It is a normal day in the old city of Sana’a, the capital city of Yemen. The sun is sweltering, and the sand stretches in all directions. However, one thing stands out; the buildings in Sana’a are different from all others. Instead of concrete structures, glass domes, or steel frames, the buildings in Sana’a are made from one material: mud.
Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of more than 7,200 feet, Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2.5 millennia. “As an outstanding example of a homogeneous architectural ensemble reflecting the spatial characteristics of the early years of Islam, the city in its landscape has an extraordinary artistic and pictorial quality,” UNESCO stated.
Salma Samar Damluji is the co-founder of the Daw’an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation. She claims that since these buildings are very well-insulated, climate-friendly, and adaptable for modern use, they have not lost their appeal. “It is the architecture of the future,” says Damluji.
Architects are re-considering constructing buildings using mud as they try to make sustainable buildings that can withstand many factors, such as flash floods and intense heat. This ancient form of architecture may become the staple of our future homes and cities.
The BBC’s Isabelle Gerretsen reports, “the construction industry accounts for 38% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The building sector has an important role to play if the world is to meet its goal of reaching net zero by 2050 and keep global temperature rise below the critical threshold of 1.5C.”
What might achieve that colossal task? Swapping out concrete for sustainable building materials like mud might do it. Since concrete, a must for modern construction, has an enormous carbon footprint, using mud could decrease global CO2 emissions by 7%. Damluji, among many others, supports using other sustainable materials rather than concrete. “We cannot live in these concrete jungles anymore,” she says. “We have to consider the environment and biodiversity.”
However, mud might not be the entire solution to concrete. It should be done sustainably and should not reduce land availability for growing crops, says Trevor Marchand, former professor of social anthropology at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. “It can be a solution, but only on a certain scale,” he says, noting that the global population may reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, mounting pressure on land.
Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of more than 7,200 feet, Sana’a has been inhabited for more than 2.5 millennia. “As an outstanding example of a homogeneous architectural ensemble reflecting the spatial characteristics of the early years of Islam, the city in its landscape has an extraordinary artistic and pictorial quality,” UNESCO stated.
Salma Samar Damluji is the co-founder of the Daw’an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation. She claims that since these buildings are very well-insulated, climate-friendly, and adaptable for modern use, they have not lost their appeal. “It is the architecture of the future,” says Damluji.
Architects are re-considering constructing buildings using mud as they try to make sustainable buildings that can withstand many factors, such as flash floods and intense heat. This ancient form of architecture may become the staple of our future homes and cities.
The BBC’s Isabelle Gerretsen reports, “the construction industry accounts for 38% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The building sector has an important role to play if the world is to meet its goal of reaching net zero by 2050 and keep global temperature rise below the critical threshold of 1.5C.”
What might achieve that colossal task? Swapping out concrete for sustainable building materials like mud might do it. Since concrete, a must for modern construction, has an enormous carbon footprint, using mud could decrease global CO2 emissions by 7%. Damluji, among many others, supports using other sustainable materials rather than concrete. “We cannot live in these concrete jungles anymore,” she says. “We have to consider the environment and biodiversity.”
However, mud might not be the entire solution to concrete. It should be done sustainably and should not reduce land availability for growing crops, says Trevor Marchand, former professor of social anthropology at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. “It can be a solution, but only on a certain scale,” he says, noting that the global population may reach 9.7 billion people by 2050, mounting pressure on land.
