The Jahalin Bedouins at Al Khan Al Ahmar had stopped sending their children on the long walk to schools outside their West Bank camp after several fatal road accidents. In designing a school for them in the adjacent desert, the architects had to obey the Israeli authorities’ requirement that it be impermanent, with no foundations. It also had to be buildable by non-specialist members of the Bedouin community. Their solution was to use recycled tyres packed with soil. Highly stable and thermally inert, they are covered with lime and clay plastering. A sandwich panel roof on wooden beams provides further protection from solar radiation, and high-level tape windows provide natural cross-ventilation.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture