This post is one in a series on the vernacular architecture of Saudi Arabia’s Western Region, known as the Hejaz, which includes the important pilgrimage towns of Makkah and Madinah as well as the economically important city of Jeddah.   The plan and character of the Holy City of Makkah (Mecca) was shaped by…

. Thanks to new innovations in wood construction, one of the oldest building materials may become the building material of the future. “Mass timber” products such as glued laminated timber and cross-laminated timber are being used for increasingly large structures. They offer environmental and cost benefits — and they don’t burn like ordinary wood.   Although…

. The 2,000-year-old city of Petra, Jordan, known for the magnificent temples carved into its red sandstone cliffs, is also home to an incredible feat of hydraulic engineering. An extensive water supply system turned this ancient city into a man-made oasis supporting a substantial population.   At its peak, Petra was the thriving capital of…

. The esteemed Japanese architect continues to produce warmly modern buildings that blur influences from the East and West. His thoroughly modern design sensibility is tempered by a regard for the human scale, as seen in the traditional architecture of his home country.   Fumihiko Maki was born in Tokyo in 1938. He experienced the…

. Construction Mattersproposes that architects consciously think about spatial design as an expression of technological innovation.   The thesis of Construction Mattersis clearly established by its openings sentence. “The materials of construction establish the essential shape and character of architectural space.” Author Georg Windeck suggests that innovations related to four elemental materials — brick, concrete,…

  The muqarnas, rooted in function, became a powerful sculptural element in Islamic architecture, yielding beautifully intricate compositions of solid and void. Ancient and medieval craftsmen learned to achieve breathtaking results by applying three-dimensional geometric patterns to the underside of domes, half-domes, and vaults.   At first glance, it seems that the muqarnas could almost…