A Study of How Architectural Heritage Elements Can Be Applied in a Modern Setting for Aesthetical and Functional Reasons: The Case of Rawāshīn of Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Rowshan (pl. Rawāshīn) is the projected latticework window, commonly found in façades of traditional dwellings in Madinah. Due to climatic and social functions that Rowshan provides, it achieved a widespread popularity in the traditional architecture of Madinah, which gave the city its unique architectural identity. Unfortunately, due to many reasons, Rowshan has been experiencing a significant decline in use in the architectural scene of Madinah since the beginning of the oil boom in the 1950s and has been replaced by glass windows. The aim of this study is to develop a framework for reviving Rowshan in contemporary residential buildings in Madinah for reasons of aesthetical and functional and at the same time as an element that depicts the cultural heritage of the city. The first part of my data collection is dedicated to document Rowshan of Madinah to create a theory and visual-based resource, in an attempt to recover the lost heritage and capture the spirit of Rowshan for future generations, especially in light of the ongoing demolishing processes of irreplaceable monuments by the local authorities in the name of developing the Central District around the Prophet Mosque. Then, primary data are generated through interviews with professionals in Madinah, who stated that regardless of the current attempts provided by the local authorities to revive Rowshan in contemporary architectural design in Madinah, these attempts indeed did more harm than good to Rowshan because it was added without a comprehensive study of all the important functional and aesthetic aspects that are the basis of the concept of the traditional Rowshan element. The third dataset is based on conducting a survey questionnaire with the general public in Madinah to explore whether people are still accepting and preferring to use Rowshan in their homes. The exploratory survey questionnaire found that people of Madinah are still willing to use Rowshan in their homes and believe that Rowshan is a notably practical element, compared to contemporary glass windows, as it can attain satisfactory levels of visual privacy and daylight in architectural interior spaces, and at the same time due to its contribution in enhancing the aesthetics of the buildings’ façades from the exterior. The fourth part of this study comprises case studies and a computer-based daylight experiment using Velux Daylight Visualizer software to validate the survey’s results, and to explore that the Madinah's Rawāshīn carving units are not only aesthetic, but also functional for daylight filtering. Thirty carving panels of Madinah's Rawāshīn were studied to calculate the solid (S) to void (V) ratios using Image J software. A total of 12 carving units was selected with different S:V ratios ranged from 0.8:1 to 11.5:1. The results of this part of the study unearthed that the average illuminance levels decreased dramatically with the use of Rowshan screens with all ratios compared with base cases with no screen. The Rowshan screens with the ratios of (S:V 3.8:1) and (S:V 4.3:1) can provide the recommended levels of daylight (100-300 lux) in the studied room in all orientations and seasons and at three different times of the day. In the last part of this study, the researcher developed a framework for reviving Rowshan in contemporary residential buildings in Madinah. The framework has three stages: the pre-design, design and presenting design and evaluation stages. The pre-design stage involved linking all qualitative and quantitative results together in order to develop design checklist for an effective Rowshan screen that meets the climatic and aesthetic needs of residents in Madinah, as well as their social, cultural and religious beliefs. This design checklist was identified as follows: (1) functionality in terms of admitting the required levels of daylight into the interior spaces, while maintaining the visual privacy, (2) aesthetics, (3) maintenance effectiveness, (4) colours, shapes and materials inspired by heritage elements, (5) applying gleaming touches to create the feeling of luxury and contemporary looking and (6) consistency with the size of the façade. The design stage involved building 3D digital models of the Rowshan screen, based on obtained design checklist. This was followed by presenting and evaluating these design proposals using a focus group research method, including a meeting with professionals in the field of architecture, as well as the possible end-users in Madinah to measure stakeholder satisfaction about the design, to ensure the design is able to meet its purpose and is optimised, and to recommend improvements for improving the design. This research is particularly apposite, at a time when experience and understanding of Rowshan’s values and concepts are fast vanishing, blended with a distinct lack of detailed studies attempting to highlight the aesthetical values and functional characteristics of Madani Rowshan’s decorations as efficient daylight filters as well as privacy-conscious elements.