A Comparative Analysis of the vernacular Housing Cluster of Yemen. Sana'a and Shibam Hadhramawt A Case Study

Yemeni architecture varies from one region to another. Each region has its own characteristics withdifferent urban designs, densities, house forms and building materials. This paper is intended to be acontribution to the analysis of the physical and social features of the housing cluster of Sana a andShibam Hadhramawt. On the physical level, the housing of Sana a and Shibam Hadhramawt arevertically structured. Building materials, are quite different, housing in Sana a are usually built of stonein the lower floor, while the higher floors are built with brick. The houses of Shibam Hadhramawt arebuilt with mud brick. On the social level, in Sana a, a particularly important characteristic of housing cluster is built around an urban garden, semi-private space shared by more than one family. These aspects of life in the old city of Sana a are absent in the old city of Shibam Hadhramawt. In this respect,The urban garden provides a shared semi-private space which also encourages neighborly relations in a manner not found in Shibam Hadhramawt. The paper will address a similar phenomenon of connecting passages between houses on the upper floor in the two historical cites. The paper concludes with features of the vernacular housing of Sana a and Shibam Hadhramawt in terms of aesthetic, and social aspects