His practice led him to seek out and train under the recognised authority in traditional Islamic architecture, Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil. After working with El-Wakil, he returned to his home country where he was struck by the need for new solutions to the problems faced by those who desperately needed housing in rural areas. Basing his solutions on local knowledge and traditional principles, rather than on methods imported from the West, he was able to develop means of working which took into account many factors; economic, environmental, cultural and qualitative. In a pilot project in rural Syria he worked with villagers to build a house that was cost efficient, sustainable, offered improved living conditions, and also a dignified way of work for those who built it.