Yasmeen Lari's Barefoot Social Architecture at Venice Biennale

At the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari presented a bamboo community center for the Qatar Pavilion, embodying her Barefoot Social Architecture (BASA) philosophy. Born in 1941 in Pakistan, Lari studied in the UK, returned to Karachi at 23, and founded Lari Associates with her husband Suhail Zaheer Lari. After retiring from conventional practice in 2000, she shifted to humanitarian work following the 2005 earthquake and 2022 floods in Pakistan. Through the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan (founded 1980), she developed flood-resilient homes, Lari Octa Green emergency shelters, and the Pakistan Chulah cookstove. Her Zero Carbon Cultural Centre at Makli serves as a training hub. In 2023, she received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, framing it as a shift toward architecture for all. Her work emphasizes local materials like bamboo, mud, lime, and thatch, and is designed for communities to replicate and adapt.