Yasmeen Lari: Zero-carbon self-builds
Yasmeen Lari, Pakistan’s first female architect, won a RIBA Gold Medal in 2023 for championing zero-carbon self-builds for displaced populations. This achievement, one of the world's highest accolades for architecture, marks a shift in the industry from a fascination with ‘starchitecture’ into a focus on purpose.
Once famous for her Brutalist buildings, since retiring in 2000 Lari has used her ‘second career’ to champion humanitarian architecture. She co-founded the disaster relief nonprofit organisation Heritage Foundation of Pakistan.
In August 2022, Pakistan received over three times its usual rainfall, with one third of the country under water, a catastrophe affecting the lives of 33 million people. Lari responded with a design for a self-build model of zero-carbon, flood-proof bamboo shelters. These temporary, sustainable, octagonal structures can house a family of five with an eco-toilet, water, solar power and stove.
At her Zero-Carbon Campus, Lari trains female artisans to build these shelters, helping communities to develop artisanal skills using readily available materials. A team of artisans can build up to 100 shelters in four days.
Lari now aims to build Lari Octa Green (LOG) Emergency Shelters for the recovery and rehabilitation of 1 million households affected by catastrophic floods across the country by 2024.
After studying in London and founding her first architectural firm in Pakistan at the age of just 23, Lari is still changing the world with her work in her 80s.