مع زيا ورومي: عبق حضارة بين النهرين يتضوع في بيت (آشوري–كندي)
بقلم أ. نويل فرمانكانت ستكون مجرد زيارة ودية لمناسبة عائلية، والاستجابة لضيافة زيا ابراهيم وزوجته رومي تيتل، لو لم نجد في ارجاء الدار ما لم يكن في الحسبان، فكان هذا الربورتاج.
السيدة رومي، جالت بنا في زوايا المنزل الريفي الذي تقطنه مع زوجها زيا منذ سنوات وبجانبه المكتب الفني للاعمال الحاسوبية للشركة التي يديرانها.
النجاح في الاعمال تم ترجمته لديهما الى بعد متميز في بلورة دارهما، ليس مجرد مكان للراحة، بل يتضمن ايضا تطلع التواصل مع الماضي العريق والتفاعل مع الحاضر الحديث. بهذه الكلمات وصفت رومي انطباعها عن تصميم دارها الذي اسهمت فيه بدور كبير، فاعتنقت الاصالة التاريخية العميقة والعريقة التي يحملها في دمه زوجها الاشوري، ووظفت لها الحداثة والعصرنة وكل ما هو جديد مما يميز خلفيتها الثقافية والاجتماعية.
ومضت رومي تدور بنا وتشرح لتقول:
هذه بوابة عشتار، تم تصميمها من امهات اللوحات المعروفة عنها، وعهدناها بعد التصميم الى مهني يعمل في الخراطة وصب الحديد.
هذه البوابة تطالعنا على شكل شباك كبير، وتظهر معالم البوابة من خلال ثنايا النقوش المعدنية، تكشف وراءها بركة مياه يفصلها عن الطبيعة، قاطع زجاجي، وتزين صالة البركة لوحة آشورية كبيرة، تم تنفيذها على السراميك، وبما يقارن الاصل الاشوري، الذي اطلع عليه الزوجان، في بحوثهما في هذا المضمار.
ونخرج الى المساحات الفسيحة حوالي الدار، فإذا العربة الاشورية مخروطة على الحديد وتعلو احدى قمم المبنى، وتناظرها في قمة أخرى من الدار لوحة الاسد البابلي يعلو على المبنى الذي بدوره يستشرف هضاب البرتا. هذه الهضاب بدورها تفترش واحدة من أعلى الاراضي من مستوى سطح البحر. ويطالعنا الاسد منحوتا على طراز احدى اللقيات الاشورية، وكأنه يسمع هديره على مر التاريخ.
وسعيت الى التقاط صور أخرى، اضافة الى الصور التي زودني بها زيا. واثناء ذلك، فتحت سهوا حضيرة للخيل، فنفر أحد الحصن خارج السياج، وانا من داخل السياج اعاينه ببساطة، واذا بالحصان الاخر يصول ويجول بهيجان كبير بحثا عن صاحبه، فجاء زيا ليخرجني حرصا على سلامتي، واستنفر بعض العاملين في المكتب، ليهرعوا فيقنعوا الحصان الهارب ليعود الى الحضيرة ثم أغلقوها.
بعد الجولة جلسنا أمام قدح قهوة نتبادل الحيث، مع الثنائي الاشوري- الالماني الاصل (زيا ورومي). فكان السؤال عن بداية الاهتمام في هذا المضمار؟ لتجيب رومي:
بدأت بالاهتمام في الخلفية التاريخية التي يتملكها زيا من خلال اهتمامي به كحبيب وقرين. من ناحيتي انحدر من اصول جرمانية المانية، واعتبر الجيل الكندي الاول هنا بعد استقرار أهلي في كندا، هذا البلد الذي تعد اجياله الحديثة على اصابع اليد. فكان من دواعي الانبهار لدي ان يجتمع عند كلينا الجديد بالعريق.
وسألت: اين تقع تصميمات دارهما من تطلعاتهما الانسانية والحضارية. ليجيب زيا:
ان تنفيذ الدار كان فرصة لنا للاعلام المحلي بشأن الحضارة الارامية الكبرى، ببعدها الاشوري، وباللغة الارامية التي انتشرت في حينها وبقيت لغة عالمية معتمدة في دراسة الكتاب المقدس ويتكلم بها شعبنا الاشوري الذي يحمل خصوصيته اللغوية الثقافية التاريخية وهو واحد من اعرق الشعوب الارامية.
وتضيف رومي:
لقد توفرت لنا فرصة تقديم لقاءات بهذا الشأن، كما نعنى بواقع هذا الشعب الذي يعد من السكان الاصليين في بلاد بين النهريين والذي يتعرض لحملة اضطهاد واستئصال عرقي منظم. هناك اذا هاجسان: هاجس ما يعانيه هذا الشعب في الداخل، والتطلع الى ان يوضع حد لهذه المعاناة، الى جانب هاجس الاغتراب وتحدي المحافظة على الجذور والشعب الاشوري جدير بهذا التحدي.
كما بادرت روما فقدمت النص الاصلي، بالانكليزية، للنبذة التي تتداولها مع الاعلام بشأن التصميم الفني والمعماري الذي يميزه الحس الاشوري في بيتهما. وفيما يلي النبذة.
To begin with, our home has a name, “Harvest Moon Habitat”. The name was conceived when we took possession of our property October of 1996. The first evening we went there was a full harvest moon rising to the east as if centered over our lot. The word habitat relates to the philosophy that we were striving for in the overall design of the house, and that was to create an environment that would nurture and grow us as human beings.
Our first task was to hire an architect. We were very lucky to include Gerald Forseth on our list of candidates, as he was the man for the job. Our discussions with Gerry included a list of rooms and spaces required by us with basic square footage, but the main thrust of our design criteria was based on our philosophical attitude.
The main philosophy of this home was to combine a house with a spiritual center, recreational opportunities and work space. As we have our own software company, we have found that vacation time is practically non-existent, therefore we have to be able to come home and vacation. We also have to expect to take work home with us. Originally our business started from home and from this experience we know the workspace has to have a real physical separation from the home space. With the inherent stresses and strains working in the late 20th century and beyond, a spiritual recuperation space was essential. Somewhere to come and rebuild ones damaged and worn soul.
The main design element of our home is to combine east and west. Zaia (my husband) is Assyrian (a minority Christian group) originally from Iraq, and I’m born and raised in Calgary. We were both very set on styling the architecture to be that of a Calgary setting. Therefore the east elevation of the house reflects elements of a grain elevator and the west elevation reflects a western style of a mountain chalet. We were not interested in modeling our home on a style that is imported. The roofline suggests a “Prairie Schooner” with schooner taken literally as a ship with a bow and an aft.
The building itself would be centered around a Middle Eastern courtyard or “Oasis” area, with the rest of the house being contemporary in design. This oasis would be inspired and decorated in the style of the ancient Assyrians. (East being interpreted as “old” and west being the “new”.) The pool is designed more for lounging in than in doing laps. The sense of calm that being suspended in water gives one is quite soothing. This area will be filled with plants to offset our long winters and give us the sense that we are actually somewhere warm and humid. The main feature of this space is the glass block floor system above the pool, allowing natural light to enter from the skylight above on the second floor roof. I would like to think that on one special day, the sun shines directly above this space, lighting some symbolic spot on the floor. With Gerry’s background in archeology, this thought seemed to fit the design of the space. The entry gate of the oasis is based on one half of the Gates of Ishtar, done in wrought iron by Ian Chalmers of IJC Coppersmiths. A feature glass mosaic is located on the south wall, based on a mural of ancient Assyria, done by myself. Another feature of the first floor area is that the floor is all concrete with under-floor heating.
Around this oasis, the bedrooms are located. Our master suite is to the left and the guest bedrooms are to the right. Our bedroom has a glass wall between it and the oasis to give the room the feeling that it is actually one. The idea that the bedrooms would be located on the first floor rather than the second, as is typically found in houses, was based on the feeling that the views enjoyed from our western elevation, would be better enjoyed by the living areas, rather than bedrooms. The bedrooms would also enjoy a cooler location in summer for sleeping comport.
The grand maple staircase leading one to the upstairs is capped with a “character” log that helps to reinforce the western design of the house. The living room features a fireplace and full length windows along the west elevation. The dining room is open to both the kitchen and living room, with a glass table seating 12. The kitchen features a freestanding island with a dramatic hood vent over the gas cooktop. The kitchen/dining area also has built-in china/display cabinets to match the cabinetry, which are maple as is the floor. There are no upper cabinets in the kitchen, as the pantry houses all the food staples, leaving plenty of cupboard space for cooking equipment. A music room is walled off to allow for the sounds of music to be played without interfering with the other spaces. A small library is located over what was to be the back staircase. (Some things are bound to go wrong!) The whole second floor is wrapped with an ample deck on three sides, allowing for plenty of entertaining space in the great outdoors. Away from pests and vermin, this second floor deck allows one to fully enjoy being outdoors. The ample use of windows was also specifically incorporated to offset our long winters with so little daylight.
The main house is connected with our version of a “+15” system. A corridor links the greenhouse, office/garage and stables/art studio. The idea that one did not have to leave the house to tend to the horses and plants is very appealing. A greenhouse was needed to extend the short growing season in the Springbank area, as well as keeping the crop from being damaged by the usual summer hailstorm. The office area allows for a conference area as well as open space to be used as gallery space for showing my work (eventually). The garage has room for three cars as well as a dedicated workshop space. The underground tunnel links the garage to the horse stables with the art studio above. This building was inspired by the rural setting, my version of a “Butler” silo. Of course the exterior color had to be red.
The exterior color of the house is sage green stucco with forest green accent and silver accent. The siding is metal as well as the roof. Maintenance free of course.
The design created by Gerald Forseth is simply awesome. That he was able to take our words and turn them into a house is simply miraculous. The purity of the design has remained remarkably unchanged since the first sketch, a tribute to Gerry having hit the spot.
The other half of the equation in building a custom home is to find the right builder. We chose Clark Builders Carlson Contractors Ltd. because of the extensive use of commercial materials. Our site Superintendent is Doug Dayman who has been instrumental in taking Gerry’s drawings and turning them into a real building. His expertise has allowed Gerry’s architecture to come to life. I consider Gerald and Doug to be equally important in this house becoming our home.
Romy Tittel
الكاتب
