Towards effective design guidelines of pilgrims' housing in mina at Makkah city

Abstract EN

The utilized area of Mina is limited to the flat valley which is almost half of the legitimate area.

In the same time, this developed area has a very low accommodation capacity (which is about one million pilgrims), Taking into account that the number of pilgrims reached 3 million pilgrims in 1430 AH.

Increasing Mina's accommodation capacity is one of the most challenging issues because of the limited developable area.

Any increase in the number of pilgrims will require an increase in the accommodation capacity and building density.

Therefore, this Research is interested in developing comprehensive integrated alternatives to help in increasing effectiveness of Mina's existing accommodation and formulate design guidelines to improve the design and increase the capacity of future development project for Mina's area.

To achieve its objectives, the research utilized unpublished survey conducted by the Institute of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for Hajj and Umrah Research as part of post occupancy evaluation of newly developed high capacity pilot project ( pilgrims' Housing Buildings) on the northern slopes of Mina mountains.

It was conducted during the soft opening of this pilot project in1429- 1430 pilgrimage season.

The survey covered planning, design and operation parameters.

It was based on the users' satisfaction, operators' interviews, and evaluation checklist.

Based on this survey, positives and negatives of design and operation issues were identified.

The research concluded with a set of design guidelines that can achieve pilgrims satisfaction and improve site arrangement, building design and management were formulated.

Consequently, design modifications were established to develop existing buildings; and increase their effectiveness and capacity.

Moreover, the research introduced an illustrative summary of the recommendations, guidelines and associated rates.