Syrian Earthen domed buildings as a Resilient Resource for a Sustainable Futures: Challenges and Opportunities

On the steppes of Idlib and Aleppo in northern Syria, the domed houses made of adobe bricks have, for millennia, provided a habitat that is finely adapted to the environmental context, characterized by a scarcity of resources and an arid and hostile climate. The morphology and building technique of earthen domes offers significant advantages fin terms of environmental comfort: their oval shapes reduce minimize radiation, thus helping to moderate the indoor temperature; the earth material, due to its intrinsic properties, allows a great thermal inertia and the regulation of internal humidity. Despite their environmental and cultural value, these structures have been often marginalized and neglected, burdened by social stigmas and a lack of institutional recognition. The Syrian conflict has further exacerbated their decline, leading to widespread destruction of villages and the interruption of intergenerational transmission of traditional building knowledge. This paper presents a systematic analysis for the enhancement of the knowledge system concerning Syrian domed habitats, adopting an interdisciplinary approach. Further, it investigates the socio-cultural and technical barriers that hinder the contemporary use of these structures, drawing on findings from a participatory design workshop conducted with Syrian refugees in Jordan. This building culture, now almost completely in decline, also due to the devastating effects of the Syrian conflict, could be a model for sustainable and resilient post-war reconstruction. Reconstructing and disseminating the knowledge embedded in this vernacular building culture is therefore essential4not only for preserving cultural heritage, but also for enabling its transmission to future generations and its reintegration into contemporary design practice.