AN ANALYSIS OF RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE - ITS EVOLUTION WITHIN VARIOUS ISLAMIC SOCIETIES & URBAN CULTURES- EFFECTS ON HOUSE DESIGN IN PAKISTAN

The main purpose of the research is to set up an initial framework of architectural description of Islamic art and architecture within the context of the architectural concern of ‘style’.. Islamic architecture and art to be the most beautiful in the history of the world. The Islamic people’s propensity for building staggeringly dazzling monuments and the colors and geometric design employed in Islamic architecture make this culture’s ability to capture one’s imagination a true wonder.The research is important in order to project the message that much of what we understand as ‘Islamic Architecture’ in the present literature comes from various artistic and political agendas that have questionable merits compared to an analytical approach of Islamic architecture from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The research is also important for practicing architects to understand that the present syntax of ‘Islamic Architecture’ with its references in Middle Eastern, Mid Asian and African models are not necessarily the best precedence to project the architectural message of Islam.Islamic planning offer guidance for designing home spaces. Islam as a code of life provides view points for designing houses and human interaction within these dwellings. The teachings of Sunnah and Shari‘ah help in creating righteous and healthy individual, community and ultimately creating a healthy society. All such grooming principles originate from a home, whereas the structure and design of a house is given a form by considering local context, and human needs and different phases of planning and designing. One can observe many distinguishing examples of customary architecture of Islamic houses, in different Muslim and Arab countries.Islamic architecture has been argued to be a useful but artificial concept, a modern concept created by art historians in the 19th century to categorize and study the material first produced under the Islamic peoples that emerged from Arabia in the 17th century. Ernst Grube defined Islamic architecture as that which displays a set of architectural and spatial features, such as introspection, that are inherent in Islam as a cultural phenomenon. Oleg Grabar argued that Islamic architecture is the architecture built by Muslims, for Muslims, in an Islamic country or in places where Muslims have an opportunity to express cultural independence in.The objective of this research is to study the Islamic housing concepts in relevance to urban design preferences by analyzing the contemporary house designs in Pakistan. The research methodology is based on literature review and typological analysis of house designs of similar dwelling type. The analysis has further divided into different sections of house planning and design in light of Islamic teachings and cultural backgrounds. . Furthermore, it highlights the unique Islamic characteristics of residential design to provide a complete picture of current contemporary housing pattern.

Keywords:

Islamic art Perception , Housing , Housing Designs , Life Style , Contemporary Housing Designs