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  Chronological Evolution of Living Space in Palestinian Residential Units: Assessing Spatial Configuration, Social Dynamics, and Thermal Performance

  (2026-08) Bara Awad Ahmad Obayat; Dr. Bader Alatawneh

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  Palestinian residential architecture has changed substantially across the Ottoman, Jordanian, and contemporary periods, with traditional spatial elements such as the courtyard and mastaba (raised Platform) giving way to newer forms like the liwan (enclosed central hall) and enclosed kitchen. These shifts, driven by political, social, and constructional change, have tended to be documented descriptively, with little attempt to connect them to measurable thermal performance. This study addresses that gap by tracing how spatial configuration across the three periods has shaped indoor thermal comfort, and by testing whether design strategies drawn from historical precedent can improve contemporary housing performance. Across the three periods, changes occurred in wall composition, window-to-wall ratios, and the relationship between interior spaces and the outside. Three case studies in Abu Dis were selected and verified against the study's case-selection criteria using a household questionnaire, then assessed through field measurements of indoor air temperature and relative humidity (one week in summer, 30 hours in winter) used to build and calibrate DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus models against ASHRAE Guideline 14. The Ottoman house showed a summer diurnal swing of just 1.8°C, against 4.4°C in the contemporary case, which fell outside the Fanger comfort range for 69.5% of summer hours. In the Jordanian case, parametric testing of window-to-wall ratio identified an optimal range of 18.5–30.9%; the contemporary case showed no single best ratio, with a summer/winter trade-off between the tested configurations instead. Reintroducing the veranda as a thermal buffer, tested on the Jordanian and contemporary cases only cut solar heat gain by 43.9% in summer and 66.3% in winter in the contemporary case, and lowered summer Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied to 19.2% in the Jordanian case. Overall, Selective reuse of historical elements, such as optimized window-to-wall ratios and verandas, can improve passive thermal comfort in contemporary Palestinian housing by drawing on proven local building strategies.

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  Forensic Structural Assessment and Rehabilitation of an Existing Steel Truss Industrial Building: A Case Study

  (2026-05) Mohammed Ahmed ALBASHA; Dr. Belal Almassri

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  Steel truss systems are not only the most enduring but also the most adaptable structural systems that have been widely used in various application areas like industrial buildings, warehouses, storage buildings, and factories due to their high strength, large load carrying capacity and easy combining in an architectural and structural design manner. However, the adaptability of these structures to varying functional requirements has made it the major reason for their selection in the industrial and commercial sectors. Steel structures, despite being strong, are subjected to a range of environmental and structural deteriorations among which corrosion due to moisture and pollution is the most notorious, followed by buckling under heavy or unbalanced loads, connection failures caused by overload or poor execution quality, and their susceptibility to extreme weather, fire, and impacts. All these factors combined ultimately result in a decrease in the performance of the structure and hence the possibility of the public and property being at risk so the evaluation of the present condition and consequent rehabilitation becomes of utmost importance. This research will lead to the formulation of a comprehensive methodology for assessing the structural condition, analyzing the critical members, and designing an effective rehabilitation plan that will restore the structural performance to optimal levels and prolong the life of the building. It includes the application of field inspections, non-destructive testing, structural analysis, and establishment of rehabilitation techniques such as strengthening the already weakened members, replacement of the damaged building blocks, and Upgrading the connections and the structural supports. The objective of this study was to take an existing industrial building with a steel truss system and produce a full case study of it. The process will include first documenting the present status and carrying out a thorough inspection of the problematic members, then continuing with the structural analysis using advanced numerical finite element modeling in STAAD.Pro to evaluate the building's baseline capacity under extreme wind, seismic, and historic snow-load drifting scenarios. The research culminates in a targeted structural recovery plan, offering a multi-criteria engineering and economic evaluation between innovative in-situ retrofitting techniques and full structural replacement to restore global frame stability and guarantee lifecycle safety.

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  An Integrated Machine Learning and GIS Approach for Optimizing Hydrological SCS-CN Parameters and Runoff Prediction in the West Bank

  (2026-09) Rafiq Mazen Fareed Al-Rajabi; Dr Mutaz Qafisheh

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  Estimating runoff is a practical necessity in semi-arid regions, where a single intense storm can cause flooding in a season that is otherwise short of water. This study looks at the West Bank, where sparse gauging makes rainfall-runoff modelling difficult, and combines the SCS-CN method, GIS and machine learning to get more reliable runoff estimates. We processed rainfall records from 41 stations covering 2020–2024 and used them to build a hydrological database of nine variables, the most important being maximum precipitation (Pmax) and the curve number (CN). Before trusting the data-driven results, we calibrated a HEC-HMS model against observed discharge from the Alexander Basin. Adjusting CN for antecedent moisture condition (AMC) was what allowed the simulated peak discharge to match the observed one. Six machine learning models were then compared: Support Vector Regression (SVR), Random Forest, XGBoost, K-Nearest Neighbours (KNN), Decision Tree and Linear Regression. SVR came out on top with R² = 0.981 and an RMSE of 0.79 mm. Random Forest was second (R² = 0.974), followed by XGBoost (R² = 0.958). Across the models, Pmax turned out to be the strongest driver of surface runoff. These results suggest that machine learning can be a dependable tool for estimating runoff in ungauged basins, and the same approach could be applied to other semi-arid regions for flood risk assessment and water resource management.

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  Structural and Seismic Behavior of RC Buildings Retrofitted with External Wall Jacketing Due to Vertical Extension.

  (2026-05) Ahmed Khalil Khamis; Dr. Maher Amro

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  Urban areas face a continuously growing demand for residential and commercial spaces, driving the need for spatial optimization. Consequently the vertical extension of existing structures becomes an economically viable, and also sustainable, approach. In this study This study investigates the structural evaluation and seismic rehabilitation of an existing four-story reinforced concrete, RC, building which is planned to receive three additional floors, so it turns into a seven-story system. Because the new configuration comes with a major rise in static gravity loads and also in dynamic lateral seismic forces, an integrated retrofitting strategy is worked out. The strategy mainly leans on reinforced concrete, RC, jacketing on the external walls, to substantially increase the building’s lateral stiffness and its seismic resistance, at least in a practical sense. Advanced 3D structural finite element models of the building, in both its existing and its extended variants, were developed using ETABS in strict compliance with ASCE 7-16 and ACI 318-19 provisions. The analytical approach utilizes a code-compliant Equivalent Static and Dynamic Response Spectrum Analysis, incorporating effective cracked section stiffness modifiers to account for material aging and cracking in the legacy frame. The evaluation follows a systematic step-by-step review across the structural components. The work follows a rather strict, step by step review and design procedure across the structural components, without skipping too much. It starts with the foundation stage, where soil bearing strength is checked and the footing enlargement is detailed to carry the added gravity and overturning effects. After that, the internal columns that face higher axial forces are examined and then retrofitted, together with the installation of external shear wall jacketing. Here the main emphasis is on how well the shear is transferred between the older and newer concrete interfaces. Toward the end, the existing floor slabs are checked for both modified bending demands and potential punching shear failures. The results of this thesis give a kind of broad template for forensic, and rehabilitation engineers. In particular it provides useful perspectives on how to handle stiffness distribution, and how to reduce torsional seismic effects that can show up when external wall retrofitting is applied in vertically expanded structures.

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  Georeferencing of Jordanian Cadastral Block Sheets in Palestine Using a Boundary-Conditioned Least-Squares Approach: A Case Study of Tammun

  (2026-09) Mahmoud Ismaeel Najjar; Dr. Ghadi Younis

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  This thesis addresses the positional and geometric inconsistencies between historical Jordanian cadastral settlement block sheets and modern surveying data in Palestine. These discrepancies result from limitations associated with historical paper maps, including surveying and drafting errors, paper distortion, limited positional control, and differences between historical and modern coordinate reference systems. The methodology was applied to six connected cadastral blocks in the Tammun study area (Blocks 51, 53, 54, 56, 57 and 58). Valid cadastral features such as stone boundary walls, iron markers and cadastral crosses were identified by reviewing historical block sheets in paper and digital form and conducting field surveys. First, each block was georeferenced independently using different transformation models, and then a boundary-conditioned least-squares adjustment was applied using common Tie Points and shared-boundary relationships. A total of 540 Ground Control Points and 85 Control Tie groups were used for parameter estimation in the final network solution. In addition, 166 Ground Check Points and 12 Check Tie Point (CTP) groups were reserved for independent validation. The combined network RMSE for the third-order polynomial (Poly3) solution was 0.7030 m, while the independent Ground Check Point RMSE2D was 0.7884 m. The Control Tie RMSE was reduced from 1.5426 m to 0.8682 m, representing a 43.7% improvement, while the RMSE2D of the 12 withheld CTP groups was reduced from 1.7771 m to 1.0788 m, representing a 39.3% improvement in independent inter-block agreement. Poly3 achieved the lowest combined network RMSE and the highest proportional CTP improvement, whereas Poly2 achieved the lowest final withheld CTP RMSE2D of 1.0352 m. The results indicate that the proposed adjustment improves pointwise continuity between adjacent cadastral blocks and that model selection should be based on both internal fit and independent validation. The proposed approach provides a consistent technical basis for integrating historical cadastral data into GIS and supporting activities such as boundary re-establishment, land settlement and cadastral modernization in Palestine.

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