Mud brick houses in Hadhramout valley, Yemen : learning from the past experiences for sustainable development

Abstract EN

Mud is one of the world's oldest construction materials man has ever known and used in building construction.

The aim of this paper is to focus on mud straw bricks as an important construction material for sustainable housing development in Hadhramout valley.

The technique of using mud in construction varies greatly from one region to another based on geographical factors which are climate, soil types and topography, and availability of the materials, expertises and construction technique’s technology.

Dried cuts stalks of grains known as straws are mixed to the mud with water in order to produce mud straw bricks.

The mixture of straws as a bonding material gives the strength to the composition of the brick blocks.

Mud straw bricks also require drying process exposed in several days under the sunlight to remove certain level of moisture contents before final mud straw brick blocks can be produced.

Recently, mud straw bricks receive a great deal of attention by the architects and master builders in Yemen because the materials are low thermal consumption and inexpensive suitable for affordable housing development and solving problem of pollution.

Mud straw bricks are the important materials used in the construction of traditional ‘tower houses’ in Hadhramout Valley.

The material features an expression of building characters in harmony with the local background, creating a unique language of the regional architectural identity in line with the cultural and socio e conomic values.