Underhill Colloquium 

Rooftops and Alleyways: How Architecture Built Community in Ghadames, Libya.

by Aymen Aiblu  | Feb 27, 2026 | Ottawa, ON - Canada

The discourse of modern urban planning frequently attempts to construct community through designated zoning and shared public spaces. However, historical vernacular settlements demonstrate how the built environment organically establishes place attachment. The Old Town of Ghadames, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Sahara region of Libya, serves as a primary case study for examining the architectural construction of social identity. Known as the "Pearl of the Desert," this settlement exemplifies environmental and social intelligence in a harsh climate.

Vertical Stratification and Gendered Space

The urban structure of Ghadames relies on a distinct vertical stratification that organizes social existence into two separate but interconnected layers:

• The ground level features a subterranean-like network of covered streets and alleyways, which maintain an average temperature of 29°C. 

• These covered entrance zones, known as the skifa, are designated for men and public commerce. 

• The intermediate residential levels contain dedicated living and storage areas, which maintain an average indoor temperature of 31°C. 

• The top roof level, which experiences temperatures averaging 37°C, consists of interconnected terraces specifically designated for women and domestic socialization. 

• This spatial hierarchy establishes a dense sense of belonging rather than functioning strictly as a mechanism for separating genders.  

Structural Dependency and Neighborliness

The physical proximity of the structures in Ghadames enforces a necessary neighborliness essential for survival in the Saharan climate: 

• The city's architecture relies on structural dependency, characterized by shared walls and shared foundations. 

• The urban fabric functions as a vessel for collective memory and social cohesion, particularly evident in the transition zones between communal alleyways and private homes. 

• The spatial design is fundamentally organized around shared necessities, specifically the distribution of water from the Ain Al-Faras spring. 

• This spring water flows through a single organic system that supports domestic use for houses, public use for mosques, and agricultural requirements.

Methodological Approach for Inaccessible Heritage

Researching Ghadames currently presents methodological challenges due to restricted physical access to the site: 

• The preservation of this inaccessible heritage site requires remote computational frameworks. 

• A "Scrape-to-BIM" (Building Information Modeling) approach is necessary to regenerate the city's geometry and decode underlying social rules when high-fidelity laser scanning is impossible. 

• This remote methodology triangulates fragmented data, such as archival photographs and videos, to analyze the vernacular architecture. 

• This computational analysis validates the direct link between the city's social structure and its environmental performance. 

Conclusion

The spatial logic of Ghadames provides a theoretical framework for contemporary African urbanism. By examining how architecture dictates the social contract, urban planners can identify verifiable methods for building interconnected, resilient societies that are firmly rooted in their historical context.