Rashid Ali Architects

Through research and building, Rashid Ali Architects are eager to address the climate crisis by reintroducing traditional construction techniques and materials, sometimes forgotten. Collaboration with local makers, institutions, and communities is integral to this new form of practice. Hargeisa Courtyard Pavilion demonstrates the role design can play and in particular the importance of public spaces in city spaces of the Global South that have experienced underinvestment. The broad approach taken is a process of stitching the city with strategically located pocket spaces of pavilions, walkways, alleys, courtyards, and small squares that respond to the scarcity of land and resources. As well as offering basic human necessities such as shade and seating, Hargeisa Courtyard Pavilion is a place of encounters, sociability, learning, and conviviality. The hope is that it will be a symbol for the future production of public spaces in the city.

Team
Hussein Mohamoud, Janis Strazdins / Maquettica (Model), Lyndon Douglas (Photographs)
With the additional support of
African Futures Institute