The Central – Hall Type:
• This type is being the development of the
courtyard type, and became the most
widely used plan towards the end of the
19th century .

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Rehabilitation works in
Jordan
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• Introduction:
• Archaeological resources have received the most attention,
benefiting form the presence of a long-established Department
of Antiquities of Jordan with roots dating back to 1923. By law,
the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DAJ) is responsible for
the safeguarding and protection of the country’s archaeological
resources.
• No clear definition exists of historical resources in Jordan today
In fact, post 1700 AD historical and cultural resources are not
even protected by law. Many historic city cores and village
centers in Jordan were victims of insensitive planning schemes
and zoning ordinance during the last couple years.
• The task to conserve the cultural heritage of the recent past has
been undertaken by the private sector and foreign agencies.
Several projects all over Jordan were initiated during the last
decade. Most of them were associated with tourism investment
and did not adhere to conservation principles and guidelines or
relate to community processes of traditional site management
and protection .

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Al-Bilbesi House- Amman-1903
Taybat Zaman –Petra 19th centuryDana Village -Tafeela -15th century Toukan House-Salt-1872
Bani Hamida House –Amman- 1895Jordan River House -Amman-1930
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Dar Al-Anda- Amman-1929 Bahai school- Jordan valley-19thcentury Rousan House- Umm Qais-19th Cent
Bahai Villa-Jordan valley-19th centuryArar House-Irbid-20th centuryDar Al-Anda- Amman-1929

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Evaluation of Kan Zaman
Project
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Site Description
Site Location
• The site is located 15km to the
south of Amman close to the
Airport highway.
• The site dates back to the 19th
century .

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Site Description
Historical Background:
The site is owned by abu jaber family they were
used the site as animals barns and agricultural
products storages, later the site became a
trading center for farmers and merchants. Due to
the new needs they expand and construct new
permanent structure to serve the visiting
merchants and local customers.
The new structures were constructed on the hill
top covering an approximate area of ten
donums(10.000m2 ) along with courtyard, open
areas and gardens. The site was kept in use
until the middle of 21 century
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Site Description
Spaces and Functions:
The Kan Zaman site, which is only a part
of the larger complex constructed on a
lofty site over looking the surrounding
wheat plains is consists of three main parts :
- The central courtyard
- The large stable
- The alleyway

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Site Description
The central courtyard
Outdoor space around which all the
activities are organized . Its paved in
stone, with all the main space opening
directly to it.
-The eastern side of the courtyard is
comprised of several small shops
penetrated to the entrance gate.
-The western edge is a large open space
use as café.
-The southern side of the barn there is an
alleyway which leads to its backside
where a new extension is added
containing five shops.
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Site Description
The large stable:
It’s a rectangular space covered with 22
cross vaults supported by 13 square
columns of stone placed on a grid. The
area of this space is about 900m2
This part of the complex is converted
into the main restaurant .

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Site Description
The alleyway:
Its located to the south of the
courtyard, and its flanked by shops
on both side.
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Rehabilitation and conservation works
Reconstructions works:
1- The main entrance gate from the courtyard
side, was partial collapse, it was consolidated
by building a new arched wall on the top of
the entrance.
A Critical Evaluation:
This addition stands in disharmony with the
original wall.
-The construction method of stone is different
from the adjacent one
-Using Portland cement mortar instead of a
lime mortar which results in a different color
and texture
- Construction method of the new arch has no
reference to the original arches.

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Rehabilitation and conservation works
Reconstructions works:
2- Some of the cross vaults stone were
rebuild and refilled by Portland cement
A Critical Evaluation:
-Rebuilding the stone was improper due
to the stone size and stone replacements
-Adding to that using Portland cement
mortar enhance the micro-organism
growth into the cement mortar and the
stone which result into a negative effect
on the internal atmosphere.
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Rehabilitation and conservation works
Reconstructions works:
3- Consolidating of the exterior front
façade. The stone wall on both sides of
the main entrance gate is consolidated
by replacing the broken pieces and
filling in the gaps by Portland cement.
A Critical Evaluation:
Portland cement was used extensively,
this resulting in a change of the wall
appearance.

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Rehabilitation and conservation works
Repair &adding walls:
- Stone walls mechanically was cleaned .
The missing or broken stone pieces were
replaced by new un-matching ones.
- Many stone walls were added to connect
different spaces with each others.
A Critical Evaluation:
-In image( 1 )the construction method of
stone is different from the adjacent one.
-In Image (2) using a modern and
incompatible materials.
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Rehabilitation and conservation works
Repair of floors:
New tiling for all the floors was done using
mainly one method, the Random Ashalr
stone tiling.
A Critical Evaluation:
-This tiling pattern was applied almost all
over the site without distinguished
between the different types of spaces,
their functions, or the nature as being
external or internal.
Interior floor tiling
Exterior floor tiling

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Rehabilitation and conservation works
Repair of roof and ceiling:
-The old flat ceilings were removed and
reconstructed by reinforced concrete slab
-The roof of all of the complex were
covered by 10cm Portland cement layer,
to protect the roof from rain, in some roof
a layer of bitumen's were used.
A Critical Evaluation:
using incompatible materials and
techniques in ceiling leads to detract from
the complex values .
Using a heavy Portland cement layer in
the top of the roof, make the penetrating
of the rain water more possible due to the
creaks which created in the cement layer
because it’s not flexible materials
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• Conclusion:
• Under reinvestment of the past Kan Zaman project was
conducted, its may be not complies with international
standards or charters, but it has provide new opportunity and
a prologed life for the traditional site, it did not only save it
from neglect and decay, but it also turned it into an
economical feasible investment since the project was the first
rehabilitation project was done in Jordan