The project is a
critical investigation of building typologies in Riyadh’s old district, it aims
to identify the questions, and thus problems, of urban decay and inner-city
migration in the face of infrastructural development.
The work also aims to address the relationship between architecture and the earth in regards to the contemporary ecological issues and questions we are facing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As well as the loss of architectural identity. Looking into the fragments in the old part of the city provides the initial analysis with an in-depth look into multiple examples of Najdi architecture. We will look into existing structural conditions and identify opportunities for repair, restoration or intervention.
Aug 2021
Intervention III: The conservatory
The tactile extension of the mudhouse expresses the movement of displacement of Najdi adobe architecture, and memorializes a cultural and personal attachment to place.
The installation consists of a fabric cladded membrane that shelters the adobe structure and its existing condition. The installation falls short under the prerequisite for a formal restoration, and therefore does not touch the existing structure. However, it inserts itself into the edge of the deteriorating relic, and extends its projected lifespan. The “installation” memorializes the adobe structure through which personal and architectural najdi identities are maintained. This shell engages with the existing site and emphasizes a concern of the loss or dispersal of the space inside.
It is situated in an empty site on the main highway on King Fahad road, south of central Riyadh. The fallen structure sits outside of Riyadh’s old wall and is believed to have been a small farmland in the past century, what physically remains is part of a one-story structure, half of a courtyard, and two distinct slices through rooms on either end. Most importantly, what remains is the memory of the city, materially encapsulated in part of a house.
Sept 2021
Intervention IV: Material testimonies
The physical process of collecting can become a site of encounter. For our fourth urban intervention, we performed an architectural analysis on a deteriorating mud house that is at 80 percent decay, situated in the Alfutah neighborhood adjacent to the lab. Through examining the remains on the site, we begin to better understand its ephemeral components. The collected fragments include the original mud-bricks used to construct the house, as well as added material that has accumulated over the years, including decorative tiles and fragments of the cement plastering on its exterior shell.
July 2021
Intervention II: Fallen Structures
In 2012, a restoration campaign was initiated in Najran, a city south of Saudi known for its traditional adobe architecture. The phrase “ لا يطيح'' was its slogan, it loosely translates to “Don’t let it fall” referring to the fragility of earthen structures when they are left unmaintained. To continue this mission, We’ve put together a poster around the same phrase and have installed it on the exterior of some of the mud houses under immediate threat.
May 2021
Intervention I: The Pursuit of Site
Following the failed applications to obtain a restoration permit for one of the deteriorating mudhouses in old riyadh, we attempted to further understand the process for aquiring these permits and the effect of the area’s proposed redevelopment on these neglected structures.
This proformative intervention explores a site that falls on the main highway south of central Riyadh. The vacant mudhouse is sinking slowly into the empty plot, which is used by truck drivers to park their large vehicles.
This column of fabric suspended on the house’s facade illustrates the twelve steps to obtain a permit. the fabric serves as an interface between the administrative framework of restoration and the ephemeral nature of the materials that these sites are composed of.
The work also aims to address the relationship between architecture and the earth in regards to the contemporary ecological issues and questions we are facing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As well as the loss of architectural identity. Looking into the fragments in the old part of the city provides the initial analysis with an in-depth look into multiple examples of Najdi architecture. We will look into existing structural conditions and identify opportunities for repair, restoration or intervention.
Aug 2021
Intervention III: The conservatory
The tactile extension of the mudhouse expresses the movement of displacement of Najdi adobe architecture, and memorializes a cultural and personal attachment to place.
The installation consists of a fabric cladded membrane that shelters the adobe structure and its existing condition. The installation falls short under the prerequisite for a formal restoration, and therefore does not touch the existing structure. However, it inserts itself into the edge of the deteriorating relic, and extends its projected lifespan. The “installation” memorializes the adobe structure through which personal and architectural najdi identities are maintained. This shell engages with the existing site and emphasizes a concern of the loss or dispersal of the space inside.
It is situated in an empty site on the main highway on King Fahad road, south of central Riyadh. The fallen structure sits outside of Riyadh’s old wall and is believed to have been a small farmland in the past century, what physically remains is part of a one-story structure, half of a courtyard, and two distinct slices through rooms on either end. Most importantly, what remains is the memory of the city, materially encapsulated in part of a house.
Sept 2021
Intervention IV: Material testimonies
The physical process of collecting can become a site of encounter. For our fourth urban intervention, we performed an architectural analysis on a deteriorating mud house that is at 80 percent decay, situated in the Alfutah neighborhood adjacent to the lab. Through examining the remains on the site, we begin to better understand its ephemeral components. The collected fragments include the original mud-bricks used to construct the house, as well as added material that has accumulated over the years, including decorative tiles and fragments of the cement plastering on its exterior shell.
July 2021
Intervention II: Fallen Structures
In 2012, a restoration campaign was initiated in Najran, a city south of Saudi known for its traditional adobe architecture. The phrase “ لا يطيح'' was its slogan, it loosely translates to “Don’t let it fall” referring to the fragility of earthen structures when they are left unmaintained. To continue this mission, We’ve put together a poster around the same phrase and have installed it on the exterior of some of the mud houses under immediate threat.
May 2021
Intervention I: The Pursuit of Site
Following the failed applications to obtain a restoration permit for one of the deteriorating mudhouses in old riyadh, we attempted to further understand the process for aquiring these permits and the effect of the area’s proposed redevelopment on these neglected structures.
This proformative intervention explores a site that falls on the main highway south of central Riyadh. The vacant mudhouse is sinking slowly into the empty plot, which is used by truck drivers to park their large vehicles.
This column of fabric suspended on the house’s facade illustrates the twelve steps to obtain a permit. the fabric serves as an interface between the administrative framework of restoration and the ephemeral nature of the materials that these sites are composed of.