They built a home for 200+ children in one of the hottest places on Earth and said no air conditioning. Here’s how the building solves that. Tadjourah sits on the Horn of Africa with temperatures that have broken world records. Urko Sanchez Architects didn’t respond with glass curtain walls and mechanical cooling. They looked at what the people of this region already knew worked. The Medina. A tight cluster of narrow alleyways that shade each other. Small squares that breathe. Wind catcher towers that rise above the roofline, catch whatever breeze exists, and funnel it down into the interiors below. The streets themselves are oriented as ventilation corridors, air accelerates through them. No doors on many of the openings. Musharabiyah screens instead, air passes through freely, direct sun doesn’t. Pale earthen cement on every surface to reflect heat rather than absorb it. Trees planted throughout to build a microclimate over time. Simple precast cement blocks. Reinforced concrete. Zero imported climate logic. This is what happens when the building is the climate system. Africa has been doing this for centuries. The question is why we stopped. SOS Children’s Village, Tadjourah, Djibouti. Urko Sanchez Architects. 📷 Javier Callejas