Introduction
The term ‘Vernacular architecture’ is in reference of buildings that were built by people who considered their respective requirements, environmental factors, societal conditions, and materials. The study of the a society’s vernacular buildings enables formulation of a discourse that traces the intellectual development of the history of the society in question. In other terms, the shape of a society-built environment equals the shape of its culture which is a product of numerous little acts that have been contributed by generations over along period of time.
Vernacular architecture in Saudi Arabia
In the case of Saudi Arabia, the vernacular buildings and settlements attest to this notion because they are cultural specific and clearly illustrate the way in which the different aspects pf the resultant culture developed. Accordingly, Saudi vernacular architecture depicts not only a strong but also a distinctive local identity which greatly reflects both Saudi cultural customs and norms, and Islamic values. Vernacular settings in Arabia were accommodations to the varied social groups whose social patterns demanded of the buildings to have particular forms in line with their materials, something which was addressed through resources at hand beside being conditioned by factors of environment, economy, climate as well as site. The buildings were constructed from within the community as key to its life and as a purely direct expression of it. To a larger extent, therefore, vernacular architecture in Saudi Arabia are defined by a healthy respect of human values, human scale together with human society.
The general design of Saudi vernacular architecture was to a larger extent informed by the laws and conventions as defined by the Fiqh which pertains to building activities. The Fiqh refers to the Islamic code of jurisprudence based on the Holy Quran and the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad (Sunnah). The Fiqh thus carries building codes and regulations, and insights on rights or way, rights or privacy, and neighbors’ rights among other things. Generally speaking, vernacular buildings and structures and their respective settings in Saudi Are are not only coherent but also well organized. These architectural structures signify extensive urban texts which lend an elaborate expression of the native heritage, the cultural customs of their dwellers, along with the social system.
It would be fair to term the architectural structures as a symbolic and true presentation of the Saudi local culture. The the identification, analysis and description of these buildings are greatly salient. The general arrangement of the buildings in Saudi Arabia, though superficially irregular, is systematic and founded on a physical layout that underwent a metamorphosis over a long period of time. The local inhabitants of Saudi Arabia, in respect to their socio-economic needs, planned and produced vernacular architecture. In this respect, the urban pattern as well as built for tor typical traditional environments in the largest country in the Arabian peninsula is thus not uniquely congruent and balanced in form, architectural style and material, but also in line with the local climatic conditions as well as the activities of the Saudi people. They are indeed a true a manifestation of ideals and believes of the people as they incorporate both the integrity and domestic spirituality thus the meaning of Islamic architecture.
