Designing With the Desert, Not Against It

Start from the processes already at work

Deserts are shaped by wind and moving sand. These aeolian processes are usually treated as a problem to keep out. My research asked a different question: how can construction adapt to these processes, or even work with them, through both indigenous and modern interventions?

Starting from the forces already present, rather than from a building form, changes what a good design looks like.

Local knowledge is a design resource

People have lived in desert regions for a very long time, and their building traditions carry real lessons about heat, wind and scarce materials. Looking at indigenous approaches alongside modern ones was one of the most useful parts of the work. Neither is complete on its own.

Material and fabrication belong in the same conversation

My work also explored bio-mineralisation and in-situ fabrication, building with what is on site instead of transporting materials in. When fabrication happens where the structure stands, the material system and the design system have to be developed together. Computational design is what makes that kind of iteration practical.

Why it still matters to me

Climate-conscious design is the reason I founded Studio Code X in 2020, a consultancy focused on applying advanced computational design and fabrication to buildings that respond to their climate. The tools have changed since then, but the starting point is the same: understand the environment first, then design.