Mud buildings are remarkably good at keeping us cool in summer and warm in winter, and withstanding extreme weather. Now architects are returning to this overlooked, age-old material.

Source: The sustainable cities made from mud

The distinctive brown and white residential towers of the Old City in Sanaa, Yemen, date back centuries. Amid heavy rains, floods, war and economic collapse, more than a hundred have recently seen their roofs partially collapse.

Source: UNESCO project aims to save Sanaa’s historic mud brick towers

Residents call on Unesco to help preserve Yemeni city’s famous mud buildings, many dating from before the 11th century…

Source: Historic houses in Sanaa’s Old City on brink of collapse after heavy rains

Recurring floods caused annually due to torrential rains threaten to finish off the destruction of UNESCO listed world heritage sites and distinctive buildings in the Yemeni capital Sanaa with their ochre brick facades and white latticework windows, experts say. Conservation efforts are already bogged down by the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi led coalition backed government and natural causes are only expediting damage that has been done by years of civil war.

Source: Photos: After war, floods now threaten Yemen’s UNESCO heritage sites – world-news – photos | Hindustan Times

Downpour damages distinctive brown and white mud brick homes in capital…

Source: Unesco-listed Old Sana’a houses collapse as heavy rains hit Yemen

Source: UNESCO Mobilizes Funds and Expertise to Safeguard Yemen’s Cultural Heritage

Source: Yemen calls on UNESCO to save Old City of Sanaa

Photo: AFP

To see Sana’a’s Old City for the first time is like “a vision of a childhood dream world of fantasy castles,” a visitor once remarked, but official neglect and unruly construction are threatening to destroy that magic.

Source: Old Sana’a, an endangered UNESCO heritage site | Al Arabiya English