Jordanian Woman Builds an Eco-Friendly home

This is an interesting story that I will try to follow up on in details and illustrations later. For now, enjoy this feature

Jordanian optical scientist Hanna Al-Khalili has designed and built an eco-friendly 50 square metre mud home in Wadi Seer west of Amman for a family of four.

According to Al-Khalili, her “Moon House” was designed in conformance with standards established by NASA, the U.S. space agency, and is the first experiment of its kind in the Middle East. “In building it,” she said, “I did not depend on steel, cement, or foundations; rather, I used mud and other local raw materials in accordance with the circular principle." She added that the house has numerous benefits, including its resistance to earthquakes, storms, and other weather conditions; it also retains both heat and cold and has a dome-shaped sky-light that allows the passage of natural light

Al-Khalili said she did not conjure the home's design out of thin air; rather, it is the result of research she carried out in Jordan and is influenced by the work of late Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy. She was also highly influenced by the Basata Resort located in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Al-Khalili now dreams of establishing an eco-friendly village in which homes are built from mud at the lowest possible cost. The aim of such a village would be to recycle waste and contribute to increasing the incomes of residents by using their agricultural skills to produce hormone-free foodstuffs.

"I dream of a ‘poetic village’ that operates on solar energy stretching from the north of Jordan to its south and eventually to the entire Middle East", said Al-Khalili. She is currently drafting and designing homes for her “dream” village and is in contact with both Arab and foreign parties to encourage investment in the project. She is not revealing details, however, saying only that "artists need white space to paint on, but I need open land to so that I can employ my creativity and achieve my dreams."