Strengthening capacity building of the Heritage Preservation and Interpretation Sector in al Raqqa

Traditional houses in Raqqa, built of mud bricks, have a rich history and social connection. However, some have been converted into modern story-buildings to accommodate more families. The project team conducted preliminary surveys to identify the remaining old houses and raise awareness about their significance. The aim is to repair and restore these houses with financial support, preventing them from being exploited by construction merchants or developers. Three houses have been restored, with the Heritage for Peace Organization providing emergency response to Al-Hamoud house and Al-Qassab’s guesthouse. The German mission house, designed in prestigious style, is now being restored for social activities.

German Mission House

The archaeological hill of al-Biʿa, a 40-year-old traditional administrative/residential building in Raqqa, was constructed in 1981 by the German “Orientinstitut” during an archaeological excavation mission in Tell Al-Bay’ah. Designed in Northeast-Syrian architectural style, it was expanded to include an eastern courtyard and rooms. The building, which consists of one floor, 12 rooms, 25 domes, and a block of bathrooms, was abandoned in the 2000s. Its roof features a dome with oculus.

Plan

Project Team’s Initial Report on Building Damages
• Initial report includes damage diagnosis.
• Room with 4 domes and bathroom selected for conservation works.
• Damages include ceiling damage, wall-plaster fractures, and moderate window and door damage.
• Preliminary survey conducted, architectural drawings completed, and detailed study of restoration areas developed.
• Work plan developed to re-use ancient materials and respect past values.
• Calculation of necessary materials and tools, and estimated list of restoration materials.

Work

Restoration of ISIS-Inflicted Rooms

• Cleaning of site and rooms from rubble from ISIS tunnel digging.
• Re-plastering external clay plaster with clay and dried straw.
• Covering site openings with mud bricks to prevent encroachments and vandalism.
• Installation of wooden doors and double-glazed windows.
• Installation of iron doors and windows for bathrooms and windows.
• Placement of archaeological mosaic panels in a room.
• Installation of sanitary fittings, toilets, plastic sinks, and a water tank for bathrooms.
• Installation of timber for collapsed dome-roof and insulation of ends with adhesive nylon.
• Repair of cracks in internal cement plaster.
• Painting of walls, domes, and bathrooms with white wash.
• Soil sifted from aggregate used in rendering process.
• Supply of water tank for repair work.
• Appointment of professional cadre from nearby refugee camp for monthly and daily work.

Challenges

The team’s work was suspended and stopped for one day by the Antiquities Committee in Raqqa, due to the finding of pieces of broken ancient pottery within the rubble that had been removed. Then a monitor, Ahmed Khalaf Al-Ali, was appointed for the project by the Antiquities Committee, and then we collected the pieces and sent them to the Antiquities Committee.

Final Thought

The part-rehabilitation of the German mission house gained us more experience in the field of restoration and recognizing the significance of traditional buildings and the desire to work and specialize in this field. We suggest that the idea of restoration be adopted on a larger scale, especially since the city of Raqqa has many heritage sites that need restoration, especially the archaeological hill of al-Biʿa

Al-Qassab Guest House (Madafa)

al-Qassab Guesthouse is located in the old city of Raqqa. It is designed in a representative symmetrical semi-local style with a backyard (Hosh). It was built in 1958 AD and was initially used as a residential place. The building consists of one story of 265m², about 430 cm high, consisting of three rooms. In 1979, the building was turned to a guest house for the public.

Its Building elements are, white rubble limestone and mud-brick bearing walls and transversal beams. It had suffered, during the war against Daesh (IS), some damages, such as a part destruction by 35% (northern room).

This Madafa, or the guest house, has a historic and social significance and value. It is also a place of social affairs and engagement even in social problems between the same community.
It is considered part of the Raqqa’s modern cultural heritage and a feature of its architecture and heritage that cannot be neglected.
It also contributes to strengthening the links between the past, present, and future between the communities.

Plan

We investigated the house, or the Madafa, and inspected it, then we conducted a preliminary examination and wrote a report that includes a diagnosis of damage, as it was found that there was severe damage to the ceiling with the possibility of collapse, and medium damage to the walls and plaster, and the absence of a room that had been completely destroyed where it was inferred through its foundations and through the symmetrical architectural style of Madafa.
We conducted a preliminary survey of the building, and did a graphical survey (with architectural drawings), and then developed a complete detailed study of the building
We developped a work plan that should be followed during the restoration works aiming to:
Re-use ancient materials in restoration to follow and implement the guidelines and basics of restoration to maintain the historic values and significance of the building
Respecting the past in our work by respecting the ancient materials and values embedded in it.
We calculated the materials and tools quantities needed for work and made an estimated list of materials needed for restoration.

Work

We started the restoration process where the whole site was cleaned and sorted and the limestone was moved to another zone.
We completely removed the ceiling, and the panels were worn out, as it was found that 15 of the timber poles are in good condition, but they are corroded from the sides as a result of moisture in the walls.
We started with the reconstruction of the completely damaged room No. R0.03 on the principle of symmetry with room No. R0.02, starting from the foundation where they were excavated and paved with limestone.
We insulated the foundations from moisture by insulating them with plastic sheets.
We built the walls of room number R0.03 in proportion to room number R0.02
We built same style concrete lintels on top of the openings that were discovered at the site after the plaster was removed.
We added a new chimney as requested by the owner.
We re-opened a window in room No. R0.01 from the north side, because the owner had closed it later with bricks, in order to achieve the principle of symmetry in the house.
The carpenter dismantled all doors and windows to repair and refine the damaged ones.
We removed the applied plaster, as it was found that the plastering of all the facades is completely detached, while the internal plastering is partially damaged, and the gypsum plaster was replaced with internal and external cement plaster, and this was inferred from the remaining wall of room R0.03.
We removed the outer corner of room No. R0.02 northwest from the west facade because it was in danger of collapsing as the limestone was lowered and reconstructed and consolidated.
We raised the level of the external and internal walls and formed slopes of the internal walls by 16 cm in order to drain the roof rainwater.
We arranged the timber poles on the ceiling with their ends wrapped with adhesive nylon to isolate them from future moisture.
We applied the wooden planks for the entire ceiling and fixed them with nails and connected their parts alternately with a wood bead due to the lack of wooden planks in the long of field, then put a layer of moisture-insulating, which is plastic sheet, over the planks and then installed the gargoyles and covered them with wood.
The carpenter installed the frames on the doors and windows.
We built a protection wall at the top of the ceiling
We installed a furnace chimney pipe with the help of a welder
We put the mixed soil with straw on top of the plastic layer and form the necessary slopes for the clay.
We carried out the interior plastering process (in local brown gypsum) for room No. R0.03.
We put a layer of sealing brown gypsum render over the compacted soil on the surface of the roof construction while achieving the necessary slope.
We carried out a rough rendering process for the exterior facades, then a soft rendering, and then Tyrolean (cement) finish with a creamy white color.
We closed the fractures and internal holes with a rough and then soft plaster in order to prepare them for the painting process.
Then, starting the process of painting the interior of the rooms.

Challenges

The difficulties that we faced from the owner of the house, namely his misunderstanding of the concept of restoration and his desire to obtain new doors and windows, and his attempt to persuade us to replace many traditional materials with new materials that contradict the concept of restoration

Examination of the sewer hole in room R0.03 and what is expected, not sure, to be a well that was filled with remains of rubble.

The restoration of the guesthouse has been widely accepted by the community, where many owners of similar houses visited us with our invitation to accept the restoration of traditional houses in the city of Raqqa.

Final Thought

The restoration of Al-Madhafa gained us a good experience in the field of restoration while realizing the heritage significance of vernacular cultural heritage

Al-Hammud house restoration

AL-Hamoud House is a traditional residential building inside the city of Raqqa near the museum. It is about 100 years old, with a courtyard.
The house is a one-story building and consists of three rooms with a total area of 338 square meters, and a height of 3.20 meters.
The walls were built of fired bricks, 57 cm thick, covered with render. The ceiling is made of wooden timber poles of circular cross-section paved with equal distances in the transverse direction, topped with rows of wooden planks in the longitudinal direction, and above it a layer of compacted soil.

It has cultural significance and historical value and is considered one of the few remained traditional buildings left in Al-Raqqa. In addition, it has an important advantage in terms of termic behavior and sustainability, along with usinf local material and (rediscovered) skills.

This traditional building is part of the heritage that is considered a feature of the human identity of different people and a cultural figure associated with places that cannot be abandoned.
It also contributes to strengthening the links between the past, the present, and the future. It has an excellent link in increasing social cohesion and helping to promote peace.

Plan

We investigated the house and inspected it for a preliminary examination and prepared an initial report that includes a diagnosis of the damages, as it was found that there were severe damages to the roof with a possibility of collapsing and we investigated moderate damages to the walls and plastering.
We conducted a preliminary survey of the building, and did a graphical survey (with architectural drawings), and then developed a complete detailed study of the building
We developped a work plan that should be followed during the restoration works aiming to:
Re-use ancient materials in restoration to follow and implement the guidelines and basics of restoration to maintain the historic values and significance of the building
Respecting the past in our work by respecting the ancient materials and values embedded in it.
We calculated the materials and tools quantities needed for work and made an estimated list of materials needed for restoration.

Work

We started the restoration process, where the site was cleaned up and the furniture moved to another place.
We exposed the ceiling, the timber poles were completely worn out, and there were only 10 usable poles, while the rest of the columns were found to be deteriorated from the ends as a result of moisture in the walls.
We opened again the bricked up window “w5” of room No. R0.4 from the south side, which the owner has closed with mud bricks, and preserved them, in order to reuse original materials of the construction.
The carpenter dismantled all doors and windows to repair and replace the damaged ones
We removed plaster/render (detached from the wall without adhering to it), as it was found that the render of all the facades is completely separated, while the interior plaster is partially damaged.
We isolated against moisture at the northern exterior walls by digging a trench along the facade with a depth of 95 cm and a width of 50 cm. During the excavation process, it was found that there was an electrical line in the ground, which led to the inability to dig over the entire facade.
We put tarpaulin nylon along the northern facade and fixed it with nails, then backfilled the trench with a layer of gravel of large diameters, and then paved two courses of bricks
We built the wall of room No. R0.4, raised the level of the external and internal walls, formed a slope for the internal walls of 15 cm, and formed a brooder frame of bricks for the clay layer. 2100 bricks were used for the entire restoration process with dimensions 27 x 27 and 900 bricks with dimensions 27 x 13,5.
We placed the timber poles on the ceiling and their ends wrapped with adhesive nylon to isolate them from moisture with a fixed spacing, 41 cm, between the poles and the formation of slopes of the poles by 20 cm.
We put the wooden planks for the entire roof and fixed them with nails, then put a layer of moisture-proof nylon over the boards, then installed the gutters/gargoyles and covered them with a box of wood.
The carpenter installed the frames for the doors and windows.
We put soil mixed with straw on top of the tarpaulin layer and form the necessary slopes for the roof.
We completed the interior plastering process for the rooms (4 and 3) and part of the south façade.
We completed the process of laying the plaster layer over the soil layer on the building surface while achieving the necessary slope.

Challenges

Some challenges that we faced were from the owner of the house, namely his misunderstanding of the concept of restoration, his desire to obtain new doors and windows, and his attempt to persuade us to replace many traditional materials with new materials.
A settlement in the subsoil led to the lifting of two rows of bricks, which led to the consumption of a greater amount of bricks, and it was found that there was moisture in the walls, as moisture infiltration was sealed for the northern facade only.
There were three closed or blocked windows overlooking North Street, which we thought was a wall cupboard.
The restoration of Muhammad al-Hammud’s house was widely accepted by the community, as many owners of similar houses visited us with an invitation to accept the restoration of traditional houses in the city of Raqqa.

Final Thought

The restoration of Muhammad al-Hammud’s house gained us a distinguished experience in the field of restoration and preservation. It is worth mentioning that, there is an urgent need to work closely and involve the local community and professionals in the restoration works to achieve the aim of preserving the unique cultural heritage of ar-Raqqa city.