As bombs fell around her, Syrian architect PhD Marwa al-Sabouni stayed in Homs throughout the civil war, making plans to build hope from carnage. Her ideas are laid out in a visionary memoir. A 34-year-old architect and mother of two, Sabouni was born and grew up in Homs, scene of some of the most vicious fighting. Unlike many, however, she did not leave Syria – or even Homs itself – during the war. Marwa carefully outlines her fierce attitude to the crucial role architecture will play in the future of Syria, should the peace hold, in her extraordinary memoir, The Battle for Home: Her book’s central message – that Syria’s built environment played a contributory role in the war itself because too many people were living in what were effectively sectarian ghettoes, and that the government must not repeat this mistake when it rebuilds. This book was chosen among best architectural book for 2016 by the Guardian, Telegraph, and Architectural Record. Also, her TED Talk was selected among the Best TED Talks of 2016. She is also the Co-founder of Arabic Gate for Architectural News www.arch-news.net the world's first and only website dedicated to architectural news in Arabic and the winner of Royal Kuwaiti award for best media project in the Arab World 2010.