Rapid Damage Assessment

By Rami Al-Afandi, Issam Ballouz, Alaa Haddad, York Rieffel (consultant)

Brief Summary

Jamiʿ al-ʿAdiliyya has suffered serious damage in three areas:

1. The north-west part of the shaft of the minaret is severely damaged and the gallery is damaged

2. The large cupola of the Prayers Hall has been almost completely destructed

3. Two arches and columns from the western side of the portico has been destroyed

The wooden roof of the fountain was damaged, and the northern wall of the courtyard had been damaged.

Value / Specifics: All damages are relating to architectural valuable areas of the mosque.

Recommendation class: RC3 > Major repairs based on diagnosis

Survey

Construction

Natural stone masonry, 2-3 leaf masonry (with rubble infill)

Building Material / Fabric

Limestone, bricks, concrete steel, tiles, metal, plaster….

Surface Design

Ashlar, Stone incrustation, carved / sculptured; smooth plaster + wall paintings

Condition Assessment

Damaged building part / element

1. Shaft and gallery of Minaret  2. Cupola Prayers Hall  3. Portico Arcade/ Riwaq

Cause of damage

Effects of war: impacts by shelling, bullet holes, shrapnel

Kind of damage

Partial large-scale damage of the exposed masonry, dome, columns and arches; collapse, loose components and stones, fractures / cracks

Scope of damage

Three main damage areas! Less than 20% of the entire building

Risk

Local danger of collapse due to structural damage

Recommendations

Urgent consolidation

Structural stabilization by emergency shoring of the minaret, the dome and the arches of the arcade.

Safeguarding on site

It is essential to protect the exposed masonry (rubble infill) against rain, since swelling processes can lead to consequential damage (e. g. cover with tarpaulin).

Further recommended

Building Documentation: All-round systematic photographic documentation (stadia, photogrammetric, 3D…) of the building, the damaged areas and the rubble (see guideline Documentation)

Rubble management (see guideline)

Keep, safe and store the rubble on site; It is essential to protect the exposed masonry against rain (e.g. cover with tarpaulin).

Need for experts (Further investigations)

Planning by a civil engineer and/or stress analyst is imperative

Relevant terms:  Static expert opinions; restoration and scientific investigations, Inspection of the site for explosive ordnance

Note

The object has a record in the Built Heritage Database of Syrian Heritage Archive Project. As of June 2019, the Project has collected and archived 355 pre-conflict photos and architectural plans of the Jamiʿ al-ʿAdiliyya.

Download Rapid Damage Assessment Report