Saudi Heritage and Conservation ARCH 346 PDF

Prince Sultan University Architecture and Design Architecture Department Saudi Heritage and Conservation ARCH 346 Course coordinator: Ms. Wafa Alghamdi Arch 346 Booklet B Geographical Effects and Patterns of Traditional Architecture In Saudi First Climate Effects Dry desert continental...

Prince Sultan University Architecture and Design Architecture Department Saudi Heritage and Conservation ARCH 346 Course coordinator: Ms. Wafa Alghamdi Arch 346 Booklet B Geographical Effects and Patterns of Traditional Architecture In Saudi First Climate Effects Dry desert continental climate In summer, the temperature rises to 40 degrees Celsius. Severe dryness Hot sandy winds High relative humidity in the eastern and western coasts. Winter temperatures drop to almost zero, with limited chances of rain. The only exception is a limited area, which is the high mountainous region in the southwest of Saudi Arabia known as the Hijaz and Asir mount ains, which enjoys a mild climate in summer and very cold in winter with greater chances of rain in summer and winter. This resulted in abundant vegetation. Heat The fact that the kingdom is in a dry region and its sky is free of clouds led to the sun being vertical or close to vertical. Resulting in thermal radiation from the topsoil. Integrated Urban Formation The urban fabric and composition of the old parts of cities and villages shows the compactness of the buildings and their grouping in an urban pa ttern merging with a narrow and tortuous network of roads. In addition to the clear difference in the height of the parts of one building and in the height of Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design  adjacent buildings. Several factors led to the existence of such a pattern in the planning of the Saudi city and the ancient villages, including: The cohesive tribal and family social system led to the convergence of buildings. Building casting shadows on surrounding buildings as a result of streets, alleys and narrow roads. Reducing the exposure of the external surfaces of the buildings to the burning sun, as a result of the adhesion and contiguous juxtaposition of the buildings. Shading of some of the parts of a building for other parts as a result of differences in the heights in a single building. Protecting pedestrians from the sun's rays during their movement due to the narrow and curvy streets and roads. The main streets usually run from north to south, reversing the path of the sun from east to west. Therefore, it has shade most of the day. The winding nature of the road network led to retaining the cold air that was collected during the night for long periods during the daylight hours, which leads to a cooling in the temperature, because the winding roads limit the speed of the wind. In addition, the people of the neighborhood were using the method of spraying the ground with water to cool the temperature. Inner Courtyard The inner courtyard is one of the main elements in the design of traditional buildings in many regions of the Kingdom. As is the case of traditional architecture in the east and west of the Islamic world. Reducing the thermal pressures on the rooms surrou nding the courtyard, as large parts of the courtyard are shaded during daylight hours. Provide the necessary ventilation and natural lighting. Cooling the temperature in the interior spaces, where cold air collects in the courtyard during the night, thus maintaining a low temperature during the day. Securing privacy for family members. Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design  Windows and Openings The effect of heat on the design and construction of windows and openings is evident in two prominent phenomena of traditional architecture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first phenomenon, we find, in general, that the area covered by windows and openings is very small, where the internal courtyard system predominates in the design of the Saudi building, or very large, where the vertical system of the multi-story building prevails. In the case of the inner courtyard, we find that the area of the openings and windows overlooking the outside has been reduced, in order to reduce the leakage of thermal energy into the interior of the building, w hich is basically open to the inner courtyard, ensuring natural lighting and full ventilation. Reducing the area of the openings and windows leads to a reduction in the strength of lighting, and thus the intensity of dazzling that characterizes the desert environment. It is noted that it is confined to the second floor and is usually high. The second phenomenon appears in the areas where multi-story buildings predominate, and here the area of the openings and windows is large to include all floors, but sunblock’s windows were used in them, which are rawashen and mashrabiyas. Walls and Ceilings Ceilings and walls are the surfaces most exposed to direct sunlight, and thus the way for heat to penetrate the building. Choosing the appropriate materials for building the wall and ceiling by using burnt bricks, mud and stones in the walls and using mud, wood and palm fronds in the ceilings, and all of these materials have the ability to repel some thermal energy from the interior during the daytime in the summer. It also has the ability to retain heat for a long period of time, which makes it a source of heat radiation to the inside of the building, and thus take advantage of this stored heat to raise the temperature of the internal rooms relatively during the n ight, which protects its residents from the cold weather in the frigid winter nights. Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design  Building the walls so that they are very thick, as the width of the wall in most styles of traditional Saudi architecture is more than half a meter, which increases the a bility of the wall to maintain a moderate temperature in the interior spaces of the house during the long summer days, in addition to reducing the rate of heat leakage outside the spaces during winter nights On summer nights, residents often prefer to slee p on the rooftops of houses or the inner courtyard. Choosing the white color to paint the outer surface of the wall, using some local materials such as Al-Noura, and it is known that this element acquires the property of reflecting the sun’s rays away from the building, which leads to the protection of the building’s elements from the complications of the sun’s thermal rays. The walls are also painted from the inside with a medium layer of white to further protect the interior spaces from thermal fluctuations. Bleaching materials: There are few building materials used to whiten architectural elements. Perhaps the reason for the lack of use of these materials lies in their preparation and not in their lack of availability. 1. Plaster: One of the raw materials for construction that is used for functional and decorative purposes. The main material for plaster is lime and can be obtained either from rocky mountains and stone quarries, or from some hard dunes that contain flax. The calcareo us material is converted into plaster by various methods and methods that depend mainly on burning the solid lime material and transforming it into a loose crumbling material. After expelling as much as possible of the salts saturated with it. The most common method used by plasterers is to collect limestone pieces in the form of a large pyramidal pile near the stone quarry or at the construction site, and then pile a large amount of firewood on it. Especially tamarisk wood and palm trees. It is burnt on the pile for a certain period, then the largest possible amount of ash is isolated from the plaster, crushed and then sieved to be ready for use, and this method is known as “dough” "‫”الدوغة‬. Plaster, as well, can be burned inside a large hole so that it is spread out horizontally so that the flame reaches in a focused and fast manner. This method is known as grilling gypsum. ” "‫شوي الجص‬ 2. Al-Noura: Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design Limestone is taken from some building quarries. It is formed between stones or sticks to them. It can also be f ound in the form of cohesive slabs or blocks known as salukh “ "‫الصالوخ‬, on the edges of valleys and bottoms and along some mountainous areas. And this material is converted into light suitable for building by burning by means of special furnaces or by dir ect burning with firewood, similar to plaster. And the Al-Noura is not much different from the plaster in terms of the raw material. However, it is used in addition to whitewashing walls and some architectural elements as a good therapeutic material to cover the skins of some animals, especially camels, when they are infected with scabies. The craftsman is careful not to overcook the plaster because it dries quickly and when it reaches the dryness stage, it is difficult to use it again. It is noted that when carrying out construction works, water is not added or mixed to the plaster except at the moment of construction, and the water is placed in a certain proportion in the basin or a metal pot, then the plaster powder is added to it little by little until it rises to the water level. Humidity and rain Despite the drought that prevails in most parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia throughout the year, there are 3 exceptions to this general rule, which are: Relative humidity increases sharply, especially in summer, on the eastern and western coasts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Rare, sudden, unexpected, and sometimes heavy, winter rains over most regions of the Kingdom. More regular rain falls on the mountainous areas in the southwest of the Kingdom for the agricultural exploitation of those areas and the provision of vegetation cover and pleasant weather in the summer with severe cold in the winter. Due to the scarcity of rain in general, the roofs of the houses took a horizontal shape, unlike the conical shape known in humid areas, in addition to the possibility of using these roofs for sleeping on summer nights. The traditional huts in the Tihama areas can be considered the only exception to this rule, as these huts are built in the form of a dome that allows rain to slide. Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design  As a result of the high degree of relative humidity throughout the year on the eastern and western coasts, lime plaster was used as a surface and protective layer to prevent the erosion of coral limestone, which is a basic material in those areas. The mountainous regions in the southwestern parts of the Kingdom receive medium amounts of rain on a regular basis. Therefore, the houses are characterized by the presence of multiple stone courses prominent at regular distances in the form of complete belts extending around the building to prevent rain from entering the building through windows and to protect the building from cracking during Heavy rain on it. Construction method of Midmak /veins: This method is summarized in brin ging clay to the site where water is poured over it with the addition of cut straw, then trampled and mixed well by oxen, then the mixture is left for four days to ferment in the last two days and transferred to a covered place. And then he begins to buil d the walls, where the clay is taken in the form of blocks that the construction receives from the worker called the mantle and stacks them one after the other to be a complete compact, with a height of 40 cm along the wall and a width of between 40 cm to 70 cm. Then the course is left for two days to dry, then the process is repeated to build another course. After one day of course building, the texture smoothes the sides of the course for two days and smoothes them with a wooden tool. And the wall in this way becomes a single cohesive block that is difficult to separate from each other. This method is expensive and difficult. It is commonly used in the northern region (Hail) and the southern region (Najran). Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design Wind Architectural characteristics affected by wind and its directions The urban fabric that is integrated into the structure of the city or village with the narrow and winding road network is the best way to reduce wind speed and reduce its effects, especially if it is loaded with dust. In the planning of the city and the construction of houses, it was taken into account that its main facades face the prevailing gentle winds so that those facades can receive the pleasant air and benefit from it for ventilation and lowering temperatures. The use of windcatchers or envelopes as a means of ventilation and lowering of temperatures in the first floors of houses by finding prominent openings in the roofs of open houses in the direction of the prevailing winds that allow receiving those winds while controlling their opening and closing from the interior rooms. Credit to: MS. WAFA A. ALGHAMDI Lecturer, Fab Lab Director Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Design