Built Environment Archives

Building a Future from the Ground Up in Somalia Today

Jun 5, 2026

A heavily loaded truck with dried vegetation drives through Mogadishu, Somalia, under sunny skies. by Yontoy Photography via Pexels

“When we came here, we lived in a tent,” Hawo says. “The heat was unbearable and we never felt truly safe.”

Hawo and Shukri are two of thousands of Somali families displaced by the adverse impacts of climate change, mainly prolonged droughts and environmental degradation that continue to drive displacement across Somalia.

In Doolow, where searing winds sweep through settlements often built from plastic sheets and tarpaulins, families once displaced by drought and conflict are finding new hope in homes built from the earth itself.

Their new shelters, sturdy, naturally cooler, and built with locally made mudbricks, are part of IOM’s effort to introduce vernacular earth-based, climate-adaptive construction across Somalia’s arid areas.

The approach replaces temporary plastic shelters with durable, sustainable materials and designs that respond to cultural needs and Somalia’s environmental pressures while restoring dignity to families who have lived too long in crisis.

Workers upgrade a shelter unit from tarpaulin and plastic sheets to locally sourced, earth-based materials. Photo: IOM/Raber Aziz

“This house is much better,” Shukri says. “It protects us and keeps my children safe, and it is cooler and more comfortable to live in. Compared to the shelters we had before, this one feels stronger, easier to maintain, and more secure for my family.”

As recurrent droughts and environmental degradation continue to act as drivers of displacement and put growing pressure on already fragile resources, the need for scalable and environmentally sustainable shelter solutions has become increasingly urgent in the face of climate change. For IOM, shelter is not a product, but a process, one that helps communities adapt, recover, and rebuild in a safe and sustainable way, while reducing pressure on the environment.

Hawo and her daughter stand outside their mudbrick shelter in Doolow. Photo: IOM/Yusuf Abdirahman

To bring this vision to life, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) partnered with the International Centre for Earth Construction (CRAterre), a research institute for earthen architecture. Since 2022, the partnership has provided several rounds of training to local masons, authorities, and shelter partners to build knowledge and capacity in earth construction techniques.

“Earth is the most accessible, affordable, and climate-responsive building materials we have in Somalia,” explains Abdikarin Adan Salad, an IOM engineer involved in the programme. “By using local materials and training local builders and community members, communities are not only building shelters, they are building resilience against future climatic shocks.”

“Unlike temporary shelters often built from imported sheeting and short-term materials, earth-based shelters use locally sourced soil and natural materials with lower environmental impact while providing better insulation against heat,” says Manuel Marques Pereira, IOM Chief of Mission in Somalia.

Trained workers replace plastic sheets and tarpaulin with mudbricks on a shelter unit in Doolow. Photo: IOM

Previously, IOM upgraded 42 of Ladan’s 1,500 Improved Emergency Shelters. But in October 2025, work began on 50 additional mudbrick shelter upgrades through an owner-driven approach that incorporates a cash-for-shelter modality, empowering families to manage their own construction with guidance from IOM engineers and trained local masons.

“With the cash support we received, we were able to buy the materials needed to build our own shelter together with others in the community,” says Bisharo, a mother of five. “Being involved in building in the process made a big difference because it felt like we were creating a home.”

Bisharo uses her cash-for-shelter grant to hire trained masons from the displaced community and build a shelter tailored to her family’s needs. Photo: IOM/Raber Aziz

With the cash for shelter grant, Bisharo hired trained masons from the community and ensured the shelter unit matched her preferences. The approach, developed jointly with the authorities of Jubaland State and the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Housing, transfers ownership to displaced households while strengthening community skills.

Families reuse existing frames, upgrade shelters gradually as resources allow, and hire trained labour from within their communities, creating jobs and reducing costs. Refresher trainings support successful upgrades, from soil testing and brick making to structural design and shelter maintenance.

Local masons trained by IOM work on a mudbrick shelter upgrade in Doolow. Photo: IOM/Yusuf Abdirahman

This sustainable, environmentally friendly technique echoes what Somali and international experts also envision for the future of Somalia’s shelter and housing approaches to resolving displacement. In November 2025 in Mogadishu, the Ministry of Public Works, Reconstruction and Housing announced winning proposals under the Homegrown, Sustainable, and Scalable Shelter Solutions in Somalia initiative, a collaboration between IOM, the Ministry, CRAterre, and global design partners including YACademy Bologna.

Since April 2025, university students, architects, and diaspora experts have worked to develop a new generation of shelter designs. Their proposals blended Somali cultural aesthetics with environmental functionality, creating homes that breathe with the climate, conserve energy, and can be built affordably using local materials.

In Mogadishu, students showcase their proposed designs for low-cost, sustainable housing in Somalia. Photo: IOM/Yusuf Abdirahman

Back in Doolow, as the afternoon sun glows over the red soil, the new homes stand firm, cool inside, with smooth mud walls that tell a story of resilience, reinvention, and hope.

“These shelters are more than just structures,” Bisharo says, looking at her children playing outside their home. “They give us a sense of stability and remind us that we have a place to call home.”

From the soil beneath their feet, Somalia’s displaced families are building their future, one brick at a time.

This story was written by Raber Aziz, Media and Communications Officer with IOM Somalia.

Can Sustainable Construction Materials Enhance Liveability. . . ?

May 28, 2026

Close-up of handmade clay bricks in a construction area, highlighting traditional manufacturing techniques. by Sirmudi_photography via Pexels

.

Can Sustainable Construction Materials Offer More Performance Liveability and Reliability?

By TRT Editorial – May 28, 2026

For decades, residential buildings were largely shaped by structural strength, usable space, construction speed and commercial viability. Those priorities still matter, but expectations from buildings are changing. A building is now expected to respond more intelligently to the environment it sits within.

Buildings account for a significant share of energy use, water consumption and material demand. In expanding cities, this impact grows quickly. As urban development accelerates, buildings influence how resources are consumed, how heat is managed and how liveable neighbourhoods become.

The larger question is simple. Can buildings do more than occupy land? Can they reduce the environmental pressure they usually create?

From Consumption to Response

The conventional model of construction has often depended on extraction and correction. Materials are sourced, land is altered and systems are added to maintain indoor comfort. Air conditioning compensates for poor ventilation. Artificial lighting replaces daylight. Water systems are installed without enough attention to reuse, recharge or long-term efficiency.

A more evolved approach treats buildings as responsive systems. Design, materials, construction methods and infrastructure need to work as connected decisions. The aim is to reduce impact by allowing the building to work with its surroundings.

Orientation, layout, airflow and material selection can influence energy use and environmental stress. Construction methods matter as well. Prefabrication and off-site fabrication are gaining attention in India because they can improve quality control, reduce site waste, lower dust and noise and shorten timelines through standardised production. A more responsible building is shaped by the materials used and by the consistency with which it is assembled.

Design as the First Intervention

Environmental performance begins with design. The way a building is positioned determines sunlight exposure and heat gain. The way spaces are arranged influences airflow. Passive design strategies such as natural ventilation, shading, thermal mass and daylight optimisation can reduce dependence on mechanical systems. They also create indoor spaces that remain more comfortable with lower energy input.

When these decisions are integrated early, they reduce the need for corrective systems later. A building designed to stay cool needs less energy for comfort. A space that receives adequate daylight depends less on artificial lighting during the day.

Execution quality is equally important. A strong design can underperform when waterproofing, insulation continuity, window sealing, plumbing junctions or service integration are poorly handled on site. Performance depends on specification and on how accurately those choices are delivered in built form.

The building envelope plays a major role in liveability. More than 60% of current and future cooling demand in Indian homes is linked to heat gain through walls and windows. This makes insulation, glazing, shading and envelope detailing central to residential comfort. Sustainable materials can help indoor spaces remain thermally stable across seasons and reduce dependence on constant mechanical correction.

Reliability also depends on how the envelope handles moisture. Materials and detailing that respond poorly to seepage, condensation, façade weathering or trapped dampness can reduce comfort, shorten surface life and increase maintenance pressure. A durable material strategy must consider how the building ages under everyday exposure.

Materials That Improve Performance

Construction materials have always been selected for strength and cost efficiency. The newer expectation is that they must also support environmental performance. Low-carbon materials, better insulation and healthier finishes can influence heat retention, operational energy demand and indoor comfort.

Indoor environmental quality is a major part of this discussion. Plywood, particle board, PVC-based finishes, adhesives, paints and some formaldehyde-based products can emit volatile organic compounds indoors. These emissions are associated with poor indoor air quality and sick building syndrome. Sustainable material choices can therefore support healthier living conditions over long periods of occupancy.

Acoustic comfort is also part of liveability. Wall build-ups, glazing quality, door sealing and layout planning influence privacy, rest and acoustic calm inside homes. In denser urban settings, sound performance is as relevant to residential quality as thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

Material selection also affects the ecological footprint of a project. Cement and steel used for construction and refurbishment accounted for 18% of building-sector CO₂ emissions in 2019. When materials are evaluated through embodied impact, durability and thermal contribution, they begin to influence performance beyond structure alone.

Water, Energy and Resource Responsibility

Buildings interact continuously with water and energy systems. In conventional development, these are treated as utilities that supply what the building demands. A more thoughtful approach manages them within the building’s own logic.

Water stewardship includes rainwater capture, reuse systems and better planning to reduce wastage. Energy efficiency includes efficient equipment, better insulation and reduced demand through design. When these systems are integrated, buildings become less dependent on external infrastructure and more resilient to resource constraints.

This matters in India, where construction also places pressure on freshwater, sand, gravel and waste systems. India officially generates around 150 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste annually. Materials and systems that reduce extraction pressure, improve reuse potential and lower waste intensity can strengthen long-term reliability.

Building with Greater Awareness

The future of development will be shaped by how buildings behave over time. Passive design, efficient systems, responsible materials and resource management are not isolated features. They are part of a single approach to reduce environmental stress while improving usability, comfort and durability.

Customer expectations are also changing. Homebuyers are becoming more aware of how buildings influence health, comfort, maintenance and long-term sustainability. Buildings that respond to these expectations are likely to remain more relevant as cities grow.

The question is no longer limited to whether buildings can reduce their environmental impact. The real test is how intentionally they are designed, built and maintained to do so.

How the Great Pyramid of Giza Has Survived Earthquakes

May 23, 2026

Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt, by rperucho via Pixabay

.

How the Great Pyramid of Giza has survived 4,500 years of Egyptian earthquakes

By Colin Caprani, Monash University and Scott Menegon, Swinburne University of Technology

The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has survived more than 4,500 years. Earthquakes have repeatedly shaken the region, including the magnitude 5.8 Cairo earthquake in 1992, which dislodged some of the pyramid’s outer casing stones. Yet the main body remained essentially intact.

How has it survived so well? A new study of the pyramid’s vibrations by Egyptian geophysicist Asem Salama and colleagues provides insight into its performance during earthquakes, and identifies some interesting features.

But we should be cautious to conclude that its impressive longevity is proof of its builders’ knowledge of earthquake engineering.

What the research found

The researchers measured the pyramid’s vibrations in ambient conditions. They found that its natural frequencies – the frequencies at which it “prefers” to vibrate – are mostly between about 2.0 and 2.6 hertz (cycles per second). The surrounding soil has a much lower dominant frequency, around 0.6Hz.

Every structure has a natural rhythm. Push a child on a swing at the right moment and the motion grows; push at the wrong moment and little happens.

Buildings and monuments behave similarly. If earthquake shaking matches a structure’s natural frequency, the motion can be amplified. This is called resonance, and it can be catastrophic.

A diagram of the inside structure of the Great Pyramid.
Salama et al. / Scientific Reports

The study also reports reduced vibrations near the so-called relieving chambers above the King’s Chamber. These chambers are understood to redirect the enormous weight of stone above, and may also affect how vibration energy moves through the pyramid.

These findings suggest some behaviour that may be helpful during an earthquake, including a frequency mismatch between the pyramid and the soil. But they do not, by themselves, prove people intentionally built the pyramid to be resilient to earthquakes.

How the researchers measured it

The study used a method called horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio analysis, or HVSR. This records tiny background motions from wind, traffic, human activity and natural ground vibration.

By comparing the horizontal and vertical components of these motions, researchers can estimate dominant frequencies in the soil and structure. In this case, instruments were placed at 37 locations in and around the pyramid, including internal passages, exterior stones and nearby soil.

How the Great Pyramid of Giza has survived 4,500 years of Egyptian earthquakes Man crouching in stone chamber with instruments — Researchers placed sensors in and around the Great Pyramid to measure its vibrations.
Salama et al. / Scientific Reports

This suits a heritage structure. Engineers cannot drill into the Great Pyramid, load it experimentally, or put instruments on it like a modern bridge.

The method provides useful information without damage. However, it only measures the response to small background vibrations, not the severe shaking of an earthquake.

The importance of frequency mismatch

When shaking from an earthquake happens at a frequency that matches a structure’s natural frequency, it can cause resonance. Resonance can be catastrophic.

How the Great Pyramid of Giza Has Survived Earthquakes A collapsed suspension bridge. — The 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge in the US is often attributed to resonance during high winds.
Wikimedia

So the measured difference matters. If the ground and the structure vibrate at different rates, the ground is less likely to feed energy efficiently into the structure.

But this addresses only one possible mechanism of earthquake damage. There are plenty of examples of structures performing poorly in earthquakes, even though there was a frequency mismatch to the soil below.

Earthquake resilience is more complicated

Modern earthquake design does not assess resilience from one frequency comparison.

Instead, we look at a whole list of questions. How severe is the expected shaking? What ground is the structure on? How heavy and flexible is the structure? Can the structure deform and dissipate energy without sudden collapse? How serious would failure be?

The structure’s natural period or rhythm (which is related to its natural frequency) is part of that assessment. But it sits alongside many other factors.

In practice, earthquake damage depends not only on the earthquake but on the structures that receive it. Australia’s 1989 Newcastle earthquake, for example, was not huge by global standards, but many buildings fared poorly and 13 people died.

How the Great Pyramid of Giza Has Survived Earthquakes People in a collapsed building — Australia’s 1989 Newcastle earthquake wasn’t huge – but it caused great damage and 13 deaths.
Australian Earthquake Engineering Society, CC BY

For the Great Pyramid, the behaviour of the stonework is especially important. Ambient vibration testing measures behaviour under very small motions. During strong earthquake shaking, masonry can crack, open joints, rock, slide and lose stiffness. Each of these changes the structure’s natural period, complicating the behaviour.

Beware survivorship bias

In evaluating the pyramid’s longevity, we should also consider survivorship bias.

Famously, in the second world war, statistician Abraham Wald was asked where armour should be added to aircraft. The obvious answer was to reinforce the places where returning aircraft had the most bullet holes.

Wald argued the opposite: those aircraft had survived. The aircraft that did not return were missing from the data.

Diagram of a plane covered in red dots. — This famous diagram shows the pattern of bullet holes on returning aircraft in the second world war.
Martin Grandjean / McGeddon (picture) / US Air Force (hit plot concept) / Wikimedia, CC BY

Ancient structures pose a similar problem. We admire ancient aqueducts, temples and pyramids because they are still here. The failed structures, poor foundations, weak details and abandoned experiments are mostly gone.

That does not diminish the Great Pyramid. It simply means looking at structures that survive today does not tell us everything about the design intentions behind them.

What the pyramid does teach us

The pyramid may not have been intentionally designed for resilience in an earthquake. But its survival is not an accident, either.

From an engineering point of view, it has many favourable features: a broad base, low centre of mass, tapering form, symmetrical plan, competent limestone foundation and massive masonry load path. It is squat, stiff and well-founded rather than tall, slender and flexible.

The safest conclusion is that the builders made excellent empirical engineering choices. Those choices may have been driven by construction experience, observation, structural necessity, or cultural intent. Their seismic benefits may be real without being the original purpose.

The Great Pyramid’s survival is not magic, and it is not proof of ancient seismic design. As evidence, this study is important and impressive, but incomplete.

Colin Caprani, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering, Monash University and Scott Menegon, Senior Lecturer, Civil and Construction Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Could This Self-Cooling Mosque Be the Future?

May 21, 2026

This mosque is one of two buildings that make up the Hikma Community Centre in Niger. On the hottest days it can be up to 15°C cooler inside than it is outside, without the need for air-conditioning. Credit: JamesWang

.

Could this self-cooling mosque be the future of construction in a warming world?

UNEP

The small town of Dandaji, Niger, sits on the edge of the Sahara Desert. It is a place where temperatures routinely top 45°C, blanketing residents in a suffocating, oven-like heat.

Unless they’re in the town’s mosque.

With its tree-filled garden, soaring ceilings and earthen-brick walls, the building has been designed to chill itself. On the hottest days, it can be up to 15°C cooler than the outside air – without air-conditioning.

The mosque is one of two buildings – the other is a library – that make up the Hikma Community Centre.

While it was completed in 2018, the award-winning complex – co-designed by Nigerien architect Mariam Issoufou – is receiving renewed attention as urban areas swelter under record-breaking temperatures.

“Whether you’re in Niamey or New York, climate change is fast making extreme heat the new normal,” says Hongpeng Lei, the Chief of the Climate Mitigation Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “We need to develop better ways of building if we want our homes and offices to be livable in the years to come.”

The Hikma complex is a marvel of what experts call passive cooling – a smorgasbord of architectural techniques that ease indoor temperatures without the need for air-conditioning.

A prime example of this are the mosque’s walls. Aside from a few concrete ribs, they are built entirely from earthen bricks, which draw inspiration from Niger’s adobe buildings of yore. The bricks are forged by mixing small amounts of cement and water with laterite, a rusty-red soil found across West Africa. More porous than concrete – West Africa’s building material of choice – the bricks allow heat to dissipate at night, keeping temperatures comfortable.

Could this self-cooling mosque be the future of construction in a warming world? The outside of an earthern-brick mosque.

The soaring ceilings of the mosque, which measure up to 9 metres high, allow heat to waft up and away from worshippers. Credit: James Wang Since the Hikma complex was completed in 2018, a growing number of West African buildings have used compressed earth bricks, in part because of its influence. That represents a mini-renaissance for a substance once viewed as “backward,” says Issoufou, who created the complex alongside Iranian architect Yasaman Esmaili.

“Since the beginning of the 20th century, concrete has been seen as the material of progress. I was laughed out of rooms when I brought up earth,” she says. “But there is a lot of wisdom embedded in the buildings of the past.”

Another key to the mosque’s cooling is its vaulted ceilings, which range from six to nine metres high. Their loftiness allows hot air to waft up and away from worshippers. Once it reaches the mosque’s roof – a series of earthen brick rings crafted by local masons – it dissipates into the outside air.

The mosque also has precisely aligned doors and windows that allow breeze to pass through when opened. Equally important, the mosque is not one cavernous space. It is split into two sections, or volumes, each with their own doors and windows that face each other.

To keep cool, the mosque has one more trick up its sleeve. Just outside is a tree-filled garden fed by a drip irrigation system, which captures water during Niger’s brief rainy season and stores it in a cistern.

The trees – visible in satellite images – serve two purposes. First, they provide a dose of cooling shade. Second, when the water in their leaves evaporates – a process known as transpiration – it chills the surrounding air.

“We underuse nature,” says Issoufou, who was named a 2025 UNEP Champion of the Earth, the United Nations’ highest environmental honour. “It’s incredibly versatile.”

*An overhead view of the Hikma Complex, and its gardens, with the new mosque at the bottom and the library at the top. Credit: Courtesy Mariam Issoufou*

Around the world, there is a growing push for architects and city planners to embrace passive cooling strategies, which can lower indoor temperatures by up to 8°C, according to a recent report from UNEP.

Along with keeping congregants cool, there is another big benefit to the way Dandaji’s mosque was built: it has a tiny environmental footprint.

Since the laterite soil in its bricks was sourced locally, builders didn’t need to import huge amounts of concrete from afar, which can drive up greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the bricks used far less cement than concrete would have. Cement production is a major source of emissions, as is air conditioning, which the building forgoes. (On the hottest days, mosque officials bring out a few oversized fans.)

Could this self-cooling mosque be the future of construction in a warming world? — *The new mosque was inspired by Dandaji’s old adobe mosque, which was converted into a library and stands a stone’s throw away. Credit: James Wang*

Many see the complex as an antidote to the resource-heavy construction practices that dominate in most places. Glass, steel, concrete, air-conditioning – these things take energy to manufacture and maintain. In fact, the construction and operation of the world’s buildings consume nearly 50 per cent of raw materials and produce more than one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, finds UNEP’s new Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction.

Support for more eco-friendly building practices is growing. UNEP, for instance, is working with countries to expand the use of low-carbon and locally sourced materials. In Ghana, it is helping develop affordable, climate-resilient housing, while in Senegal it is backing the production of insulation boards made from typha, a fast-growing local plant. The effort also focuses on training local builders and businesses in techniques like circular construction and climate-sensitive design.

The inside of an adobe library. — *The library is widely seen as a marvel of traditional Nigerien architecture and was completely refurbished as the new mosque was built. Credit: James Wang*

While materials like laterite bricks are very specific to West Africa, most countries have their own equivalents, Issoufou says. She points to places like Europe and North America, where cross-laminated timber – made by gluing together wooden planks – is emerging as a low-carbon alternative to concrete and steel. In parts of Asia, bamboo – one of the world’s fastest growing plants – is experiencing a revival because it is strong, sustainable and cheap.

With the planet slipping into an ever-deeper climate crisis, building edifices that are sustainable and that cool themselves is “the rational thing to do,” Issoufou says. “The question is: why would you not do that?”

About World Environment Day

World Environment Day, celebrated annually on 5 June, is one of the planet’s largest platforms for environmental outreach and is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This year’s iteration, hosted by Azerbaijan, will focus on the mushrooming climate crisis. See how you can get involved.

Written by Andrew Raven

Reviewed by: Hanane Hafraoui, Gulnara Roll, Hongpeng Lei

Riyadh Metro Finally: The Snøhetta Station

May 18, 2026

Cityscape of Riyadh with busy streets and modern skyscrapers on a sunny day. by Fahad Puthawala via Pexels

.

Riyadh finally has a metro, and its symbol is the Snøhetta station

The new Riyadh metro station is set to transform the Al-Qiri transport hub. Designed by Snøhetta, it features a large reflective canopy, bright underground spaces, and an underground garden intended to serve as a new urban public square. Snøhetta talks to Domus about the project.

This article was previously published in Domus 1112, May 2026.

As one of four main hubs in the Saudi capital’s new metro system, connecting two of the main metro lines, the station in the his toric Al-Qiri district is designed as an open urban and pedestrian plaza with a large stainless steel canopy that acts as an urban periscope.

The station levels are visually linked by the mirror-like overhang structure that reflects the outside inwards and the inside outwards, while also directing natural light into the underground station and providing shade to the surrounding public areas.

Qasr Alhokm Metro Station, Snøhetta, Riyadh, 2025. Photo Iwan Baan

The steel canopy serves as the focal point and marks the station’s main entrance. The supporting steel space frame allows the canopy to extend above and beyond its base to form a massive cone wall. Beneath ground level, the sloping interior walls are finished with a rendered surface inspired by the ar ea’s traditional architecture. Acting as both a unifying architectural element and a point of orientation within the building, the steel canopy also reflects indirect sunlight down wards from its mirror-like surface.

Designed to create subtle glimpses between the different sections of the station, the patterned openings – formed by 326 tri angular carvings in three different sizes – al so filter light gently into the atrium.

When passengers step off a train and look up, they see a 360-degree view of the ur ban landscape reflected on the underside of the canopy, giving them an immediate pic ture of where they are in the city. Likewise, people arriving from the city can look up to the canopy and see a mirrored reflection of everything happening below. The two metro lines traverse the open space within trans parent tubes, creating a striking visual pres ence and enhancing wayfinding throughout the station. The platforms are also each en capsulated within glazed tubes that pro trude into the atrium void, allowing a seam less integration between interior and exte rior, and opening the platform areas to the grandeur of the atrium for both arriving and departing travellers.

At the base of the atrium, at around 35 metres below city level, an accessible garden helps to maintain a temperate environment even during the hot summer periods. Wa ter for irrigation is collected from the paved plaza areas and canopy above. The new pla za and garden further strengthen the public realm, providing valuable shared spaces for the nearby communities.With respect for the station’s historic setting, the inner atrium walls are adorned with a window-cut pattern inspired by tradi tional Najdi motifs, echoing the architectur al character of the surrounding neighbour hoods.

Designed to create subtle glimpses between the different sections of the station, the patterned openings – formed by 326 tri angular carvings in three different sizes – al so filter light gently into the atrium.

Building a Future from the Ground Up in Somalia Today

Building a Future from the Ground Up in Somalia

Like this:

Can Sustainable Construction Materials Enhance Liveability. . . ?

.