This week’s video is a lecture by Heba Abdelnabi, aptly titled “Islamic Architec

This week’s video is a lecture by Heba Abdelnabi, aptly titled “Islamic Architecture & its Relevance to Daily Human Needs”. It is 58 minutes. The lecture was was co-sponsored by the United States Library of Congress and the Egyptian Embassy’s Cultural and Educational Affairs Office. Dr. Abdelnabi provides an overview of Islamic Architecture from the 7th through 18th century, and focuses on the ways that Islamic architecture meets the needs of daily life for people, and the needs of the environment. She covers the various types of architecture according to purpose, including domestic or residential buildings, religious buildings, military buildings, and commercial and service buildings.
I found this video to be excellent, and I hope you enjoy it!
For this assignment, you may write about any of the following:
1. If you have personal experience with Islamic architecture of any kind, you may select any structure or type of structure, and consider the purpose of the structure for human needs (practical or spiritual), consider its relationship to the environment, and consider peoples’ experience of it. In art we use a phrase “form follows function”. This means objects are designed, with purpose, for the intended function. It can do so with regard for aesthetics, beauty, or not. The design in many ways shapes our experience. You may write about your own experience of or thoughts about a particular structure or type of structure, or any feature that is a part of it. If you do this, please post a photo so we can see what you are describing!
2. If you do not have experience with Islamic architecture, you may think about the above in relation to any structure that you have interest in, and write about the same considerations as described in number 1.
3. You may write about any aspect of this video that is of interest to you.
4. You may describe three things that you learned from this video.58 minute video: Islamic Architecture & its Relevance to Daily Human Needs