Construction Tech

Building techniques: coral stone walls and wooden roshan screens, how Historic Jeddah's houses handled heat and humidity before air conditioning

Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, is described by UNESCO as an outstanding reflection of the Red Sea architectural tradition: tower houses built in the late 19th century by the city's merchant elites, with large wooden Roshan facades, coral masonry and specific devices for internal ventilation.

Tower houses with wooden roshan screens in Historic Jeddah (Al-Balad) — Photo: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; resized and converted to WebP

WHY IT MATTERS

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According to the ICOMOS evaluation of the nomination, the walls of the tower houses were built of coral rubble and lime mortar with horizontal timber reinforcements, protected outside by lime plaster. The roshan oriel windows, with pierced and fretted wooden screens, gave privacy and drew in air that flowed through the house and left through roof lights or wind towers. UNESCO notes the houses have no courtyard and face outward, adapted to the hot and humid Red Sea climate. The inscribed property covers 17.92 ha, about one third of the original walled city.

Building techniques: coral stone walls and wooden roshan screens, how Historic Jeddah's houses handled heat and humidity before air conditioning

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Jeddah Tower reaches floor 120 at about 482 metres, with 72% of its concrete poured and completion expected in 2028

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