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Preserving Culture in Architecture "I never design a building before I've seen
the site and met the people who will be using it."
MODERN/TRADITIONAL SYNTHESIS Does an attempt at preserving the traditional architecture mean that modern forms have to be stopped or restricted? It certainly does not. What I think should happen is that architecture of a place should reflect the place's cultural and historical make-up. In a place like Saudi Arabia, a quite modern and developed[ing] nation, modern architecture is normal and acceptable, but the nations deep rooted Islamic tradition and history cannot be ignored. In situations like these, compromise should be made. I think that is precisely what is being done in many areas of Saudi Arabia. Modern designs are borrowing from the traditional geometric designs common to the Islamic world. A good example is the Riyadh airport (see below). An even better example is the area around the Prophet's mosque in Madinah. Huge Manhattan size block of buildings (apartments and hotels mostly) are being built with the wooden window structures that are distinct to western Saudi Arabia. Click for larger images
Interior of the Riyadh airport mosque Another view of one terminal Other structures that seem to live up my ideal of cultural and historical reflection in modern architecture include the Petronas twin towers in Malaysia (Presently being dubbed as the world's tallest buildings). The architects apparently made an effort to make the building truly Malaysian, fusing elements of the Buddhist and Muslim cultures of Malaysia to construct a modern structure. |
Like many
other things, I like extremes. With my enjoyment of
cutting edge modern structures, I truly love
traditional/old structures. Traditional structures have
so much history written in them, they represent
aesthetics of the time before our time. Besides just
history, they do posses beauty. While modern may
transcend geographic and cultural boundaries,
traditional does not. This capacity of preserving
culture in traditional architecture makes me appreciate
it more. Without the truly traditional structures of
Jeddah remaining (which the government has made efforts
to preserve), Jeddah would not be and cannot be
identified as something Saudi or Arab. Looking at some
of the newer areas of Jeddah, one can hardly identify
what makes Jeddah a Saudi city.
