MINA’S REVIVAL

      Located in The Mina Tent City, next to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the project is a place to house pilgrims during the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage. Nearly 200,000 people took part in the Hajj in 2021, which is also rising steadily and rapidly, reaching 300,000 by 2030. How to solve the accommodation problems of these pilgrims, and let pilgrims and Mina meet a win-win situation, is the focus of our thinking.

    By evaluating the chaos and accidents in Mina and Mecca over the years, as well as local resources, we believe that the main problem is the influx of people in a short period of time. We have also developed three levels of solution based on this: 1. On the entire Mina accommodation system: more than 300 days outside the Hajj should be fully utilized. Due to the very low greening rate and the very important ecological and economic benefits of green space, we hope to use it as a plantation at a time outside the Hajj. 2. Block level: adjust the width of the road and building functions. We want to make it easy for people to identify directions in neighborhoods by making roads in different directions different widths or different facades. In addition, the main thoroughfares are perpendicular to the prevailing wind during the local dry season, minimizing the spread of fires and reducing injuries to people. In terms of building functions, external buildings are placed on the edge of the block, and ensure that sanitation facilities are accessible quickly for every residential module. 3. Building level: increase the size of the module to accommodate more people.

    On the basis of these three main strategies, we refine the strategy from the perspectives of individual and group. The individual perspective includes five aspects: safety, social distance, cost-effectiveness, hygiene and religious atmosphere. The group perspective includes four aspects: population management, resource utilization, health care and waste disposal.

    After that, we decided on the layout in five steps: first, the road. We separate the sidewalks from the carriageways, which are not the same in width or direction. This set the human path to the southwest-northeast. The second step is to determine the location of modules for various functions. We put the multifunctional modules next to the main entrance and main road of the block to make the most of the public space. When we laid out the toilet modules, we discussed a number of options, such as bringing the bathroom modules together, or shooting them into a column, or an even, equidistant array. But we want everyone in the venue to be able to get to the toilet module in five minutes, so after a lot of trying we have established the current layout - each living module in the venue is no closer to the bathroom up to 50 meters. Then we ensure the distribution space, public space and planting space.

    In the resource utilization strategy just mentioned, we set up three resource utilization systems in the site. The first is the planting system, which is a fit for time and space resources, and we want the site to become a plantation for 360 days without the accommodation function. Date palms are grown mainly, supplemented by other economic plants such as acacias and palms. Harvested fruit can be sold in the market or as souvenirs or specialties for pilgrims. Such the use of previously wasted sites and the development of industries outside the Hajj can help the local economy, improve the natural environment and even become a feature and unique memory of the pilgrimage to Mecca. The second system is the water resources utilization system. Water used by millions of people during the hajj is recycled, enough to irrigate plantations, and the rest can be used to cool building evaporation or to be preserved or shipped out. The third system is the solar system, Mina is located between the north regression line and the equator, and the year-round rain, solar energy is very rich, so we set up solar panels on the roof of the building, hoping to provide electricity for pilgrimages and plantations.

    Once the layout and system are determined, the last thing we have to do is determine the shape of each module. We extracted the spatial elements of the classic Islamic architecture - arcade and dome - and created a wealth of space through multiple derivatives and deformations, using them in modules. Among them, the arcade is mostly used as a transportation space, the dome is mostly used as a social or planting space. In the residential module, a quarter of the space in the upper part of the building can be dug up to make a multi-storey terrace, when the four modules come together, can form an upside-down dome. Planting a date palm tree in the middle can serve as a prayer space in a module facing the direction of the Ground Mosque, where daily prayers are held around the palm tree to create a sacred atmosphere. It can be used as planting space and transportation space in modules that do not face the direction of the Grand Mosque. And in order to facilitate people in all directions to reach, the toilet modules do more diggings in the lower part, so that the four modules together can also form a dome space. In the multifunctional module, we had envisaged the opening of a rectangular courtyard in the middle of the block, which was inspired by traditional Islamic gardens, but because of the scale problem, we scattered a large courtyard into small ones in each multifunctional module.

    In this scenario, we envision a very lightweight home. We design them as square steel structures (pillars: 30cm by 30cm, beams: 15cm by 20cm, wall panels: 5cm thick sheets) to minimize waste of floor space.

    Such modules are easy to replicate and can be composed of multiple shapes to suit a wide variety of sites. We hope that over time, such modules can be extended to the entire Mina Tent City, and even further derivative deformations may occur between modules, such as multiple module stacking, or interspersed to form a "big module" with larger space, more complex function. It is also hoped that with the spread and replication of modules, larger and more mature plantations can be formed, bringing religious, ecological and economic reconstruction and vitality to the region.