Here, I allow myself to pause at the dialogical, almost theatrical form of the lengthy final chapter, which the author gave a striking title: "Summaries in a Dialogical Format." In it, the author imagines an interlocutor who presents him with problems he feels need clarification—problems and questions that emerge across the five books of this series. It is as if the author is revisiting topics from these five books, believing they needed to be explained, trying to suggest that in these dialogues, he is concluding this series of books! In reality, he is summarizing some of the problematic concepts he has written about across these five books. However, this artistic form in the dialogical conclusion opens another path for continuing to write on urbanistic matters that he either has not delved into deeply or feels need more clarification. So, allow me to say to the esteemed author: this "conclusion" is not an end, but rather a beginning of a new phase of urban writing, and God knows best! (From the Introduction)

About the Author: Architect Rahif Fayyad

• Lebanese architect Rahif Jibrail Fayyad was born on 16/9/1936.
• 1951-1954: Secondary education: National Orthodox College – Mina, Tripoli.
• 1963: Diploma in Architecture from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts.
• 1957–1967: Student and apprentice architect in the studios of architects: Charles Chayer, Wathiq Adib, Georges Rayess, Maurice Hindié, Kazem Kanaan, Antoine Thabet.
• 1970 to present: Professional practice in authorship, execution, and supervision within the framework of "Architectural and Urban Studies" and the "Arab Establishment for Design and Studies," working on projects in: Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Djibouti, Paris, London, Geneva, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Qatar.
• 1976 to present: Professor of Architecture, member of various academic committees at the Institute of Fine Arts - Lebanese University, member of diploma project juries at the institute and abroad.
• 1992 to present: Member of Master's and PhD thesis juries in the history and theories of architecture and in urban planning at several universities in the Arab world; chairman of competition juries in architecture and urban planning in many Arab cities.
• 2005–2009: President of the Federation of Arab Architects.
• 1991–2011: Wrote and published numerous articles in newspapers and magazines on architecture, planning, and urbanism, which were released in six consecutive books: A Decade of Design and Achievement (1986), Rich Architecture and Painful Reconstruction (1999), Urbanism and Memory, Urbanism and Illusion (2000), Architecture and Awareness of Place (2004), From Architecture to the City (2010), Teaching Architecture at the Institute of Fine Arts (2011).
• 2013: Honorary Doctorate in Architecture by decision of the President of the Lebanese University, in recognition of his outstanding professional, academic, and cultural achievements and for publishing numerous studies and books on architecture and the city.

Book Information

• Publishing House: Dar Al-Farabi for Publishing and Distribution
• Number of Pages: 432
• Year of Publication: 2013
• ISBN: 9789953713113