Evaluation of humanitarian environmental design principles

Khalil, Mohamed Wahba Ibrahim; Kamel, Mohamed Atef Elhamy

doi:10.22075/ijnaa.2023.24638.4277

Evaluation of humanitarian environmental design principles

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohamed Wahba Ibrahim Khalil

Mohamed Atef Elhamy Kamel

Department of Islamic Architecture, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

10.22075/ijnaa.2023.24638.4277

Abstract

In the early ages, architecture was part of the natural environment, so it had no impact on it until it became an environment of itself. A built-up environment that humans had to live and work in it. Architects changed the architectural design process, from a natural design in a natural environment to an environmental design in a buildup environment. The buildup environment does not consider nature and causes negative environmental impacts and nature pollution. Therefore, bringing architecture back to being the natural environment for humans is a must. However, architects still finding ways to decrease the impact of architecture on nature, forgetting that the design process itself misses some points that could help to reach a real environmental architecture and a natural design from the beginning. This paper aims to deduct guidelines for a Humanitarian Environmental Design, in a form of a checklist that helps architects in the early process of design. Therefore, this paper reviews some of the environmental architecture approaches and the principles their definitions depended on to achieve an environmental design. Consequently, the aspects that the study assumed to be taken into consideration are revealed. The deducted guidelines were applied to Taziry indigenous eco-hotel in Siwa to illustrate how they could increase the humanity of the architectural design environmentally. The paper concludes that the deducted guidelines should be considered before the design take a construction process, as some of its aspects cannot be applied after the building is constructed. On the other hand, humans are recommended to be the core of the design and they must be under focus as one of the resources in the ecosystem.

Keywords

Environmental Design

Natural Environment

Humanitarian Environment

Siwa oasis

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