Jordan: Guidelines for Urban and Architectural Heritage Conservation: Umm Qais Case Study: Fid-Bau Portal

Jordan: Guidelines for Urban and Architectural Heritage Conservation: Umm Qais Case Study

Abu Al Haija, Ahmed H.

While most of Jordanian historical centers are disappearing essentially due to socioeconomic problems, there is a shortage of urban norms and methodological architectural approaches to control the process of the transformation of buildings and spaces. Consequently, most projects express certain concepts of restoration and reuse of traditional buildings, while adopting invasive techniques and modalities that limit the integrity of the buildings' historical character, thereby altering the cultural material of Jordanian heritage. This research takes as a case study a Greco-Roman archeological site on which Umm Qais, a traditional village, was built and has been partially rehabilitated by the government. The intervention reflects a particular approach in transforming historical areas and buildings, elaborating intensive urban and architectural analyses, while also adopting a generic modality of intervention in restoring common traditional buildings. The objective of this research is to conserve essential aspects of the Jordanian urban and architectural heritage by setting some guidelines in order to establish a methodological approach to deal with the traditional fabric from a conceptual and technical point of view.