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Saudi Arabia is located in the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia. The climate conditions can be divided into two categories which are Mediterranean climate and subtropical desert climate. The climate in different regions in Saudi Arabia are different thus the architecture are different between each other. It also is the world's second-largest religion-Islam. Therefore, the architecture of Saudi Arabia can be influenced by religion culture and Jawatha Mosque will be a good example. In Islamic culture there has some gender difference problem thus people will build different architecture for male and female. The vernacular style architecture and the postmodernism style architecture can reflect the traditional culture and environment in Saudi Arabia. Mashrabiya asa special architecture element in Saudi Arabia fully demonstrate the wisdom of local residents.

The impact of climate
The area for the modern day of Saudi Arabia can be divided by four distinct regions and due to the unique geographical location of Saudi Arabia, the climate varies from region to region, so the style of architecture in each region is different.

Hijaz region
In the western region or Hijaz region, it is a hot-humid climate and located in coastal plain along the Red Sea. The buildings in this area are multistory building with three floors. The traditional building material are coralstones, wooden beams. The structural skeleton of the house is made up of large coral columns and with wood floors and roofs. In ground floor is general sitting room and the more private sitting room is located in the first floor. The sleeping room is generally located on the upper floor and in summer are sleep on the roof so that there is better ventilation in the sea breeze and natural winds.

Najd region
In the central an northern (Najd) region, it is a desert climate, therefore, the weather is hot and dry and has a great temperature difference between day and night. The typical houses in the Najd region are usually two stories high and built around an open central courtyard. The shape of the courtyard is usually geometric like a rectangle or a square and it works as lungs of the houses to regulate the microclimate and provide a private space for the family to maintain the private life. The house are build on either side of the narrow street, providing a shady place for the pedestrians. The roof level of the house is used for sleeping in summer. The main material to built this kind of house is sun-dried mud bricks and mud. The mud is worked as plastering material used to smear interior and exterior walls, it is very suitable for the sandy weather the reason why is because the colour is unaffected by the weather. The exterior walls are thick which are about 80-100 cm, thus, it can effectively isolate high temperate and create comfort level to the residents.

The eastern region
Arabian Gulf located in the eastern region, it is a hot humid region along the Arabia Gulf. It has the extreme weather which means in summer months it is hot and dry and had a large temperature difference between day and night.

The traditional house has a courtyard style and the arcade balcony around the house. Due to the harsh climate, the height of the typical house in the eastern region is one to three stories high and the building is very compact, resulting in a narrow passage between the house and the house. The wall of this type of houses is thicker than other types which have better heat resistant and has the effect of insulating. They create natural ventilation by installation wind catchers. The building in the eastern region will use gypsum decoration which inspiration comes from the architecture of the neighbouring country.

Asir region
The Asir region, it is a high mountains province to the southwest side and it has the Mediterranean climates which characteristics are dry summers and rainy winter.

The Asir houses are commonly built on the high mountains province due to its geographical location. Climatic conditions promoted the emergence of architectural society. The building normally makes up by one ground and two upper floors which can provide shelter for man and tamed animals. The main sitting room is on the first floor, while the top floor is the kitchen and bedroom, at the same time the open terrace is also added to the upper floor for wash purpose. In each house there is at least one room used for male reception, which separates from female quarters and family living rooms. The staircase occupies the middle of the house and material of the staircase is mud and use wooden beams to sustained.

Vernacular Architecture


The characteristic of vernacular architecture is using the local resources, needs and material to build the house, therefore this kind of house reflect the local traditions, history, culture, environment and climate. Due to the climatic zone, the vernacular architecture will use different bioclimatic features and the benefit to using their features are have air ventilation, thermal comfort and suitable lighting in the building.

In the past, aborigines use limestone as the main material to built their house because limestone can be collected at local quarries in Najd. But in recent decades unfired mud-brick and wooden beams were the main building material used in Najd. The craftsman will apply the mud plaster paste to the wall with a wooden scraper and through wooden scraper moves across the wall to leave the parallel pattern. The botton of the wall is made up with the four or five cut-limestone. Although unfired mud-brick has dominated Najdi architecture, the pillars of the house and mosques are usually built with stone. Because stone last longer and more resistant to corrosion than mud and wooden beams. The interior wall decoration of buildings for the wealth households is very delicate, the wall covered with geometric figures carved with plaster and flowers pressed with molds.

The decorative motifs that were used on traditional building in Arabia were based on the use of mud reliefs. But across the land of Arabia, using color to painting the house only in Asir region. In order to personalize the residential building, people are encouraged to se the rich natural color pigments and plant colors in their surrounding landscapes in their dwelling units.

Postmodernism Architecture
The postmodernism style is the architecture that can be defined as sensual, surprised and humorous. Postmodernism architectures in Saudi Arabia are considered to be the most popular because they are used in all parts of Saudi Arabia. In other words, this architecture style was previously unknown in Saudi Arabia the reason why is because they have been brought from abroad but were widely accepted and immediately prevailed as they have responded to some social-cultural and environmental values very much valued in Saudi Arabia.

Special Architectural Element


Mashrabiya is a kind of traditional element which are widely used in Saudi Arabia's architecture and it is the beautiful wooden screens that built on the faced of the building. The function of mashrabiya is used to provide a private place and suppresses the strong desert sunlight to keep the room cool. The working principle is with the evaporation of water n the surface of porous pots can be cooled the internal water to provide stable natural ventilation through the shade and open lattice. Therefore, it can be used as a window, curtain, air conditional and refrigerator at the same time. Mashrabiyas are also introduced used in mosques because of its function: suppresses the string sunlight to keep the room cool and which are also conducive to prayer and meditation.

Public area design
In Saudi Arabia, Islamic is their national religion. In Islamic culture, the gender differences are emphasized, therefore, the house design and the planning of the architecture can also be influenced. In Saudi Arabia, male and female will be separated into different schools, work setting even the sitting and waiting area in public places such as hospital, airports and mosques.