Climate change is the biggest challenge facing our
planet. There has never been a more important time
to understand how to make the best use of local
natural resources and to produce buildings that
connect with ecosystems and cities and ensure
prosperity for all. The second edition of ‘HABITAT:
Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate’
is due to be published by Thames & Hudson
in May 2023.

‘HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet’, is the culmination of years of specialist research: a once-in-a-generation, large format publication, which gathers together an international team of more than 140 leading experts from 50 counties across a diverse range of disciplines to examine what the traditions of vernacular architecture, and its regional craftspeople around the world, can teach us about creating a more sustainable future.
Published in 2017 by Thames & Hudson (UK) The
BBC Design book of 2017, Abrams Books (USA),
Editions Detail (Germany), Flammarion (France)
First Prize Winner at “J’aime le livre d’art”, Paris 2017,
Blume (Spain). Launched in New York, London, Milan, and Brussels by HABITAT Coalition.

Traditional buildings made from the leaves of date
palms have provided shelter from the extreme climate
of the Arabian Peninsula for centuries. 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 in the
United Arab Emirates, this is referred to as Arish.
‘Arish: Palm-Leaf Architecture’ celebrates this
unique indigenous building and craft tradition and it is
the first book on Arish in English. Published by
Thames & Hudson (2012) and in association with a
major exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society
with IBG (RGS-IBG) in London.