Interruption of Urban Style of Old Baghdad’s Hub: A Case Study of the Urban Fabric of Historic Baghdad- Al Rusafa

Abstract

This study examines the role of urban style in preserving the memory, cultural heritage, and social values of a city, with a particular focus on Baghdad. Previous research has primarily addressed architectural styles; however, this paper argues for the importance of studying urban style, a concept shaped by the amalgamation of various architectural styles over time, contributing to a city's unique identity and language. The research scrutinizes the rich historical tapestry of Baghdad, a city with a diverse array of historical structures from different periods, collectively constituting its cultural and artistic heritage. However, the urban landscape has been adversely affected by the multiplication of disparate visual images, leading to a disconnection between historical buildings and urban style within the city's historical axes. Therefore, the research problem emerged (what caused the interruption in the relationship between the historical buildings and urban style within the historical axes). The aim of the research represented in (clarifying the concept of urban style and its relationship to historical buildings within the general urban scene found around those buildings and the old Baghdad’s centre). And achieving this aim was through the hypothesis of the research (interruption occurs in the urban style as a result of the sudden appearance of multiple visual images within the urban scene), then the research reached a set of recommendations and conclusions in defining the relationship between the style and the historical structures and spatially adapted it to the urban scene of the region.