larger mul -story, mul -tenancy, and, at mes, mul -purpose buildings. Buildings of this typology are widely constructed using a structural frame system made from reinforced concrete. By and large, roofs are flat concrete, and walls are constructed from plastered concrete hollow blocks, while windows are mostly single-glazed aluminum frames. For a range of reasons, including presumably land availability, cost, and availability of skills and materials, concrete houses now appear to be the preferred building typology for most residents over sandstone and mud houses. Figures 8 and 9 show examples of concrete buildings in Gaza.
Figure 9 : Mul -story concrete buildings in Gaza (Source: Muhaisen, 2016) The second building type which used to be common in Gaza is sandstone houses. Sandstone had been used in Gaza over very long periods of me. The houses are built mainly of sandstone with a load-bearing wall structural system. The walls are thick enough to bear dead and live loads, with some of the crevices in the wall used as small shelves for storage. The roofs are commonly made of sandstone and take the form of intersec ng vaults based directly on the walls appearing flat from above. The houses consist mainly of one floor and, in some cases, two floors maximum (Muhaisen, 2016). Typical sandstone Gaza houses with crevices are shown below in Figure 10. This building type is not so prevalent now in Gaza.
Figure 10 : Sandstone buildings in Gaza (Source: Muhaisen, 2016)
The third building typology in the Gaza Strip is mud or clay construc on. These buildings are rarely seen in inner city areas but can be found across peri-urban and rural areas. Buildings of this
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