Wadi Hadramut: Cities of earth
Ronald Rael writes about the architectural culture of Wadi Hadhramaut, Yemen, which has remained devoted to its traditions of building with earth.
The Deborah J. Norden Fund 2000
Ronald Rael: “Wadi Hadramut: Cities of earth”
Old Walled City of Shibam, Yemen. Credit: Maria Gropa [CC-BY-SA-3.0].
The Deborah J. Norden Fund, a program of The Architectural League of New York, was established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden. The competition awards up to $5,000 annually in travel grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies.
“Wadi Hadramut: Cities of earth”
In 2000 the Architectural League awarded one grant to Ronald Rael, who traveled to Yemen to study the influences of raw earth as it shapes the urban landscape. The architectural culture of the Wadi Hadhramaut region has remained devoted to its tradition of building with earth in the face of modernization. He focused on Shibam and Tarim, two distinctly dense and vertical cities, ideal to investigate the hybridization of building techniques and the incorporation of modern materials and utilities into traditional practices of mud construction.
Ronald Rael has continued his study of earthen architecture, designing a mud-brick school in Mali, a mud-brick house called Box Box House, and an art installation for Prada in Marfa, Texas. He has created a website, www.eartharchitecture.org, and is currently exploring the technical possibilities of building the tallest mud-brick structure in the world.
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