The quotations cited in this text are transcribed from interviews with architect Yasmeen Lari conducted by the Art Mill Museum.
Interconnected dried bamboo pillars, thatch roofs and mud-plastered walls; characterised by mirror embellishments and glazed tiles featuring hand-painted flora-and-fauna motifs: these open-air buildings inlaid with relief use local materials and reflect vocational practices passed down through generations in Indigenous communities. For countries along the Indian Ocean trade route, these building materials and design methods are common. While colonial histories have left their traces across these lands, vernacular architecture has become a key element in addressing and mitigating the challenging impacts of climate change.
However, with the demands of modern development and rapid expansion, industries often struggle to meet these needs, directly damaging the environment as local populations face ecological consequences. How have Indigenous traditions and vernacular techniques balanced the preservation of culture with contemporary needs, and how can marginalised communities regain security for their livelihoods by highlighting and safeguarding their intangible heritage?
On the morning of 8 October 2005, Pakistan experienced a 7.6-magnitude earthquake. Critical infrastructure in major cities and communities in rural areas was severely devastated in the aftermath. Repeated flooding over the years has left women and children especially vulnerable.
‘I did not know what I could do. I had never done any humanitarian work. I had no idea whether architects could do anything at all. But I decided I had to go.’
Considered Pakistan’s first woman architect, Yasmeen Lari pioneered sustainability and heritage conservation through architecture. Her practice, which focused on impoverished neighbourhoods, lent her experience in directly communicating with communities and meeting their needs through her designs. For Lari working in the humanitarian field marked the beginning of her exploration into how cultural heritage can be implemented as a form of climate resilience through ecological design.
‘We think that climate change requires disaster preparedness in the form of structures, which is true, but I feel that many intangibles are needed as well – things that relate to people and bring about their capabilities, seeing how they can take care of themselves. We have to rebuild lives once again. All these communities are so vulnerable; they face disaster after another without the resources to recover. My effort is not only to design structures but to consider what would benefit those who can’t afford it.’
Founded in 1980 by Lari and her husband, historian Suhail Zaheer Lari, the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan began conserving and documenting traditional and historical built environments. Aiming to promote cultural heritage for social integration, the foundation started creating disaster-relief initiatives through low-cost sustainable housing and community-development training programmes. The Zero Carbon Cultural Centre, located in Makli, Sindh, is home to one of the largest necropolises in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Makli suffered from recurring natural disasters, leading to an exodus of climate refugees. The site was thus left in disrepair, with insufficient artisans and experts remaining to maintain the site. These climate conditions also affected the historical shrines and tombs, necessitating conservation efforts.
‘Conservation is an important field, and you have amazing experts who want to contribute. But where are the people who need to be involved? If you go to these sites, you’ll get tourists and experts, but no poor people who know anything about this treasure they live with – or the ones they’ve helped create. I always felt that we must reach out to them and see what can be done with them.’
Kashi kari, the art of making intricate glazed tiles, is an ancient craft practised by generations of artisans known as Kashigars. Many structures in the Makli World Heritage Site are decorated these tiles. Produced by the local cities of Hala and Nasirpur, kashi (the result of kashi kari production) are a significant global export. Kashi, meaning ‘tile’ in Persian, originated in Kashan, Iran. It features floral and geometric mosaic motifs and is commonly used in Islamic architecture. Kashi is made using local raw materials, with red or white clay sourced from the river basin; minerals are used for painting and glazing. Consequently, producing kashi on-site became a natural conclusion for Lari’s ‘barefoot ecosystem’.
‘I think the best lesson I learned was to work with women. Nobody could enter those quarters, but I could because I was a woman. I got to know their travails, their grief – something they never had a chance to express because they were so isolated.’
For the restoration project, Lari directly engaged displaced women, including beggars, training them to produce Kashi and helping them develop their skills in the craft. The project fostered community development through knowledge-sharing, allowing local women to take the lead and experience a sense of empowerment through their creations. Many of these women now produce their own tiles, which they sell with their names stamped on the back, claiming ownership. While these tiles have been used to restore several heritage sites across the country, they have also restored the lives of these craftswomen. The programme has provided these Kashigar women the means to improve their lives and their children’s lives. With a secure income they can challenge traditional gender roles, gaining respect and recognition within their communities as they encourage others to join the programme.
‘It’s an artistic expression. The women painted beautiful flowers in organic colours, creating a garden they’ve never had. Or sculpt beautiful peacocks out of earth, celestial figures from their dreams. This is how women have agency now – they express what they want and create another world for themselves. It is their domain.’
As the use of local materials through vocational practice continues to affect struggling communities directly, initiatives like those by the Heritage Foundation offer a model for sustainable development that could be translated for other regions facing similar challenges. Preserving cultural heritage and fostering community involvement can address climate change through vernacular architecture and design. These practices, utilised directly by the people, serve as a functional and sustainable long-term solution as well as a means for Kashigar women to design and plan for alternative and better futures.
The Lari OctaGreen Structures were commissioned for the exhibition MANZAR: Art and Architecture from Pakistan 1940s to Today (1 November 2024–31 January 2025) by the Art Mill Museum.
You can find the interviews featured in this article here:
