Water as an Architectural Element

An Individual Contextual Study

Abdalrahman Elkot
 Water as an Architectural Element
List of figures
Figure 1 Author’s Own. 2014. Picture showing
the inner-court of Edfu temple.
Figure 2 Canaletto,(1723), Instituto Ricardo
Brennand [ONLINE]. Available at: https://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Cana-
letto_-_Piazza_di_San_Marco,_em_Veneza.jpg
[Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 3 Author’s Own. 2014. Ariel view of Ibn
Tulon mosque showing its courtyard.
Figure 4 N/A, (n.d.), Monreale - Cloister [ON-
LINE]. Available at: https://photos.travelblog.
org/Photos/180068/541846/f/5575267-Famous_
courtyard_attached_to_Monreal_cathedral-0.jpg
[Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 5 N/A, (n.d.), North palace Akhetaten
(el-Amarna) 1360 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/49/34/
e5/4934e50b867bd83ef179170e2e932826.jpg
[Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 6 Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
(n.d.), View of black-figured ceramic hydria (dat-
ed 510 BC), depicting five women in a fountain,
permanent exhibition of Paul & Alexandra Canel-
lopoulou Museum [ONLINE]. Available at: http://
www.hydriaproject.net/images/cases/greece_
Athens_agora/View_of_black_figured_ceram-
ic_hydria.JPG [Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 7 N/A, (n.d.), Fontana di Trivi [ONLINE].
Available at: http://www.casavacanzeconti.it/
wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Fontana-di-Trevi.
png [Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 8 N/A, (n.d.), Piazza Navona, fontana dei
Fiumi [ONLINE]. Available at: http://farm4.static.
flickr.com/3389/3632982608_5479c3307a.jpg
[Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 9 J. A. Alcaide, (2010), Alham-
bra, Granada. Patio de la acequia [ON-
LINE]. Available at: https://c1.staticflickr.
com/5/4140/4810303190_50b7437c6b_b.jpg
[Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 10 Lisa Alexander, (n.d.), Patio de los
Arrayanes (Court of Myrtles) [ONLINE]. Available
at: http://www.planetware.com/photos-large/E/
spain-granada-alhambra-myrtles.jpg [Accessed
10 March 16].
Figure 11 Kieran Walsh, (n.d.), Salk Institute [ON-
LINE]. Available at: http://gallery.photo.net/pho-
to/16633856-lg.jpg [Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 12 N/A, (n.d.), Louis Kahn | Instituto
biomédico Salk | La Joya; Calfornia | 1959-1964
[ONLINE]. Available at: https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c3/6a/06/c36a061bf-
92cb2fd07fac0d2f373affc.jpg [Accessed 10
March 16].
Figure 13 N/A, (2010), Patio de los Arraya-
nes (Court of Myrtles) [ONLINE]. Available at:
http://www.planetware.com/photos-large/E/
spain-granada-alhambra-myrtles.jpg [Accessed
10 March 16].
Figure 14 Caravaggio, (n.d.), Narcissus (1594-
96) [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.artble.
com/imgs/2/e/d/116588/narcissus.jpg [Accessed
10 March 16].
Figure 15 Childe Hassam, (n.d.), The Alhambra
(1883) by Childe Hassam. [ONLINE]. Available
at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/com-
mons/thumb/a/a7/The_Alhambra_1883_Childe_
Hassam.jpg/733px-The_Alhambra_1883_Chil-
de_Hassam.jpg [Accessed 10 March 16].
Figure 16 Author’s own. 2016. Collage showing
Caravaggio’s Narcissus sitting in the Alhambra
palace by the pool looking at his own reflection.
Abdalrahman Elkot
1
 Water as an Architectural Element
Introduction

Courtyards are one of the oldest archi-

tectural typologies that were passed on from
ancient Egypt to Greek to Rome to Islamic
times, Renaissance and are still being used
in modern times. They were used to create
a sense of seclusion inside a building, and
in some cases they achieved a very unique
atmosphere close to that one can only feel
Fig.1 Picture showing the inner-court of Edfu temple
in a piazza. This essay will not be looking
on courtyards, but on the types of water el-
ements that occupy courtyards. From the
beginning of time water had played a great
role in our life, and more; precisely in our ar-
chitecture. Which is kind of the same thing,
considering that our architecture is our life,
our mirror. It defines us, our past, present,
and future. This essay shall look into differ-
ent types of water uses in architecture and
the meaning behind each of them in the con-
text it was used. Starting from ancient Egypt, Fig.2 Piazza san Marco, Venice, a similar typology to that of courtyards

to Greek, Andalusia, renaissance and end-

ing by Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute from our
modern times. This essay will be looking into
Greco-Roman mythologies with the help of
baroque art in an attempt to understand the
psychology behind the relationship between
water and architecture. To start off, this is a
quote by Craig S. Campbell from the book
Water in Landscape Architecture..

Fig.3 Courtyard of Ibn Tolun Mosque, Cairo

“In quiet ponds, lagoons, canals, or lakes
water presents an entirely different set of
moods, sounds, and settings than water in
motion. Water in repose is usually associated
with meditation, contemplation, poetry, and
Abdalrahman Elkot

music; a setting for love or laziness; a time

and place for recharging…”

Fig.4 Courtyard of Monreale cathedral, London

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 Water as an Architectural Element
An Early Idea

The ancient Egyptian civilisation is one of

the greatest civilisations from the pre-historic
time. It showed such great innovation, pre-
cision and intelligence at a time where none
existed anywhere else in the world. Water
played a very important role in the ancient
Egyptian architecture, where the whole civili-
sation depended on the Nile River. They built
their houses, palaces, temples and tombs
on the banks of a line of water that cracked
its way through the land that they inhabited,
and even though it flooded them annually,
they chose to be close to the water and they
responded with such rigid structures from
stone like pyramids and pylons. In some of
their palaces, such as the Amarna North Pal-
ace shown in figure 5, they created pools
in courtyards which they used to raise fish
for food and plant lotus and papyrus. These Fig.5 Plan of Amarna north palace showing the pool in the inner-court of
pools were often in an open courtyards the the palace.

centred the palace reflecting the clear blue

sky and harvesting the rain water when it
rained, which was quite rare. Also having a
water element in the court of a building forms
a cool breeze that reduces the building’s
temperature on hot days. Just outside their
palaces was the Nile River with water running
with energy yet they felt something about still
water that made them want to include it even
in the hearts of their palaces.

The Birth of Spring

Greek historians described the Nile as

“life for Egyptians”, and even though Greeks
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and Romans created fountains and springs

in their courtyards for decorative purposes,
it was never as essential to them as it was to
Egyptians, in the sense that their life never
Fig.6 A Greek ceramic vase shows figures of five women in a fountain
depended that much on it. Yet it still played a each carrying a vase to be filled with water.
role in their communities, as springs created

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 Water as an Architectural Element
communal spots and points of gatherings a very
where they would always meet around springs
to discuss business or socialise. The same
typology was carried on for centuries to the
renaissance time, and until now people gath-
er around fountains in Rome, like Fontana di
Trevi and Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, they sit
for hours to talk and watch the activities that
happen around in the piazza. Humans feel a
natural bond with water, a quite strong one,
Fig.7 Fontana di Trevi, Rome
where they always like to be close to it and
touch it if possible. Fountains are a great way
that unites people in urban spaces. When
people see a fountain they sub-consciously
think of the space as a central friendly space
that intrigues them to pass through and ex-
perience.

La Acequia

The typology of the pool may have been

first introduced more than a thousand years
B.C., but no one ever mastered the use of
pools in architecture like the Moors did in An-
dalusia. A great example of that would be the
Alhambra palace; where a new understand-
ing of pools and fountains was introduced.

“Water was vital for the whole town and

was drawn from the river almost four miles up-
stream, reaching the Alhambra bymeans of a
Fig.8 Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Rome
water pipe, the Acequia del Sultán” (Hattstein,
Delius 2007, page 293).

The palace had several courts with pools

and fountains which formed the focal point
of the palace. One of which was the Acequia
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(see figures 9&10), which is a long canal cut-

ting through the gardens of the palace run-
ning towards the centre of the façade with
several springs along the way. The long Ace-
quia had several springs on both sides point-
Fig.9 Patio de la acequia. Alhambra, Granada.
ing towards the building. The Acequia plays

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 Water as an Architectural Element

important role in Alhambra, it creates a line,

an axis around which the building is defined.
This makes the idea very similar to where the
line of the river cut through the land of Egypt
making ancient Egyptians occupy and build
on the banks. In a sense, the Acequia is Al-
hambra’s Nile River.

The Metaphorical Mirror

In a more modern time, precisely in 1965

in San Diego, USA. Louis Kahn finished his
Salk Institute building that had a courtyard
which over looked the Pacific Ocean. One of
the first noticeable things about this court is
the water line that split the court and acted
like an axis for the whole campus. Although
the water line in not wide enough to see the
Fig.10 Ariel view of patio de la acequia. Alhambra, Granada.
reflection of the building in it, but there is a
much deeper explanation that lies behind it
here. The buildings on both sides of the wa-
ter line are identical as if they were mirrored
in a vertical pool! But Kahn comes here and
introduces this slim long line of water mak-
ing it obvious that it is the axis of reflection.
Water is the first reflective surface man ever
saw himself in. And so even though the water
element in the court of the Salk Institute is
Fig.11 Salk Institute, San Diego, USA
not wide enough to see a reflection in, but
it clearly states that these two buildings are
only mirrored by the presence of this water
line. And it seems almost as if without this
water line one of the two sides of the court
will vanish, or even both! This water line for
the Salk Institute is the Nile River for ancient
Egypt, the Acequia for Alhambra palace,
Abdalrahman Elkot

the Euphrates for Babylon and the Rhine for

western Europe.

Fig.12 Plan drawing of Salk Institute highlighting the water line

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 Water as an Architectural Element
Abstract

Back to Alhambra palace but to a different

court, court of the Myrtles, a pool similar to
that of ancient Egypt. The Myrtles court was
for special occasions and celebrations, the
pool that occupied most of the court’s space
beautifully reflects the building decorations
and blue sky in the still water. But there is
something about this court here that is very
hard to ignore; the pool here acts as a mirror
to the palace, it emphasise on the beauty of Fig.13 The Myrtles court, Alhambra, Granada
the architecture and makes the building quite
hard to be unnoticed. To make a much more
powerful point here we have to open the doors
of the past on time where myths were real. In
another life, there was once a man named
Narcissus who was known for his beauty.
His mother once took him to the side of the
pool to make him see his reflection in it, and
he fell in love with his reflection in the pool.
Shortly after that, without eating and drink-
ing Narcissus died looking at this reflection.
Narcissus is a Greco-Roman mythology and
which is the origin of the word Narcissism.
But how does this relate to architecture? By
looking at paintings for both; first painting of
Narcissus by the baroque art Italian master
artist Caravaggio, painted between 1597 and
1599 (see figure 14). And second painting for Fig.14 Narcissus (1594-96) by Caravaggio
the Myrtles court by American Impressionist
painter Childe Hassam, painted in 1883 (see
figure 15). One can see a very powerful re-
semblance between both paintings. In this
context here the Myrtles court is Alhambra’s
Narcissus looking upon its very own beautiful
reflection in the pool. Further more what is
Abdalrahman Elkot

special about Hassam’s painting is that the

impressionism here shows the reflection of
the building almost as real as the building
itself, which reflects how he as an artist ad-
mired the reflection of the building just as
much as the building itself. Fig.15 The Alhambra (1883) by Childe Hassam

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 Water as an Architectural Element
Narci-tecture creates a sense of guidance and direction as
well, like in the Salk Institute, it makes you
Is it not possible that the use of the pool in feel like you want to pursue the source and
the Myrtles court created a narcissist build- see where it ends. Water is the power, the
ing? A building so proud of its architecture sources and the energy. Water creates an
and its decorative elements. Somehow here Eden out of our architecture. Then how do we
the pool has become an essential part of the
architecture as a whole which created a
unique atmosphere that belongs to that court
and that court only. When in a water-less
courtyard, one gets attracted by the peace,
by the vegetation, and by the architecture
that one finds. While in a court with a pool
like the Myrtles court one feels like the archi-
tecture speaks through the reflection of the
water making it impossible to not notice or
ignore the beautiful arches with their carved
stucco. Nobody likes a narcissist, but how
about buildings? If Alhambra was to be de-
scribed as an architecturally narcissist build- Fig.16 Collage by Abdalrahman Elkot showing Narcissus, as portrayed in
Caravaggio’s painting, sitting by the pool in the Myrtles court of Alhambra
ing, would that make it any less important looking at his reflection while the pool also reflects the building behind him.

and significant to its era?

make the most out of this beautiful element?
Reflective Conclusion This essay opens the way to many possi-
ble ideas that we once used frequently but
There are different types of water elements not anymore, for example the pool typology;
in courtyards; points, lines, and pools. They what would happen if more iconic buildings
all enrich the architecture in different ways. had pools to reflect their obsession and fixa-
Points, such as fountains and springs, unite tion in a world were buildings now are glazed
people and gather them around. Lines cre- to reflect the identity of their surroundings?
ates an axis around which the architecture Perhaps this idea of the narcissistic architec-
gets formed and takes its natural shape like ture, the narci-tecture, should be explored
Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute and Alhambra’s more in future scenarios.
Acequia. And finally pools, the element that
creates the narcissist self-obsessed building
that stand proud of its form, of its own histo-
ry and its own decorative art. And only water
Abdalrahman Elkot

can emphasise on such a point. In this con-

text water can be considered as powerful and
important of an element as light and shadow
are. In Alhambra palace, the use of water
created the narrative of the whole building, it
gave birth to a journey out of a palace. Water

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 Water as an Architectural Element
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Abdalrahman Elkot