Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: traditional, current & hypothesized Architecture.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

A Study of the City’s Traditional, Current and Hypothesized Architecture.

Mohammed Alsafi

ARCH6020: MArch Dissertation

MArch Stage 5

Kent School of Architecture and Planning

University of Kent

Supervisor: Dr. Nikolaos Karydis

Word Count: 8,349

January 2023

Let

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Literature Review

4. Jeddah: - Al Balad

- Where design and the climate intersect

- Present

- Hypothesized Future

5. Conclusive Chapter

6. Illustrations

Acknowledgements

This piece of work is dedicated to my late Grandmother, Jawaher Bajbair, who passed away before I could celebrate this accomplishment with her.

She generously shared anecdotal recollections of experiencing Al Balad, Jeddah, heritage and her values that she would be pleased to know have manifested into this dissertation.

Through this work, I honour her and my Family in demonstrating that storytelling can be an act of permanence and legacy.

Introduction

The dichotomous nature of an upbringing between two countries has created respectively particular relationships with each region among myself. Although both Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom are similar in being monarchies, their culture, heritage and anthropological chronology visibly exists in antipodal realms. Spending six years away from Jeddah resulted in a longing to make up for lost time through satiating my vocabulary, personal experiences and academic endeavours in the Hejazi culture. Much of this learning curve resided in Jeddah’s cultural nuclei and, ultimately, where the city itself originated: Al Balad. Al Balad is a title in Arabic referring to the historic district as “The Town” due to it essentially existing as the majority of Jeddah in the seventh century (Akin, 2013). Walking through Al Balad presented a plethora of teachings about the culture and country’s beginnings that manifested themselves through a district that continues to act as a time capsule. Almost completely rejecting vehicle penetration, the streets created undisturbed journeys that meander amidst spice, street food, scent, sewn goods and much more recognised stock that is then commercially distributed to the rest of the city. So why has a space that continues to successfully preserve and nurture pockets of our past seem to drown in the noise of expansion and ‘newness’? Where do tradition and legacy land in the hierarchy of contemporary triumph? And most importantly, where does Al Balad exist between architecture and anthropology in Saudi Arabia?

A great scope of knowledge rests intact amidst existing Heritage Architecture, one that holds answers to a surfeit of queries that pertain to cultural, climatic and societal conditions in the built environment (Souvatzi, 2012 and Khan, 2018). Among these answers, traditional building practices have demonstrated instinctual responses to context, the efficient and resourceful use of local materiality, catering to habitual human behaviour patterns and building to extend and not to exclude. In the current rapidly growing and evolving architectural realm, the profound findings may just come from existing built environments that hold simpler approaches to our concerns. Architecture carries a significant weight in responding to people’s functional and existential needs while concurrently manifesting a sentimental, physical and or spiritual attachment between the space and its inhabitants (Pallasmaa, 2012). What makes architecture effective is its ability to respond to its context, provide comfortable residence to its occupants, be aesthetically fulfilling and demonstrate efficient functionality. Studies have concluded to a factoring association between this effectiveness in Architecture and the presence of a cultural identity. They believe culture creates a sense of attachment between the space and its user which develops feelings of exclusivity, attachment to and ownership of the architecture and its region simultaneously. The study argues that people feel more comfortable and connected to the space they inhabit when the space itself is directly reflecting of and linked to its geographic context and exists as a smaller

fragment of a larger system (Hashemnezhad, 2013).

Prior to globalisation perforating interpersonal and professional networks, buildings were primarily designed in response to their practical requirements and margin of available resource. This was at a time where no external influences could be accessed to alter the way materials, design languages and configurations were crafted. Buildings successfully responded to their climatic conditions and functional purposes. Contrarily, current times have repeatedly indicated that architecture today is primarily a manifestation of social, economic and political criteria that provides a morsel of room for designing for heritage and cultural continuity. Heritage Architecture is distinctive in its ability to provide a physical expression of the resilience of identity. This is witnessed in the local materiality, traditional design, construction and anthropological schools of thought (Maudalin, 2010) which allow each building to exist as a smaller part of a puzzle that makes up a distinguished and unified region of buildings.

However, the hinderance of heritage in Saudi Arabia’s paradigm approached a turning point after a series of connected occurrences that involved Al Balad. The district was claimed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2014 and in 2016, Saudi Arabia announced its 2030 Vision scheme that involved diversifying means of income outside of oil which included tourism and heritage. Once the district was recognized for its cultural capital and the potential existing within it, the narrative around the space was bound to be rewritten.

Having stated this, it is important to acknowledge and question the scope of involving heritage and culture in tourism tactics and whether that implies preservation, rebranding, rehabilitation or other consequences. It is notable to ask how this stands next to the globally competitive architectural schemes also mentioned in the vision? The conversation begins at Al Balad and continues into the hypothesized future of Jeddah.

Methodology

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the built environment in Saudi Arabia’s coastal city, Jeddah, under an analytical lens that challenges how successful it is in considering human interaction, cultural continuum, technological dependency and climate combative strategies. The study will be centred around ‘Al Balad’, a heritage district once in the middle of the now expanding city - considering its story of origin, architectural language, chronological progression, anthropological nature and where it resides contextually today amidst a rapidly evolving Country.

The literature reviewed in this paper will vary between primary and secondary sources that include site visits, primitive data collection, hand sketches, digitized surveys and elevations, Arabic architectural literature and lectures attended in Al Balad. They collectively aid in defining the region and narrating its origin story which allows for a clearer understanding of the nature of the inhabitant and the Hejazi culture when orchestrating this analysis.

The paper will begin by depicting Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to the reader in complete chronological, religious and socio-economic context through reference to Islam and its significance in perpetuating the city as a dual port. The organic sequence of the Hejazi culture’s fruition will be explored through stories of Al Balad, obtained from Saudi literature and primary intake. This will justify design choices seen in Hejazi towers today, reasoning for materiality and the anthropological context of their use. Also, human behaviour will be explored to understand preference patterns through research around occupations, food intake and variety, gender’s influence, privacy or lack-there-of, religious beliefs and ethnic groups. This will deduce the brevity of impact inhabitants have on their built environment.

Once Al Balad is defined as the cultural nucleus of Jeddah, the research will shift to post-oil wealth and the ramifications this era has had on the architecture in Saudi Arabia. This is where the narrative begins to introduce and challenge the effectiveness of heritage preservation. Has western impact on design choice, the dependence-on and convenience-of technology and the desire of living in three storey villas erased the need for urban communities that once were the blueprint of Saudi Arabia? The study also introduces the Saudi Arabia 2030 vision which aims to diversify the country’s source of income outside of oil, including a cultural and heritage preservation scheme that exists simultaneously with an ambitious, record-breaking skyscraper and grand project proposals. Where heritage architecture lies on this totem pole is challenged in relation to importance, impact and significance. The conversation then manifests into a discussion around the idea of legacy and culture and how consistent that can remain amidst such an evolving country.

Literature Review

An array of literature was studied in preparation for this paper. Although Saudi architecture does not exist among a great literary coverage – I was able to identify, define, understand and challenge it through books on urban grain, heritage preservation, local Arabic documents and other published work. The Hejazi architecture in Al Balad presented itself in that mere collation of literature when searching for themes common with other cultures and cities with regards to spatial coverage, quality of life, anthropology, reviving tradition through the built environment and methods of preservation.

Text included conversations regarding how communities are formed in small urban collectives, following the human experience around the built environment on a microscopic habitual basis. Arabic publications were most convenient in detailing contextual specifics that western content did not include, often acting as glossaries for defining terms and specifying why certain particularities exist as they are.

Urban Space

Rob Krier lays a clear foundation of town planning theory, cross-referencing London, Paris and Rome’s districts in the way that they continue to display their urban grain but suggesting that it is often not celebrated due to contemporary standards. They differ from Saudi Arabia because much of its urban grain has disintegrated into arrayed villas and dwelling complexes whereas much of the traditional architecture in said countries still stands.

Much of the conversation revolves around erosion of urban cities and this is where the text coincides contextually with Al Balad, often detailing parallel experiences such as city expansion and shift in taste. A lot of the book provides diagrammatic material that dissects the potential and impact of different openings, sections, arcades, floor levels and planar angles on urban grain. This provides insight when considering the rehabilitation of Al Balad to current contemporary standards in aims of achieving the most anthropologically and conveniently effective realm. The sketches provide simple yet effective demonstrations of different geometric systems in roofing, masterplans, street plans, elevations and large-scale maps. Illustrations in the book have similarities between Jeddah’s Hejazi architecture in their interconnected nature and consistent facades.

There is little to challenge or disagree on in this book considering the only point of dissimilarity is how embedded Islam is in the fabric of Al Balad and Saudi Arabia as a whole, architecturally, while mentioned examples may be influenced by religious backgrounds but are not confined to such rigid standards when designing the built environment. Additionally, the notions around modernity discussed in this book might need to be revised when considering Jeddah as there are traditional scenarios

that simply cease to exist currently. Factors such as vehicle dependency and parking must be implemented into contemporary projects or even preservation schemes – thus – reluctancy around modernity and its erasure of heritage is valid yet it is inevitable to begin accepting and including modern practices into the architecture.

[Figure 1]

Illustration of urban dwellings (Krier, 1979)

[Figure 2]

Illustration of Al Balad (Jeddah Municipality, 2019)

An architecture for people: the complete works of Hassan Fathy

This book allows the reader to get to know Hassan Fathy as a human behind the architect, resulting in validating and explaining his approach to design. The dichotomy seen in his work between western influence and eastern character is completely unpacked in detailing his upbringing in colonised Egypt to biracial parents from Turkey and Sa’id in Egypt. His interesting approach to orientalism in using it heavily and simultaneously avoiding it where most expected in architecture is discussed and highlighted in the book too. ‘An architecture for people’ provided the research with plentiful regarding the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. Many of the Hejazi buildings that remain today reflect characteristics of Mamluk and Ottoman castles and towers. The text also explains that Hassan Fathy expanded beyond those two time periods and studied the Pharaonic and Fatimid periods. He later curated manifestations of the knowledge he learned into simpler, scaled-down iterations that could be applied under domestic contemporary needs.

Some examples of this were Fathy reducing the volume of the high central siphoning towers that provided air circulation to shorter structures that fit within a domestic urban context. Fathy was conscious of the importance of utilising local materials through his use of mud brick. This was inspired by the Nubians, an ethnic indigenous group now existing within the South of Egypt and the North of Sudan. He acknowledged its ‘cultural applicability’, durability, cost effectiveness and environmental benefit. By using it at a large scale, he challenged the public socially, attempting to dissipate the association of materiality to wealth. Chapters like those allow for a connection to be made between these historic pockets and Al Balad, discovering where specifically the mud brick towers in Al Balad originate from.

Like Rob Krier, Hassan Fathy was a believer in creating human connection through architecture. He designed with the will to unite people together and specifically concentrated with connecting them to their natural world rather than isolating them from it. Unity with nature and the ‘God-made environment’ were a consistent priority seen in projects like Al-Sabah house in Kuwait [figure]. This was achieved using natural ventilation, orienting a building at certain angles to manipulate and or manage climatic conditions, following traditional construction routes and energy-conservation methodologies. Al Balad is a physical expression of these values Fathy believed in and targeted. Fathy carried extensive studies on sites, reading hourly temperatures and wind patterns and observing how nearby villagers instinctually responded to their climate. There is a reassurance in knowing that some architects designed with such tunnel vision, acknowledging that science is bound to evolve and expand but believing that “the application of scientific knowledge need not be dehumanizing” and “technology with a human face can exist”.

Muqarnas: an annual on Islamic art and architecture

‘Muqarnas’ identifies and confronts a lot of the dilemmas the concept of traditionalism faces today. Referencing the suffering of the traditional potter’s craft in Turkey due to their replacement with inexpensive industrial materials like metal, glass and plastic. Also dissecting collective social mobility in cities which consequentially results in the reduction of traditional occupations that would produce locally. These themes were metaphorically coherent with Jeddah in its fast expansive nature in the late 20th century that resulted in social mobility and neglect of traditional craft in favour of modern design. The text was rich in Islamic discourse, diving into specifics of each branch [Sunni, Shi’a and more]. It included earliest recordings of Arabic scripture and font curation and microscopic details about mosques that date back to the 13th century. The document was read with the intention of discovering more information that related to Al Balad, but I found myself understanding the origin of cultures and periods that dates much earlier than the Saudi district. Interestingly, most of the significant occurrences happened in Constantinople and Cairo, coinciding with Hassan Fathy’s works that referenced the Ottoman and Mamluk periods.

Other literature explored broadened the scope of the vernacular of the dissertation in providing more cultural context, acting as a design feature glossary or detailing futuristic and expansive projects to come in Jeddah. Notable documents were ‘Vernacular Architecture: A Term Denoting and Transporting Diverse Content’ and ‘Architectural Record: The meaning of Regionalism in Architecture’. The first was important to implement in the study as it explored the concept of generalizing and over-simplifying vernacular architecture as a term once it had become popularized – like ‘sustainability’. The second highlights a similarly important topic in exploring regionalism. The book emphasizes that architecture is larger than buildings, in a sense that it reflects the human psyche in longing for order and adjustment to their natural surroundings. It argues that architecture had organically always been regional in a way that the buildings were a performance of common heritage practiced under the umbrella of community.

Jeddah, Al Balad

Jeddah – west of the Kingdom – is Saudi Arabia’s oldest city and was named after the derivation of the Arabic word ‘Jaddah’ [Grandmother] based on the credence that it holds the tomb of Eve (Wafy, 2022). Jeddah lies east of the Red Sea [Figure 3] and in the 7th century AD was consigned as the primary port for delivering goods to Mecca from Indian Ocean trade lines. It witnessed the introduction of steamboats that created a newfound link between Saudi Arabia, the Asian region and India, bringing significant wealth to merchants and causing a surge in the built environment. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the steamboat introduction, Al Balad began rapidly growing with an increase in built ‘souks’ [shops], mosques, restaurants and its infamously decorated houses.

Concurrently, Jeddah was and still is the only gateway for Muslim pilgrims and religious tourists to visit Mecca – extending just 75 kilometres from the Holy City (Jaffery, 2019). Mecca is home to ‘Al Kaabah’: a simple, black draped, cubic building centred amidst ‘Al-Masjid Al-Haram’ the Holy Mosque, symbolizing the nucleus of Islam as a religion and as the House of God (Nguyen, 2018). The Kaabah has an undisputed rippled influence known between Muslims and it is the direction Muslims face when praying all around the world – this can be seen in the orientation in which the marble tiles of the flooring of the Holy Mosque are laid and of the surrounding buildings [Figure 5] where they are all positioned in relation to the central Kaabah. Built environment around the cube is always propped respective to its position, creating the theory of ‘The Magnetism of Al Kaabah’ where it is compared to a magnetic cube that causes a reaction in its surrounding iron fillings [Figure 5].

Because of the Kaaba’s magnetic perpetuance and the Muslim annual pilgrimage ‘Hajj’, Jeddah’s role in being a port never subsided and continued to grow as Muslims discovered the religion and continued to visit the city of Makkah. These communities of faith strongly shared a common value in Islam and many of the travellers chose to continue their lives close to their source of faith. Jeddah. Thus, the city organically began to morph into the metropolitan melting pot that it is today and became home to people of Asian, North African, Middle Eastern and European descent and culture (UNESCO, 2021). Through this gradual migration, a range of skills, techniques and practices were introduced to Jeddah – seen today in traditional meals, the heritage architecture, clothing and in the local language to name a few. Immigrants would gather outside in urban public realm, their homes or in the markets and this is where the treasured exchange of knowledge, shared experiences and innovative concepts would take place. This enriched the Hejazi architecture into what it is known as today – showing how Jeddah grew from a once minor fishing town to a multicultural metropolis.

In the early sixteenth century, Jeddah existed as a part of the Mamluk Sultanate. Al Balad was circled by a protective wall constructed by Mamluk Prince Hussein Al Kurdi, in protection from Portuguese attacks. This included canons, forts and towers (Jaffery, 2019) to withstand any overseas attacks and was said to have an influence on the tower forms of the buildings in Al Balad. The now dismantled wall had eight gates that now hold significance in the district. Most distinctive ‘Babs’ or gates are ‘Bab Makkah’, ‘Bab Shareef’, ‘Bab Al Madinah’ and ‘Bab Al Maghrabi’ (Wafy, 2022). Bab Makkah was given its name because it faces Al Kaabah in Makkah and coexisted as a regional navigating tool [figure 4].

JEDDAH, Al Balad: Urban Study

[Figure 3]

Self-Illustrated map of The Middle East

[Figure 4]

Bab Makkah ‘Gate to Makkah’ (Siraj, 2015)

Al Balad reflects the Red Sea architectural school of thought, a design and construction language once recurrent throughout cities on either coast of the Red Sea. This language is characterized by vertically inclined houses decorated with large wooden oriel windows commissioned by mercantile aristocrats in the late 1800s and smaller coral stone buildings that made up mosques, houses, souks and public gathering squares to compose a unified district [figure 6 and 7]. Historic Jeddah remains the last standing Red Sea heritage site along the coast that continues to preserve the identifiable features of this language: multi-cultural communities, outward-protruding buildings, a commercially driven economy, delicate woodwork decoration on facades, construction using coral masonry and devices that conduct internal and convectional ventilation to combat heat and moisture.

The economic state of the country created surges of generational wealth that can be identified through the architecture in the ways people decided to occupy this urban grain. The towers emerging in the late nineteenth century demonstrate a visual depiction of the financial consequences of the 1869 Suez Canal opening and the introduction of steamboats. This also was seen in the way people were inspired to perpetuate this capital into wealth. They implemented amicably executed protocols in their architecture that aided in increasing income and exhibited entrepreneurial mindsets in pursuing side jobs. Firstly, the use of ground floor levels was unnegotiable; used either for offices, learning spaces or as shops. Real estate management, currency exchange, legal matters, calligraphy and writing spaces were some of the endeavours requiring offices. Learning rooms included Quran comprehension and recital classes, Islamic studies, Arabic language lessons, home-schooling and handcrafted practical workshops. The shops are the persevering staple that continues to monopolise Al Balad in its prices and offerings. Merchants would sell spices, food and drink, jewellery, handmade clothing items and accessories, books, textile and sewing supplies, stationary, cosmetics and an abundance of local and imported merchandise.

Additionally, pilgrims visit Makkah all year around to perform Hajj and ‘Umrah’, a performed ritual around the Kaabah [Tawaf and Sa’i]. Thus, rooms were occupied year round and that allowed for a consistent source of income. Hejazis also took full advantage of coasting the Red Sea and generationally passed on the skill of fishing, cultivating Jeddah’s – currently still – infamous fish market which offers more than fifty species of fish, shrimp, squid and other species. The market continues to be popularized today by its variety of fresh catch and their price points. So much so, that in 2013, Jeddah made local news because its municipality was urged to regulate the fish market parking due to its chaotic nature (Al Hamed, 2013).

[Figure 5]

The Magnetism of Al Kaabah demonstrated (Mater, 2012) and (Amey, 2015)

JEDDAH, Al Balad JEDDAH, Al Balad

There had to be an art to organically orchestrating approximately 650 buildings into a 2.5 square kilometre district (Shah, 2022) in a way that still allowed for natural pedestrian movement, lively pockets of social interaction and for micro societies to form and thrive amidst it. The district is distinctive in its commitment to ensuring every house to be constructed in a means that lets its residents view the main streets. There was an emphasis on the value of comfort inside homes as it is where women spent most of their time in acquiescence with religious beliefs that glorify the sacred and protectable nature of the divine feminine (Belluschi, 1955).

Jeddah’s heritage cityscape forming was only possible due to the interchange of decisive ‘know-how’, human value, behavioural patterns, sourcing local materials and instinctive responses to the coastline region that took place between the sixteenth and early twentieth centuries. Much of the gained knowledge was centred around coming to innovative, visually appealing and technical resolutions to combat the extreme humidity and heat experienced in Jeddah. It also organically formed because the people allowed themselves to be teachable, taking on constructive feedback that allowed them to build towers that mostly stood the test of time. Shared skills and teachings were contextually convenient and therefore applicable; they addressed the extremely humid and hot weather, how buildings can overheat even at night, why its important to have ventilation but consider the pigeon population in Jeddah.

JEDDAH, Al Balad

[Figure 6]

Self-taken Photograph of Al Balad

[Figure 7]

Self-illustrated sketch of Al Balad

[Figure 8]

Self-taken Photograph displaying neighbourly discourse

Where design and the climate intersect

Where design and the climate intersect

Jeddah’s Rawshan towers are among the fundamental identifiers of traditional Hejazi Architecture and are an example of functionality meeting visual quality. It is important to note that no compromise was made on either variable. The towers were one of the first configurations to eliminate courtyards from houses. A design feature popularised by Hassan Fathy [figure 9] to allow for air circulation and cooling among other things. Hejazis began thinking around this method to continue experiencing a cooler breeze but reduce their real estate area. They settled on placing communal outdoor furniture in the streets, to be used by neighbourhood residents which subsequently created an identifiable societal staple in Al Balad that still is witnessed today. People are known for sitting on the elevated benches in Al Balad, with cushioned seats and back supports for comfort, and the seat depths were generous in a way that allowed for sitting crosslegged or laying down comfortably. Trees were planted around this urban realm to act as shading devices and if fruit-bearing, to be shared between residents. Though a simple notion, it demonstrates the level of proficiency in catering to sociological and anthropological requirements at the time (Sfinteș, 2019).

The towers were also known for their use of plaster in protective and decorative methods. Decorated facades are strictly limited to the ground floor, doorways and entrances. According to the Historic Jeddah local planning guidelines, a thick coat of white lime plaster must protect the cladding and façade walls due to their light and fragile nature (Mortada, 2014). The plaster prevents humidity and salinity of the city’s air weathering the coral stone walls while still allowing them to breathe. Additionally, wooden beams were used as a structurally supportive device to absorb potential cracks caused by soil subsidence and for even weight distribution. This has allowed many of the towers to continue to stand supported today [figure 10].

Four Masters students of science in urban design conducted a study in two districts in Jeddah, investigating their temperatures at the same time schedule. Amani, Aburuzaiza, Mady and Tareq wanted to deduce whether materiality, urban grain and planning influenced the recordings of either districts’ temperature. Al Balad is heavily populated with coral and mudbrick towers that are decorated with latticed wood oriel windows and is dispersed with trees for shading. Al Basateen is a district north of Jeddah, neatly planted with spacious villas that rest between wide roads. The newer district recorded a significantly greater urban heat island score proving it intakes and re-emits heat in a less combative manner than Al Balad (Aburuzaiza, A.A., Mohamed, M., Ragab, T.S. 2022). This was attributed to the urban fabric of the two sites. The study concluded by suggesting decreasing the urban heat island of Al Basateen, which represents the majority of current Jeddah’s urban existence. This can be done through heavily implementing the use of horticulture in architectural design, reassessing urban

design strategies into considering more lightweight structures that allow for airflow and by prioritising thermal emissivity and heat capacity as large criteria to consider in planning.

Other exhibitions of complex climatic understanding lie in the most distinctive design feature in Al Balad: Rawasheen. The latticed windows represent ‘Arabia’ without boundaries and celebrate that architecture can grow from cultural and heritage exchange. They are redolent of Jali screens in Indian architecture and oriel windows in western design (Shah, 2022). Hassan Fathy turned heads with the Villa Heshmat that displayed ‘Corbusian’ curves and flat roofs while its plain surfaces began to host decorative features that included Mashrabiya windows (Steele, 1989). They also reference Yemeni and North African architecture, the Mamluk and Ottoman eras in their form and intricacy.

Popularly referred to as “Rawasheen” and “Mashrabiyas”, the terms derived from the Persian word for a balcony “rosen” and the Arabic word “Mashrafiya”, which means ‘a place to observe from’. Rawshan also originates from “Rushandan”, an Indian phrase that translates to “giving light” (Batterjee, 2010). The windows are 500 to 900 mm extruded wooden structures, also decorated in wood screens ‘Mangour’ and panels. Though they vary in shape and size, most Rawshans measure between 1500 and 2400 mm in width and 2500 and 3500mm in height (Alawad, 2017). The dimensional specifics like perforation and width are dictated by the regional climate and size of the building where hotter climates require more ventilation and solar responsive design. The windows are constructed in an anthropometric manner that responds to inhabitant’s needs, generally wide enough to allow two people to lay in them and tall enough for them to stand comfortably. The protrusion depth of the devices allows users to view the entire street from the comfort of their home with a wide field of view. This was a design feature intended for the women living in the house, considering their privacy was highly regarded and this method negated the need for opening windows. Rawasheen were observational seating spaces during the day and an additional nook to slumber in at night (Boehm, 2017).

The latticed oriel windows that protruded onto the streets, the excessive windows for ventilation, the renter-considerate spacing in most homes, the family-business nature of the district all reflected the specificity of Jeddah existing as a pilgrim port to Makkah in its undeniably warm and humid climate (UNESCO, 2021). The heritage Architecture explains the exactitude of these societal and climatic conditions in a clear narrative and language today’s architecture is arguably unable to articulate. This is the point of reference when stating that Heritage Hejazi Architecture is a direct reflection of its People. Ultimately, tradition is history expressed in nature – emerging in the space occupied between the past and the hypothesized present. For some, tradition

Where design and the climate intersect

Where design and the climate intersect

can be a safety frame of reference and a device for social adaptation. Matters become complicated when an entire generation veers away from heritage and becomes unsuccessful in maintaining the cultural identity that stood intact beneath heritage. This ideology can be seen in Jeddah’s current Architecture outside of Al Balad (Nguyen, 2018).

[Figure 9]

[Figure 10]

During this research, I conducted site visits to Al Balad, surveying the oriel windows to definitively conclude that no Rawshan is repeated past its building, and they are all unique. Figure 14 and 15 show self-illustrated Rawasheen elevations for two separate homes, exhibiting the different patterns and arrangements between them. Although every Rawshan is original in design, shape and colour to its building, they all share a function of keeping spaces cool and ventilated. Their ‘Mangour’ screens are latticed which creates for two significant attributes, the first being their ability to act as wind catchers and passages when orientated accurately. Secondly, they were constructed using no fixings or joining agents through the Hejazi concept of ‘Asheg w Mashoug’. This translates to lover and beloved using ‘male’ and ‘female’ serrated laths that fit together perpendicularly and can be held within a frame for additional security [figure 11]. This Hejazi craft demonstrates a poetic polarity in creating a device that conceals the inside but reveals the outside, lets light in yet casts a protective shadow and achieves warmth and cooling (Athr, 2016).

As Saudi Arabia lies on the equator and solar belt, its clear-sky region is exposed to a significant mass of solar energy. This solar saturation in Saudi’s climate is a leading cause of discomfort that is continuously visible in the architecture in methods people follow in pursuit of the comfort of shade. As a result, vitamin D deficiencies are an epidemic among Saudi children and adults due to the lack of solar exposure inside their homes from deliberate avoidance of the sun (Al Shahrani, 2013). ‘Black-out’ curtains are a staple in contemporary Saudi homes, as translucent fabric is not capable of diffusing the overpowering rays that enter through the large glass windows. However, Al Shahrani (2013) claims his research shows that the suggested adequate period for direct solar exposure in Saudi Arabia is thirty minutes per day. Vitamin D3 production is most active in the summer between 9:00 - 10:30 and 14:00 - 15:00, during the winter season this is between 10:00 and 14:00. The study considers factorial margins such as latitude, dermal sensitivity and building type. The study coincided that most people are denying themselves these windows of vitamin production in their bodies that lead to psychological and physiological ramifications (Batterjee, 2010) so avoiding sunlight all together in the name of comfort is not an option and current regional architecture should acknowledge this matter. Kim (2010) iterates that natural light in homes is fundamental for inhabitants’ psyche, morale and physical well-being and sunlight is a scientifically proven factor in regulating people’s circadian sleep cycle, preventing the likelihood of depression and anxiety (Holick, 2007).

Air Movement Study, Palace of Muhibb Al Din, Cairo, Egypt (Steele, 1988)

Plaster, woodwork and colour Self-taken Photograph

Luckily, Hejazi architecture addressed this issue previously and the Rawshan was adapted with shutters, perforation adjustments and moving components to cater to different solar levels [figure 12 and 13]. The device’s screen acts as a veil, dissipating the harshness of the rays with the option of complete light blocking using a shutter. The adjustable nature of the windows allows them to conduct airflow into the building too.

Materiality in Al Balad also is coherent with climatically conscious choices made today where houses were built with rectified stone sourced from a local lake in Jeddah ‘Al Arbaeen’, translating to ‘the 40th lake’. Buildings were also constructed with coral blocks ‘Al Mangabi’ stones which were sourced from the red sea, negating the need for international transporting of goods or extensive spending. Additionally, water was a adapted into a commonly used tool for cooling. Hejazi’s placed pots of water by stairs, doors and windows to cool air passing by them. They also kept living room floors wet to reduce their temperatures on hotter days (Attia, 2021).

The latticed oriel windows that protruded onto the streets, the excessive windows for ventilation, the renter-considerate spacing in most homes, the family-business nature of the district all reflected the specificity of Jeddah existing as a pilgrim port to Makkah in its undeniably warm and humid climate (UNESCO, 2021). The heritage Architecture explains the exactitude of these societal and climatic conditions in a clear narrative and language today’s architecture is arguably unable to articulate. This is the point of reference when stating that Heritage Hejazi Architecture is a direct reflection of its People. Ultimately, tradition is history expressed in nature – emerging in the space occupied between the past and the hypothesized present. For some, tradition can be a safety frame of reference and a device for social adaptation. Matters become complicated when an entire generation veers away from heritage and becomes unsuccessful in maintaining the cultural identity that stood intact beneath heritage. This ideology can be seen in Jeddah’s current Architecture outside of Al Balad (Nguyen, 2018).

[Figure 11]

Exhibition of a Mangour lattice by Ahmad Angawi (Athr, 2016)

[Figure 12]

Rawshan dissipating light into a space (Attia, 2021)

[Figure 13]

The inside of a Rawshan Self-taken Photograph

Self-illustrated Rawshan Elevation

Where design and the climate intersect

Self-illustrated Rawshan Elevation

Mohammed Alsafi

[Figure 14]

[Figure 15]

JEDDAH: Present

Jeddah’s current architectural state is representative of its multi-faceted and metropolitan nature; each region is undergoing an entirely distinctive experience. Al Balad is an acclaimed UNESCO world heritage site with plans of conservation, preservation and restoration. It also is a growing tourist attraction with global visitors, famous figures and political members visiting the neighbourhood through guided tours. It is advertised as one of the forefronts of Saudi Arabia in mass media, in commercial events – such as the Formula One Grand Prix where the winning Red Bull race car was allowed to race through the heritage site [figure 16]. On the contrary, the majority of central Jeddah is experiencing a mass demolition scheme as part of fulfilling Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision to create “a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation” – where alleged rural districts that were not executed to safe and contemporary building regulations, condensed living dwellings and withering structures are to be demolished and replaced with studied optimistic schemes. The south of Jeddah will be home to Jeddah’s most recent proposal: Jeddah Tower. The one kilometre tall Tower designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture of Chicago will hold a record breakingly tall observatory (Shaw, 2021). Thus, Jeddah has three individually moving architectural parts that are all headed in their respective destinations. Hesitation arises when considering where Heritage Hejazi architecture fits in the hypothesized future. Before uncovering this further, the current built environment and its state was analysed per sector.

Firstly, Al Balad was officially claimed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014 for its significant cultural offerings in Hejazi Architecture, societal demographic, other intangible characteristics and its existence that creates a compelling dichotomy with the rest of modernised Jeddah (Jaffery, 2019). In 2019, The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia allocated 13.3 million dollars to fund a 15-year preservation program of Al Balad in 2019. This includes restoring 56 damaged buildings and cultivating the district into an expanded landmark for cultural networking and tourism (Shah, 2022).

The preservation plan began its extensive journey by carrying out site measurements using photogrammetry. They are three dimensional laser scanners used to intake the textures, dimensions and any irregular forms for extreme precision. Tecturae SRL, Al Thurat firms, the Department of Architecture in [Universita degli Studi ‘G. d’Annunzio’] of Chieti-Pescara, Italy and the Municipal Administration of Al-Balad, Saudi Arabia curated a survey and proposed elevations for a large coverage of the district. This collaboration demonstrates the effective and efficient practice of sharing knowledge, resources and experience to create solutions in a timely manner. Due to the curated design, towers in Al Balad were studied to a micro scale in terms of ergonomics, human occupation and materiality – once scanned digitally (Emine, 2013).

Some of the findings revealed that towers that were presumed to be two to three hundred years old actually dated back to almost 1400 years when scanned with a carbon dating technique (Shah, 2022). This legitimizes any notion that heritage architecture demonstrates physical perseverance and should be studied further, taught and implemented.

Post digital registration, the Architecture was then able to be carefully detailed for what it truly is: a fundamental story-telling manifestation of humanity that existed at that time. Initiatives to revive the neighbourhood began with employing and contacting descendants of Al Balad residing families to further explain the homes their parents, grandparents and ancestors once occupied. This initiative demonstrated the success of theoretical means of conservation through word of mouth and personal experience. The more witnesses and protagonists sought and encouraged to retell the story, the longer it will continue to live on and be understood. Storytelling is an act of permanence and legacy.

Physical methods of conserving the Hejazi Heritage of Al Balad include the processes of restoration, preservation and rehabilitation – that currently take place today in prioritising the perseverance of as much of the original structure as physically possible. Restoration involves studying the building’s chronological progression to denote its most significant period of existence and prioritising the retainment of anything that represents that timespan with the authority to dismiss fragments that represent other periods. Preservation is concerned with the maintaining of the historic fabric of the towers to display their tenacity against time. Rehabilitation is the process followed when considering deteriorating, withered or fragmented buildings, it mainly involves reparation and reconstruction – whereas extreme conditions require replacing of units (Emine, 2013). A ‘Historic Jeddah’ local planning document was produced by the Jeddah Municipality that details the goals and guides set for architectural projects in Al Balad. They consider urban scale tissue, densification, regulation of vehicle access, construction methods and street pattern among other things when exploring between the two routes of building replacement or restoration. One of the policies the guide emphasises is the forbidding of vehicle networks. No cars or trucks are to penetrate the most pedestrian dense roads like ‘Souk Al Alawi’ and main roads that outskirt the district are monitored with mobile bollards to monitor traffic. A monetised parking system is dispersed around the outer regions where cars can briefly drive through or park and delivering merchandise or goods is done by verified vehicles that are registered at the Jeddah Municipality.

In addition to this, new Rawasheen are currently being installed into renovated buildings. The buildings create an optimistic juxtaposition of cleanliness and deterioration, as they share identical stylistics, and the only differing factor is time.

The remainder of Jeddah experiences a mass demolition scheme that alleges to elevate rural neighbourhoods into lively and pleasant spaces. Considering that a lot of Jeddah’s architecture is a post-oil wealth surge, it becomes a peculiar matter when beginning to identify what is rural and what is simply a consequential act of growth. Once the architectural revolution took place in the mid-20th century, glass, steel and cement became heavily implemented into the construction of buildings (Kay, S and Zandi, D 1991). There was a heightened sense of innovation and the shift in taste occurred as a gesture of development and association with wealth. Traditional designs were abandoned and, in a few decades, features of any heritage and tradition were absent from most neighbourhoods in the city. Jeddah’s architecture currently exists as a midpoint between both these events: expansion and demolition. Identity becomes a debatable matter when considering how western and colonial inspired villas seen in residential neighbourhoods remain untouched and represent a desirable living standard while houses built in the name of continuity and legacy have turned to rubble. Is any city capable of completely erasing its ‘undesirable’ spaces? What defines the desirability of a space and how often does this change? And ultimately, where is the ethical line drawn between people’s property and collective advancement?

[Figure 16] winning racecard in Al Balad (Fareed, 2021)

[Figure 18]

Mass Demolition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (PTV, 2022)

[Figure 19]

Mass Demolition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Reynolds, 2022)

[Figures 17]

Photogrammetry, Elevations and scans of Al Balad (Emine, 2014)

JEDDAH: Hypothesized future

Saudi Architect Dr. Sami Angawi gave a lecture in Al Balad titled “Human Architecture –ناسنلاا ةرامع”, in April of 2022, where he discussed anthropology and Islam in Architecture. The Architect – who believes in building bridges of exchange between faiths and cultures – stresses the importance of pursuing the value of ‘balance’, which is referred to as ‘Mizan’ in Arabic. This school of thought has room for tradition and modernity, privacy and exposure, and stability and motion to achieve harmonic architecture that caters to most. He states that this balance is only achieved through respect for the past. (Angawi, 2013). While Dr. Angawi’s work is an embodiment of celebrating Hejaz, it acknowledges areas where implementing other ideologies and practices could be more effective and, in this awareness, he practices this act of balance.

One of the takeaways from the lecture was an Arabic phrase Angawi continued to iterate and connect back to: “

”. This translates to “Let us not disregard our constants”, which was addressing ‘constants’ in our families, societies, values, culture, anthropology, universe and our built environment. The architect explained that constants define the framework for any direction we are headed in, creating a sense of continuity. Upon substantiating that every culture has a set of constants that contribute to the solidity of its identity, we are only then able to move forward and continue to build. Some of the ‘thawabit’ mentioned included ‘psychological constants’, which explains that Hejazi design will always be implicated by the consideration of where psychological health resides for people. Another one was ‘Cosmically considerate constants’ that pertains to the way the universe behaves and the influence this has on people, an example of this is solar exposure and how the way the sun behaves is a permanent factor to design around. The conversation expanded beyond this and Angawi also referenced ideologies about ‘Universal Balance’ “

” that consists of six components: constants, perseverance, ‘Monotheism’ in Islam, diversity, evolution and transformation.

What makes this lecture especially appealing to Jeddah’s architecture in the future is the association of anything beyond the present and ‘newness’. This is because it argues that in order to prepare for the future, we must be most familiar and well versed in our past and the sharp contrast between both begins to dissipate. This challenges the thought process of our future being unfamiliar and transformed for it to deem most progressive. What if our future looked like an enriched and informed iteration of our past? Where does the architecture sit between identity and progress?

The potential in Jeddah’s hypothesized future is the most established part of the 2030 vision as the architecture’s criteria for bettering has been clear for a significant period of time. One of the leading issues Al Balad had faced continually was negligence. This issue has been addressed since the neighbourhood was claimed as a UNESCO world heritage site and now, further, following the kingdom’s tourism plan. Al Balad was denied management for decades but was ultimately neglected following oil wealth in the 1970s (Brattle, 2019) when many families moved out to modern houses as Jeddah expanded. This was when the decorative woodwork began disintegrating and hygiene declined to mention a few faults. Recent implementation of the 2030 plan include frequent maintenance that monitors cleanliness, street lighting, traffic management, resident concerns around noise and rainwater collection to include a few. This attention has been what the neighbourhood has needed all along. As it receives this catering now, optimism grows for where the city is headed. However, is over forty years not too long to disregard the ‘heart of Jeddah’? Has it gone past the point of people’s favourability?

These questions are important to ask because in the period of said negligence, cultural phenomenon aside, there was an association of discomfort and a regressive nature when considering taste, quality and technology in Al Balad. The nation also experienced the globally shared rise of technology where they witnessed the introduction of smart homes, self-driving and parking cars, automation as a whole and countless other advancements – all while the district stayed stagnant. People could not practice their lives in the ways they have become accustomed to in the district and perhaps, that is all the reason to appreciate it more. However, having no central air conditioning in 50 degree Celsius heat, limited electricity coverage, no chain retailing or restaurants, no wireless internet and limited vehicle access simply is not implementable to our current standards of living and most certainly not our near future. While our global population has become a small part of the digitized universe where consumption of news coverage, content and media is at an all-time high and the impressive charm of Artificial Intelligence begins to feel like concern, we seem to have lost intimate communal connection. So, we lie in a morally ambiguous space where our surroundings have become so globalised and stripped of their original nature, but we also must evolve and improve beyond dated lifestyles that limit our convenience and potential. Understanding this balance is crucial to dictating goals for the future. And thus, referring to Scholars and Architects who stress the significance of ‘balance’ seems to be the only sensible path forward.

Map of Al Balad, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (UNESCO, 2021)

[Figures 21]

Jeddah Central Development (Radwan, 2022)

JEDDAH: Hypothesized future

Some of the proposed projects in Jeddah that connect to Al Balad display these dichotomous values in a way that they reference and reflect Hejazi architecture more than most of the Kingdom’s early 21st century architecture. They also seem to build beyond it with western schools of thought in the name of convenience and distinction. The proposal that seems to demonstrate this currently is the ‘Jeddah Central Development’. Other proposals are simply gestures of modern architectural parade. This is seen in the ‘Jeddah Tower’ project [figure 22], a currently halted proposal since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that is alleged to be executed in the near future as it coincides with the 2030 vision’s core goals. The south of Jeddah will be home to the record-breaking skyscraper, a significant mileage away from the centre of the city where Al Balad and other projects lie. It is designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture of Chicago with a concrete structural core and foundation piles 10 feet in diameter (Shaw, 2021). The proposal pays homage to the city’s heritage in an untraditional manner through designing its profile with inspiration from the folding and form of young desert plant growth. Some of the contemporary attributes it displays is a “high-performance exterior wall system” with low conductivity glazing that provides liquid control, is preventative to air leakage and has high thermal resistance. The tower will hold twelve escalators and fifty nine lifts that are divided by three sky lobbies to eliminate excessive cabling and potentially nauseating air pressure. The one kilometre tall tower will include serviced residential floors, office sectors, luxury commonholds, a Four Seasons hotel and an unsurpassed observatory (Ravenscroft, 2018).

‘Jeddah Central Development’ is a $20 billion project, aiming to replenish 5.7 million square meters of waterfront. The proposal includes a plethora of facilities and attractions, a few of which are an opera house, a sports stadium, extensive green spaces that occupy over forty percent of the project, more than 17,000 residential units, a beach and a pier. The ambitious project is scheduled to be completed by 2027. Besides the seemingly promising disposition of the development, it is commendable that much of it not only references but it centred around the coastal city’s history. The core of the project is a nod to Jeddah’s humble beginnings as a small fishing village over 3000 years back (Radwan, 2022). This form of cultural continuity witnessed on a giant scale is extremely refreshing and works to redeem much of the neglected heritage. Planners of the project drew inspiration from the Hejazi identity through aesthetic choices and an anthropological lens that viewed the city for the diverse multicultural hub that it was and continues to be. The initial renders demonstrate repurposed existing landmarks that include an old water treatment plant (Radwan, 2022) that will be repurposed as a museum. They also display a consistent integration of traditional Hejazi decorative features previously visited in this research. Rawasheen make a recurring appearance in the shared photographs with a multitude of variations dispersed throughout the project, making them a distinctive architectural language feature that will potentially

be observed and appreciated by millions. The project’s planners comment on Jeddah’s current urban planning requiring dire reconstruction to positively reflect on people’s relationships with their built environment and perceptions of their surroundings. They claim that this development studied previous faults in depth and in result will divide it into six regions with respect to tourists and residents. Thus, Jeddah has three individually moving architectural parts that are all headed in their respective destinations: the preservation scheme of Al Balad, ‘Jeddah Tower’ and ‘Jeddah Central Development’ [figures 21].

[Figures 22]

Jeddah Tower Render (Dezeen, 2019)

To conclude, a thematic notion has been established in this study that Jeddah is a culturally affluent city with significant teachings that await to be profoundly understood, absorbed, implemented and inherited among coming generations. Hejazi architecture has revealed that it holds anthropological, climatic and cosmic consideration in a way often only witnessed and triumphed in western literacy and contemporary findings. The ideologies around the concept of ‘تباوث’ constants and universal harmony that the architecture follows have shown that it expands beyond simply building a house that accommodates a family. It seemingly is a school of thought and an outlook used to approach all walks of life, treating the architecture as a fabric that envelopes the sacred body that is humankind. In doing this, people become legible on a contextual level that differs per region and effective design is aware and responsive to this.

Throughout the dissertation, as more unfolded, it became progressively evident that those cultural offerings hold more value in the grand scheme of identity and legacy than any act of modern architectural victory on a global scale. While creating skylines of luxury and abundance may hold a gratifying disposition, it is important not to lose bearing of where we originated, how we got here and how we must continue to simultaneously honour this through permanence. Those are our constants. For, anything else will simply be upstaged by the following phenomenon when the time comes.

Having stated this, Saudi Arabia exists in a climatically particular space that requires meticulousness when designing its built environment. The heat waves, humidity and solar environment all must be acknowledged in the architecture through methods that are preventative of discomfort and inconvenience that was experienced in the past and possibly to this day. Jeddah requires its architects to proceed as solar strategists for these reasons and though a lot of answers to questions that organically formed themselves will exist in Al Balad, expanding beyond this in the spirit of evolution - for this particular matter - is necessary.

Studying Al Balad thoroughly has also evoked the understanding that it is best we do not view the site as one of many neighbourhoods in the city but as a manifestation of legacy that has withstood the strain of erasure, shift in preference and negligence. Its continued nurturing of special traditional gestures seen through urban grain, the way people are connected and sit together in neighbourly communions and other displays of culture, further confirm that there is a method to its magic. A method to be studied, honoured and passed on.

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