Oman’s ancient structures

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GERMAN ARTIST

GAZMEND KALEMIhas been capturing the soul and subtle melody of ancient adobe buildings in Oman for many years. He deftly employs pencil drawings and watercolors to bestow those almost ephemeral structures eternal life – in an artistic sense — before they fade into oblivion. His works seek to highlight the inherently subtle synergy between art and architecture, and how art defines the spatial narrative of architecture which no artist, architect or designer could afford to ignore.

What’s so special about Oman’s ancient adobe builings, one may wonder. The person who can best enlighten

us in times of such subtle aesthetic confusion is a German artist, and his name is Gazmend Kalemi. Softly waking up from a kind of deep meditative union with one of his half-done sketches that lay on the work table, a considerable area of which was consumed by colour-spilled books including “The Thinking Hand” by Juhani Pallasmaa, he declares the truth which most of us fail to, or don’t want to, comprehend: “There is an element of in-built surrealism in the ancient structures of Oman, but this is perceptible to only those who can bond with nature.” Old buildings lie scattered, and

mostly neglected, across the length

S D Nambiar

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and breadth of Oman, especially in the interior regions such as Manzafa, Qanatir, Mudairib, Nizwa, Birkat al Mawz, Fanja, Mirabat, Salalah, and Wahiba Sands. However, their true value is appreciated by only a few if not none. Certainly Gazmend is one among those few.“The fantastic fragments of mysterious

in to the pressures of urbanization and population expansion. The views of German critic Walter Benjamin who spoke convincingly about the urgency of capturing images before they disappear forever assume

In all possibility, Juhani Pallasmaa is right. Architecture, especially ancient architecture, has inherent existential and embodied wisdom. But do we see serious efforts by authorities or cultural groups towards conserving them?

architectural aesthetics, Oman’s traditional adobe structures communicated a totally different reality to me. I stayed in one such ancient house in Al Hamra in Nizwa for a few days some six years back. And what a lovely

without any air-cons and any other so-called modern amenities! The peculiar combination of mud and wood, the composition and distribution of inner space complete with courtyards, as also the minimalist designs and overall simplicity are what make them unique. You can’t miss the fact that those houses are a natural extension of the surrounding environment. The adobe interiors radiate a peculiar positive aura as the structures are designed to allow in maximum natural light.”On a different note, Oman’s ancient

architectural marvels that cry for our attention and efforts to save them from ruin, have great tourism value. “A large number of foreign tourists to Oman are enchanted by the artistic and heritage value of these old clay structures…,” he paused abruptly to visualize something which I will never know. But the sentence got completed in my mind effortlessly: “… which are nothing less than the very essence of generations of indigenous experimentation with living in harmony with nature.” As such there is urgent need to conserve

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On a different note, Oman’s ancient architec-tural marvels that cry for our attention and efforts to save them from ruin,

have great tourism value.

them to enhance the tourism potential of the Sultanate. With a bit of refurbishment, such traditional dwellings can be used to accommodate tourists, who would cherish the experience of living in such ancient hutments. Also,

by conserving them, future generations may develop a proper perspective about the rich architectural traditions of the Sultanate, he continued. One can only hope that

time and effort to preserve the nation’s ancient and traditional architecture that shuns complexity and

A keen observer can easily connect with its subtle grace

and sophistication which

castles, forts and walls as well as houses. Underscoring the heritage value of Oman’s architecture, structures such as the Jabreen Castle and Bahla Fort and

Walls (Sur Bahla) have been included

in the World Heritage Sites list.Temptations of modern

ways of living and compulsions of the fast paced life might have forced villagers to abandon their traditional dwellings, but

to disconnect with their ancient hutments in places such as old Ibra, Al Hamra and Salalah. They follow a closely knit community living

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style with all the houses spatially connected with one another, he noted.Gazmend has been

capturing the soul and subtle melody of ancient adobe buildings in Oman for many years. He deftly employs pencil drawings and watercolors to bestow those almost ephemeral structures eternal life – in an artistic sense — before they fade into oblivion. His works seek to highlight the inherently subtle synergy between art and architecture, and how art

of architecture which no artist, architect or designer could afford to ignore. Gazmend has had many

encounters with the mysterious. Years back, while out exploring the desert wilderness of the Sharqiyah sands, he spotted an old mosque – in fact a very old, ramshackle mosque — and felt a great urge to sketch it. He did make a sketch and left. After a couple of years when he came back to the spot to have a relook, he became distraught to see a modern mosque in its place. “The old mosque had been razed to build a new one. With little effort, Oman lost a part of its priceless architectural heritage… I’d have appreciated if the old structure was conserved and a new one built beside it,” he said. During another exploration

in search of answers to complex issues involving

brisk development and its architectural impacts in Muscat, a large deserted yet outstandingly charming clay structure with its ever-changing morphology

shrinking of building mass, and evening out and dissolution of clearly

him even more forcefully

to document the still existing forms before those highly evocative structures merge harmoniously with the surroundings. Thus began an arduous

seeking through sketches. As an associate professor of visual arts at the department of Urban Planning and Architecture at the German University of Technology,

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Oman, Gazmend feels, “My drawings are aimed at bringing the focus back on the style and philosophy of Omani architecture. By

sketching and exhibiting them, I hope to generate an appreciation for those cultural symbols. Introducing students to the aesthetics

of adobe architecture is

my ideas and understanding of ancient Omani architecture with Omani students during

in architectural heritage where ancient mud and stone structures still exist.”

Gazmend considers drawing as an amazingly vibrant mode of engaging with structures. “We can’t deny the role of advanced design tools, but freehand drawing, where one spends considerable

of the structure helps to capture it in its myriad mysterious shades. You literally breathe the structure and its aesthetic dimensions. Drawing involves internalizing the object, feeling it in your being and starting a dialogue with it. It is, of course, thinking with the hand.”

His drawings and watercolours exploring the architecture and landscapes of Oman were exhibited recently at the XVA Gallery in Dubai, and also at the Bait Muzna Gallery, Muscat, last year. Not all of the rundown yet rich structures we see in his drawings might have yet dissolved, but certainly there’s no room for complacency.

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