The Republic of Yemen is a Middle Eastern country located on the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia. The borders are Saudi Arabia to the North, the Red Sea to the West, the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden to the South, and Oman to the East. The population of the country is 20 million people.

On The Aga Khan Awards of Architecture (this is an organization that encompass contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, restoration, re-use, and the area conservation, as well as landscaping and environmental issues) were announced two architectural restoration projects from The Republic of Yemen as winers. They are The Restoration of the Amiriya Complex in Rada and The Rehabilitation of the City of Shibam.

The selection process emphasizes architecture that not only provides for people’s physical, social and economic needs, but that also stimulates and responds to their cultural and spiritual expectations. Particular attention is given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in an innovative way, and to projects likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere.

The restoration of the Amiriya Complex in Rada involved the training and employment of 500 craftsmen and artisans who used traditional methods to rescue the historic 16th century complex, which had been in a precarious state for years. The complex, which encompasses a prayer hall, school and sultan’s living quarters, is considered to be one of the richest examples of Islamic architecture in the world.

Shibam, with its 500-year-old multi-story mud buildings, was becoming a ghost town in 1982. Owing to Aga Khan Awards funding, builders were able to restore the ancient ‘skyscraper’ houses and modernize the sewage infrastructure in order to keep Shibam a living city with vibrant public squares and plazas.

The efforts between architectural teams and local artisans and builders who worked so diligently on the award-winning Yemenese projects allowed for a melding of urban renewal with the conservation process, as both communities were able to reinforce the link between their unique cultural heritage and improved economic conditions.