Role of Windowindows

Research Paper FORUM

16

Role of windows in Saudi Arabia

The Diminishing Role of Windows from Traditional to Modern

The Case of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Sameer Akbar

Keywords Windows, Courtyards, Rowshans, Climate

A B S T R A C T Many architects blame Western design ideas for the absence of the local identity in the built environment. Though this argument has been widely and intensively discussed, there has been no consideration of the inevitable influence of technological changes, such as air-conditioning, and peoples expression of their identity in the built environment.

It is argued in this paper that the primary reason for the diminishing role of rowshans, which were important architectural pieces in traditional houses of Jeddah, has been what suits people in terms of utility and meaning. The convenience of air-conditioning in controlling the microclimate (utility) of the home interior in a hot and humid climate abolished the need for large openings. Furthermore, people expressed their social status by emulating Western lifestyle.

What architects consider a cause of identity disruption is considered by people as a means of expressing a high social status. It is concluded that the technological control of the microclimate and peoples expression of their social status by emulating the Western life style diminish the traditional identity of the built environment. Because these social changes are inevitable, architects do not have much control of the dilemma of the built environment identity.

INTRODUCTION A window with a window place helps a person come to life. But a room which has no window place, in which the windows are just holes, sets up a hopeless inner conflict in me which I cant resolve (Alexander, 1979: 111). Windows are not only holes to let light and air get into the room; they are also places through which people communicate with nature, maintain their relationship with neighbours and resolve their stress. It is where the inside stretches to the outside while maintaining its privacy.

Even though windows are at the edge of the room, they could be the focal point especially in summer; in cold climates they allow access to some sun and in hot climates to some air. Windows play an important role in determining the quality of space.

However, what if the outdoor environment becomes insignificant, ugly and unbearable to people? What if the home environment becomes confined to the home interior? Will windows enjoy the same significance? The emphasis of this paper will be on the use, meaning, and morphology of windows in relation to the improving quality of the home interior and the deteriorating quality of streets in Jeddah.

WINDOWS DURING THE TRADITIONAL PERIOD Even though the climate was hot and humid, the system of courtyards did not exist in Jeddahs traditional buildings.

The main source to cool home interiors was large openings that consisted of two types. The first was the wooden casement window called shubbak (Figure 1). The function of the shubbak was the same as the function of the conventional window, to let air and light come through.

In addition, the large width of the wall provided a reasonable space for sitting beside the shubbak. On the ground floor they had steel bars for security reasons. They were simple and, if decorated, they were modestly so.

When the shubbak projects to the outside, it is called a rowshan (Figure 2).


17


The rowshans were the most sophisticated objects in the traditional houses of Jeddah.1 Rich families made their rowshans from Indian or Java teakwood imported from the Far East. As such, they were the most expensive elements in the building (Jomah, 1992). The low-income families used local wood. Some rowshans, which were close to neighbours rowshans, were fixed with a wooden mesh, called sheesh, to maintain privacy if the rowshan was open.

The karaweet (an interior sitting bench) was positioned around the majlis (the guest reception room) (Figure 3) to make a continuous peripheral seating with the rowshans.

The karaweet was covered with the same covers as the rowshans, making a large sitting area. Back support cushions, called masanid, and side support cushions, called madafii, were put on the karaweet and rowshans. They were covered with thick red floral-patterned2 cloth called damask3 (Maghribi, 1982).

1 Their beauty was reflected in the travellers

writings. Russel, cited by Pesce, said There is nothing more pretty, more aerial than the sculptured wood balconies that adorn the facades of rich mansions (Pesce, 1977: 51). 2 People of old Jeddah liked the colour red and

used it for their clothes and Karaweet. The reason for this is not precisely known. However, Al-Ansari (1982) cited another writers opinion, who attributed the preference for red to the prevailing red coral stone on Jeddahs sea shores. 3 This name is used as well in English for rich

patterned fabric of cotton, linen, silk, or wool (The

The rowshans were extended out from the home interior to catch as much moving air as possible. The air travels across the house through the large openings in the walls. Sweeping rooms with a broom and dusting the furniture, thus, consumed a lot of time and effort.

The considerable depth of the rowshan made the narrow alleys even narrower at the higher levels. In fact some alleys could be so narrow that their width was determined by the doors and windows swing open freely. This enabled women neighbours to have group discussions during the day while sitting in their airy home rowshans (Figure 4) without leaving their homes (Jomah, 1992).

The sharbat (earthenware drinking pot) was put between the wooden mesh and the rowshan to be exposed to maximum ventilation4 (Figure 5).

Circular holes were cut out of the wood to hold the sharbat. These holes were

American Heritage Dictionary, 1994). Maghribi pointed out that it was named as such because this cloth was first made in Damascus. The researcher noted that the same type of cloth was used in Morocco and Turkey for the same purpose. 4 For this reason the term rowshan does not exist

in Egypt, and instead the term mashrabiyyah (which literally means a place for drinking) is used instead (Jomah, 1992).

also used by women to look down at the walkways (Figure 6).

If there were no holes, the sharbat could stand on timbers which covered the gap between the rowshan and the mesh. Women in this case could look through the little gaps between the timbers.

The rowshan was also used for sleeping, usually by the housemaster and his wife. When the karaweet is put beside the rowshan on the same level, which is a common arrangement, the width of the rowshan, the thick wall, and the karaweet combined is the same as a modern king size bed (Figure 7).

If they have guests, this place is given over to the most honoured person, for sleeping as well as sitting.

Duncan (1981) argued people in traditional cultures express their identity and social status through social occasions. Marriage was an important social occasion, through which the families of married couples in Jeddah expressed themselves to the community. There were many ceremonies involved in completing a wedding. One of these ceremonies, dabash, will be explored


18


below due to its relationship to the subject. After finishing the formal public notary procedures, the grooms family prepares a room in their house to be the new couples home. This preparation could involve painting the walls, doors and windows. The only furniture that the grooms family were responsible for providing, if they could afford to, was the structure of the sitting bench, karaweet. The brides family meanwhile was responsible for providing all the remaining furniture. The furniture which is provided by the brides family is called dabash. Usually the whole dowry is spent in paying the expenses of the dabash.

It could take several months for the room to be prepared. Before sending the dabash, the brides family go to the house and check whether they need to add more furniture to what they have already planned for. Once it is ready, the dabash is sent in a celebratory manner. Carriers and men from the grooms family carry on their heads rugs, blankets, cushions, paraffin lamps, earthenware vessels, little boxes for the brides personal belongings and so on. When they walk through the narrow paths, everyone cheers and congratulates them; children run around, and women watch from the rowshans.

This occasion, the dabash, was one of the many social occasions through which families expressed their identity and social status. A good way to express identity and social status to as many people as possible was through displaying furniture whilst moving it from house to house. Jomah (1992) attributed this display of furniture to letting people know what is missing so that they would provide them as gifts. The rowshan, thus, played an important role in facilitating communication between residents, especially women, and in the social occasions in the street.

The rowshan played an important symbolic role in the home interior. Chairs and sitting benches throughout history in many cultures were symbolic

and thus highly decorated. The chair has been used as a means to express or indicate the identity of the person sitting on it. However, even though the karaweet was the most common sitting furniture in Jeddah, it did not have as strong a symbolic meaning as was the case with chairs in many cultures. The continuity of the karaweet around the room and the sameness of decoration did not emphasise any part of it over other parts. The most symbolic location was in the centre of the rowshan, due to its climatical advantage and centrality in the room. It was devoted to the most important guest. The projections were also used for exterior symbolic purposes. The most frequently seen object is the best to convey meaning because of the communication advantage of its location. When people are regularly out of doors, objects attached to buildings become an important means to convey the identity of occupiers to neighbours and passers by. Thus rowshans were beautifully engraved.

The projection of rowshans allowed air to enter the home interiors, women to maintain their relationships, family members to watch outside activities and sit and sleep comfortably. With the projection, the rowshan became a unique element. It is a window on the outside world, a screen against Jeddahs harsh sunlight, an integral part of the ventilating system, and a piece of furniture, sometimes even an extension of a room over the adjoining street. (Khan, 1981: 11) In addition, it was used to cool water and express the identity of the occupier.

THE FIRST TRANSFORMATION LATE FORTIES AND EARLY FIFTIES Due to the increasing world demand for oil at the end of forties, Saudi Arabia witnessed an increasing economic development. As a result, the per capita income increased, people immigrated

from rural areas to cities, the government introduced the gridiron system to control the random expansion of the cities, concrete became the main construction material, villas and apartments became the typical prototype of houses and cheap electricity became available to all citizens.

After the introduction of electricity and the increase of per capita income, households began to depend on air-conditioners in controlling the micro-climate of the house. However, air-conditioners were still considered expensive and, thus, one or two per household was the average. In 1951 the number of imported air-conditioners was 576. Two years later, in 1953, the number increased to 50815 (The General Department of Customs). The rowshan was abandoned. The reason for this could have been both symbolic and utilitarian. It was symbolic because the image of villas and apartments was modern and thus, if the rowshan was fixed on a villa or apartment, the modern image which people were keen to express would be distorted.

Abandoning the rowshan was also utilitarian because air-conditioners had now begun to be used, though only occasionally, which reduced the need to have large openings to control the microclimate of the house. One to two air-conditioners are now available in the average household.

The introduction of the gridiron system has also diminished the role of the rowshan. The gridiron system has greatly changed the social context of the outdoor environment. The slow evolutionary system involving traditional urban fabric, climate and

5 The number of air-conditioners imported this

year was not available. The researcher found out the cost of an air-conditioner (1035 SR) in 1951 by dividing the total cost by the number imported; then he divided the total cost of air-conditioners imported in the year 1953 by the cost per single air-conditioner to conclude that the number of imported air-conditioners in 1953 was around 5081.


19


cultural values was disrupted by completely changing the pattern of the urban fabric. After being around 3 m wide in old Jeddah, streets in residential areas are now at least 12 m wide. The hierarchy of transitional spaces between public and private disappeared. Setting buildings further apart and making new street widths increased the open areas between buildings. Streets are paved with asphalt and exposed most of the day to the radiation of the sun. Thus the outdoors has become unbearable not only to sit in but also to walk through during day. Therefore it was useless to fix rowshans in apartment buildings since the significance of the outdoor activities diminished. As for villas, the rowshan was more useless because it would overlook either the front garden or the two meter set-back of the villa.

With the end of the visual interaction between the household members and outdoor activities, a new type of window (Figure 8) replaced the rowshan.

This was introduced simultaneously with the new residential types and the introduction of air-conditioning. The new window was a hole rather than a place. On the inside there were frosted panes of glass with wooden frames. On the outside there were wooden shutters with slats. The frosted glass was to maintain privacy while letting the daylight in. It would be kept closed during hot weather only if the air-conditioning was on. If the weather was suitable, it would be left open while the external shutters were closed to maintain privacy. Thus this type of window was

suitable in combination with the occasional use of air-conditioning.

During the first transformation, the role of windows was reduced. They were not a representation of the households identities and were not needed to facilitate the visual relationship between the household members and outdoors. However, they were still important in controlling the microclimate of the house.

THE SECOND TRANSFORMATION: LATE SEVENTIES After the first transformation and during the sixties and early seventies, changes in the home environment were slow until the early eighties, when the impact of the sharp increase in national income took effect due to the sharp increase in world oil prices in the mid-seventies. Many social changes occurred in Saudi society due to governmental projects and the significant increase of per capita income. The standard of living of most Saudis improved significantly. Better education, medical care, transportation, electricity, water pipes, sewage systems and telephone lines became available to all the population in cities.

The image of the Western lifestyle in peoples minds was very strong. Television had a great impact on peoples lifestyle. Black and white television broadcasting started in 1965 and was replaced by coloured in 1976. The influence of foreign programmes, mainly American, had a great impact on peoples values (Merdad, 1993). The scenes of American homes shown in films also influenced peoples perception of the home environment.

More people could afford to travel abroad on vacation and were influenced by the Western lifestyle. Many saw different home environments, by which they were impressed, and which they consequently emulated when they returned (Al-Lyaly, 1990).

This prosperity made it easy for householders to furnish every room with at least one air-conditioner. Chart 1 shows a significant increase in the import of air-conditioners.

0500000

1000000

1963 69 75 81 87

Years

Chart 1. Total number of imported air-conditioners to Saudi Arabia Source: Based on data collected from the Annual Statistical Reports of the Department of Statistics, Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Arabia.

In addition to their control of the room climate, another great advantage of air-conditioners is the reduction of dust getting into the house because the windows are kept shut all of the time. As such, the role of windows has diminished greatly. Their role now is confined to letting in the daylight.

The dust reduction and the availability of electric vacuum cleaners could be a strong reason for the introduction of carpets into houses. Whereas the floors of corridors, stairs, kitchens, and bathrooms were not covered with rugs before the second transformation, now the floors of the whole house, including kitchens and sometimes bathrooms, are furnished with carpets. It became easy for housewives to sweep and dust the entire house. Most importantly, windows should be kept shut to keep the dust out and the cool air in. Prosperity and the absence of dust made it possible for householders to fill their home interiors with a variety of imported decorated items. This has enriched the appearance of the home interior. The tendency to express the identity of a household through modern


20


furniture and decorated showpieces increased significantly. Error! Not a valid link. Chart 2.

Source: Based on data collected from the Annual Statistical Reports of the Department of Statistics, Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Arabia.

With the diminishing role of windows in letting the air in, the practical window type which was made of framed frosted glass and slats was replaced by a cheaper and impractical sliding aluminium window type. The new type was made of two aluminium frames holding clear sheets of glass. Frosted glass, which is good at maintaining privacy, is used rarely. Curtains began to have a more important role in maintaining privacy. Even though it is easy to slide one side to open the window, lack of use and maintenance led to the rails of the window filling with dust. Thus it is common to find many houses in which the windows are difficult to open.

The new window type did not have any sort of light control like the rowshan or the wooden shutters type. The role of windows diminished greatly. The relationship between people and outdoors did not exist anymore. Air-conditioners provided the desired microclimate. As such, windows were kept shut all year round. This has increased the role of curtains to maintain privacy and control the amount of day lighting. Curtain designs also developed and diversified to cover the ugly appearance of the aluminium. Since the window is the main source of daylight, it attracts the eye. Therefore to beautify the room and to control the amount of daylight curtains were introduced in many forms.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION In the traditional houses of Jeddah, windows played an important social, symbolic and climatic role. The rowshan was a great interior and exterior element. It was a window to let air and light get in, a piece of furniture to let people sit and sleep, a communication means for women with neighbours and alleys, and a representative of the households identity.

Some architects who complain about the loss of the beautiful features of traditional architecture, such as the rowshan, put the blame on modern architectural designs, as if architects can regain this lost identity if they consider traditional forms in their designs.

It has been argued in this paper that even though the gridiron street system diminished the role of windows, the primary cause of the diminishing significance of windows has been air-conditioning, which is a necessity for people. People will not abandon their air-conditioners just to regain the symbolic role of windows. Climatic function was fulfilled by air-conditioning with more efficiency, communication with neighbours could be performed through the telephone while maintaining privacy, and symbolic function is fulfilled by modern building facades, fancy cars and home furniture. People do not value things as architects do. Architects in Saudi Arabia consider Western designs as the source of identity disruption while people express their social status by emulating Western lifestyles. The constructed image of home in peoples minds is the primary force in shaping the home environment. People from the time of the first transformation until now still express their social status through possessing Western goods, which they see in Western television programmes and abroad. The disappearance of local identity is a direct result of this new cultural expression of households social status.

What is important for people is to express themselves the way they perceive high social status and not the way architects perceive a local cultural identity. Thus as long as people are culturally dominated by Western culture, the identity of the built environment will continue to be distorted.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AL-ANSARI, A. (1982) Tareekh Madinat Jeddah (History of Jeddah), Jeddah: Asfahan Press (Arabic Text). ALEXANDER, C. (1979) The Timeless Way of Building, New York: Oxford University Press.

AL-LYALY, S. (1990). The Traditional House of Jeddah: a Study of the Interaction between Climate, Form and Living Patterns, Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.

DUNCAN, J. S. (Ed.) (1981) Housing and Identity, London: Croom Helm.

JOMAH, H.A. (1992) The Traditional Process of Producing a House in Arabia During the 18th and 19th Centuries, a Case study of Hedjaz, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Edinburgh.

KHAN, S. M. (1981) Jeddah Old Houses, Riyadh: Department of Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia.

MAGHRIBI, M. (1982) Malam Alhayah Alijtimaiyyah fi AlHijaz (Features of Social Life of Hijaz), Jeddah: Tihama Publishers (Arabic text). MERDAD, A. S. (1993) Foreign Television Programs and Their Sources: An Empirical Analysis of Media Usage and Perceptions of its Effects by Young Viewers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ph.D. Thesis, Wayne State University.

PESCE, A. (1977) Jiddah, Portrait of an Arabian city, Oasis Publishing.


21


The American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language, Third Edition, (1994) London: Softkey Multimedia

Role of Windowindows

Documents

Transcript of Role of Windowindows