Architect’s Plan: Durable yet Cheap Village in Afghanistan

The top item on Newport Beach architect Masum Azizi’s action list for developing a housing village in Afghanistan is painfully obvious: “No money. No project.”

That’s the major roadblock for Azizi, who has spent the last year devoted to a personal project and campaign -- designing the village, presenting the plans to nonprofit organizations and lobbying politicians in order to construct his “Village of Hope.”

In a few days, he hopes to come one step closer to construction of the neighborhood, which would comprise low-income homes, schools and mosques that can be built with adobe-like bricks made of local materials.

He will return on Jan. 1 to Kabul, to the country he left 25 years ago, to seek the endorsement of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

His two-week trip will include meetings with some of Karzai’s Cabinet members and a visit to a possible site for the village near Kabul.

Azizi will deliver a letter to Karzai from Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) urging the president’s support and pledging Cox’s commitment to try to secure funding.

“This is precisely the kind of initiative that the United States needs in its project for the reconstruction of Afghanistan,” Cox said. “I am exceptionally impressed with the project. I have agreed to take the lead in assisting Masum in getting clearance from the government of Afghanistan and the government of the U.S. to go forward.”

The U.S. government has already committed money to help rebuild Afghanistan. Those funds, Cox said, should be earmarked for “well-thought-out projects such as this.”

Cox and Azizi hope the Afghanistan government will endorse the village and donate the land.

Signs are positive. Azizi has spoken with various officials, including architect Wahid A. Ahad, engineering advisor to the minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development.

In a recent e-mail, Ahad wrote: “We have spotted a proper location for the pilot project.... You will be most welcome to visit Kabul ... and we will be more than happy to help you in materializing your dreams for the rehabilitation of the villages of Afghanistan.”

Azizi has a list of 2,000 masons, bricklayers and construction workers ready to start building the homes, which are designed to withstand earthquakes.

After he has secured funding, Azizi said he plans to complete plans and open a branch office in Kabul to manage construction.

“We are trying to bring a community of people who have been displaced as a result of seven years of war back to a community of normal living,” Azizi said. “These houses are not equipped with the latest technology. They’re not different from the houses people would be able to afford themselves. We want to help them stand on their feet and get on with their lives.”

They are durable but cheap, costing roughly $5,500 to build. Each would house eight to 12 people.

“It is designed for the indefinite future, as opposed to quick-fix, modular housing projects which will collapse with the first earthquake,” Cox said. “It does not do violence to the culture and traditions of Afghanistan. It’s not a Wal-Mart-type housing project air-dropped from the West.”

Both Azizi and Cox said they want to start building as soon as possible because they continue to read of homeless children dying from the cold.

“There’s such an urgent need for these houses,” Azizi said. “We’re hoping that the sooner we start this project, the more lives we save.”