The Saudi house in the past, present and future (a study of changes)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country with history, values and traditions. The traditional houses all over the country reflect the sensitivity of the people who constructed them toward their needs, environment and resources.; The change which affects every aspect of life in Saudi Arabia also affected the type of houses which people now construct. The traditonal houses and neighbourhoods became a victim of ignorance and an idealized condition of the past.; The present contemporary built environment produced forms which are not applicable to the country's environment and lead to many problems which the people have not had to deal with before.; This study is an investigation of the changes which occurred to the houses and the built environment in the country. It identifies the different characteristics of the traditional houses, the change process and the different related factors, the contemporary built environment and its problems, and the people's perception towards their built environment. As a result of the findings of this work, concepts for new developments are made for the improvement of the built environment in Saudi Arabia.; The study comprises five parts; the first part introduces the study, the country and the Islamic values related to the built environment. The second part discusses the different traditional buildings with a special look at Riyadh, Makkah and Jeddah houses. The third part is an investigation of the process of the change in the built environment and the role of the different agencies in that process until the existing contemporary environment was formulated. The fourth part was field work in Saudi Arabia when a substantial social survey was carried out backed up by extensive interviews. The fifth part presents the recommendations of the study toward the improvement of the built environment (especially houses and neighbourhoods designs).