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The Architecture of the Traditional Arab House
http://architecture.knoji.com/the-architecture-of-the-traditional-arab-house/ (1 of 33)08/04/2014 12:11:59
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The Architecture of the Traditional Arab
House
Abdel-moniem El-Shorbagy
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The architecture of the Arab houses retained a common architectural vocabulary, which expressed an
outstanding response to both the climate of its specific regions as well as the common religious needs.
In many parts of the Arab world, one can realise many distinctive examples of traditional architecture,
including religious, educational, commercial, and mainly houses. The remarkable traditional houses of
medieval Cairo, the stylish facades of Jeddahs townhouses, the wind-catcher (badgir) of the houses of
Dubais Bastakia district, and the courtyard houses of Yemen, are all evidence to the rich wealth of the
Arab residential architecture. The traditional Arab house is characterised by its structural clarity and subtle
beauty, which can be visualized as being generated from its plan and scaled by the human body. In fact the
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forms and spaces of the Arab house were dictated by the habits, traditions, and culture of its inhabitants.
Although there were socio-cultural differences in each region, the architecture of the Arab houses retained
a common architectural vocabulary, which expressed an outstanding response to both the climate of its
specific region as well as the common religious needs.
Image credit: Traditional Arab House
The regions of most of the Arab world such as Egypt, Iraq, and the Gulf area are hot arid zones. However,
unlike most of the European houses, which are extroverted to enjoy the maximum amount of the sun-heat,
the Arab house is introverted, where family-life looked into a courtyard rather than looking out upon the
street. However, the architectural vocabulary which governed the design concept of the Arab house and
highlighted its distinctive characteristics were, the majaz (entrance), the courtyard, the combination of the
qaah (reception area) and the malqaf (wind-catcher), the takhtabush, (a sitting area between to courtyards)
and the mashrabiyyah (wooden lattice bay window).
Every architectural element in the Arab house represented a solution or an answer to a different problem
that appeared according to a specific condition. They were a sequence of related problems, which were met
successfully to achieve a unified and a harmonious house. In fact, the beauty of these traditional houses
represents an art form that has resulted from an understanding of a unique mode of religious and cultural
human life. For example, the privacy of the family was an essential element which affected the shape and
the plan form of all traditional Arab houses, to be clearly defined as public, semi-public and private spaces.
However, the design concept of the house tended to generate an inward-looking plan with plain external
walls. These plain and thick walls were designed to discourage strangers from looking inside the house as
well as to protect the house from the harsh climate of the region.
The majaz (entrance) of the house was designed to open into a blank wall to obstruct views into the inside
from outside in order to preserve the privacy of the family or to open into a for-courtyard, which leads you
to the entrance of the house. Al-Suhaymi house in Cairo is an outstanding living example from the mid
17th century. It expresses the relationship between the main entrance and the courtyard.
The entrance opens into the courtyard, Al-Suhaymi house, Cairo, 1648
Image credit: Entrance to Zeinab Khatoun showing the only Mashrabeyya on the exterior faade, 14th
century
Another essential feature of the Arab house is the courtyard, which represented the core of all Arab houses,
specifically in hot arid regions. The courtyard was used, not only to achieve privacy, which is a necessity
in Arab society, but also to enhance the thermal comfort inside a house. The courtyard is an effective
device to generate air movement by convection. In hot dry zones the air of the courtyard, which was heated
by the sun during the day, rises and is replaced by the cooled night air coming from above. The
accumulated cool air in the courtyard seeps into and cools the surrounding rooms. During the day, the
courtyard is shaded by its four walls and this helps its air to heat slowly and remain cool until late in the
day.
Image credit: A courtyard in a traditional Tunisian House
Image credit: A courtyard in a traditional Moroccan house
In the early Arab houses the courtyard also represented an intermediary space between the entrance and the
guest area. Meeting people who are not relatives, always took place in the takhtabash, a type of loggia. It is
a covered outdoor sitting area, located between two courtyards; one is an unshaded, large paved-courtyard
and the other is planted. The takhtabush has one side opening completely onto the paved-courtyard and
through mashrabiyyah (wooden lattice-work bay window) onto the back garden. Air heats up more readily
in the unshaded courtyard than in the back garden creating an area of low air pressure. However, the
heated air rising in the courtyard draws cool air from the back garden of the takhtabush, creating a cool
draft.
Al-Suhaymi house, Cairo, 1648
Image credit: Takhtabush facade of the Suheimi House, Cairo, 1648
In the Mamluk period in the 12thcentury, a change in the style of the house took place that involved the
covering of the courtyard, and the introduction of the qaah as the main reception hall in the house. The
qaah consisted of the durqaah (a central part of the qaah with a high ceiling covered by the
shukhshakhah (wooden lantern on the top) and two iwans (sitting areas) at a higher level on both the north
and south sides. The lantern is provided with openings to allow the hot air to escape. With the covered
courtyard, a new system of ventilation was invented to achieve thermal comfort inside the qaah. This was
the malqaf (a wind-catch). The malqaf is a shaft rising high above the building with an opening facing the
prevailing wind and constructed on the north iwan (sitting area). It traps the cool air and channels it down
into the interior of the building.
Wind-catcher, Bastikia district, Dubai. (Author)
However, this new system of ventilation combined the malqaf and the lantern in one design to assure a
good circulation of cool air in the qaah. The fourteenth century Muhib Ad-Din Ash-Shafi Al-Muwaqqi
house in Cairo is a good example to illustrate this combination.
Section of the Q'a of Muhib Ad-Din Ash-Shf'i, 1350, Cairo
Q'a of Muhib Ad-Din Ash-Shf'i, 1350, Cairo
The mashrabiyyah (wooden lattice-work bay window) is another important device which was used to
cover openings as well as to achieve thermal comfort and privacy in the Arab house. It is a cantilevered
space covered with a lattice opening, where water jars were placed to be cooled by the evaporation effect
as air moved through the opening. The form and function of the mashrabiyyah has changed to become a
wooden lattice screen. The mashrabiyyah was designed to fulfill number of environmenta functions
including, controlling the passage of light and the air flow, reducing the temperature of the air current,
increasing the humidity of the air current and ensuring privacy. To control the amount of light and air and
to graduate the contrast between shade and light, the size of the interstices and the diameter of the balusters
are adjusted.
Image credit: Mashrabiyyah, Al-Suhaymi house, Cairo, 1648
The most outstanding characteristics of the Arab house come mainly from its array of elements that were
tested by peoples traditions and culture, and environmental needs. Undoubtedly, the subtle architectural
quality of these houses and the positive effect of their images do not only come from its deliberate plans,
but also from their imposing exteriors. However, the aesthetic of the Arab house comes from the harmony
of putting the architectural elements together as well as juxtaposing them in order to provide variety and
visual interest through change in their size and scale as well as maintaining a coherence and unity between
inhabited space, construction and landscape.
REFERENCES
Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: Principles and Examples with Reference to
Hot Arid Climates. Chicago, 1986, PP. 46-47, 57-59, 62-67.
Alkhateeb, Sharief, Arab Architecture for Those Who Can Really Live in Style. Saudi Gazette, 19
September 1979, p. 5.
Steil, Lucien, Tradition & Architecture. Architectural Design, v. 57, no. 5 / 6, 1987, p. 53.
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James R. Coffey
Remarkable presentation. I really appreciated and enjoyed the insight!
Posted 31 months ago
MrsSamyLeo
Excellent !
Jerry Walch
Nice presentation. Beautifully illustrated.
Mike Quoc
Informative and well-written.
Bill Vertard
Another great article.
Ranked #2 in Architecture
Thank you everyone for reading and commenting. Appreciate very much your
encouraging response
MJ5446
Another superb and illuminating piece. I once studied an architect called Archibald Dunn
(1832-1917) who travelled to Cairo in the 1880s and published a book of sketches he had
taken. A lot of the images look like the houses in your photos. Thanks for the insight.
Guimo Pantuhan
I am really mesmerized. Great piece!
deepa venkitesh
wow!, no words, touch wood, voted for excellence.
Roberta Baxter
When I was in Cairo I wondered about the things you have cleared up for me in this well
done presentation.
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your time reading and insightfully commenting.
Sibt-e-Hassan Raja
It is an excellent piece of work. This is very interesting information. Voted up
Ron Siojo
Excellent presentation of Arab architecture Sir Abdel.
P. Regoniel
These are highly distinctive arab designs.
Jill Vance
Not only do I enjoy your articles, but also the presentation.
Thank you Dear everyone for your kind words..really much appreciate
Kaleidoscope Acres
My husband and I often watch a tv show called House Hunters International, it is
fascinating, but we did notice similarities between Arab homes and those in Central
America, particularly in that they look like basic plain walls from the outside but are
beautiful inside.
Virginia Grant
Fascinating, as Americans we do not have enough insight into day to day life in the mid-
east
Iris McCammon
As always, your articles are provide a glance into another part of the world.
Thanks Iris for your kind comment..appreciate
Donata L.
Awesome share! Very informative and nicely executed, too. The pictures add great insight
to your article. I am a frequent viewer of HGTV House International and saw an episode
on Arabic homes and the culture in general. Was fascinating to watch. Thanks again, for
sharing another extraordinary article. Voted up!!!
Thanks Dear Donata for your insightful comment.appreciate
Cheryl Murphy
Nice article.
MJ5446
Dear Abdel-Moneim, I'm currently contributing to the Routledge Encyclopedia of
Modernism. We need someone to write the entry on Hassan Fathy and I thought that you
would be the ideal person, given your PhD research. We have many other terms that
have not yet been assigned to authors. Unfortunately, the publisher is not paying
contributors, but all authors will receive free access to the encyclopedia when it comes
online. Please let me know if you're interested. My email is michael.
johnson9bw@talktalk.net if you would like further details.

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Topic: Science
Sub-Topic: Architecture
5,506 views 23 comments +29 recommendations
Published on Nov 24, 2011
Last updated on Apr 8, 2014
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