English: The most important building material on the east Africa coast is coral of which two varieties were used, soft reef coral which was used for jamb, lintels, mihrabs and similar carved element and hard terrestrial coral for foundations, walls and other parts of the structure. mangrove poles were used as structural timber, either in round section( boriti) or in square dressed section( banaa) for joists and roof rafters. roofs were covered with layers of coral and lime plaster to thicknesses of 30cm to 50 cm. the stone built house of Lamu is a self- contained building housing all living , sleeping and service accommodation that a large family and its domestic staff require. most existing houses in Lamu are double storeyed, often with an additional pent house.