Mizwalaمِزوَلة
A travertine courtyard in shade, framed by earth walls and a tall lattice

01Residence

Courtyard House 01

Location
North Riyadh
Year
2024
Area
1,240 m²
Status
Completed

01The brief

A family of six wanted a house that stays outdoors-friendly through a Riyadh summer afternoon, without living behind closed blinds.

The plot faces west onto a busy street. Rather than fight the afternoon sun with glass and machines, we turned the house inward around a courtyard and gave the west side to a three-storey lattice that takes the heat before the rooms do. The courtyard is in shade from noon until sunset through most of the year.

02Site & climate

Read the sun before the walls.

Sun path, Riyadh 24.7°N · summer solstice, equinox, winter solstice · footprint in red
Orientation
Street to the west, 8° off north
Hardest façade
West, 13:00 to sunset
Courtyard proportion
Width to height about 1 : 1.4
Prevailing wind
North to north-west
Wind rose · design assumption from regional records

03Drawings

Plan and section, drawn as they were.

Plan · ground floor
Section A–A · afternoon sun

04Gallery

Gallery

Looking from a shaded colonnade into the travertine courtyard, with a lattice shadow on the floor
Looking from a shaded colonnade into the travertine courtyard, with a lattice shadow on the floor
The three-storey west lattice seen from the street in late afternoon sun
The three-storey west lattice seen from the street in late afternoon sun
A related residence: earth-rendered walls and deep windows
A related residence: earth-rendered walls and deep windows

05Credits

The people behind it.

Partner in charge
Reem A.
Project architect
Hamad Q.
Interiors
Dana R.
Earth and materials
Noura K.
Climate study
Lama S., Omar F.
Models
Saad B.
Structural engineering
Khalid M. with an independent Riyadh practice
Landscape
Hind W.
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