In the city, of Sana’a, Yemen, many building structures are made of mud and crushed earth material. These mud skyscrapers are meant to blend into their surrounding mountains. The architecture in this city is so unique, it has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. The umber-colored buildings are paired with geometric detailing and mimic the architectural style of early Islam.
The highly sought after raw-earth construction material ensures that buildings are temperature controlled and can endure extreme circumstances like flash floods and earthquakes all while staying eco-friendly and sustainable. Mud walls have a high thermal mass, which means they absorb and store heat, making it convenient for year-round living without an air conditioning unit. This is a posed solution to the climate crisis.
38 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions come from the construction industry with concrete, a modern architectural essential, covering 7 of the 38 percent. However, Salma Samar Damluji, co-founder of the Daw’an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation in Yemen says that even though the mud buildings are thousands of years old, that they are “terribly contemporary” and have not lost their appeal, also arguing, “we cannot live in these concrete jungles anymore. We have to consider the environment and biodiversity. We cannot construct in isolation.”
This mud building tradition comes from the city of Djenne, Mali, which used to be an important trading stop after its founding in 800AD. The site is known for its Great Mosque, the largest mud building in the world at a staggering 66ft tall. Citizens gather every year to maintain the mosque, giving the community a sense of “social cohesion.”
Dragana Kojičić, a Serbian architect is inspired by the ancient way of building, stating, “our ancestors were really clever and really practical – they used what they had around them. The earth was everywhere and it could be used for everything: walls, floors, ceilings, stoves and even roofs.” He now works to restore and rebuild mud houses in Serbia.
The porous nature of the mud allows the structures to be “breathable” by absorbing and releasing moisture from the air like a layer of skin. The dough-like material can also be recycled as many times as needed without needing extra energy making it “the champion of future sustainable construction” in comparison to concrete or corrugated metal.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657469678350x846530621917982500/The%20sustainable%20cities%20made%20from%20mud%20-%20BBC%20Future.pdf
The highly sought after raw-earth construction material ensures that buildings are temperature controlled and can endure extreme circumstances like flash floods and earthquakes all while staying eco-friendly and sustainable. Mud walls have a high thermal mass, which means they absorb and store heat, making it convenient for year-round living without an air conditioning unit. This is a posed solution to the climate crisis.
38 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions come from the construction industry with concrete, a modern architectural essential, covering 7 of the 38 percent. However, Salma Samar Damluji, co-founder of the Daw’an Mud Brick Architecture Foundation in Yemen says that even though the mud buildings are thousands of years old, that they are “terribly contemporary” and have not lost their appeal, also arguing, “we cannot live in these concrete jungles anymore. We have to consider the environment and biodiversity. We cannot construct in isolation.”
This mud building tradition comes from the city of Djenne, Mali, which used to be an important trading stop after its founding in 800AD. The site is known for its Great Mosque, the largest mud building in the world at a staggering 66ft tall. Citizens gather every year to maintain the mosque, giving the community a sense of “social cohesion.”
Dragana Kojičić, a Serbian architect is inspired by the ancient way of building, stating, “our ancestors were really clever and really practical – they used what they had around them. The earth was everywhere and it could be used for everything: walls, floors, ceilings, stoves and even roofs.” He now works to restore and rebuild mud houses in Serbia.
The porous nature of the mud allows the structures to be “breathable” by absorbing and releasing moisture from the air like a layer of skin. The dough-like material can also be recycled as many times as needed without needing extra energy making it “the champion of future sustainable construction” in comparison to concrete or corrugated metal.
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657469678350x846530621917982500/The%20sustainable%20cities%20made%20from%20mud%20-%20BBC%20Future.pdf
