VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

LECTURE 06

1. What are the 5 environmental considerations in house design?

• Orientation of the house
• Shading devices
• Ventilation
• Natural lighting
• Natural materials

2. Fill in the blanks.

a. Tents were oriented to catch the cool breeze and to avoid the sand storms
b. Courtyards are introverted. Hence the orientation didn’t play a major role
c. Majlis faces the north whenever possible
d. Panel structure system created minor shade
e. Ventilation used to happen in 3 different ways; courtyard, badger, & small openings in
walls
f. Badgir is usually located above important rooms
g. Windows overlooked outside on in the majles.

3. What is the purpose of installing decorative wooden screens on openings and balconies?
To allow air and light but avoid sun and glare

4. When do the 3 regular cycles take place in the courtyard?

• At night
o Courtyard acts as a cool air sink
• At noon
o The sun heats the courtyard, the warm air rises creating the chimney effect &
pulls air through the rooms
• Afternoon
o The courtyard and buildings retain heat then give it off as the night air cools

5. How does the badgir function?

• Used to cool the space below by creating descending and ascending air currents
• Open to all sides
• Catches the wind and directs it down the shaft
• Each opening can be closed with a wooden door
• Angled at 45 degrees to prevailing wind to maximize air volume captured and minimize
turbulence

6. What are the natural materials used in Bahrain?

• Coral stones
• Thin coral stones (fursh)
• Palm leaves
• Tree trunks
• Animal fat and organic waste
• Clay mixed with nurah
• Lime (protects against humidity)
• Gypsum (used as mortar, plaster, wash)

7. What do the following indigenous urban concepts and terms mean?

• Masjid-mosque
• Fereej- old neighborhood
• Jame’e- grand mosque
 • Qala’a-fort
• Spitar- hospital
• Souq-market place
• Madrasa-school
• Raas a’ayer- special treatment in the corner wall sometimes tapered or rounded to
indicate the beginning of a new neighborhood
• Gaser-palace
• Baraha-neighborhood square
• Zernoog or daous-narrow corridor in between houses, can be open ended or cul de sacs
• Amarah-commercial building with retail shops open to the outside and store rooms
inside (some had madbassa)
• Khan-hostel for temporary accommodation with very little charge while leaving their
animals to be used in some services
• Gahwa-traditional coffee shop
• Ferdha-commercial port
• Qayssareyah- old style souq that consists of rows of shops located in closed and roofed
corridors

8. What are the 7 principles and guidelines of buildings in the Islamic Arab city?
• Harm (no person or party to be harmed for another to benefit)
o Example: the extension of the structure within the property’s vertical air space
should not harm others by blocking air and sun
• Privacy

• Rights of earlier/original use

• Pre-emption (the right of a neighbor or partner to purchase an adjacent property when
offered for sale by another neighbor)
o The intent is to protect the neighbor from the potential harm or inconvenience if
a stranger becomes a joint owner of an invisible property such as a party wall or
garden
• Right of way (any public street should not be obstructed by temporary or permanent
obstructions)
o 7 cubits is the minmum width & height of a public street to allow 2 fully loaded
camels to pass
o Disallowance in streets
§ Planting trees
§ Building columns or pillars
§ Narrowing the street for storage purposes
§ Tying animals of burden on the street for a long time
§ Disposing items on streets
• Cul-de-sacs
o Height and width should fit one fully loaded camel (4 cubits)
o Common property by all occupants, so an agreement is essential
• Al-fina
o Interior courtyard of a house and the exterior space immediately adjacent to the
exterior wall of the house
o The width of the exterior fina is determined by the contact of rainwater with the
ground form the gargoyles and spouts (1-1.5m)