Renovation of the old mud village of sados, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Sados is a small village located 70 km north-west of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia. Sados is one of the oldest settlements in Saudi Arabia. The mud village Sados has a compact fabric and is surrounded by a high wall and protection corner towers. The streets are very narrow and many bridges connect the houses facing each other. The village has about 85 houses within an area less than 10000 m2. Mud, sundried mud bricks, and wood are the primary materials that were used to build the village. During the last 25 years, the village was abandoned and became a ruin. Fortunately, the local authority managed to find funds to renovate the village and a full documentation was available. The renovation project was divided into four phases. Three were completed and the fourth phase is still pending. Unfortunately, the future function of the village was never discussed. The main objectives of this research paper are: first, to emphasize the indigenous architecture of the central region of Saudi Adrabia; second to demonstrate renovation efforts and whether they were conducted in accordance with the original design; and third, to discuss alternatives regarding the future function of the village. Literature, previous studies and reviews, site visits and interviews were the main source of information. Some differences between the original village design and the village after renovation were noticed. Sados became one of the unique places to preserve the architectural heritage of Saudi Arabia. The conclusion was to modify the village function to be a mix use of traditional hotel, heritage museum and folk market, in an effort to attract tourism.