MArch thesis, Spring 2017
Resistance Through Form
Soil is the most widely used building material in developing countries; nearly half of the world lives in earthen buildings. It is cheap, widely accessible, cost-effective and climatically comfortable when used responsibly. Yet there is an increase in urban development that abandons the use of local materials in favor of an international modern reliant on imported materials. This proposal asks how local materials can inspire a new form of urban architecture, beginning with Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
This proposal is a retooling of long-existing building practices with universal materials and burgeoning technologies in a familiar context, intentionally limiting the scope while engaging in the larger issues of form-active structures and housing insecurity in the global south.
