Demonstration House

Al Baydha Project

Saudi Arabia
2013

The Al Baydha Project is a multi-faceted program in western Saudi Arabia focused on land restoration, social and cultural heritage preservation, and economic sustainability. The Al Baydha area is inhabited by Bedouin tribes, who were traditionally nomadic people, moving across the land with the rainfall, until they were legally forced to settle in one area in the 1950’s. This settlement led to over-farming, desertification, and eventual poverty for the tribes. In 2010, the regeneration project was founded. Within this Project is the Al Baydha Demonstration House, which Goshow Architects had the privilege of working with Al Baydha project leaders to design.

The goal of the demonstration house was not only to address the housing shortage, but equally importantly, to provide training in construction skills for the local Bedouin workers, many of whom lacked viable income sources once the land was over-farmed. The construction of the Demonstration House would serve as a training program, with the goal that the individuals who build the house can then go out and lead the construction of many future houses on the site. In support of this, the design documents were developed, not as a traditional set of construction documents, but as a step-by-step illustrated instruction book.

The Demonstration House layout gives careful consideration to the societal and cultural aspects of the Al Baydha people, including the daily life and religious practices, privacy considerations, and the importance of hospitality. The buildings were designed to honor the region’s traditional design strategies and passive cooling techniques, balanced with modern building techniques and conveniences to create an energy efficient structure that can adapt to the changing climate.