Wooden Bay Window (<i>Rowshan</i>) Conservation in Saudi-Hejazi Heritage Buildings
A prominent feature of the architectural style of heritage buildings in western Saudi Arabia (Hijaz) cities such as Jeddah is the extensive use in their facades of projected intricately carved wooden bay window (<i>Rowshan</i> sl, <i>Rawasheen</i> pl). Throughout Balad or t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2013-07-01
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| Series: | The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XL-5-W2/7/2013/isprsarchives-XL-5-W2-7-2013.pdf |
| Summary: | A prominent feature of the architectural style of heritage buildings in western Saudi Arabia (Hijaz) cities such as Jeddah is the
extensive use in their facades of projected intricately carved wooden bay window (<i>Rowshan</i> sl, <i>Rawasheen</i> pl). Throughout Balad or
the old town in Jeddah, the element of <i>Rowshan</i> can be found made from many different types of woods such as teak, Javan,
mahogany, other types of african and middle eastern woods and with different sizes, proportions, and varied intricate ornamentations
and motifs. Besides its aesthetic value, the <i>rawasheen</i> and their many components and parts provide other functions such as
ventilation, lighting, and spatial and visual privacy for building interiors from the outside.<br><br>
The profound degradation of <i>Rawasheen</i> is impacting the authenticity and heritage value of old buildings in historical Jeddah because
of many factors that include: extensive moisture damage, using improper repair methods and joinery techniques to maintain
rawasheen, using unsuitable cleaning products and wood paints, and replacing damaged parts with unkown types of wood. In order to
prevent any further deterioration of <i>Rawasheen</i>, documentation of rawasheen and its components using recent digital methodologies
and the utilization of proper repair techniques must be followed when working with these elements to ensure longevity of
conservation, and preservation of value and authenticity.Through the disucssion of <i>Rowshan</i> repair methodology that was developed
that include the digital documentation of all intricate details of rowshan panels and wood engraving which allowed replicating
damaged elements beyond repair and applied to a listed building in old Jeddah, the paper provides <i>Rowshan</i> repair guidelines which
relate to documentation, diagnostic methods, investigations and tests, repair methodology and reinforcement. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1750 2194-9034 |