RIYADH, 6 April 2006 — New buildings, in the rapid physical development of Saudi Arabia, often rise on the ruins of history. Piecemeal planning has — as the wording of the Prince Sultan bin Salman Award for Urban Heritage puts it — “become subject to various international schools and styles of planning and architecture, many of which are unsuited to the climate and the social structures of the societies inhabiting them.”
The result is often a mish-mash of Palladian, post-modern, neo-classical Gothic piles of concrete and steel that neither suits the country nor reflects its traditions. Villages and cities lose their traditional — or in some cases any — recognizable identity.
To counter the slide toward the international homogeneity of cityscapes, Prince Sultan bin Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, instituted a national award to draw attention to the importance and significance of preserving and understanding Saudi Arabia’s urban heritage.
The award’s two aims are to stimulate an interest in, and create, an urban heritage that reflects social, environmental and national influences. Its area of concern is any contemporary urbanism that is closely and logically inspired by the heritage of the past with a view to developing a unique and independent style of building.
“It is important,” says the brief for the award, “to ensure that any future developments are firmly rooted in the best aspects of the traditional urban heritage while also making an intelligent use of any suitable available modern technology.” Best of the old; best of the new.
Three divisions within the award are open for competition: Architectural heritage projects, urban heritage research and conservation of urban heritage projects.
The first architectural heritage projects award was given to the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center in Riyadh. The role of the National Museum in identifying Saudi Arabia’s culture and history, the role of the center in the development of Riyadh and its interest in the historical role as the source of Islam were given as the reasons for the award.
The center houses the National Museum and incorporates within in its 440,000 square meter complex the Al-Murabaa Palace — fully restored with mud brick walls, stone foundations and athel wood ceilings — a huge public library and a mosque able to accommodate 5,000 at prayer. Parks, lecture halls and heritage buildings are also located in the grounds.
Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Kaky received the urban heritage research award for his “deep, serious and wide ranging and distinguished” research which was “an important addition to the field of architectural heritage” in the development of Madinah’s urban texture. His books are now standard works and a main reference for urbanism in Madinah in particular and other Islamic cities.
Refreshingly, the award is not just about worthy academic tomes and state institutions. The conservation of urban heritage projects section of the award was given to a remarkable ongoing conservation project, an entire village. Rujal Amaa is located to the west of Abha, tucked under the escarpment that forms the edge of Souda Park, a popular tourist destination and its restoration and maintenance was initiated by the villagers themselves. The history of the village predates Jizan, when Rujal Amaa was the entrepot for the Asir area, trading with India through Aden. It was also the home of scholars and writers. The architecture is distinctive of the area; houses were built of immaculately laid gray-black basalt rocks of the area — which camouflages the buildings — and designed to look like barracks or a series of small fortresses in order to prevent too close inspection by marauding brigands. The building techniques and the tools and design of domestic paraphernalia of the village have been influenced by the trading links with the south.
The ancient craft of plaster carving is alive and well in the village and the women — experts in this particular skill — have taken their skills to the lobbies of at least one hotel in Abha. The women themselves prefer the traditional modes of dress, wear jewelry that has changed little over centuries and maintain a cuisine characteristic of the area.
The museum in the village, opened in 1986, is housed in what was the Al-Alwan Fort. The interior was completely redecorated in the traditional style under the supervision of Fatimah Abu Ghass — a leading craftswoman in plaster carving. Villagers voluntarily contributed family artifacts to the museum which now houses a collection of arms, calligraphy, textiles and jewelry.
With the advent of the cable car connection from Souda, a few kilometers to the east, the village is becoming a tourist attraction. However, it is no theme park. It is a working, lived-in and, clearly, a loved community built the way the people want it to be.
Prince Charles, speaking in Riyadh on his visit to the Kingdom recently, raised concerns about the preservation of architectural heritage. He said that what was once seen as eccentric is now mainstream as people came to realize the value of preserving their history. He thought that the two could work in concert and inform the planning of new towns and cities to make them more livable and of a human scale. The proof of that was that the architects who plan the modern urban architecture frequently live in protected country areas of great natural beauty.
The lessons to be learned from villages such as Rujal Amaa for developers are that people are reluctant to have urbanism imposed on them by developers keen to turn a profit and architects competing for awards that are little more than mutual back-slapping. The Prince Sultan bin Salman Award for Urban Heritage is here to reinforce those lessons.
