Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Architect Yasmeen Lari delivers affordable homes in flood-hit Pakistan

Lari's houses were devised to be disaster-resilient, environmentally friendly, and quicker and easier to erect

Architect Yasmeen Lari delivers affordable homes in flood-hit Pakistan

In flood-hit southeastern Pakistan, villagers are trading tents and tarpaulins provided by aid agencies for local materials such as lime, mud and bamboo to build their own low-cost and water-resistant homes as part of a post-disaster recovery rethink.

They have been designed by Yasmeen Lari – Pakistan’s first certified female architect and who this month won the 2023 Royal Gold Medal from The Royal Institute of British Architects for her relief architecture. About 1,000 such houses have been built in Sindh province following unprecedented floods last year that submerged about a third of the country and killed at least 1,700 people.


While traditional mud huts are vulnerable to extreme weather and building concrete homes is expensive and high in carbon emissions, Lari’s houses were devised to be disaster-resilient, environmentally friendly, and quicker and easier to erect.

In Kewal Kohli, a village in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, former schoolteacher Rano Kewal’s home was one of 1.4 million houses destroyed in the climate change-fuelled catastrophe last year, according to government data.

When his mud hut washed away, Kewal and 35 members of his family were forced

to live in tents for a month, until the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan – an NGO co-founded and headed by Lari – helped the 28-year-old build a new house.

“We will be able to survive the next floods,” said Kewal, who has since helped

to build 200 similar homes in four nearby villages, with materials and training provided by the NGO.

yasmeenlariportraitjpg Yasmeen Lari (Photo: Anam Baig)

Lari used to design modern, glitzy buildings - from hotels and offices to government headquarters – made from concrete, glass and steel, but turned to sustainable relief architecture in 2005 after an earthquake devastated much of Kashmir.

She said her NGO has helped survivors of natural disasters in Pakistan to build about 55,000 homes, 4,500 of which have been erected since the floods that started last June. Her aim is to ultimately provide homes for at least 350,000 households.

The 82-year-old voiced her frustration with the United Nations’ humanitarian system and institutions like the World Bank for giving out cash, grants and relief “without building the capacity of the people” – and said international donors tended to erect concrete structures after disasters in Pakistan.

“These international colonial charity models are a complete failure as they treat the poor as victims, turning them into supplicants... (with) no attempt at nurturing or encouraging the hidden capabilities of the affected people,” Lari added.

Many NGOs and other local and international bodies involved in post-flood reconstruction still champion permanent brick and mortar houses as the most effective way of protecting the country’s poorest citizens from disasters.

A spokeswoman for the World Bank in Pakistan, Mariam Altaf, said the institution was aware of the need for more sustainable and affordable housing options, especially those that can create local employment opportunities and support local economies. However, Altaf said permanent brick and mortar houses “are more resilient housing options than mud-based ones as they will be better able to withstand natural disasters”.

This was echoed by Najaf Khan Malik, chief operation officer of the Sindh People’s Housing Foundation (SPHF) - which was established by the Sindh government to build new homes in flood-hit areas.

Malik said the SPHF wanted to use “flood resilient sustainable construction material” like burnt bricks and cement, but avoid using mud – citing its own study which found that 75 per cent of the two million homes washed away in Sindh were made of mud.

The organisation was aware of Lari’s work and was looking into incorporating innovative and sustainable methods that are “easily adoptable by the affected communities”, he added.

At first glance, the homes designed by Lari resemble traditional village architecture known in Pakistan as chauhras. Their seemingly simple exteriors mask innovative designs and are inspired by indigenous building techniques from rural Pakistan, but re-engineered to not only stop the houses from being flooded, but also make them more sustainable and green. The prefabricated bamboo structures - which sit on raised platforms - have limehardened mud walls that keep out water, while the roofs consist of bamboo covered with straw matting, a layer of tarpaulin, and pozzolana, a waterproofing material.

“Except for bamboo, which needs to be bought from the nearest town or city, the straw, earth and grass for matting are procured from around villages and freely available,” Lari said.

Lime absorbs carbon dioxide from air and bamboo sequesters carbon as it grows, making the homes good for the environment, she said. The houses take a week to build, compared to about three weeks for mud huts and up to two months for permanent cement homes. They can be built for under $87, which is fewer than a tenth of the cost of cement structures, according to Lari’s NGO.

It is teaching villagers to build their own homes through workshops and has released a series of tutorials on YouTube.

“Every one of the vulnerable should learn to build safe structures so that they are not displaced and they are able to fend for themselves (when a disaster strikes),” said Lari.

LEAD Pakistan INSET Yasmeen Lari building model GettyImages 506943408 A model of a woman’s centre in Darya Khan, Pakistan, by Yasmeen Lari at an exhibition in London in 2016 (Photo: Getty Images)

Hira Zuberi, a Karachi-based independent architect, said she had studied Lari’s designs and highlighted the homes were easy to repair and replace, and that the materials could be transported and reused easily if a household decides to move. “Most important, she is involving the rural communities in the process so there is a sense of ownership,” she said.

While Lari said she had discussions with organisations such as Islamic Relief and Unicef, many NGOs in Pakistan still prefer cement homes when it comes to post-disaster housing.

For example, Ashfaque Soomro, the executive director of the Research and Development Foundation – which is building shelters in Sindh – said such homes had the best chance of withstanding floods, based on the NGO’s experience of previous disasters.

The foundation’s cement houses cost between $872 (£700) and $1,245 (£999), and sometimes reuse debris to be less carbon-intensive, he added.

Noman Ahmed, head of the architecture department at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, said he believed house reconstruction could be done with a combination of earth, bamboo, cement and concrete - and stressed

the importance of mapping flooding patterns to avoid rebuilding in risky areas.

“It will help us identify ‘no construction zones’ where construction should be prohibited,” he said in an interview.

As architects, analysts and NGOs consider the future of building back better after disasters, residents in Sindh province’s Pono village – where Lari-designed homes were constructed before the 2022 floods – say the houses have proved their resilience. “We remained dry, as did our belongings, despite the unforgiving rain,” said Dhani Khumo, one of the residents.

(Thomson Reuters Foundation)

More For You

India Pak

India began their campaign with a nine-wicket win against the UAE, bowling them out for 57 in 13.1 overs before chasing the target in just 27 balls on Thursday. (Photo: Getty Images)

India and Pakistan set for Asia Cup clash after May conflict

AN INDIA-PAKISTAN cricket match always draws attention, and emotions are set to run high when the two teams meet on Sunday in the Asia Cup. The contest comes months after the neighbours engaged in a four-day military conflict in May.

Bilateral cricket ties between the two countries have been suspended for years, and the arch-rivals now face each other only in multi-nation tournaments. The upcoming Group A fixture will be their first meeting since the May clashes, which nearly escalated into a full-scale war.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tommy Robinson

The event, which Robinson has promoted for months, is being billed by him as the 'UK's biggest free speech festival.' (Photo: Getty Images)

London prepares for rival demonstrations, police deploy 1,600 officers

Highlights

  • More than 1,600 officers deployed across London on Saturday
  • Far-right activist Tommy Robinson to lead "Unite the Kingdom" march
  • Anti-racism groups to stage counter-protests in Whitehall
  • Police impose conditions on routes and timings of demonstrations

LONDON police will deploy more than 1,600 officers across the city on Saturday as rival demonstrations take place, including a rally organised by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, and a counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners.

Keep ReadingShow less
Henry Cavill

The remake is being directed by Chad Stahelski

Getty Images

Henry Cavill injury pushes back ‘Highlander’ remake to 2026

Highlights:

  • Actor Henry Cavill injured during training before filming began on Highlander.
  • The remake of the 1986 fantasy-action classic will now start production in 2026.
  • Cast includes Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan and Dave Bautista.
  • Film directed by Chad Stahelski for Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists.

Injury delays production

British actor Henry Cavill has suffered an injury during pre-production training for the remake of Highlander. The incident occurred just days before filming was due to begin, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

As a result, production on the fantasy-action reboot has been pushed back and is now expected to begin in 2026.

Keep ReadingShow less
Coldplay Wembley record

Coldplay light up Wembley with a record 10-night run

Instagram/coldplay

Coldplay break Wembley Stadium record overtaking Taylor Swift as Chris Martin signals world tour pause

Highlights:

  • Coldplay end their record-breaking 10-night run at Wembley Stadium
  • The shows are part of their global Music of the Spheres Tour
  • The tour has now sold over 12 million tickets worldwide
  • Friday’s show was rescheduled after a transport strike in London

Coldplay have celebrated their record-breaking achievement at Wembley Stadium with a dazzling finale, making headlines as they set a new benchmark for live music. The British band’s 10-night stint marked the longest run of concerts ever at the venue, cementing their legacy while also driving massive global interest in their Wembley Stadium record. The marathon shows form part of their ongoing Music of the Spheres Tour, which has already sold more than 12 million tickets worldwide.

Coldplay light up Wembley with a record 10-night run Instagram/coldplay

Keep ReadingShow less
Sarm Heslop

Friends describe Sarm, 41, as a “free spirit” who embraced adventure

MissingSarmHeslop

Sarm Heslop: BBC documentary explores the mystery around disappearance of British woman

Highlights:

  • CCTV footage released to the BBC shows Sarm Heslop boarding a dinghy with boyfriend Ryan Bane on the night she vanished.
  • Six hours later, she was reported missing from his yacht in the US Virgin Islands.
  • Her body has never been found, and her disappearance remains unsolved.
  • Police say the timeline provided by Bane is inconsistent with verified CCTV evidence.
  • Friends and family continue to press for answers, calling for a murder investigation.

The last sighting

Newly released CCTV footage shows British woman Sarm Heslop and her boyfriend Ryan Bane leaving a bar in St John, US Virgin Islands, on 7 March 2021. The couple can be seen boarding a dinghy and motoring into the Caribbean night, heading for Bane’s yacht, Siren Song.

Six hours later, Sarm was reported missing. Despite an extensive search, she has never been found.

Keep ReadingShow less