DESERT ARCHITECTURE

Contemporary desert architecture implies a series of morphological and conceptual characteristics that had to be explored and phenomenologically analyzed. I always wondered the same questions while driving through the UAE’s landscape: What can be the spatial thought behind those sparse groups of buildings, that from far, seem to be floating on the sand? What are the settlement strategies of the villages? What drives the conceptual approach of architects when they deal with such a peculiar context? Finding out about possible shared architectural themes implemented in the design of the “architecture for emptiness” seemed a fascinating topic to research.