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

Lamia Benyahia,Narimene Moffok,Abida Hamouda

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

Lamia Benyahia, Narimene Moffok + Show 1 more

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

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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.

Highlights

Ottoman architecture in Algeria features a great diversity, essentially composed of three typologies: religious, military, and civil architecture, including the palaces which are architectural masterpieces
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
The name El Amia, which means blind in Arabic

Summary

Introduction

Ottoman architecture in Algeria features a great diversity, essentially composed of three typologies: religious, military, and civil architecture, including the palaces which are architectural masterpieces. The palaces and residences of Algiers from the Ottoman era, considered to be architectural gems, can be found amidst the ruins of the Casbah, but are disused and converted into museums or administrative headquarters. These palaces served as residences of notables or as high places of the exercise of political power during the Ottoman regency.[1] Dar Khdewedj El Amia is one of them. Since the independence (1962), the Palace has been the museum of popular arts and traditions

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