LONDON: Self-designed homes based on traditional Iraqi architecture could be the solution to the drastic housing crisis facing Mosul, where hundreds of thousands are expected to return following the end of three years of Daesh occupation.
An award-winning design would see returning residents create their own neighborhoods in modules that can grow and evolve to suit their needs.
“The shape of the housing is completely up to the inhabitants,” said Ania Otlik, the winner of inaugural Rifat Chadirji Prize, which challenged architects to find a practical and sustainable solution to the Iraqi city’s housing needs.
“Having one measure that fits all is almost impossible, especially when it comes to such a diverse society ... which varies in religion, culture, background (and) family size.”
Nearly 1 million civilians fled in the three years since Daesh militants took the city, which Iraq declared liberated in July, according to the UN.
Iraqi government officials have estimated it will take at least five years and billions of dollars to rebuild Mosul.
Otlik, a graduate of Wroclaw University of Science and Technology in Poland, researched traditional Iraqi architectural designs, poring over sketches and schemes to create her housing plan.
Each dwelling is constructed around a central patio, providing outside space around which rooms and spaces can be arranged.
“The plan of the house can be a little more open when the family decides it this way, or maybe another family is strictly Islamic so they will build it in their own traditional way,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Building materials that are easy to source in the battle-scarred city — such as rubble and mud — could be used for construction until more permanent replacements become available, she said.
Otlik drew inspiration from her native Poland, whose capital Warsaw was entirely rebuilt after it was razed by Nazi troops during the Second World War.
Other finalist designs featured garden bridges over the Tigris river to provide housing and urban farms, and homes connected via a metro repurposed from a system of subterranean tunnels constructed by Islamic State to aid its fighters.
“It was not a problem finding a winner,” said Ahmed Al-Mallak, founding director of the independent Tamayouz Excellence Award, which oversaw the competition.
Self-designed homes could provide sustainable future for liberated Mosul
Self-designed homes could provide sustainable future for liberated Mosul
Yemen humanitarian crisis to worsen in 2026 amid funding cuts, says UN
- Yemen has been the focus of one of the world’s largest humanitarian operations in a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies
GENEVA: The UN warned on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Yemen is worsening and that gains made to tackle malnutrition and health would go into reverse due to funding cuts.
“The context is very concerning... We are expecting things to be much worse in 2026,” Julien Harneis, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, told reporters in Geneva.
Some 21 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, an increase from 19.5 million the previous year, according to the UN The situation has been aggravated by economic collapse and disruption of essential services including health and education, and political uncertainty, Harneis said.
Funding Yemen traditionally received from Western countries was now being cut back, Herneis said, pointing to hopes for more help from Gulf countries.
The US slashed its aid spending this year, and leading Western donors also pared back help as they pivoted to raise defense spending, triggering a funding crunch for the UN
Yemen has been the focus of one of the world’s largest humanitarian operations in a decade of civil war that disrupted food supplies. The country has also been a source of heightened tensions in recent months between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“Children are dying and it’s going to get worse,” Harneis said. Food insecurity is projected to worsen across the country, with higher rates of malnutrition anticipated, he stated.
“For 10 years, the UN and humanitarian organizations were able to improve mortality and improve morbidity...this year, that’s not going to be the case.”
He said Yemen’s humanitarian crisis threatened the region with diseases like measles and polio that could cross borders.
In 2025 680 million dollars was afforded to the UN in Yemen, about 28 percent of the intended target, Harneis said.
