The walled city of Sana’a in Yemen, dating back 2500 years, is well known for the surprising element used in almost all of its buildings: mud. Most buildings are built primarily of rammed earth with unique geometric patterns decorating them. This city blends well with the surrounding mountains because the earth used in making the city is the same color as the earth in the mountains.
Because of the unique building technique Sana’a’s founders used, Sana’a has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. In its description of Sana’a, Unesco praises the builders’ use of simple materials and patterns, elements that make the city unique. Furthermore, many architects today agree that the mud buildings of Sana’a were built efficiently, with good insulation, and the ability to withstand natural disasters in the area The buildings are also adaptable and eco-friendly. Salma Samar Damluji, who studies architecture unique to Yemen, says “It is the architecture of the future.”
The question is, why aren’t we using these ancient techniques in our modern architecture? The industries involved with building, construction, and so on, account for almost 40% of all global carbon emissions. With many countries attempting to reach carbon zero by 2050, this industry will need to find a more sustainable way to build efficiently. Using concrete comes with a high price: more global carbon emissions. The production of concrete alone is responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gases, almost three times the emissions of the aviation industry. “We cannot live in these concrete jungles anymore,” says Damluji. “We have to consider the environment and biodiversity. We cannot construct in isolation.”
According to Damluji, mud could solve our building problems and potentially replace concrete completely. As stated earlier, mud has many of the qualities necessary for essential building materials: good insulation, the ability to withstand natural disasters in the area, adaptability, and eco-friendliness.
In Djenné, Mali, all residents gather once a year to re-clay their mosque, named the Great Mosque, the largest mud building in the world. The mosque, founded in 800 AD, was an important destination in the region as it was a commonly-known meeting place for traders from the Sahara and Sudan. The mosque stands 66 feet tall and sits on a 300-foot-long platform. Whenever the mosque is re-clayed and repaired, a group of respected and skilled masons ensure that the task is done efficiently and skillfully.
Trevor Marchand, a professor of social anthropology at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies comments that the re-claying and repairing of the mosque is important in unifying and bonding the community together, as everyone works together. “Everyone takes part. Boys and girls mix the mud, women bring the water and masons direct the activity.
Djenné’s mud architecture is constantly changing as residents re-clay, repair, and rebuild their homes,” says Marchand. One of the best aspects of using mud is that it’s adaptable. If you want to make your home larger, building additional rooms is simple and if you want to remove a room, you can easily separate it from the rest of the structure and leave it to decompose.
These qualities have attracted and inspired many architects, like Serbian Dragana Kojičić, whose specialty is the use of raw earth in construction. “Our ancestors were clever and practical – they used what they had around them,” says Kojičić. “The earth was everywhere and it could be used for everything: walls, floors, ceilings, stoves, and even roofs.” Kojičić now uses these techniques in constructing and building houses made of earth in Serbia. Kojičić remarks that mud is easy to use; no protective gear is required and it can be easily molded when manipulated correctly. “Mud is contagious – it is love at first touch,” she says.
A fellow specialist in the use of natural materials, Anna Heringer, agrees. Anna has designed many noteworthy buildings made of natural materials, one of them being the METI handmade school in Rudrapur, Bangladesh. “Mud is a very inclusive material; poor and rich can building with it,” she says. The school was composed entirely of materials found in the area, including mud, straw, and bamboo. Mud is also one of the only materials we can easily recycle without using any energy.
The METI Handmade School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh
Furthermore, mud becomes an even better building material the more you use it. Another quality of mud that makes it an even better candidate than current building materials is the high thermal mass it possesses. This means that mud slowly absorbs heat and stores it, which prevents mud houses from overheating. This also means that AC units will be less necessary. This is another good thing because these units require large amounts of energy and contain refrigerants that give off powerful emissions.
Because mud is very breathable, it is porous and will let more moisture into houses; this improves the air quality inside mud homes. “The earth has the ability to absorb excess moisture from the air, and to release it, if necessary, which is why we say that these houses ‘breathe,'” says Kojičić. “They are healthy buildings which breathe in the same way we breathe and have skins that adapt to hot and cold,” says Damluji.
“The way they are constructed is in reference, in proportion even, to the human body.” “A bonus is that the thick mud-brick walls also reduce noise levels from outside or next door.” If you are still doubting the fact that mud makes an excellent building material, know that it is also damp-proof when using layers of refined mud, and can withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes and heavy winds “because of the ability of its structure to distribute the load that it faces on its surface, unlike concrete or cement,” says Damluji.
However, everything has its limitations. Using mud for construction should be done in the most sustainable way possible and shouldn’t affect the land crops grow on, says Marchand, given the fact that there will probably be 9.7 billion people on Earth by 2050.
Overall, though, people who are looking to build a home should consider building it out of mud, for its sustainability, thickness, strength, durability, and adaptability.
Because of the unique building technique Sana’a’s founders used, Sana’a has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. In its description of Sana’a, Unesco praises the builders’ use of simple materials and patterns, elements that make the city unique. Furthermore, many architects today agree that the mud buildings of Sana’a were built efficiently, with good insulation, and the ability to withstand natural disasters in the area The buildings are also adaptable and eco-friendly. Salma Samar Damluji, who studies architecture unique to Yemen, says “It is the architecture of the future.”
The question is, why aren’t we using these ancient techniques in our modern architecture? The industries involved with building, construction, and so on, account for almost 40% of all global carbon emissions. With many countries attempting to reach carbon zero by 2050, this industry will need to find a more sustainable way to build efficiently. Using concrete comes with a high price: more global carbon emissions. The production of concrete alone is responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gases, almost three times the emissions of the aviation industry. “We cannot live in these concrete jungles anymore,” says Damluji. “We have to consider the environment and biodiversity. We cannot construct in isolation.”
According to Damluji, mud could solve our building problems and potentially replace concrete completely. As stated earlier, mud has many of the qualities necessary for essential building materials: good insulation, the ability to withstand natural disasters in the area, adaptability, and eco-friendliness.
In Djenné, Mali, all residents gather once a year to re-clay their mosque, named the Great Mosque, the largest mud building in the world. The mosque, founded in 800 AD, was an important destination in the region as it was a commonly-known meeting place for traders from the Sahara and Sudan. The mosque stands 66 feet tall and sits on a 300-foot-long platform. Whenever the mosque is re-clayed and repaired, a group of respected and skilled masons ensure that the task is done efficiently and skillfully.
Trevor Marchand, a professor of social anthropology at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies comments that the re-claying and repairing of the mosque is important in unifying and bonding the community together, as everyone works together. “Everyone takes part. Boys and girls mix the mud, women bring the water and masons direct the activity.
Djenné’s mud architecture is constantly changing as residents re-clay, repair, and rebuild their homes,” says Marchand. One of the best aspects of using mud is that it’s adaptable. If you want to make your home larger, building additional rooms is simple and if you want to remove a room, you can easily separate it from the rest of the structure and leave it to decompose.
These qualities have attracted and inspired many architects, like Serbian Dragana Kojičić, whose specialty is the use of raw earth in construction. “Our ancestors were clever and practical – they used what they had around them,” says Kojičić. “The earth was everywhere and it could be used for everything: walls, floors, ceilings, stoves, and even roofs.” Kojičić now uses these techniques in constructing and building houses made of earth in Serbia. Kojičić remarks that mud is easy to use; no protective gear is required and it can be easily molded when manipulated correctly. “Mud is contagious – it is love at first touch,” she says.
A fellow specialist in the use of natural materials, Anna Heringer, agrees. Anna has designed many noteworthy buildings made of natural materials, one of them being the METI handmade school in Rudrapur, Bangladesh. “Mud is a very inclusive material; poor and rich can building with it,” she says. The school was composed entirely of materials found in the area, including mud, straw, and bamboo. Mud is also one of the only materials we can easily recycle without using any energy.
The METI Handmade School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh
Furthermore, mud becomes an even better building material the more you use it. Another quality of mud that makes it an even better candidate than current building materials is the high thermal mass it possesses. This means that mud slowly absorbs heat and stores it, which prevents mud houses from overheating. This also means that AC units will be less necessary. This is another good thing because these units require large amounts of energy and contain refrigerants that give off powerful emissions.
Because mud is very breathable, it is porous and will let more moisture into houses; this improves the air quality inside mud homes. “The earth has the ability to absorb excess moisture from the air, and to release it, if necessary, which is why we say that these houses ‘breathe,'” says Kojičić. “They are healthy buildings which breathe in the same way we breathe and have skins that adapt to hot and cold,” says Damluji.
“The way they are constructed is in reference, in proportion even, to the human body.” “A bonus is that the thick mud-brick walls also reduce noise levels from outside or next door.” If you are still doubting the fact that mud makes an excellent building material, know that it is also damp-proof when using layers of refined mud, and can withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes and heavy winds “because of the ability of its structure to distribute the load that it faces on its surface, unlike concrete or cement,” says Damluji.
However, everything has its limitations. Using mud for construction should be done in the most sustainable way possible and shouldn’t affect the land crops grow on, says Marchand, given the fact that there will probably be 9.7 billion people on Earth by 2050.
Overall, though, people who are looking to build a home should consider building it out of mud, for its sustainability, thickness, strength, durability, and adaptability.
