Rehabilitating a tower house's façade

Yemeni traditional architecture is not created by professional architects but by skilled craftsmen (usta) who have inherited and practice century long traditions. A thousand years before the Islamic faith spread across the country, the people of the Arabia Felix developed a building tradition which was integrated with various patterns coming from other regions of the Muslim world. Yemeni domestic architecture comes from the repetition of practices that have been orally transmitted for well over a century by the ustas. Ustas become master craftsmen by climbing up a firm hierarchy---from the laborer’s stage until the peak of the craftsmanship. The path to becoming an usta is a long journey, within a timeless tradition, and the knowledge it requires is part of both a tangible and intangible heritage. The training methods lead the apprentices to professional, as well as spiritual growth. The usta has proven to be a builder without being an architect and a planner without being a surveyor. He is an artist of the matter who requires a profound knowledge of the building materials of his region, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, in order to ensure the realization of a lasting construction.