Decoding the Spatial Configuration of the Ottoman Palace "Khdewedj El Amia" in Algiers (Algeria) through Space Syntax

Authors

  • Lamia Benyahia Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, LEMPAU laboratory, University Batna Hadj Lakhder Algeria
  • Abida Hamouda Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, LEVE laboratory, University Batna1 Hadj Lakhdar Algeria
  • Narimene Moffok National School of Architecture of Versailles (ENSA-v), France

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31522/p.29.2(62).4

Keywords:

architectural heritage, Ottoman palace “Khdewedj El Amia”, Algiers, Algeria, spatial integration, space perception, visibility graph analysis

Abstract

Palaces of the Ottoman era, the Golden age of Islamic civilization, bear witness to a prestigious know-how, drawing its rules from a way of life governed by the Islamic Sharia, the socio-cultural context of the Berber-Arab population and the climate-physical environment. The palace of Khdewedj El Amia is one of the majestic palaces located at the Casbah of Algiers and constitutes the subject of this article whose objective is to decode its genome in order to understand the social logic of a space inhabited and designed by a princess who lost her sight. Hence the name El Amia, which means blind in Arabic. The decoding of this building used the space syntax approach via a visibility graph analysis (VGA) performed by the Depthmap tool and a quantitative analysis of the graph justified by the Agraph tool. It is about taking into account the way in which vernacular architecture can stimulate the direct perception of space and participate in the construction of the user’s path. It was found that the palace is made up of two entities; one is of public order highlighting the resident/alien interface, and another intended for the private apartments, the harem of the princess, isolated from the outside world.

Author Biographies

Lamia Benyahia, Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, LEMPAU laboratory, University Batna Hadj Lakhder Algeria

Lamia Benyahia, Ph.D., a lecturer at the Institute of Architecture, temporarily seconded to the Department of Urban Sociology. Her current research focuses on the urban development of cities, town planning problems and the legal aspect of urban planning.

Abida Hamouda, Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, LEVE laboratory, University Batna1 Hadj Lakhdar Algeria

Abida Hamouda, Ph.D., a lecturer since 1998. Her early research focused on vernacular architecture, environment, and space syntax.

Narimene Moffok, National School of Architecture of Versailles (ENSA-v), France

Moffok Narimene is a doctoral architect at the National School of Architecture of Versailles (ENSA-v), a former student of the Polytechnic School of Architecture and Urbanism of Algiers (EPAU). Her field of study spreads over the question of functional reconversion in the heritage context.

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Published

2021-12-24

How to Cite

Benyahia, L., Hamouda, A. and Moffok, N. . (2021) “Decoding the Spatial Configuration of the Ottoman Palace "Khdewedj El Amia" in Algiers (Algeria) through Space Syntax”, Prostor, 29(2(62), pp. 198–211. doi: 10.31522/p.29.2(62).4.

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 2(62) (2021)

Section

Preliminary Communication

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Lamia Benyahia, Abida Hamouda, Narimene Moffok

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