Female Pakistani builds for the vulnerable

Architecture is not as a pursuit of profit, but a tool to lift the vulnerable – this is the mission that defines Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect.

Raised in a privileged household, her father – a British-appointed civil servant involved in new city development – envisioned her to become a star architect. Trained at Oxford Brookes University, she initially embraced a corporate approach.

Lari pioneered sustainable, low-cost, zero-carbon housing for marginalized and disaster-prone communities using bamboo, mud, and terracotta.

“Bamboo can sequester – it’s like a carbon sink,” she explained. “Also it’s very resilient. So in earthquakes and floods, it acts extremely well.”

Drawing on China’s sponge city concept and Japan’s Miyawaki forest technique, Lari transformed flood-prone slum streets by ripping out impermeable concrete and asphalt, replacing them with terracotta pavers and street-side forests that absorb water and cool temperatures by up to 12 degrees.

To navigate the age of artificial intelligence, Lari urged architects to redefine their role as facilitators, not controllers. “We must give up our ego and control…And work with communities,” she said.

Peter Ferretto, director of the School of Architecture at Chinese University, noted that the school is planning a tour this year to visit Pakistan and learn about Lari’s projects.

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