Abstract :
This investigation presents Al-Alkhalaf, a traditional community located in the Asir Region of Southwestern Saudi Arabia. The study attempts to understand the irregular-built-form of the traditional settlement, and to extract an urban pattern or a rationale from what appeared to many as capricious disorder, through photographic surveys and interviews which took the form of open ended questions with prominent people in Al-Alkhalaf. The value of the survey as a research technique in the study of the evolution of Al-Alkhalaf built-environment is examined. The survey, is however, seen to have certain limitations. Its results make no allowance for the fact that there are other important determinants of human behaviour and attitude, apart from the built-environment. The survey is believed to be one of the means by which the local authority communicate effectively with designers and planners. Al-Alkhalaf built-environment survey afforded several instances of the discordance between the surveyorʹs perception of the built-environment and the respondentsʹ experience of it, and of preconceptions on the part of the surveyor that were inappropriate to the respondentsʹ life-style. The survey was considered as a link and a means of communication between designers and users. We discover that the traditional built-form emerged from a complex mix of considerations including climate, security, economics, socio-cultural factors, and religious precepts. The investigation concludes that we must begin to examine the urban form through its system of arrangement and not by its separate components. Al-Alkhalaf as one of the largest traditional settlements in the Southwestern Saudi Arabia offers valuable insights into the interaction of human behavior and the built-form. The morphology of building forms and the spatial order of the neighborhood dwelling units reflect the concern for privacy and indicate other socio-cultural characteristics. There are highly specific and complex arrangements of settings, expressing separations and linkages of people, transitions and a range of activities. This system of arrangement evolves largely from tradition or cultural forces which provide the underlying structure of the built-environment. By understanding this foundation, we can adapt, assimilate or even change the various physical components while maintaining a built-environment which is responsive to the needs of its residents. As Saudi Arabia and other societies seek a balance between modernization and traditional values, the success of traditional settlements holds valuable lessons for planners, urban designers and architects.
