Abdulwahab House

Amman, Jordan

Architect:

Almarsmam Architects & Engineers / Hani Imam Hussaini

Client:

Diala Suleiman

Built Area:

608 m

Cost:

US$ 309909

At first glance the site for this family house seemed to pose a serious drawback: the
800-square-metre plot is almost landlocked, with a mere 11-metre street frontage. The
architects response draws on the model of the traditional courtyard house. The two-storey
L-shaped structure shields itself from the street with stone walls that are almost blank.
Behind the walls, the house opens up completely, through extensive glazing, onto a garden
court that provides views and a focus for the most significant rooms - reception, dining,
family, master bedroom, guest bedroom - as well as the main circulation elements.

3122.JOR
2007 Award Cycle

Abdulwahab House

Off Mohammad Ali Bdair Street, Abdoun

Amman, Jordan
Architects

Almarsmam Architects &

Engineers / Hani Imam Hussaini
Amman, Jordan

Clients

Diala Suleiman
Amman, Jordan

Commission

2001

Design

2001 - 2001

Construction

2001 - 2003

Occupancy

2003

Site

807 m2

Ground Floor
Total Floor

229 m2
608 m2

Costs

US$ 309909

Programme

At first glance the site for this

family house seemed to pose
a serious drawback: the 800square-metre plot is almost
landlocked, with a mere 11metre street frontage. The
architects response draws on
the model of the traditional
courtyard house. The twostorey L-shaped structure
shields itself from the street
with stone walls that are almost
blank. Behind the walls, the
house opens up completely,
through extensive glazing, onto
a garden court that provides
views and a focus for the most
significant rooms - reception,
dining, family, master bedroom,
guest bedroom - as well as the
main circulation elements.

Building Type
2007 Award Cycle

5
3122.JOR

3122.JOR

3122.JOR

Document B

ARCHITECTS RECORD
2007 AWARD CYCLE

1.

IDENTIFICATION
Project Title: Abdulwahab House
Street Address: Off Mohammad Ali Bdair Street, Abdoun
City: Amman

Country: Jordan

PERSONS RESPONSIBLE:

II.
A.

Architect/Planner
Name: Almarsam Architects and Engineers (formerly)
Mailing address: P.O. Box: 930345
City: Amman

Postal code: 11193

Country: Jordan

Telephone: + 962 6 568 4717

Facsimile: + 962 6 568 4719

E-mail: hani@omrania.com.jo

Principal Designer: Hani Imam Hussaini

B.

Client
Name: Mrs. Diala Suleiman
Mailing address: P.O. Box: 850588

C.

City: Amman

Postal code: 11185

Country: Jordan

Telephone: +962 79 550 0125

Facsimile: + 962 6 592 4144

E-mail: diala99@wanadoo.jo

Project Affiliates/Consultants
Please list those involved in the project and indicate their roles and areas of responsibility (e.g. engineers, contractors,
economists, master craftsmen, other architects, clients, etc.). Please cite addresses and telephone numbers separately.
Name

Role

Joana Haddadin
Yousef Shishan
Faten Abdullah
Mai Abu Shanab
Ramzi Salfity
Rami Tadrous
Danka Jubeh
Faisal Qaqish
Zaki Suna'a
Nazih Badriah

Senior Architect and Project Manager

Architect
Architect and Interior Designer
Landscape Design
Senior Structural Engineer
Structural Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Site Supervision + Construction Manager
Skeleton Contractor

3122.JOR

III.

TIMETABLE
(Please specify year and month)
A.

Commission: February 2001

B.

Design:

Commencement: February 2001

Completion: September 2001

C.

Construction:

Commencement: October 2001

Completion February 2003

D.

Occupancy: March 2003

Remarks:

IV.

AREAS AND SURFACES

(Please specify in square metres)
A.

Total size area: 807 m plot size

B.

Ground floor area: 228.6 m

C.

Total combined floor area: 608.1 m

(Including basement(s), ground floor(s) and all upper floors)

Remarks:

V.

ECONOMICS
(Please specify the amounts in local currency and provide the equivalent in US dollars. Specify the date and the rate of exchange in
US dollars at the time.)
Amount in
Local Currency
A.

Total initial budget

200,000 JD (Construction)

B.

Cost of land

60,000 JD

C.

Analysis of actual costs

Amount in US dollars

Exchange rate

Date

282,000 USD

1.41

Feb 2001

84,600 USD

1.41

Jan 2001

1. Infrastructure

Not available

2. Labour

Not available

3. Materials

Not available

4. Landscaping

Not available

5. Professional fees

30,600 JD

43,146 USD

1,41

Feb 2003

219,794JD

309,909 USD

1,41

Feb 2003

580 USD

1,41

Feb 2003

6. Other
D.

Total actual costs

(Without land)

E.

Actual cost

411, JD/m (incl. professional fees)

(Per square metre)

Remarks: Professional fees included design, supervision, and construction management

3122.JOR

VI.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

A young family was building its dream home to last it a lifetime. They shared a focus on family life, a
love for external living, and for quality devoid of ostentatious expression.
The brief required four bedrooms, formal reception and dining spaces, a family living space, study, a
breakfast area incorporated into the kitchen, as well as facilities for a maid, a resident guard, and a
childrens play room.
The Abdulwahabs had two children that where still at kindergarten. There was thus the need for arranging
the house in a manner that their movements where easily controllable. Living space was of importance,
but this had to be kept out of view and away from the more formal spaces.
The Abdulwahabs had acquired an inexpensive 800m2 plot, in a fully developed upmarket part of
Amman. The site was almost landlocked with a mere 11m frontage that was situated at the end of 6m
dead end access road and was therefore almost invisible from the street.
At first glance the general layout of the site seemed like a very serious drawback. The plot had no aspect
or views to speak of, or even significant frontage to present to the outside world. Our initial response to
the site and the brief pointed us in the direction of the traditional courtyard house model. The house could
not look outwards and therefore could only look inwards. It had to create its own world and then relate to
it. The need for a sizeable garden thus became paramount. It had to become the focus of a private internal
world that is all but divorced from its immediate environment.
Early schematics were quickly approved by the client. These, like the final product, were of an L-shaped
house on two storeys. It gave its back to the street shielding itself from it with walls that were left almost
blank. It then opened up totally, through extensive glazing, on a garden court that provided views and a
focus for the most significant rooms; Reception, Dining, Family, Master Bedroom, Guest Bedroom, as
well as the main circulation elements.
The garden thus became a walled garden, a courtyard; a small private paradise that extends deep into the
house through transparent glazed screens. An internal garden around which a top lit staircase is arranged
reinforces this relationship, as does the polished local stone flooring that is used pretty much throughout
the house.
The basic planning of the house follows obvious prototypes, with the bedrooms and living room located
on the first floor and formal living and dining rooms located on the ground together with kitchen and
study. Services as well as a playroom occupy the basement. The top lit staircase connects the floors both
functionally and spatially.
The house pays great attention to the way in which it is used. Balconies that open up onto a garden or
towards the street and openings that link various rooms and spaces together provide connections and thus
opportunities for interaction that are intended to animate the home. A little slit at a staircase landing
located at a toddlers eye level provides a passing view of the reception and its occupants and great
intrigue for the children as they walk up to reach their bedrooms.

3122.JOR

VII.

MATERIALS, STRUCTURE AND CONSTRUCTION

This project continues on a process of investigation and experimentation, and expands on themes that
were tackled by the designer in an earlier house.
The Abdulwahab House continues a process of exploration into the manner in which stone, the most
widely used cladding material in Amman, is used and expressed in an attempt at breathing new life into
the material which has come to be taken for granted, and has been neutralized due to the manner in which
it is used and over used.
Courses are half the standard 25cm height. Like the earlier house, the whitish sawn face was removed
through a process of chipping and chiselling to retrieve the inherent natural tones. This avoids both the
traditional rustic aesthetic, and the normally whitish easily soiled aesthetic that is a product of current
tooling techniques. The texture alludes to its natural state and is reinforced by the use of contrasting
rendered walls, aluminium shutters, steel balustrades, and expanses of glass. Value was achieved through
good craftsmanship and careful detailing to bring the best out of the materials that are being used.
Abdulwahab House stone is seen as a protective cloak that opens up to reveal a series of layers; rendered
walls, a concrete frame, natural aluminium roller shutters, and glazed screens. All become softer and
more translucent as we move away from the street and the public areas and in towards the garden and
private areas.
It was agreed with the client at the early stages of design that we would take on the role of construction
managers since that would help control the costs, and more importantly enable us to control the quality of
the craftsmanship to a much higher extent than would normally be possible with normal procurement
methods utilizing a Main Contractor.
An engineer was installed on site at the commencement of construction, and followed the process through
until the client moved into their new home. This enabled us to enforce levels of craftsmanship, quality
control and detailing that are normally unachievable. More importantly it enabled us to implement new
construction techniques that were developed by the office in response to some serious problems that
plague the construction industry.
Like the earlier project, the Abdulwahab house take on the basic construction materials that are
commonly employed, but rationalises the way in which they are put together by fusing current local
practices with north European methods and techniques. The concrete frame is totally internalised so that
it is a part of the internal skin of the building, thus allowing it to be separated completely from the
external skin. The devised system achieved effective thermal insulation and reduced to a minimum the
high risk of damp penetration and mould growth that are so often precipitated by Jordans current
construction techniques which had not yet reached a satisfactory conclusion in their transformation from
a load bearing system to that of concrete framed, double skinned walling system.
In the Abdulwahab residence, the construction system was refined further in a manner that allowed the
internal block work skin to be constructed immediately after the concrete frame is put up. This allowed
work to be carried out internally at the same time that the laborious and time intensive work on external
skin to be carried out, and in doing so reducing the time scale of the construction process.

3122.JOR

The construction methodology thus mirrored the layered concept of the elevation. The concrete frame
structure was the first layer to be constructed. This was followed by the internal block work, the water
proofing, thermal insulation, the external leaf of block work, and finally the concrete backed external
stone leaf.

3122.JOR

VIII. PROJECT SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT

Abdulwahab House continues a process of questioning and investigation that was started by the designers
in an earlier house. It aims to circumvent a local architectural debate that seemed trapped in issues of
stylistics. It attempts to evolve relevant architectural and constructional vocabularies by going back to the
basics of utility, firmness and delight, and attempts to fulfil those through answers that are grounded in
the specificity of the context. This latter is understood as all encompassing and includes the time in which
we inhabit, the brief at hand both implied and verbalized, the immediate and extended site, as well as the
technology at hand. It accepts that it is an architects role is to take on responsibility for all such issues
and address them in a manner that is able to provide a positive contribution to society and the built
environment. It also accepts that it is the architects responsibility to continuously question accepted
wisdom to ensure that these remain viable at any given time.
A critique of the project was published by Dr. Mohammad Al-Asad on the CSBE website. A printout is
enclosed in the documentation being presented.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Please note: The submission of this Record is a prerequisite to candidacy for the Award. All information contained in and
submitted with the Record will be kept strictly confidential until announcement of the Award is made. Subsequently, such
material may be made available by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and you hereby grant the Aga Khan Award for
Architecture a non-exclusive licence for the duration of the legal term of copyright (and all rights in the nature of copyright)
in the Material submitted to reproduce the Material or licence the reproduction of the same throughout the world.

Name (please print) ___________________________________________________________________________________

Signature _______________________________________________________ Date ________________________________

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3122.JOR

Document C

MATERIALS IDENTIFICATION FORM

Provide a full list of all material being submitted
No.

Description

Remarks

Architects Record; Print

1
List of Project Affiliates; Print
2
Image Identification Form; Print
3
A3 presentation panels; Print
4
Cv. of principal designer
5
Thumb nails of Images on CD-Rom; Print
6
7
8

Print out of a critique of this project published on CSBE Website;

Print
CD-Rom containing electronic copies of items 1 to 5, together with
this form. It also includes digital images in item 6, and a clip of a film
of the project.

9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

3122.JOR

Document D

IMAGE IDENTIFICATION FORM

For each digital image/slide listed below, specify the name of the photographer and the date of photography. In the space designated
Caption , provide a description of the image in English or in French. Also specify any copyright restrictions in the space designed
Copyright . You may substitute this form with your own as long as the required information is included.

No.

Caption

A01
A02
A03
A04
A05
A06
A07
A08
A09
A10
B01
B02
B03
B04
B05
B06
B07
B08
C01
C02
C03
C04
C05
C06
D01
D02
D03
D04

Approach 01
Approach 02
Approach 03
Entrance 01
Entrance 02
Entrance 03
Carport Detail 01
Carport Detail 02
Carport Detail 03
View towards Guardroom
View from Entrance towards Stair
Reception 01
Reception 02
Reception 03
Reception 04
Reception 05
Reception 06
Dining Room
Stair 01
Stair 02
Stair 03
Stair 04
Stair 05
Stair 06
Living Room 01
Living Room 02
View from Master Bedroom
View from Master Bedroom toward
Garden
Ladder to Roof 01
Ladder to Roof 02
View towards Garden Court
Night View towards Garden Court
Balcony Detail
Garden Court 01
View towards Living Balcony from
Garden 01

D05
D06
D07
D08
D09
E01
E02

Photographer

Date

Copyright Restriction

Hani Imam Hussaini

Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini

March 2003
March 2003
March 2003
August 2003
June 2003
August 2003
March 2003
August 2003
June 2003
June 2003
June 2003
August 2003
August 2003
July 2003
February 2003
August 2003
February 2003
July 2003
June 2003
June 2003
August 2003
June 2003
March 2003
July 2003
February 2003
July 2003
August 2003
July 2003

None
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Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Siam Zreikat

August 2003
February 2003
August 2003
March 2003
February 2003
June 2003
August 2003

None
None
None
None
None
None
None

3122.JOR

No.

Caption

E03
E04
E05
E06
E07
E08

Garden Court 02
Garden Court 03
Garden Court 04
Garden Court 05
Garden Court 06
View towards Living Balcony from
Garden 02
Garden Court 07
Garden Court 08
Garden Court 09
Balcony Detail
Garden Court 10
Garden Court Night View
Site Plan
Ground Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Basement Floor Plan
Section A-A
Section B-B
Section C-C
Section D-D
Section E-E
Section F-F
Construction Detail
Entrance Night View
Carport Night View
Night View form Main Road

E09
E10
E11
E12
E13
E14
F01
F02
F03
F04
F05
F06
F07
F08
F09
F10
F11
G01
G02
G03

Photographer

Date

Copyright Restriction

Hani Imam Hussaini

Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini

June 2003
June 2003
June 2003
March 2003
June 2003
March 2003

None
None
None
None
None
None

Hani Imam Hussaini

Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Sima Zreikat
-------------------------------------------------------Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini
Hani Imam Hussaini

June 2003
March 2003
June 2003
March 2003
June 2003
August 2003
-------------------------------------------------------March 2003
March 2003
March 2003

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3122.JOR

ABDULWAHAB HOUSE
PROJECT AFFILIATES / CONSULTANTS

Name

Role

Address

Mobile Number

Joana Haddadin

Senior Architect

P. O. Box: 930345, Amman 11193,

Jordan

00962 77 797 1465

Yousef Shishan

Architect

P. O. Box: 930345, Amman 11193,

Jordan

00962 77 739 6572

Faten Abdullah

Architect

P. O. Box: 930345, Amman 11193,

Jordan

00962 77 749 8975

Mai Abu Shanab

Architect

P. O. Box: 930345, Amman 11193,

Jordan

00962 79 692 5358

Ramzi Salfity

Senior Structural
Engineer

P. O. Box 910661, Amman 11191,

Jordan

00962 79 553 5187

Rami Tadros

Structural Engineer

P. O. Box 441, Sweileh, 1191

Jordan

00962 79 529 3405

Danka Jubeh

Mechanical Engineer

P. O. Box 4121, Amman, Jordan

00962 77 746 0057

Faisal Qaqish

Electrical Engineer

P. O. Box 6007, Amman 11118,

Jordan

00962 79 559 7150

Zaki Suna'a

Site Supervision &

Construction Manager

P. O. Box 2125, Amman 11953,

Jordan

00962 79 687 6664

Nazih Badriah

Main Contractor

Not Available

Not Available