Shukoor House Restoration

Kabul, Afghanistan

The Shukoor house demonstrates the ingenuity of builders in the old city of Kabul, who in this case adapted the customary north-south orientation of inhabited rooms to a sloping site. The main east-facing reception room on the ground floor of the house retains a fine arched timber partition, behind which is a small room with intricate moulded plaster decoration and niches. There are fine views over the city from the north-facing room on the first floor, which gives on to the roof. The owner of the house approached AKTC in 2003 with a plan for the construction of a new wing of rooms in the courtyard, which was amended to allow for a more sympathetic extension, which was built at the same time as the conservation of the main house. The house was handed back to the owner in late 2005.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture