A comparative study of Libyan public housing

Bilghit, EA 2007, A comparative study of Libyan public housing , PhD thesis, University of Salford.

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Abstract

A house is a basic necessity of life for all human beings. Beyond meeting this basic goal, shelter should also meet the requirements of their way of life and socio-cultural value requirements such as privacy, security, recognition of religious constraints and the desire for prestige and status. Traditional forms are able meet these requirements but the ability of more contemporary forms to do so is questionable. This can be attributed to imperfect knowledge, both with regard to resident's housing preferences and to the factors which determine their satisfaction with the built environment. The result of rapid urbanization, a common characteristic of most developing countries is the tendency to apply western technology and building methods without considering the socio-cultural values and needs of the society. It is more desirable to be selective, to choose what is appropriate, rather than apply the imported technology wholesale. In Libya, development has changed the physical and social concepts of the country. The housing sector in particular has expanded tremendously as a result of the oil economy. While the social life remains largely unaltered. People accept modern architecture, but also wish to preserve their indigenous socio-cultural values and identity. Moreover, contemporary housing differs greatly from traditional architecture with respect to scale, space organization, layout, land use, architectural style and house type. This study aims to describe the different stages that Libyan housing passed through, providing a comparison between the different periods of the house in Libya, and between the three regions in terms of climate, building materials and the other differences. This represents the factors of influence that affected the form of the Libyan house and the main features for the Libyan house during different periods (Ottoman period, Colonial period, Independence period and Revolution period). The study specifically concentrates on Tripoli city representative of the coastal region, Ghadames city, representative of the desert region and Garyan city, representative of the mountain region. Data has been collected through historic documents analysis and field work. This study is composed of ten parts. The first part is an introduction, the second part is a literature review, the third part is a research methodology, the fourth part is a profile of Libya, the fifth part, is of housing in the coastal region, the sixth part, of housing in the desert region, the seventh part, of housing in the mountain region, the eighth part, of field work, the ninth part, a comparison and analysis between the housing types and the last part is the summary, conclusion and recommendations. The research process found that there was a lack of existing research on public housing in Libya. This was particularly noticeable when examining public housing on a regional basis. The research concluded that this was an unintended effect of the political regime imposed on Libyan since 1969. Only recently has this regime relaxed internal constraint to permit such a study to be undertaken. The research found major disparities between the espoused 'best practice' of research methods required to take account of the social/cultural values and norms in Libyan society. This disparity was also noted in the necessity of accepting the 'political' dimensions of state support for research when determining appropriate research approaches to conditions questionnaires and interviews. The conclusions to this research make an important contribution to knowledge by describing housing in Libya on a regional basis. The analytical findings of chapters 8 and 9 present a comparison analysis of public housing (in both traditional and contemporary designs) in the three distinct climatic regions of libya. The conclusions to this research showed that the current Libyan policy of 'standard' housing designs is failing to satisfy the social/cultural values and norms of the Libyan people and is failing to satisfay the varied climatic requirements of three very distinct regions. The thesis ends by making a series of recommendations to: The Libyan government; Libyan designers; Libyan local officials; Libyan residents. The thesis concludes that it is possible to take the 'best' features of traditional and contemporary designs and merge them to create designs that are more effective in meeting the verity social/cultural values and norms of the people of Libya.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Contributors:	Eaton, D (Supervisor)
Schools:	Schools > School of the Built Environment
Depositing User:	Institutional Repository
Date Deposited:	16 Aug 2021 13:41
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2022 11:20
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/61571

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