Revitalising abandoned heritage villages: the case of Tinbak, Qatar

Figures & data

Figure 1. Major historic locations state of Qatar. The black dot is the location of Tinbak.¹

Figure 2. Flowchart of the study

Table 1. Approaches for a reevaluation of rural settlements. Developed by the authors after Güler and Kâhya (2019)

Approach	Implementation
Reforestation	This approach is based on the principle of the conversion of abandoned rural settlements to wildlife or forest area
Museumification	Buildings are dismantled from their authentic location and relocated to an open-air museum that the public could visit
Tourism	Protecting cultural assets in abandoned rural settlements by re-functioning these environments for tourism, either partially or fully
Resettlement	Restoring the usage of the built environment per its original function

Figure 3. The regional context and location of the study area, Tinbek Qatar. Source: the left map from Qatar Development Atlas -Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, while the right plan, developed by the authors, shows a figure-ground map of the village

Figure 4. Shows several views of the village’s current condition

Table 2. Approaches for a reevaluation of rural settlements and their applicability to Tinbak. The general implementation of each approach is shown in Table 1 above

Approach	Applicability to Tinbak	References
Reforestation	Reforest the surrounding vacant land with native plants like palm trees. It is also possible to schedule trips to nearby farms for food security. According to Swarbrooke (1999, pp. 11–12), environmental sustainability “dominated in the debates about both sustainable development and sustainable tourism until now.”	(Fyhri et al., 2009) (Walters, 2017) (Güler & Kâhya, 2019) (Swarbrooke, 1999)
Museumification	This approach works well with this study’s aim to revitalise the village to be a tourist attraction place. The village has approximately 3 acres of public open spaces, ideal for an outdoor museum.	(Güler & Kâhya, 2019) (Eres, 2016) (Güler & Kâhya, 2019)
Tourism	The village has an area of 5.5 acres and includes 21 buildings that can accommodate functions like outdoor/indoor museums, a tourist resident cluster, handcraft markets, and cultural events.	(Dall’Ara, 2015) (ICOMOS, 1999) (Güler & Kâhya, 2019)
Resettlement	Inviting previous residents to live adjacent to the village. This opens the possibility to hire people from Tinbak to run the touristic business in the village	(Mao et al., 2017) (Güler & Kâhya, 2019)

Figure 5. The master plan and land-use map for the existing structures in the Tinbak village. The pie-chart indicates the percentage of land use areas, the image shows the colonnaded area, and the plan is a 3D scan of the house in the middle of the left-hand side

Figure 6. The serial vision theory assessment on the village of Tinbak

Figure 7. Site analysis of the village of Tinbak related to surroundings

Figure 8. Illustrates the deterioration of buildings in Tinbak as one of its internal weaknesses. On the other hand, its strength appears in the old building that reflects traditional Qatari architecture and traditional roof construction techniques

Table 3. SWOT analysis of the study case of Tinbak. The authors conducted an online questionnaire to determine the weight values of SWOT attributes. Ten participants from the Geography Program, the Philosophy Program, the GIS Program, Computer Science and Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning at Qatar University; three from the Ministry of Municipalities and Environment; and one from QMA. The strength and opportunity have 16 attributes. The weakness has 6 attributes that will add cost to the project. The threat has only 3 attributes resulted from negligence. It is anticipated that without the revitalisation of the village, the threat attributes will result in significant damage to the heritage village

Strength	Weight value of the strength of attributes on a 5-point scale, Low 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 High
· As part of cultural sustainability, the revitalisation of Tinbak is a way of preserving its rich heritage and cultural values in traditional Qatari architecture that is reflected in conventional building materials and construction techniques.	5	The village did not go beyond the preliminary stage of evolvement. It represents one family life cycle (grandparent, children, and grandchildren).
· The intangible heritage reflects the social and cultural aspects of the previous residents on the buildings’ fabric.	5	It reflects the simple life of the previous inhabitants.
· 13% of the buildings need restructuring, 67% renovation, and 20% cleaning and painting. So the conservation of Tinbak is a sustainable development that reduces the cost and waste of construction materials compared to new development.	3	The buildings’ fair condition reduces the cost of renovation.
· The missing walls or rooms are traceable.	1	The demolished rooms are rebuildable.
· The village is small and contains 21 buildings with kitchen and bathrooms supplied with fresh water and electricity.	5	It is a manageable project. The house’s available service areas are sufficient for bachelor tourists and a family of 2–5 members.
· The construction materials (mud, wood, stone, sand) are local. For economic and environmental concerns, these construction materials can be reused for renovating and reconstructing the missing elements.	3	Recycling construction materials is essential for sustainability. However, in some cases, the structure contains wood that is too old to keep.
Weakness	Weight value of weakness of attributes on a 5-point scale, Low 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 High
· Buildings deteriorate (Figure 8)	3	It requires renovation for all buildings. There is no need for restoration.
· Abandoned buildings	5	The whole village is abandoned, which causes fast deterioration.
· Lack of infrastructure	5	There is no public sewage or urban amenities
. Poor road network	5	The road network is unclear and inseparable from the pedestrian alleys
. Insufficient research of both tangible and intangible entities (Ahmad, 2006)	2	It requires architectural and urban documentation from scratch. This attribute score is low because the authors did the physical documentation and part of the cultural aspects.
· Undeveloped open land	3	It requires development, but it is not critical at this point.
Opportunity	Weight value of opportunity of attributes on a 5-point scale, Low 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 High
· The possibility of developing a rural tourism destination	4	This point is vital for the success of sustainable tourism regarding the proposed revitalization from an economic, ecological, and environmental perspective.
· Accessible from Al-Khor Coastal Road. The appropriate location and closeness to the highway are advantageous for reducing infrastructure costs and connectivity with other cities and villages.	5	The village is 5 minutes far from the highway. It is visible from the bridge that connects the village with the highway.
· Closeness to the seaside is advantageous for eco-tourism and cultural sustainability.	2	This attribute is essential for tourists to see the pearl fishing sites as historical, social landmarks.
· closeness to several urban settlements, such as Al-Khor city and Doha city, the supply centers of resources and commercial activities.	3	This attribute makes the location of the village strategic as a hosting place.
· Being surrounded by farms and open land is advantageous for eco-tourism and environmental sustainability.	5	Open land has no ownership. It can be developed as farmland, accommodate seasonal festivals, or a desert botanic garden.
· Closeness to the new Tinbak settlement that accommodates the previous inhabitants of the heritage village of Tinbak.	3	It is possible to hire people from the previous inhabitants to operate the revitalised Tinbak while representing their culture. (social sustainability)
· Possible use of the village as a rest area for car racing sports activities contributing to the economy while sustaining the village as a tourist center.	4	Such sports activities are expected to take place on the nearby highway. Also, the village’s location is excellent to use as a rest area for the 2022 World Cup that will take place in Qatar.
· Qatar has many important heritage buildings and sites of different scales, histories, and environments within the range of 15 minutes to one hour from Tinbak. This closeness creates an advantage to the village to be the center of a scheduled touristic trip to Qatar’s various historical sites.	3	It is an addition to the activities that tourists can involve in during their stay in the village.
Qatar is located in an arid region that has extended hours of sun. All buildings have flat roofs	5	Building roofs can be used to install PV panels to generating electricity. It will make the village energy self-dependent.
Threat	Weight value of threat of attributes on a 5-point scale, Low 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 High
· Desertification and neglect threaten the village with extinction	5	The village was built with natural materials (rubble stone, mud, and wood, which requires frequent renovation).
· The area is considered a ghost town that is subject to undesired and impulsive behaviour.	3	There is no record of such behaviour. However, the authors noticed evidence of the trashing of some furniture.
· “A lack of adequate or appropriate presentation and communication of the significance of a place to both the visitor and members of the local or host community can lead to a lack of understanding and appreciation of the culture and heritage of the place within the wider community.” (ICOMOS, 1999)	4	Tinbak lacks references and documentation of its social and economic aspects. However, this attribute is partially solved as the authors have already voice recorded the villagers’ social and cultural aspects while interviewing the previous inhabitants.

Figure 9. A proposed plan for a new zoning and spatial transformation

Figure 10. New proposed master plan layout and spatial modification for the village of Tinbak

Figure 11. Promoting local culture: One reason tourists select this type of accommodations is to enjoy the experience of the authentic local culture of the place. (Printed with permission from the Dall’Ara, 2015)

Figure 12. Shows the revitalisation process flow (workstructuring). It is a lean construction flowchart that consists of a design phase and the construction phase. The former represents this research paper presented in Figure 2. The latter, which is not part of this research paper, is the production planning that is defined in Lean Construction book, Unit 4, the Last Planner System (LPS) by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC of America) (America, 2013). The authors suggest it for QMA or Ashghal—Public Works Authority for the revitalisation of Tinbak

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