Isa Town Handicapped Center

Notes

Makiya designed both the gateway arch and the center for the handicapped in Isa Town, as part of a residential complex founded in 1968 and designed by John Wimpy. Kultermann (1999) finds that it lacks specific detail and refinement but notes its importance in the effort that was undertaken to design for the disabled.

The building complex consists of several connected and separated blocks varying between one and two stories. Their architectural character is defined by the mostly white-painted simple geometries and an arcaded outer shell.
The arcade’s functions differ as the distance from the wall it faces varies: the arcade defines a gallery when this distance is large, and it acts as a protrusion and sun shading element when the distance is minimal. Another distinctive feature of the arcade shell rhythmic vertical gaps of the expansion joints between each large arch or between each pair of two smaller arches. These gaps allow the visual partitioning for the façade and emphasize the horizontality and size of the building. In terms of the spatial layout, several blocks are used in a manner that defines several green courtyards.
 

Sources

Udo Kultermann, Contemporary Architecture in the Arab States: Renaissance of a Region, New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1999, p.180-181.

Information in this database is updated constantly. Do not hesitate to send us comments, information, or illustrations (with appropriate credits) to database@arab-architecture.org