Proper planning of urban areas remains critical in today’s changing world. This is because it has contributed immensely to some of the notably well-developed cities, with many usually developed with some uniqueness, to communicate some message either because of the culture of people living in those cities or religious attachment of buildings in those areas. Mecca, considered as one of the cities with unique architectural designs was built to accommodate the thousands of pilgrims attending the annual Islamic prayers. As it is commonly known to accommodate thousands of pilgrims coming for prayers, the city faces various challenges related to capacity due to the large numbers of pilgrims forcing urban planners and architectural planners to design a new pilgrimage site to help ease congestion usually encountered as a result of the numbers which has presumably reached 3 million.
One of the most notable features of the holy site is the Kaaba and the black granite, a central monument critical in the administration of the prayers. The Kaaba, in the picture resembles a cup immersed in a hollow ground, and is also the area considered most sacred among Muslims with high spiritual values attached to it. The mosque has however been enlarged severally with concept planning underway, bringing together urban planners and architects to develop a new master plan for the City to enlarge the capacity mainly aimed at accommodating the large numbers of pilgrims attending the holy prayers. The houses were built in a dense form mainly to help reduce people to heat exposure uncomfortable during prayers. The streets were built in a narrow way with many erecting shades around structures to help protect them from the scotching sun.
Compared to the urban plan with narrow streets and poor access roads, the new design concept will revolutionize the design elements and will include an estimated 8 million square feet space to accommodate pilgrims in prayers. The mosque will also be expanded with better streets and access routes built around it to help reduce congestion during prayers. The architectural design for the mosque will include a number of tall compact buildings with spacious passageways to help pilgrims easily access areas critical in the prayer sessions for convenience purposes.
Mecca in recent years has suffered from accommodation and capacity issues. This has led to various problems such as overcrowding, where pilgrims spend nights in corridors and verandas. Its history and way of construction is interesting with the Kaaba playing a great role in the prayers. This is the reason why there is a plan to develop a new area that will serve as an area for prayers. Urban planning, as a design concept cannot be under estimated. It is critical to proper buildings and structures evident in most developed world. It will play a major role in the future as well shape how construction is carried out, particularly in the City. It is a design concept that will be evident in the future, particularly in the Mecca region as the region expects hundreds of thousands of visitors. The new design will be based on proper planning, space concepts mainly to utilize space in a more efficient manner. It is also expected that it will maintain the spiritual monument, the Kaaba while focusing on the entire area ranging from access roads, paths and other establishments for comfort during prayers.