CSBE's Favorite Exposed-Concrete Buildings in Amman

1. Cultural Palace

Designed by the Belfast-based architectural office Munce and Kennedy
1968

This sizable theatre building, which is part of al-Hussein Youth City Complex (also known as the Sports City), is characterized by its recognizable pointed roof that emerges from a concrete slanted base. It has hosted a number of important national and regional cultural events over the years.

2. Wild Jordan
Designed by Jordanian architect Ammar Khammash
2001

The Wild Jordan Nature Center was established by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RCSN). The building aims at creating a hanging mass that almost has no footprint and permits the land underneath it ‘to breath’ by allowing vegetables and flowers to grow. Exposed concrete trusses are used to elevate the building above the ground level. Although most of the building’s exterior is defined by exposed rough concrete, its upper-street facade is sheathed in stone to relate to the older stone buildings of Amman facing that facade.

3. Queen Alia International Airport
Designed by the international architectural firm Foster + Partners
2012

According to its architects, concrete is used in the new Queen Alia International Airport to create a tessellated roof of shallow domes evoking the idea of a traditional Bedouin tent. Moreover, the readily-expandable modular structure is based on Islamic geometric designs. Also, the building structurally imitates that of a palm tree, whereby the domes come out of the columns like leaves from a tree.

4. Amman International Stadium
Designed by the Belfast-based architectural office Munce and Kennedy
1968

With a capacity for 25,000 people, this stadium, which is part of al-Hussein Youth City Complex (also known as the Sports City), is Amman's largest.

5. Al-Saket House (H.S. House)
Designed by Jordanian architect Sahel Al Hiyari
2015

The surfaces of this single-family house, which is characterized by its boldly-suspended upper story, are sheathed with hand-chiselled concrete that gives the visual impression of stone.

6. Climbat Amman
Designed by the Jordanian architectural firm Tahhan and Bushnaq
2010

Climbat Amman is one of the first and largest indoor climbing centers in the Middle East. Its structure is characterized by a concrete cube with glass panels covering 900 square meters of its front façade.

7. The Cairo Amman Bank Building
Designed by the late Jordanian architect Jafar Tukan
Early 1980s

This cast concrete building is nine stories high and originally housed the no-longer existing Petra Bank.

8. Abu-Ghazaleh Mosque
Designed by Jordanian architect Rasem Badran
2008

The use of both concrete and stone cladding for the facades of this mosque aims at reflecting a contemporary design while maintaining the local tradition and character of a mosque in the city. The 2,200 square-meter mosque can accommodate about 1,000 worshippers.

9. External Staircase Addition to the Offices of Yaghmour Architects,Planners, and Engineers
Designed by the Jordanian architectural office Yaghmour Architects, Planners, and Engineers
2010

This staircase extension is part of the renovation of the firm's new office building, which is a 1940s structure that originally functioned as a residence. The staircase is located at a short distance from the building itself and connects to it via a bridge.

10. Jpjets VIP Terminal
Designed by the Jordanian architectural firm Alnasser + Partners
Aqaba
2012

Although this boat terminal is not in Amman, but is in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba, we feel it is too good of a building not to include in the list. It consists of a rectangular section with sizable glazed surfaces that adjoins a closed prism-shaped mass with a strong form and sharp angles.