Najdi architecture

One of the most common types of construction in the Najd was the use of clay and mudbrick as well as other materials including stones, tamarisk and palm trees.{{Cite web |title=تراث العمارة في نجد |url=https://www.al-jazirah.com/2024/20240301/ld1.htm |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=www.al-jazirah.com}} Given the scarce availability of stones and different varieties of trees suitable for construction, the buildings were built with mud or sun-dried bricks and finished with the application of mud plaster. The walls were very thick to isolate the interior spaces from extreme heat and to achieve greater structural integrity.{{Cite book |last=Ishteeaque |first=Ellahi M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPJnQwAACAAJ |title=The Native Architecture of Saudi Arabia: Architecture and Identity |date=2008 |publisher=Riyadh Municipality |isbn=978-603-8014-02-8 |pages=51–85 |language=en}} The mud bricks, composed of a mixture of water, straw, and other fibers, highlight the relationship between architectural artifice and naturalness. Straw and natural elements do not have an ornamental function, but they creep into the walls, creating efflorescence and contributing to the breakdown of the facade.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

File:قصر_سعد_الدرعية.jpg]]The furjat ({{Langx|ar|فُرجات}}) or luhuj ({{Langx|ar|لُّهُوج}}) are small rectangular, triangular, square and arrow openings pierced in a wall to promote adequate air movement, lighting to the interior spaces, and the view from inside to outside. These small openings do not have a purely decorative function but are arranged vertically, horizontally, or in stacks, creating a pattern on the facade with different dispositions and densities.{{Cn|date=September 2024}} The different arrangements of the openings meet the different socio-cultural needs of the population while preserving the technical and environmental characteristics.{{Cite journal |last=Alnaim |first=Mohammed Mashary |date=2021 |title=Traditional Najdi settlement architectural elements: Harmonizing function, aesthetics, and shared socio-cultural meaning |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Rm473jIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=Rm473jIAAAAJ:UeHWp8X0CEIC |journal=Journal of Architecture and Planning |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=261–276}} Furjat also functions as a ventilation structure to isolate hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

File:Riyadh,_Saudi_Arabia._Qaṣr_al-Badi'ah,_interior.jpg in Riyadh]]The shurfat ({{Langx|ar|الشرفة}}) are battlements covered in plaster at the top of a wall or a railing. The hand-molded and layered walls are tapered upwards and finished in a crenelated shape. These decorative elements in the shape of triangles or arrows, sometimes alternating between full and empty, create a proportional rhythm by acting as a parapet for the rooftop and, in turn, protecting the facades from rainwater. It is customary to find a horizontal strip engraved in the wall under these elements, with triangles underneath, always upside-down, as protection from rainwater.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

File:Najd vernacular architecture.jpg

The tarma ({{Langx|ar|الطرمة}}) has an observation function and is usually arranged on the second floor and above the door of the facade of the buildings, working as a peephole to observe people outside the building without being seen inside. It comes in different shapes and sizes and also has a symbolic value since it helps users of the urban spaces to identify the building and its entrance through the various forms of the element. The size of the interior spaces and the width of the street the building faces also affect the size and shape of the tarma.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

File:Traditional Door Deisgn in Diriyah.png]]

The al-bab ({{Langx|ar|الباب}}) in Arabic generally translates to a door. They function as an access element to the building and are very particular in design and are usually square in size, single-sided made of wood or palm trees. Some entrance doors are colored, engraved, and painted with geometric motifs, embellished with repetitive designs of a symbolic nature, and very pleasant in style and composition. The door and its visual features, use of color, and ornamentation support non-verbal communication by guiding the visitor to the building.{{Cite journal |last1=Kamel |first1=Mohammed K. |last2=Mahgoub |first2=Yassir M. |date=2021 |title=The Role of Decorative Design In Reviving The Aesthetics Of The Gulf Architectural Heritage |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=QWiJX0sAAAAJ&citation_for_view=QWiJX0sAAAAJ:dQ2og3OwTAUC |journal=Psychol. Educ |volume=58 |pages=1055–1066}}

Najdi architecture is categorized into three main types: religious, civil, and military.

File:Dakhna_Grand_Mosque,_1952.jpg in Riyadh, 1952]]

Mosques are the main place of worship in Islam. Muslims are called to prayer five times a day and participate in prayers together as a community, facing towards the qibla (direction of prayer). Every neighborhood normally had one or many mosques in order to accommodate the spiritual needs of its residents. Historically, there was a distinction between regular mosques and "Friday mosques" or "grand mosques", which were larger and had a more important status by virtue of being the venue where the khutba (sermon) was delivered on Fridays. Friday noon prayers were considered more important and were accompanied by preaching, and also had political and social importance as occasions where news and royal decrees were announced, as well as when the current ruler's name was mentioned.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Traditional mosques built in the Najd are constructed mostly using raw materials{{Cite book |last=Facey |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nS1UAAAAMAAJ&q=najdi+mosques |title=Back to Earth: Adobe Building in Saudi Arabia |date=1997 |publisher=Al-Turath |isbn=978-1-900404-13-6 |language=en}} and are influenced by four main factors; climate, locally sourced building materials, already-existing skill sets, and the sub-cultural background of the builder. Materials used in the construction typically include mud, timber, tamarisk tree log beams, stone, clay, and thatch.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Mosques in the Najd have historically been devoid of decorations in order to resemble the puritanical nature of the Salafi sect of Islam adhered by the locals.{{Cite book |last=Gharipour |first=Mohammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r6UxEAAAQBAJ&dq=najdi+mosques&pg=PA493 |title=Calligraphy and Architecture in the Muslim World |date=2019-07-30 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-1-4744-6842-8 |language=en}} Triangular or rectangular openings known as furjat are considered to be one of the features of the mosques built in Najdi architectural style. Other distinctive features also include carved wall panels, an arcade element, colonnade and a well-designed mihrab with intricate floral gypsum motifs.{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=James Norman Dalrymple |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mtwMAQAAMAAJ&q=najdi+mosques |title=The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |date=2006 |publisher=Stacey |isbn=978-0-9552193-0-6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOBtAAAAMAAJ&q=najdi+mosques |title=Arabian Studies |date=1982 |publisher=C. Hurst |isbn=978-0-905906-31-7 |language=en}} Unlike the other parts of the Islamic world, domes are usually found to be absent in Najdi mosques.{{Cite book |last=Freeth |first=Zahra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_U0xDwAAQBAJ&dq=najd+mosques+minarets&pg=PT27 |title=A New Look at Kuwait |date=2017-08-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-66992-4 |language=en}} The mosque's external characters are also defined by cylindrical or rectangular minarets connected with a staircase.{{Cite book |last1=Mohareb |first1=Nabil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3F-EAAAQBAJ&dq=najd+mosques+minarets&pg=PA146 |title=Cities' Identity Through Architecture and Arts |last2=Cardaci |first2=Alessio |last3=Maruthaveeran |first3=Sreetheran |last4=Cavalagli |first4=Nicola |date=2022-07-29 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-99480-8 |language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fhTOGm7VKfkC&q=najdi+mosques |title=ليوا: مجلة شهرية تصدر عن مركز الوثائق والبحوث، ديوان رئيس الدولة |date=2010 |publisher=مركز الوثائق والبحوث، ديوان رئيس الدولة، |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=King |first=Geoffrey R. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aorpAAAAMAAJ&q=najd+mosques+minarets |title=The Historical Mosques of Saudi Arabia |date=1986 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-78392-8 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last1=Planet |first1=Lonely |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RzWsDwAAQBAJ&dq=najd+mosques+minarets&pg=PT555 |title=Lonely Planet Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula |last2=Keith |first2=Lauren |last3=Lee |first3=Jessica |last4=Quintero |first4=Josephine |last5=Walker |first5=Jenny |last6=Bremner |first6=Jade |last7=Hussain |first7=Tharik |date=2019-09-01 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-78868-707-2 |language=en}}

Four components comprise the architectural style of Najdi mosques, that are al-sarha (courtyard), al-misbah (prayer hall), al-sath (roof) and al-khalwa (basement). The khalwa is mainly used to accommodate worshippers during winters.{{Cite book |last=Habib |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=arxtEAAAQBAJ&dq=najdi+mosques&pg=PA53 |title=Ibn Sa'ud's warriors of Islam: The Ikhwan of Najd and their role |date=2022-04-25 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-49184-7 |language=en}}

File:Al Bassam Mansion.jpg]]

Traditional houses in the Najd are built from mudbricks whereas the roofs and doors made of tamarisk wood. They are usually low-countour, comprising one or two floors around an inner courtyard.{{Cite book |last=Hernandez |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQCMEAAAQBAJ&dq=tarma+najdi+architecture&pg=PA30 |title=Islamic Heritage Architecture IV |date=2022-09-13 |publisher=WIT Press |isbn=978-1-78466-475-6 |language=en}}

File:المجلس السعودي.jpg]]

The exterior of the houses are characterized by lack of ornamentation and architectural details. However, these details increase in the interior, where ornaments mostly reflect the social status of the owner of the house. The decoration of al-qahwa (majlis) is given special attention to, which demonstrates generosity and excitement in receiving the guests.

File:Old mosque at al-Shinana, near al-Rass, Qasim region (11) (49320896056).jpg|The khalwa of an old mosque in al-Shinana, near al-Rass

File:Qaṣr al-Shamsīyya.jpg|Qaṣr al-Shamsīyya in Riyadh, 1974

File:Fuṭah.jpg|Quṣūr al-Fuṭa in Riyadh, 1974

File:قصر المربع-1980.jpg|Murabba Palace in Riyadh, 1980

File:المصمك1.jpg|Masmak Fortress in Riyadh, 2018

File:Bab al-Thumairi, Riyadh, 2023.jpg|Watchtower of the Thumairi Gate, 2023

File:Margab Fort Riyadh, 1939.jpg|Margab Fort, 1939

File:Thumairi Street in Riyadh, 1938.jpg|Dwellings of the former walled town of Riyadh, 1938

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{{commons category|Najdi architecture}}

Category:Vernacular architecture

Category:Architecture in Saudi Arabia

category:Najd