It provides magnificent views as well as the play of colored shadows of the walls cast by the stained-glass takhrim windows above, increasing the delight during the afternoon qat session. A central staircase, rising throughout the height of the house, provides the central stability around which the structural distribution of the house is supported. The thermal capacity of the stone and masonry walls produces a thermal lag, which tempers the extreme day and night temperatures. The facade of the house, showing similarity to textile or jewelry designs, seems to pay little attention to the adjoining facade, either in alignment or proportion. Yet the innate aesthetic sense of the Yemenis leads to an unerring contentment of spatial relationships.
Interior proportion appears to be of importance to Yemeni builders.
Significant modules, such as the cross section of the diwan, are based on a square, with its length being two or three squares in plan. Orientation is also considered important, in that any house facing other than south is said to be less than a full house. The tower houses of Sana'a are a hybrid construction of stone and baked brick. The foundation walls are approximately 45 cm thick, composed of facing stones inside and out and a center core of clay plaster and rubble. Crosswalls are constructed of rough rubble and connect to the outside face of the external wall.