Mashrabiya

Mashrabiya are the intricately carved wooden lattice screens you see covering windows, balconies and interior partitions throughout the Arab world, geometric patterns that let air and light through while keeping the inside private and shaded. Originally medieval, they were also used to keep clay water jars cool in the airflow (the name comes from the Arabic word for drinking). In luxury hotels today they're everywhere: Royal Mansour Marrakech uses them on every riad facade, Aman Sharm El Sheikh and Mandarin Oriental Marrakech all build with them, and modern designers like Tara Bernerd reinterpret them as freestanding room dividers. The big visual treat: the moving shadow patterns they cast on the floor when sunlight passes through.