Advisor: Prof. Kamel Mahadin

Abstract:
Regionalism and identity might be the most common terms 'in architectural criticism nowadays that one can hardly find an article that doesn't use these two terms 'in describing the work of many contemporary architects specially in our Arab world.

This research tries to discuss the concept of (regionalism) and (identity) 'in both cultural sciences as well as in architecture, 'in order to explore the evolution of these terms in architectural approaches 'in the Arab world in a critical study.

The hypothesis that this thesis stands for claims that non of the contemporary architectural approaches 'in Jordan nor in the Arab world can be described as regional) ones. Because that according to the definition of (regionalism as an attitude that tries to protect an (identity). 'Implies the awareness of that (identity) as a prerequisite for achieving it. And according to the lack of this awareness in these contemporary approaches in the first place and to the negligence of the specialty of our Islamic culture with its essential and changeable characteristics as well, we find it scientifically tin precise to use this term in describing those approaches.

Through studying some works that belongs to these approaches we found out that those approaches did not realize its own heritage as a living cultural process, on the contrary, it looked at this heritage as a figural and formal end product which can be copied, abstracted, textualized and
Deconstructed. This situation was combined by a lack of thorough historical and critical study of that architectural heritage.

This research is not intending to define an (identity) to our architecture in Jordan or in the Arab world, nor to give a list of principles or (icons) that may give this architecture a regional character. However the main objective of this study is to spot a light on the real role of the local architectural approaches in our world in expressing (identity) according to its own definition to that identity which couldn't escape the triangular frame of (Islamic revivalism, critical or authentic regionalism and postmodernism) which was a western invention.