Rehabilitation of Dar Al Consul: Architectural and Structural Interventions

Before implementation, architects working on the project conducted a thorough study of the complex’s historical background and its architectural formations accumulated over centuries. They found that the complex exhibits many unique architectural qualities such as; the six buildings surrounding the open courtyards which embrace mysterious internal walkthroughs, as well as the spacious ground floor area, atop which the houses sit.
Through the journey of building analysis, architects revealed several buried spaces that are part of the property which, after been thoroughly documented, proved the authenticity of the location near the main Cardo of the Roman City.
As for the design, the upper buildings’ design adopted a participatory post need assessment which highlighted the specific needs of the residents benefiting from the project. Furthermore, the ground floor level which overlooks one of the important alleys in Jerusalem “Aqabet Al Tikkieyh” or “Aqabet Al saraya “ is designed in a unique blend that respects its vaulted rooms and niches, while, the courtyards are designed to respect accessibility, privacy and utility.
On a structural level, the direct observation of the complex shows different construction approaches across its various parts. Most recent buildings -fully or partially- were built with reinforced concrete, while the rest were built with stone masonry. According to the DAC archived, buildings were deduced from the most recent modifications on structure, starting from the 1882-1883 layout where a big garden was replaced by the existing courtyards at the first and second floors of the complex.
Until recently, new buildings were added to the complex, while the existing buildings were modified with additional parts such as external bathrooms and two-level room splitting. Yet, part of the complex kept its original construction characteristics such as stone walls, pillars, arches and vaults, while in other parts of the complex, extra floors were added imposing an increasing load on the lower levels.
Furthermore, an extensive investigation was conducted to determine the main characteristics of the masonry, the type and soundness of walls, materials and construction techniques, and the reinforced concrete structures. After the experimental investigations, an analytical study was conducted to define the structural safety levels of the Complex through which several analytical methodologies were employed. The results indicated that using one methodology of analysis was not adequate to properly describe the structural response, especially that the historical masonry buildings have complex properties. Therefore, there was a need to employ more than one methodology in the complex analysis.
Following the investigations and structural analysis, some critical issues arose, particularly in the basement floor of the building such as; poor mechanical performance of the masonry, major voids and internal inconsistencies in masonry walls and pillars, and poor mortar with substantial presence of organic material (soil). Therefore, many traditional interventions were recommended in order to increase the material strength such as; reconstruction, integration and substitution of masonry elements, in addition to other extensive interventions such as deep re-pointing for vaults and walls, and grout injection for walls and pillars, which is a technique that is usually used in the rehabilitation of historical buildings.
Grout injection technique is the injection of a lime based mixture into walls –where needed- in order to increase the connection between masonry layers. However, studies indicated that injections do not significantly change the stiffness of walls, differently from Reinforced Jacketing technique (RC), but improve the strength and consistency of walls provided with voids and/or irregular morphology. Moreover, using grout injection technique does not change the layout of the treated walls or pillars, however, it preserves the authenticity of the original structures.