Life style and House Form The Case of Aramco Houses Under Home Ownershib in Dhahran

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the physical changes that have occurred in the Dhahran built environment. The research scope is focused specifically on Al- Doha and Al- Dana districts that were lately developed by Saudi Aramco for its employees under Home Ownership Program. This program was originally established in response to the Company employees' dynamic lifestyle transformation. The study plays an important role toward describing and understanding the lifestyle changes in the Eastern province during the period before the oil discovery and until the present time. Moreover, the research determines the main factors behind the changes within each period. The analysis of changes and their associated factors was concentrated on Saudi Aramco employees because of the Company clear and distinct role in the community and the fact that the Company employees constitute the majority of the eastern region society. In order to achieve the research objective, questionnaires were distributed randomly among Al- Doha and Al- Dana dwellers. The questionnaire was designed to allow collection of details on personal lifestyle and house form and identify how they have impacted their current life style. In addition, a number of house floor plans were obtained and analyzed enrich the integrity of obtained data. In summary, research findings reveals that certain lifestyles of a family have a strong relationship in determining the house form and layout in terms of rooms' number, arrangement and utilization and overall space organization.