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Humanitarian architect, visionary
Nader Khalili, 16-year Claremont resident and internationally renowned architect, author and educator, died at the age of 72 on March 5, 2008. He died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Hospital in Los Angeles.
Mr. Khalili, who taught at Pitzer College for one year and guest lectured at each of The Claremont Colleges, was known for his innovations in the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire System known as “Ceramic Houses” and the Earthbag Construction technique called “Super Adobe.” He developed his Super Adobe technology in 1984, in response to NASA’s call for designs for human settlements on the moon and Mars. In 2000, he began building a simulated lunar colony prototype near the Mojave Desert, a model of living quarters astronauts might use while exploring space.
His biggest hope, it is stated on www.space.com, is that “new space technology and architecture will influence people to open their minds to the concept of earthen homes.”
“Humans will gain spiritually and environmentally from these natural construction projects and they will build their next frontier and begin to look within themselves for answers again,” the website quoted Mr. Khalili.
Born in Iran as one of 9 children, Mr. Khalili’s quest was to empower the world's poor and refugees to build homes using the earth under their feet. He was a prominent American leader on the value of ethically based architecture, where the needs of the destitute and homeless are considered above all else. At one point in his life, he traveled back to his home country, noting that the oldest standing structures in the Iranian desert were kilns, which withstood the pummeling of numerous natural occurrences and disasters that other adobe-style structures did not. As a result, Mr. Khalili devised a method to fire adobe structures from the inside, making them as resilient as kilns.
Laura Huxley, Aldous Huxley's widow, referred to Mr. Khalili as a "practical visionary."
Mr. Khalili was involved with Earth Architecture and Third
World Development since 1975, serving as a UN consultant for
Earth Architecture. In 1991, he founded the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth), in Hesperia, which teaches his Super Adobe building technique. His sustainable solutions to human shelter have been published by NASA and awarded the Aga Khan award for Architecture by the United Nations. Throughout his life, he has given over 100 hands-on workshops and lectures across the country and around the globe. In addition, he was featured as a guest on numerous television and radio programs and as an exhibitor at several museums and universities around the world.
He authored 6 books, including his international bestselling autobiography, Racing Alone, as well as 2 highly acclaimed volumes of translations of works by the mystical poet, Rumi, Fountain of Fire and Dancing the Flame. For Mr. Khalili, the poems of Rumi represented a philosophical foundation for his design inspirations. His architectural ideas and methods were distilled from the timeless principles of the universe and its timeless materials—the elements of earth, water, air, and fire. His innovative yet grounded structures have been described as "poetry crystallized into structure."
On the Pomona College campus, an eco-dome based on Mr. Khalili’s design was constructed.
Family members describe him as a quiet hero and a gentle humanitarian. Mr. Khalili once wrote:
"No one can prove there is a meaning to life. I must make my own life meaningful. That is all."
Mr. Khalili is survived by his wife, Iliona; by his son, Dastan; by his daughter, Sheefteh; by 8 brothers and sisters; and by numerous extended family members.
Memorial services took place on March 11, 2008 at the Sontag Greek Theater at Pomona College.
The Khalili family requests that, in lieu of flowers, people may carry forth Mr. Khalili’s vision of sustainable housing for all by making memorial donations to his nonprofit organization, Cal-Earth. Contributions may be sent to Cal-Earth / Geltaftan Foundation, 10376 Shangri La Ave., Hesperia, CA 92345.
More information on the life and work of Mr. Khalili may be found www.calearth.org.
