Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Architecture 1988
(School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)

Master of Arts in Architecture 1975
(University of Texas at Austin, U.S.A.)

Bachelor of Science in Architecture 1971
(University of Arlington, Texas, U.S.A.)

Amar Center for Architectural Heritage 1988 - Present
Founder and General Director, in charge of supervising all activities in areas of architectural designs, planning, conservation and development of architectural heritage, documentation of traditional architecture and analyzing its elements, research work in the fields of restoration of traditional architectural heritage and its relation to environmental and socio-economic factors, traditional arts and crafts.

Amar Center for Architectural Heritage is a private organization located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The activities of this Center include the following:

Revival and development of traditional architecture through research and studies.

Restoration and rehabilitation of traditional buildings and houses.

Designing new buildings and projects based on the continuity of the traditional line of architecture from all aspects.

To carry out these activities the Center has developed architectural library containing more than 50,000 images of traditional architectural elements and buildings stored in the computer using the laser disc technology, as well as a library of architectural drawings of many elements with varying designs and styles. The Center has close contact and collaborates with various universities, research institutions and professional organizations on both local and international levels.

Among the projects carried out at the Amar Center are:

Restoration of Beit al Shafei which is a 5-storey traditional building located in Harat al Mazloum district of old Jeddah. This building is the headquarters of Amar Center.

Restoration of Bab Al-Haram, a historic traditional building owned by H. E. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani in Makkah and adding an annex to it while maintaining the traditional outlook of the two components in a unified building entity.

Construction of Al-Makiah villa in Jeddah on the basis of traditional architecture from all aspects. Modern facilities are fully provided for complete comfort in a traditional atmosphere, thus giving a solid example of the continuity of traditional style of living. This villa is a practical application of the results of architectural studies carried out at Amar Center.

Montada gallery located in Harat al-Mazloum district adjacent to the headquarters of Amar Center. This is a single-storey building designed and constructed in the traditional style. It is a reflection of the ideas and methods preached by the late Prof. Hasan Fathi in his approach for low cost architecture using local techniques and building materials.

Founder and Director General in charge of administration and supervision of all activities carried out by the Center including scientific studies covering many areas of research, especially those related to architecture, environment, pollution, housing, transportation and movement, services, sacrificial animals, urban planning and land uses for the cities of Makkah. Madinah and the Holy Areas.

The Hajj Research Center was established in 1975 at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, and transferred in 1983 to Umm al-Qura University in Makkah. This Center is considered the technical consulting body for all Saudi Government official authorities associated with pilgrimage, Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites. The main objectives of this Center are:

To establish a data bank about all aspects of the Hajj. Such a data bank is considered a comprehensive scientific reference and an indispensable tool in decision making and the planning process.

To establish a historical archive on Hajj, Makkah and Madinah containing documents, photographs, films, maps,... etc.

To preserve the Islamic and natural environment of the Holy Areas, Makkah and Madinah.

The Center was supervised by a Ministerial Supreme Committee headed by HRH the Minister of the Interior and includes HE the Minister of Hajj and HE the Minister of Higher Education as members. The Center includes research sections for Cultural Studies, Environmental Studies, Urban and Architectural Studies, and Information and Computer. Because of the inter-related nature characterizing the Hajj problems, the Center adopts the holistic inter-disciplinary approach in carrying out its research projects. For each project a team of scientists of different disciplines is formed and they work together in each project thus covering its various dimensions. For a period of time the number of full-time staff members working at the Center reached a peak of 150 persons in addition to part-time personnel recruited during the Hajj season from the university staff and others. Students assisted in the research studies by collecting observations and conducting interviews with the pilgrims under the supervision of the research staff. During the Hajj seasons, up to 500 students were working simultaneously at the Center.

1. Offered courses on the "Urban History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", and the "Urban History of Jeddah", and supervised students’ projects and summer practical training programs for two years at the School of Environmental Design, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah. These courses were concerned with the study of traditional architecture and its basic features and elements as well as possible means to revive and develop it. They involved lectures as well as field applied training in the old sections of the city.
2. Assisted a large number of graduate students working towards their postgraduate degrees whose research work was related to many aspects of pilgrimage or architectural heritage.
3. Membership in various advisory groups established to :

(a) set up the academic program for the School of Environmental Design, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah.

(b) set up the academic program for the Development of Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah.

(c) set up the academic program for the Higher Institute for Islamic Art and Architecture, Al al-Bayt University, Jordan.

4. Awarded the Binladen Fellowship on Islamic Architecture to conduct research and present lectures at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, U.S.A. for the year 1994-95

Two prominent international figures had great influence on Dr. Angawi’s professional career, approach and way of thinking. These figures are ;

1. Frei Otto, who supervised Dr. Angawi’s Masters Degree research for a period of two years in Germany in the area of light-weight structures and their use in accommodating the increasing numbers of the International Architectural Competition for Accommodating Pilgrims in Mina Valley. Other architects invited to participate in this competition were Rolf Gutbrod (from Germany), Kenzo Tange (from Japan) and Paul Rudolph (from U.S.A.).

2. Hasan Fathi, with whom Dr. Angawi established close relationship since 1975. This included numerous visits and discussion sessions on traditional architecture in general and that of Makkah and Madinah in particular. Dr. Angawi used to present his views and approach to the late Hassan Fathi and received his advice and guidance. This relation was climaxed by a visit paid by Professor Fathi to the Holy Sites to perform pilgrimage in which he was accompanied by Dr. Angawi. The visit was a valuable opportunity for Dr. Angawi to become acquainted with a great deal of Hassan Fathi’s philosophys and modes of thought. This permanently influenced Dr. Angawi’s professional career.

As an architectural consultant, who proceeds in his professional career under the banner of traditional architecture, Dr. Angawi was invited to participate in various consultative groups. The most important among these were concerned with the master plan of King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah and in Makkah (currently Umm al-Qura University). This latter group also included other prominent members such as Professor Hasan Fathi (from Egypt), Sir L. Martin (from England), Architect T. Burckhardt (from Switzerland) and others. They served as an advisory body to the University in supervising and guiding the planning and architectural work of SOM.

1. Former Vice Rector of the Board of Directors, Research Center for Islamic History, Arts and Culture, Istanbul.

2. Former Advisor to HRH the Prince of Makkah Region for Hajj and Urban Planning Affairs.

3. Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Jeddah Chapter of A-Umran Saudi Association (Saudi Architectural Association).

4. Former Member of Makkah Region Planning and Development Committee.

5. Former Member of the International Committee for the Conservation of Islamic Heritage.

6. Former Associate Member of Harvard University Semetic Museum for Consultation on Historic Architecture and Arts of Arabia.

7. Member of the Committee of Judges for the Arab Town Organization’s Award.

8. Member of the World Crafts Council.

9. Member of the International Organization of Folk Arts (UNESCO).

10. Chairman of the International Commission for traditional Architecture and Interior Designs (UNESCO).

1. First International Conference on Islamic Education, Makkah (April 1977).

2. International Seminar on Islamic Architecture and Planning, Dammam, Saudi Arabia (5-10 Jan. 1980).

3. UNESCO Conference on the Conservation of Islamic Heritage, Lahore, Pakistan (6-12 April 1980).

1. Housing and Architectural Studies : involved the documentation of traditional architectural heritage of Makkah and Madinah through detailed studies of architectural elements and photography as well as sketches, plans, elevations, and sections of many selected typical examples. The information collected from these studies together with that obtained by aerial photography was analyzed in relation to the existing urban planning level and the architectural details and elements were extracted. The results were very helpful to governmental departments concerned with planning. Many efforts were made by the Center concerning the continuity of the urban, social and cultural fabrics of the two Holy Cites.

Other Studies involved the development of pilgrims’ tents with aim to provide suitable accommodations for the pilgrims by means of improved new designs and specifications (e.g. fire resistance, heat insulation, ventilation).

Studies were also undertaken to provide comfortable accommodations for pilgrims on the mountain slopes in Mina and displayed the various types of light-weight structures and multi-storey tents, developed in collaboration with Prof. Frei Otto in Germany, which are suitable for erection on mountain slopes. The camp was occupied by pilgrims in order to test the various accommodation types and service facilities under actual conditions.

2. Transportation and Movement Studies : involved an extensive program of research to tackle the pilgrims’ movement at all locations. These studies involved the behavioral patterns and the crowding during different Hajj rituals such as stoning at the Jamarat, Saei between Safa and Marwah Hillocks and Tawaf around the Ka’bah. They also involved extensive aerial photography and time-lapse photography as well as surveys. Also, the movement in tunnels around the Haram was monitored and studied. The results of these studies were extremely useful in building mathematical and visual simulation models using computers and consequently in developing solutions to many problems facing the pilgrims during their movements.

3. Traffic Studies : carried out for several years and involved traffic counts using automatic counters installed on roads leading to the Holy Sites and aerial photography, and later analyzing the results of counting for the purpose of traffic planning and movement strategies.

In addition, a study of parking lots was carried out to collect data on types and capacities of pilgrim vehicles parked in the various parking lots around Makkah during pilgrimage, and also data on the passengers and luggage, etc.

The results accumulated from the traffic and movement studies over a number of years were used in developing a strategy for pilgrims’ movement. This strategy provides principal guidelines for improving the movement of pilgrims through pedestrian walkways or by private vehicles or public transportation means. A 45-minute documentary film was prepared by the Center to explain the proposed strategy. This strategy was partially adopted and proved successful from the practical view point and lead to great decrease in traffic jams and bottlenecks. It later became basis for solving traffic problems in the Holy Areas.

4. Sacrificial Meat Project : involved several statistical, logistical, biological, microbial, industrial, engineering, operation research studies to collect valuable information on animals sacrificed by pilgrims as well as the patterns and timings of sacrificing. Furthermore, various methods of meat preservation such as chilling, conventional freezing, liquid nitrogen freezing, drying, salting, vacuum packing, etc. were studied to determine the merit s of each method as well as possible changes which may occur to the meat before distribution in each case.

The data collected from these studies over several years was very essential in planning the Sacrificial Meat Utilization Project which started operation in 1983.

5. Planning Studies : in which several aspects related to planning were investigated such as the study of land use in Mina which involved the collection of data on all aspects of land use in Mina in order to provide basis for a more efficient pattern of land use and to increase the space available for pilgrims’ accommodation.

An aerial photo-map of Mina Valley was prepared, printed and distributed immediately before the Hajj every year. This photo-map was useful to different authorities like Police and Civil Defense etc. and was also helpful in guiding lost pilgrims to their camps.

A study of internal pilgrims was performed to characterize this group of pilgrims and to find out their main needs and requirements.

Another study of pilgrim guide profession aimed at identifying the difficulties faced by those involved in this profession and finding out the best courses of action to overcome these difficulties for the purpose of improving the services of the guides to satisfactory levels.

A statistical survey was carried out annually to collect data by interviewing thousands of pilgrims each year in order to identify their general socio-economic profiles in addition to various other demographic characteristics as well as educational and cultural backgrounds.

The demand on pilgrimage up to the year 1420 AH was investigated using mathematical models of various forms and including a number of variables affecting the number of persons performing pilgrimage from inside and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia annually.

The planning studies also involved the study of the pilgrims who use public areas, tunnels, sidewalks, walkways etc. as accommodation places. The results were quite helpful in reaching organizational and logistical solutions to this problem.

Furthermore, studies were carried out to collect information on pedestrian walkways in the Holy Areas from a planning and landscaping approach and several proposals were forwarded concerning the most appropriate design for these walkways including proper shading facilities using light-weight structures.

The Mount of Mercy in Arafat is the site by which Prophet Muhammad stood and delivered his sermon when he performed Hajj. Thousands of pilgrims gather at this site on Arafat Day and many climb over the Mount. Studies were carried out to find out practical, organizational and landscaping solutions to assure complete safety to the pilgrims and maintain the original nature of the Mount. The solutions reached were partially adopted by the authorities.

Studies were also carried out to develop guidance and educational programs specially tailored for pilgrims of different nationalities’ educational levels and cultural backgrounds.

6. Environmental Studies : to collect information regarding the possible sources of environmental pollution such as solid waste, noise, vehicles exhaust gases, waste water, etc., and present recommendations on the best possible ways and means to diminish their harmful effects on pilgrims or to avoid them completely. These studies were conducted in several areas and continued for several years with emphasis on Mina area and the tunnels. They also covered other environmental aspects such as microbial levels and micro climatic factors which were closely monitored during the Hajj period very year. The results were valuable in establishing the effect of environmental pollutants on pilgrims’ general health to avoid the spread of any infectious diseases, and also in comparing various means of accommodation with regard to the air quality and micro-environment within each of them.

Also, underground water around the Haram was studies and continuous observations were recorded on the flow and chemical and biological characteristics of the water of Zamzam Well.

7. Surveys in Muslim Countries : Soci-economic surveys of pilgrims were carried out in selected Muslim countries (Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria) with the assistance of local research centers and universities. The studies involved field visits to the different villages, towns and cities where samples of pilgrims live in order to carry out the interviews and to get familiar with the environment in which the pilgrims live as well as their conditions, ways of living, accommodations, etc. This was helpful in planning the most appropriate service facilities for them in the Holy Areas. A huge bulk of data was collected in these studies and deposited in the data base stored in the main computer at the Hajj Research Center.

8. Historical Studies : to document the spoken history of Hajj and Makkah by interviewing old pilgrims and old residents of Makkah in order to record and preserve old traditions and traditional arts and crafts from being lost forever.

A historical study of Hajj from the Indus Valley (Pakistan) was also carried out in cooperation with the University of Karachi to describe the history of early pilgrimage caravans initiating from the Indus Valley.