Arish: Palm-Leaf Architecture

Description

Traditional buildings made from the leaves of date palms have provided shelter from the extreme climate of the Arabian peninsula for generations. One of the few forms of vegetation in these hot and sandy conditions, palm leaves have been used in ingenious ways to create habitable structures that have endured for generations. In many regions this is referred to as Arish. Arish: Palm-Leaf Architecture celebrates this unique indigenous building and craft tradition and provides the foundation for a genuine understanding of the region, critical in the context of the fast-developing global economies they have become today.

Sandra Piesik is the founder of 3 Ideas Limited, an architectural consultancy specializing in architecture, design and cultural research. She has worked extensively in the United Arab Emirates, and has focused in particular on Arish. She is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and was recently invited to become a Nominator for the Aga Khan Award in Architecture projects.