Damascus University, Faculty of Architecture

Notes

Tayara was a professor at the Architecture school in Damascus and he drew the plans for the new building. The Architecture school is a modernist building that has been formed functionally.  It is situated on a sloped site that enjoys views over the Barada River and is made up of three main elements (teaching spaces, administrative offices and a restaurant and kitchen service area) that are distributed around the main hall and atriums in a way that ensures natural lighting and cross ventilation into the spaces. The teaching areas occupy both sides of the hall and are accessed through flights of stairs connected to bridges. On the lower level, the library and the restaurant—that was later turned into tutorial rooms—form social and exhibition spaces. The studios have been designed around atriums and can be occupied by 15 students.
The faculty and the administration offices are somehow independent from the students’ sections and have their own entrance. However, the two are connected at two levels.
The building is made up of sandblasted concrete façades. The windows and doors are made of aluminum. Each wing is 45m in length and the spans reach a maximum length of 12m over the studio and atrium areas.

Sources

Faculty of Architecture, University of Damascus/Goethe Institute, Building Culture in Syria - Experiences from Germany, ch. 1 p. 01

World Architecture a Critical Mosaic, Vol.5, Middle-East, pp. 154-155

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