Building a Mudhif: Overcoming Challenges to Achieve Sustainable Architecture.

Subject:

Architecture

Culture

Environmental Studies

Geography

History

Region:

Americas

Levant


The Mudhif, a traditional reed structure, dates back 5,000 years ago to the Sumerians. Examine how a small community of Iraqi volunteers overcame challenges to replicate one.

 

The following activities and abridged text build off "Meet me at the Mudhif," written by Peter Harrigan and photographed by Nick de la Torre.

WARM UP

Let's Go. PDF

Scan the article’s photos and captions to predict its theme and main idea.


IF YOU ONLY HAVE 15 MINUTES ...

See the activties. PDF

Calculate the number of Marsh Arabs living in Houston, and analyze why such a small percentage of the Arab population in Houston would find it comforting to build a mudhif.


IF YOU ONLY HAVE 30 MINUTES ...

See the activties. PDF

Document the different ways the builders of Houston’s mudhif find solutions to obstacles they encounter during construction. Analyze how the mudhif serves as an example of sustainable architecture—how people can live within their environment.


Determine and map distances by calculating a likely sea route taken to deliver the Phragmites reeds halfway around the world. Then, explain the changes to the Iraqi Marshlands in the past 70 years and the reasons why.


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