Art of building in Yemen
By: Fernando Varanda.
Publisher: AAARP, art and archaeology research papers; MIT Press
Published: 1982
Place of publication: London, England; Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 292
Subjects: Vernacular architecture -- Yemen.; Architecture -- Arid regions -- Yemen.; Architecture, Domestic -- Arid regions -- Yemen.
Description: "This is the first systematic survey of the architecture of Yemen, covering the full range of vernacular building types, styles, and materials found throughout the country. It may also be the last look at this architecture in its purest, most homogeneous form as Yemen becomes increasingly susceptible to the Western influences which have already begun to alter the environments of its richer neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula. The carefully chosen photographs and line drawings make this a definitive reference book for architects, travelers, and readers interested in a remarkably varied and elaborate architectural tradition. Part one, Space and Form, covers the environment and its control through dams, terraces, wells, and moats; the basic types of shelters from tents and caves to the remarkable "tower houses" (commonly six stories high) and the basic types of settlements from desert outgrowths and hilltop hamlets to urban centers of trade and polity; building methods and materials, including mud, plaster, stone, and brick; and architectural elements such as roofs, walls, gratings, doors, and windows (many with brilliantly colored glass). The book's second part, Regional Surveys, notes architectural variations and distributions from the coastal strip to the midlands, highlands, and plateau, and includes a separate chapter on urban development."
Notes: "Published with the assistance of the British Bank of the Middle East (a member of the Hongkong Bank Group) and the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)."
Errata slip inserted.