The changing image of Arriyadh city - The role of socio-cultural and religious traditions in image transformation

Pre-industrial Muslim cities had identifiable, recognizable, self-expressing symbols such as maidans (plazas), gates, fortified towers, minarets, mosques, defense towers, Qasr Al-Imarah (palace of governance), and market places. The prevalent tone of urbanism and architecture was enriched by the simplicity and honesty of expression of architecture with exterior spaces reflecting the human scale and activity. One feels an aesthetic touch integrated into the environmental fabric through expression of social and spiritual bases. The urban living of the modern and post-modern city requires complex organization and coordination, and the city of today is the product of building and planning on a scale never known before. Government and municipal officials, commercial and residential developers, manufacturers and traders requested that urban designers or architects create their projects as emblems. In some cases, the professionals add a symbol within the domain of the space or adjacent to the buildings to enhance the imageability of the place. The design of space and/or buildings must insist on symbolic solutions in order to play a significant role in creating imageable places and contributing to the enhancement of urban and architectural identity of buildings and the spaces around them. Government officials and professionals alike are interested in promoting quality of urban space or buildings by creating unique landmarks as imageable elements for ritual, cultural and commodity purposes. This may enhance social activities and interactions within the place. Place denotes any extensive urban space or building of any shape and attribute, including maidans, intersections of broad streets and prominent buildings. This investigation examines how urban spaces and landmarks are successfully shaping the physical qualities of cities and can help create urban imagery. It also provides an overview of the urban design efforts in Arriyadh city, the capital of Saudi Arabia, though Arriyadh is a mixture of old and new. Some of the lessons may be applicable to problems and opportunities for other cities and towns elsewhere. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.