Material culturalism is defined by Grier (1996) as the study of a subject matter that takes in the ‘biosocial environment’ from cultural buildings and landscapes. These valuable collections of artifacts reflect the lifestyles, interactions, environments and eras of people’s parents. Material culturists believe that the study of objects and artifacts and the circumstances in which they were made reveals unique perspectives and data that have not been well documented. Islamic Architecture is a rich cultural example with its delicate and geometrically advanced artifacts and production methods (Kaplan 2002).

Analysis into historic archetypes, specifically Mashrabiya, can significantly influence the current and future design of architecture facade treatments that could comply with the harsh environmental conditions in the Middle East. John Fenny (1974) poetically describes the silken masks of the Mashrabiya as symbolizing the “legendary mystery of the Orient.” Within Eastern cultures, this architectural construction is a three-dimensional, carved wood lattice structure whose primary function is to control visual privacy as well as temperature and lighting in interior spaces (Samuels 2011).

The Mashrabiya, as studied by Hassan Fathy (1986), represents an architectural screen that has five functional dimensions that are achieved through parametric variation in the material thickness and member density: controlling the passage of light, controlling the air flow, reducing the temperature of the air current, raising the humidity of the air current, and ensuring the privacy of the inhabitants within the Haramlak or Harim (women’s quarter) in the courtyard houses of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and other eastern countries (see Abdelgelil 2006; Almurahhem 2011).