Old and Modern Construction Materials In Yemen: The Effect In Building Construction In Sana’a

Abstract

Sana’a city in Yemen is one of the oldest cities in the worlds, which has different forms of building built with different types of materials. In the present work, the old and new forms of building construction and the building materials used in Sana’a, the sources available for the new material, the effects of new material usage on building forms are all presented with the advantages and disadvantages of each material. The old shapes of buildings in Yemen and the classical and modern forms of construction using different types of materials are considered in the study. Survey is used to investigate the building forms and material types in Sana’a. Several conclusions are submitted showing that, the new building material, such as concrete block, is preferred in building comparing with old material, such as stone, which makes it the best choice for the low income people but sometimes the limited resources make old material the only available choice. Several steps needed to develop and encourage the use of new building materials are recommended.