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A new 'architectural openness' is remaking Saudi streets
In recent years, Saudis have been embracing homes and businesses that are architecturally inviting rather than imposing.
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Haitham al-Madini opens the door to his recently renovated villa in the Saudi capital, Riyadh on June 22, 2022. (AFP/Fayez Nureldine)
F
or years, Haitham al-Madini's house was like all the others on his block: a beige, nearly windowless facade sealed off from the outside world -- as Saudi Arabia itself largely was.
But two years ago, confined during a pandemic lockdown, Madini decided to open things up, adding a street-facing patio, redoing the exterior walls in limestone and installing soft lighting in the entryway.
Local architects and engineers say such features have become a hallmark of renovation and newly-built projects across the capital Riyadh as Saudis, spurred in part by revised building codes, embrace homes and businesses that are inviting rather than imposing.
The result is a kind of visual marker of the more welcoming narrative Saudi officials are pushing for the traditionally ultra-conservative kingdom.
In recent years "there have been manifestations of an architectural openness", said Abdullah al-Jasser, owner of the AF Group design firm that worked on Madini's house.
"People have become more accepting of change, and of different patterns of decoration and design."
In addition to his home's exterior walls and entryway, Madini spruced up the garden with tropical almond trees imported from Thailand and added a swimming pool, creating a new favourite lounge spot for his wife and seven children.
