| Author(s) | Mosaid A. Al-Sadhan |
| Affiliation | Assistant Prof., Department of Architecture and Building Sciences, College of Architecture and Planning, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. |
| Title | A Study of Traditional Built Environments |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Architecture & Planning. Volume 19, No 1. (2007/1427) |
| Abstract | Traditional built environment has been the focus of a great deal of research. One of the regions that received attention is Najd Region in Saudi Arabia. Most of the research that was conducted in this region was in the form of dissertation theses and research papers, by architects and planners. These studies utilized physical and visual surveying in addition to written and verbal historical data. The author proposes a tool that has not been sufficiently utilized, namely local traditional poetry, which can supplement other tools in studying and analyzing traditional built environment and its socio-cultural context. Traditional poetry, written in local dialects, embodies and expresses local culture. It is an important art form that documents local culture, and paints vivid images of the built environment. Its rich vocabulary and free nature, operating outside the formal context of the classical Arabic language, gives it liberty to express, in vivid details, the built environment and its context. This quality also makes this poetry difficult to understand for people not familiar with local dialects. Through this study, the traditional built environment in Najd has been classified into four types, according to their time frame and socio-cultural context. The first type is the traditional built environment in which poets have lived all their lives; the second one is the environment that became a history and it is remembered by aged poets who now live in a modern built environment. The third type is the environment that was totally abandoned, while the fourth one is the environment which has been changed or removed, due to the introduction of new forms of land subdivision. This classification provides an opportunity for understanding the traditional built environment in Najd region and the changes it went through. The study proposes another tool for studying architectural and planning phenomena, by analyzing poetry, proverbs and folkloric tales. All regions in the world that have their own distinct dialects and cultural heritage. Therefore, these tools provide a good opportunity for researchers to document, explore and analyze traditional built environments. |
