Using traditional building techniques and systems, and on-site capacity building, this project reconstructs cultural landmarks damaged or destroyed in Yemen’s 2015-17 conflict - including mosques and important Sufi shrines. Its primary sites are in Hadramut Governorate, which boasts distinctive mud-brick and stone "skyscrapers". Daw‘an Architecture Foundation (a Hadramut-based NGO) initiated and led the project, supported by local authorities and the governor’s office. Alongside master builders and craftspeople, with their specialist expertise, local youths and architecture students participated in on-site training, raising awareness of their region’s extant natural resources - many of them salvaged from war debris. Bricks were remade from cleaned rubble; reinforcement was achieved via masonry incisions to hold wooden wall ties - and to embed circular stone pillars, providing additional support. An innovative, water-resistant plaster - saruj - made of crushed, fired clay mixed with lime and sand - strengthened finished building surfaces at the cities’ four chosen sites to ensure long-term sustainability.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
