Breeze 9 (Natural Air Conditioning and Adobe Houses)
2015
Installation, variable dimensions.
Materials: prototypes for temporary housing, made of sun-dried adobe bricks
Collection: Courtesy of the artist.
Róza El-Hassan proposes a solution to the housing problem caused by the large number of refugees within Syria and in neighbouring countries: build shelters using the cheapest local material (adobe bricks) in the shape of the traditional ‘beehive’ houses of northern Syria. The domed constructions do not need to be insulated in winter and keep cool in summer. Another model for a simple dwelling is the one-room adobe ‘cube’ common in the Egyptian countryside. These two structures will be erected in the exhibition, as a sculptural installation (and a large painting, because they will also be adorned with a representation of the starry sky) but also as functional prototypes for emergency housing that can be mass-produced with support from the NGO sector.
