Somaliland Property & Architecture
- Thread starter ZodiaK
- Start date
ZodiaK
VIP
Last year’s winner of the AJ Small Projects Award was Rashid Ali Architects’ Common Room, a town hall waiting room in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Founder Rashid Ali describes his practice’s work since then
Winning last year’s AJ Small Projects Award with the Common Room and working on our Courtyard Pavilion, another project in Hargeisa, have enabled us, as a practice, to reimagine how we make buildings and spaces that respond to the particular needs of the communities and clients we work with. It has introduced a form of advocacy into our approach, whereby our observations of the city and conversations with communities and public institutions assist us to develop projects that we implement directly. This involves mobilising funding with communities and public institutions, and engaging in the physical production of such spaces and buildings.
Through our research and building in Somaliland, we are also eager to address the climate crisis by reintroducing traditional construction techniques and materials that have sometimes been forgotten. More often than not, collaborating with local makers, universities, public institutions and communities is integral to this new form of practice.
Courtyard Pavilion section
The Common Room has evolved into a miniature social hub, where strangers and friends interact in unexpected ways. Teenagers sneak in to have photos taken for their social media platforms. Out of hours, off-duty security guards squat and enjoy qat, the leaves of a shrub, chewed as a stimulant by local men (and increasingly illegal in several countries).
