Occupying a Seam: Desert Landscape

Occupying a Seam

Desert Landscape

The desert landscape can be understood as a vast, delicate environment. It’s surface can be a volatile expanse of ephemeral dunes, and also a palimpsest with seams, incisions and edges formed over millions of years. The precedent of this project lies in the special morphological structure of the Judean desert, a harsh landscape marked by long, deep ravines with cliffs made of limestone. It’s canyons branch down from 1000m above sea level, to -421m at the Dead Sea.

In the model, components of the shelter are constructed with the intention of chanelling wind-flow and ventilation through occupied spaces. Roof planes are tilted and slit, and above the level of the high ground, exploring ideas of guiding the wind, and also blocking unwanted sands from the surrounding planes.

The site chosen is an incision within a low sloping landscape: a seam, a pause, between large exposed expanses of land. The mass and depth of the gorge walls offer opportunites for carving and constructing. Using rammed earth is a consideration in the intervention, to aid in thermal regulation of spaces in response to the diurnal temperature variation in the desert. As heat and cold are major factors to consider in the desert climate, there are also two wind towers for ventilation, placed strategically, puncturing two main occupiable spaces on the canyon floor.

Considering the approach to the intervention, major slopes in the landscape lead up to the thresholds of the construct. At these points, above the horizon, the protruding wind towers also act as landmarks for approaching people. The intervention is realised as a collection of carved and extruded elements, structured with the intention of engaging with the wind, ground, sky and heat.