Research Paper

FORUM

The Diminishing Role of Windows

from Traditional to Modern
The Case of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Sameer Akbar
Keywords
Windows, Courtyards, Rowshans, Climate

INTRODUCTION
ABSTRACT
Many architects blame Western design
ideas for the absence of the local
identity in the built environment.
Though this argument has been widely
and intensively discussed, there has been
no consideration of the inevitable
influence of technological changes, such
as air-conditioning, and peoples
expression of their identity in the built
environment.
It is argued in this paper that the primary
reason for the diminishing role of
rowshans, which were important
architectural pieces in traditional houses
of Jeddah, has been what suits people in
terms of utility and meaning. The
convenience of air-conditioning in
controlling the microclimate (utility) of
the home interior in a hot and humid
climate abolished the need for large
openings.
Furthermore,
people
expressed their social status by
emulating Western lifestyle.
What architects consider a cause of
identity disruption is considered by
people as a means of expressing a high
social status. It is concluded that the
technological
control
of
the
microclimate and peoples expression of
their social status by emulating the
Western life style diminish the
traditional identity of the built
environment. Because these social
changes are inevitable, architects do not
have much control of the dilemma of the
built environment identity.

A window with a window place helps

a person come to life. But a room which
has no window place, in which the
windows are just holes, sets up a
hopeless inner conflict in me which I
cant resolve (Alexander, 1979: 111).
Windows are not only holes to let light
and air get into the room; they are also
places
through
which
people
communicate with nature, maintain their
relationship with neighbours and resolve
their stress. It is where the inside
stretches to the outside while
maintaining its privacy.
Even though windows are at the edge of
the room, they could be the focal point
especially in summer; in cold climates
they allow access to some sun and in hot
climates to some air. Windows play an
important role in determining the quality
of space.
However, what if the outdoor
environment becomes insignificant, ugly
and unbearable to people? What if the
home environment becomes confined to
the home interior? Will windows enjoy
the same significance? The emphasis of
this paper will be on the use, meaning,
and morphology of windows in relation
to the improving quality of the home
interior and the deteriorating quality of
streets in Jeddah.

The main source to cool home interiors

was large openings that consisted of two
types. The first was the wooden
casement window called shubbak
(Figure 1).
The function of the shubbak was the
same as the function of the conventional
window, to let air and light come
through.

In addition, the large width of the wall

provided a reasonable space for sitting
beside the shubbak. On the ground floor
they had steel bars for security reasons.
They were simple and, if decorated, they
were modestly so.
When the shubbak projects to the
outside, it is called a rowshan (Figure 2).

WINDOWS DURING THE

TRADITIONAL PERIOD
Even though the climate was hot and
humid, the system of courtyards did not
exist in Jeddahs traditional buildings.

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The rowshans were the most
sophisticated objects in the traditional
houses of Jeddah.1 Rich families made
their rowshans from Indian or Java
teakwood imported from the Far East.
As such, they were the most expensive
elements in the building (Jomah, 1992).
The low-income families used local
wood. Some rowshans, which were
close to neighbours rowshans, were
fixed with a wooden mesh, called
sheesh, to maintain privacy if the
rowshan was open.
The karaweet (an interior sitting bench)
was positioned around the majlis (the
guest reception room) (Figure 3) to
make a continuous peripheral seating
with the rowshans.

The rowshans were extended out from

the home interior to catch as much
moving air as possible. The air travels
across the house through the large
openings in the walls. Sweeping rooms
with a broom and dusting the furniture,
thus, consumed a lot of time and effort.
The considerable depth of the rowshan
made the narrow alleys even narrower at
the higher levels. In fact some alleys
could be so narrow that their width was
determined by the doors and windows
swing open freely. This enabled women
neighbours to have group discussions
during the day while sitting in their airy
home rowshans (Figure 4) without
leaving their homes (Jomah, 1992).

also used by women to look down at the

walkways (Figure 6).

If there were no holes, the sharbat could

stand on timbers which covered the gap
between the rowshan and the mesh.
Women in this case could look through
the little gaps between the timbers.
The rowshan was also used for sleeping,
usually by the housemaster and his wife.
When the karaweet is put beside the
rowshan on the same level, which is a
common arrangement, the width of the
rowshan, the thick wall, and the
karaweet combined is the same as a
modern king size bed (Figure 7).

The karaweet was covered with the

same covers as the rowshans, making a
large sitting area. Back support
cushions, called masanid, and side
support cushions, called madafii, were
put on the karaweet and rowshans. They
were covered with thick red floralpatterned2
cloth
called
damask3
(Maghribi, 1982).

1
Their beauty was reflected in the travellers
writings. Russel, cited by Pesce, said There is
nothing more pretty, more aerial than the
sculptured wood balconies that adorn the facades
of rich mansions (Pesce, 1977: 51).
2

People of old Jeddah liked the colour red and

used it for their clothes and Karaweet. The reason
for this is not precisely known. However, AlAnsari (1982) cited another writers opinion, who
attributed the preference for red to the prevailing
red coral stone on Jeddahs sea shores.
3

This name is used as well in English for rich

patterned fabric of cotton, linen, silk, or wool (The

The sharbat (earthenware drinking pot)

was put between the wooden mesh and
the rowshan to be exposed to maximum
ventilation4 (Figure 5).

If they have guests, this place is given

over to the most honoured person, for
sleeping as well as sitting.
Circular holes were cut out of the wood
to hold the sharbat. These holes were
American Heritage Dictionary, 1994). Maghribi
pointed out that it was named as such because this
cloth was first made in Damascus. The researcher
noted that the same type of cloth was used in
Morocco and Turkey for the same purpose.
4

For this reason the term rowshan does not exist

in Egypt, and instead the term mashrabiyyah
(which literally means a place for drinking) is used
instead (Jomah, 1992).

Duncan (1981) argued people in

traditional cultures express their identity
and social status through social
occasions. Marriage was an important
social occasion, through which the
families of married couples in Jeddah
expressed themselves to the community.
There were many ceremonies involved
in completing a wedding. One of these
ceremonies, dabash, will be explored

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below due to its relationship to the
subject.
After finishing the formal public notary
procedures, the grooms family prepares
a room in their house to be the new
couples home. This preparation could
involve painting the walls, doors and
windows. The only furniture that the
grooms family were responsible for
providing, if they could afford to, was
the structure of the sitting bench,
karaweet. The brides family meanwhile
was responsible for providing all the
remaining furniture. The furniture which
is provided by the brides family is
called dabash. Usually the whole dowry
is spent in paying the expenses of the
dabash.
It could take several months for the
room to be prepared. Before sending the
dabash, the brides family go to the
house and check whether they need to
add more furniture to what they have
already planned for. Once it is ready, the
dabash is sent in a celebratory manner.
Carriers and men from the grooms
family carry on their heads rugs,
blankets, cushions, paraffin lamps,
earthenware vessels, little boxes for the
brides personal belongings and so on.
When they walk through the narrow
paths, everyone cheers and congratulates
them; children run around, and women
watch from the rowshans.
This occasion, the dabash, was one of
the many social occasions through
which families expressed their identity
and social status. A good way to express
identity and social status to as many
people as possible was through
displaying furniture whilst moving it
from house to house. Jomah (1992)
attributed this display of furniture to
letting people know what is missing so
that they would provide them as gifts.
The rowshan, thus, played an important
role in facilitating communication
between residents, especially women,
and in the social occasions in the street.
The rowshan played an important
symbolic role in the home interior.
Chairs and sitting benches throughout
history in many cultures were symbolic

and thus highly decorated. The chair has

been used as a means to express or
indicate the identity of the person sitting
on it. However, even though the
karaweet was the most common sitting
furniture in Jeddah, it did not have as
strong a symbolic meaning as was the
case with chairs in many cultures. The
continuity of the karaweet around the
room and the sameness of decoration did
not emphasise any part of it over other
parts. The most symbolic location was
in the centre of the rowshan, due to its
climatical advantage and centrality in
the room. It was devoted to the most
important guest.
The projections were also used for
exterior symbolic purposes. The most
frequently seen object is the best to
convey meaning because of the
communication
advantage of its
location. When people are regularly out
of doors, objects attached to buildings
become an important means to convey
the identity of occupiers to neighbours
and passers by. Thus rowshans were
beautifully engraved.
The projection of rowshans allowed air
to enter the home interiors, women to
maintain their relationships, family
members to watch outside activities and
sit and sleep comfortably. With the
projection, the rowshan became a unique
element. It is a window on the outside
world, a screen against Jeddahs harsh
sunlight, an integral part of the
ventilating system, and a piece of
furniture, sometimes even an extension
of a room over the adjoining street.
(Khan, 1981: 11) In addition, it was
used to cool water and express the
identity of the occupier.

THE FIRST
TRANSFORMATION LATE
FORTIES AND EARLY
FIFTIES
Due to the increasing world demand for
oil at the end of forties, Saudi Arabia
witnessed an increasing economic
development. As a result, the per capita
income increased, people immigrated

from rural areas to cities, the

government introduced the gridiron
system to control the random expansion
of the cities, concrete became the main
construction
material, villas and
apartments became the typical prototype
of houses and cheap electricity became
available to all citizens.
After the introduction of electricity and
the increase of per capita income,
households began to depend on airconditioners in controlling the microclimate of the house. However, airconditioners were still considered
expensive and, thus, one or two per
household was the average. In 1951 the
number of imported air-conditioners was
576. Two years later, in 1953, the
number increased to 50815 (The General
Department of Customs).
The rowshan was abandoned. The
reason for this could have been both
symbolic and utilitarian. It was symbolic
because the image of villas and
apartments was modern and thus, if the
rowshan was fixed on a villa or
apartment, the modern image which
people were keen to express would be
distorted.
Abandoning the rowshan was also
utilitarian because air-conditioners had
now begun to be used, though only
occasionally, which reduced the need to
have large openings to control the
microclimate of the house. One to two
air-conditioners are now available in the
average household.
The introduction of the gridiron system
has also diminished the role of the
rowshan. The gridiron system has
greatly changed the social context of the
outdoor
environment.
The
slow
evolutionary
system
involving
traditional urban fabric, climate and
5

The number of air-conditioners imported this

year was not available. The researcher found out
the cost of an air-conditioner (1035 SR) in 1951 by
dividing the total cost by the number imported;
then he divided the total cost of air-conditioners
imported in the year 1953 by the cost per single
air-conditioner to conclude that the number of
imported air-conditioners in 1953 was around
5081.

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cultural values was disrupted by
completely changing the pattern of the
urban fabric. After being around 3 m
wide in old Jeddah, streets in residential
areas are now at least 12 m wide. The
hierarchy of transitional spaces between
public and private disappeared. Setting
buildings further apart and making new
street widths increased the open areas
between buildings. Streets are paved
with asphalt and exposed most of the
day to the radiation of the sun. Thus the
outdoors has become unbearable not
only to sit in but also to walk through
during day. Therefore it was useless to
fix rowshans in apartment buildings
since the significance of the outdoor
activities diminished. As for villas, the
rowshan was more useless because it
would overlook either the front garden
or the two meter set-back of the villa.
With the end of the visual interaction
between the household members and
outdoor activities, a new type of window
(Figure 8) replaced the rowshan.

This was introduced simultaneously

with the new residential types and the
introduction of air-conditioning. The
new window was a hole rather than a
place. On the inside there were frosted
panes of glass with wooden frames. On
the outside there were wooden shutters
with slats. The frosted glass was to
maintain privacy while letting the
daylight in. It would be kept closed
during hot weather only if the airconditioning was on. If the weather was
suitable, it would be left open while the
external shutters were closed to maintain
privacy. Thus this type of window was

suitable in combination with

occasional use of air-conditioning.

the

During the first transformation, the role

of windows was reduced. They were not
a representation of the households
identities and were not needed to
facilitate the visual relationship between
the household members and outdoors.
However, they were still important in
controlling the microclimate of the
house.

This prosperity made it easy for

householders to furnish every room with
at least one air-conditioner. Chart 1
shows a significant increase in the
import of air-conditioners.

1000000
500000

THE SECOND
TRANSFORMATION: LATE
SEVENTIES

0
1963 69

75

81

87

Years

After the first transformation and during

the sixties and early seventies, changes
in the home environment were slow
until the early eighties, when the impact
of the sharp increase in national income
took effect due to the sharp increase in
world oil prices in the mid-seventies.
Many social changes occurred in Saudi
society due to governmental projects
and the significant increase of per capita
income. The standard of living of most
Saudis improved significantly. Better
education, medical care, transportation,
electricity, water pipes, sewage systems
and telephone lines became available to
all the population in cities.
The image of the Western lifestyle in
peoples minds was very strong.
Television had a great impact on
peoples lifestyle. Black and white
television broadcasting started in 1965
and was replaced by coloured in 1976.
The influence of foreign programmes,
mainly American, had a great impact on
peoples values (Merdad, 1993). The
scenes of American homes shown in
films
also
influenced
peoples
perception of the home environment.
More people could afford to travel
abroad on vacation and were influenced
by the Western lifestyle. Many saw
different home environments, by which
they were impressed, and which they
consequently emulated when they
returned (Al-Lyaly, 1990).

Chart 1. Total number of imported airconditioners to Saudi Arabia

Source: Based on data collected from the Annual
Statistical Reports of the Department of Statistics,
Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Arabia.

In addition to their control of the room

climate, another great advantage of airconditioners is the reduction of dust
getting into the house because the
windows are kept shut all of the time.
As such, the role of windows has
diminished greatly. Their role now is
confined to letting in the daylight.
The dust reduction and the availability
of electric vacuum cleaners could be a
strong reason for the introduction of
carpets into houses. Whereas the floors
of corridors, stairs, kitchens, and
bathrooms were not covered with rugs
before the second transformation, now
the floors of the whole house, including
kitchens and sometimes bathrooms, are
furnished with carpets. It became easy
for housewives to sweep and dust the
entire
house.
Most
importantly,
windows should be kept shut to keep the
dust out and the cool air in.
Prosperity and the absence of dust made
it possible for householders to fill their
home interiors with a variety of
imported decorated items. This has
enriched the appearance of the home
interior. The tendency to express the
identity of a household through modern

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furniture and decorated
increased significantly.
Error! Not a valid link.
Chart 2 .

showpieces

Source: Based on data collected from the Annual

Statistical Reports of the Department of Statistics,
Ministry of Commerce, Saudi Arabia.

With the diminishing role of windows in

letting the air in, the practical window
type which was made of framed frosted
glass and slats was replaced by a
cheaper
and
impractical
sliding
aluminium window type. The new type
was made of two aluminium frames
holding clear sheets of glass. Frosted
glass, which is good at maintaining
privacy, is used rarely. Curtains began to
have a more important role in
maintaining privacy. Even though it is
easy to slide one side to open the
window, lack of use and maintenance
led to the rails of the window filling
with dust. Thus it is common to find
many houses in which the windows are
difficult to open.
The new window type did not have any
sort of light control like the rowshan or
the wooden shutters type. The role of
windows diminished greatly. The
relationship between people and
outdoors did not exist anymore. Airconditioners provided the desired
microclimate. As such, windows were
kept shut all year round. This has
increased the role of curtains to maintain
privacy and control the amount of day
lighting.

Curtain designs also developed and

diversified to cover the ugly
appearance of the aluminium. Since
the window is the main source of
daylight, it attracts the eye.
Therefore to beautify the room and
to control the amount of daylight
curtains were introduced in many
forms.

DISCUSSION AND
CONCLUSION
In the traditional houses of Jeddah,
windows played an important social,
symbolic and climatic role. The rowshan
was a great interior and exterior element.
It was a window to let air and light get
in, a piece of furniture to let people sit
and sleep, a communication means for
women with neighbours and alleys, and
a representative of the households
identity.
Some architects who complain about the
loss of the beautiful features of
traditional architecture, such as the
rowshan, put the blame on modern
architectural designs, as if architects can
regain this lost identity if they consider
traditional forms in their designs.
It has been argued in this paper that even
though the gridiron street system
diminished the role of windows, the
primary cause of the diminishing
significance of windows has been airconditioning, which is a necessity for
people. People will not abandon their
air-conditioners just to regain the
symbolic role of windows. Climatic
function
was
fulfilled
by airconditioning with more efficiency,
communication with neighbours could
be performed through the telephone
while maintaining privacy, and symbolic
function is fulfilled by modern building
facades, fancy cars and home furniture.
People do not value things as architects
do. Architects in Saudi Arabia consider
Western designs as the source of identity
disruption while people express their
social status by emulating Western
lifestyles. The constructed image of
home in peoples minds is the primary
force in shaping the home environment.
People from the time of the first
transformation until now still express
their social status through possessing
Western goods, which they see in
Western television programmes and
abroad. The disappearance of local
identity is a direct result of this new
cultural expression of households social
status.

What is important for people is to

express themselves the way they
perceive high social status and not the
way architects perceive a local cultural
identity. Thus as long as people are
culturally dominated by Western
culture, the identity of the built
environment will continue to be
distorted.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
AL-ANSARI, A. (1982) Tareekh
Madinat Jeddah (History of Jeddah),
Jeddah: Asfahan Press (Arabic Text).
ALEXANDER, C. (1979) The Timeless
Way of Building, New York: Oxford
University Press.
AL-LYALY, S. (1990). The Traditional
House of Jeddah: a Study of the
Interaction between Climate, Form and
Living
Patterns,
Ph.D.
Thesis,
Department of Architecture, University
of Edinburgh.
DUNCAN, J. S. (Ed.) (1981) Housing
and Identity, London: Croom Helm.
JOMAH, H.A. (1992) The Traditional
Process of Producing a House in Arabia
During the 18th and 19th Centuries, a
Case study of Hedjaz, Ph.D. Thesis,
University of Edinburgh.
KHAN, S. M. (1981) Jeddah Old
Houses,
Riyadh:
Department
of
Scientific Research, King Abdulaziz
City for Science and Technology, Saudi
Arabia.
MAGHRIBI, M. (1982)
Alhayah Alijtimaiyyah fi
(Features of Social Life of
Jeddah: Tihama Publishers
text).

Malam
AlHijaz
Hijaz),
(Arabic

MERDAD, A. S. (1993) Foreign

Television Programs and Their Sources:
An Empirical Analysis of Media Usage
and Perceptions of its Effects by Young
Viewers in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, Ph.D. Thesis, Wayne State
University.
PESCE, A. (1977) Jiddah, Portrait of an
Arabian city, Oasis Publishing.

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The American Heritage Dictionary Of
The English Language, Third Edition,
(1994) London: Softkey Multimedia

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