Demystifying Doha by Salama Ashraf M.; Wiedmann Florian; & Florian Wiedmann

Author:Salama, Ashraf M.; Wiedmann, Florian; & Florian Wiedmann
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2013-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

5.11 One of the shaded courtyards of the Emiri Diwan quarter

5.12 Main gathering space at Katara Cultural Village

Approaches for understanding image-making

The notion of image-making and its contribution to the evolution and adoption of the city image has been a subject of discussion by theorists and academics since Lynch’s Image of the City (1960) first appeared. Contemporary literature, however, has expanded beyond the work of Lynch to include other parameters for understanding image-making. Conceptually, three approaches can be identified to understand the scope of relevant interests and studies in the field of environmental imagery: these approaches are labelled contextual, critical, and perceptual.

The contextual approach fosters an understanding of place by focusing on the regional, historical, and natural aspects of the city or the region within which it exists. The principal theories and practices of this approach have emerged as a reaction to the dissatisfaction with the universal nature of modernism. Critical regionalism, coined by theorists such as Frampton and elaborated upon by Tzonis and Lefaivre, is the primary theory that underpins this approach.29 It adopts the principle that the reading of a region’s history to extract its essence and utilise it to suit the spirit of the time should be a primary design focus. The theory recognises the interactional and interrelated value of climate, culture, religion, and craft in making an image. The manifestations of critical regionalism are typically viewed as a way to show cultural, economic, and political independence. In essence, the approach has resulted in a growing interest in discussing the role of identity-creation through the visual qualities of buildings, spaces and the extant landscape. Directly and indirectly, architectural discourse in the Middle East and the Gulf region has profoundly related contemporary practices to the discourse on regionalism.30

The critical approach involves descriptions that analytically discuss the practice of contemporary image-making and the growing culture of fictionalising and capitalist profit-seeking practice. The writings of Harvey (1989) and Huxtable (1981) and other critics have emphasised the value of authentic representation for contemporary societies.31 One underlying notion of this approach is the introduction of iconicity. Jencks (2005) introduced ‘iconic’ as a term to denote buildings that involve the incorporation of important and enduring symbols that stand out in the city. He contends that buildings must be powerful in the sense that they symbolise a memory or nostalgia of an unusual importance.32 Practices toward materialising iconicity can be witnessed in contemporary developments worldwide and in the growing interest in developing iconic buildings and urban settings throughout Middle Eastern cities including contemporary Doha as seen in the preceding architectural scenes.

The perceptual approach places emphasis on the relationship between the physical qualities of the urban environment and those who perceive and comprehend such qualities. The approach concerns itself with aspects that are likely to influence memory, orientation, and the public image of the environment. Advocates of this approach emphasise the importance of visual imagery in making cities legible, comprehendible, and memorable.33 Others emphasise the relationship between the physical qualities of architecture and urban space and memory, sensory experience, and emotional responses.

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