Lodging in Time: Between Building & Unbuilding
"Lodgers: Between Building and Unbuilding" is an installation featured at the 2022 Lisbon Architecture Triennale: Terra. This exhibition presents the culmination of our intensive two-year exploration into the intricate interplay of local material cycles, construction techniques, ecological considerations, and knowledge production in the Pyramid Lake region in Nevada.
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"Lodgers: Between Building and Unbuilding" is an installation featured at the 2022 Lisbon Architecture Triennale: Terra. This exhibition presents the culmination of our intensive two-year exploration into the intricate interplay of local material cycles, construction techniques, ecological considerations, and knowledge production in the Pyramid Lake region in Nevada.
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Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Status: Completed in 2022
Status: Completed in 2022
Sweating Assets
Sweating Assets is an installation at the Bahrain Pavilion during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Maryam Aljomairi and Latifa Alkhayat, this installation delves into the critical issue of water scarcity in Bahrain. Through an exploration of cooling technologies intertwined with the desert flora and fauna, the project highlights the transformative potential of condensation and water collection (Photo Credit: Gerda Studio).
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Sweating Assets is an installation at the Bahrain Pavilion during the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Maryam Aljomairi and Latifa Alkhayat, this installation delves into the critical issue of water scarcity in Bahrain. Through an exploration of cooling technologies intertwined with the desert flora and fauna, the project highlights the transformative potential of condensation and water collection (Photo Credit: Gerda Studio).
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Location: Venice, Italy
Curator: Maryam Aljomairi & Latifa Alkhayat
Status: Completed in 2023
Curator: Maryam Aljomairi & Latifa Alkhayat
Status: Completed in 2023
Lodgers
"Lodgers" represents a series of land art installations commissioned for Fly Ranch in Nevada. The project delves into the intricate interplay between contemporary building practices and indigenous land-based environmental wisdom. With a diverse range of land art installations, this project serves as an exploration of the potential integration or tension that arises when these two approaches converge on the land. Furthermore, these installations also serve as vital environmental enrichment infrastructure for the desert flora and fauna of northern Nevada.
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"Lodgers" represents a series of land art installations commissioned for Fly Ranch in Nevada. The project delves into the intricate interplay between contemporary building practices and indigenous land-based environmental wisdom. With a diverse range of land art installations, this project serves as an exploration of the potential integration or tension that arises when these two approaches converge on the land. Furthermore, these installations also serve as vital environmental enrichment infrastructure for the desert flora and fauna of northern Nevada.
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Location: Fly Ranch, Nevada
Status: Ongoing
Richmond Ave. Bird Station
Richmond Ave Bird Station is a site-specific environmental art installation for the Richmond Avenue Public Art Trail. The project draws inspiration from the delicate harmony between humans and nature in the context of Houston, aiming to extend the reach of contemporary art to encompass non-human species. With a dual purpose, it seeks to provide a tranquil oasis amidst the bustling cityscape, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in natural materials, while also supplying essential nesting materials for birds.
Coming Soon...
Richmond Ave Bird Station is a site-specific environmental art installation for the Richmond Avenue Public Art Trail. The project draws inspiration from the delicate harmony between humans and nature in the context of Houston, aiming to extend the reach of contemporary art to encompass non-human species. With a dual purpose, it seeks to provide a tranquil oasis amidst the bustling cityscape, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in natural materials, while also supplying essential nesting materials for birds.
Coming Soon...
Location: Houston,
Texas
Status: Ongoing
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Coping With Neighbors & Other Entanglements
This research project examines the friction between modern land management practices and indigenous environmental knowledge while designing for the Kooyooe fish and the Paiute people. Located in what is now known as Nevada, Pyramid Lake serves as the ancestral home of the Kooyooe and has been inhabited by the Paiute for over 9,000 years. Unfortunately, the construction of the Truckee River dam in 1905 and the subsequent struggles for water rights have threatened the Kooyooe, which holds significant cultural importance within the Paiute community. These challenges exemplify the violence of colonialism upon the landscape and the unjust distribution of its resources...
This research project examines the friction between modern land management practices and indigenous environmental knowledge while designing for the Kooyooe fish and the Paiute people. Located in what is now known as Nevada, Pyramid Lake serves as the ancestral home of the Kooyooe and has been inhabited by the Paiute for over 9,000 years. Unfortunately, the construction of the Truckee River dam in 1905 and the subsequent struggles for water rights have threatened the Kooyooe, which holds significant cultural importance within the Paiute community. These challenges exemplify the violence of colonialism upon the landscape and the unjust distribution of its resources...
Location: Cambridge, MA
Status: Completed in 2021
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Status: Completed in 2021
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Lodgers Pavilion
This exhibition is a culmination of the research conducted in Nevada's Pyramid Lake region, particularly at the Fly Ranch site, derived from the "Lodgers" project. It examines the complex question of how we navigate the tensions between "neighbors." The exhibition explores two distinct approaches to land engagement: the Wilderness and Land Reclamation Acts and indigenous land stewardship.
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This exhibition is a culmination of the research conducted in Nevada's Pyramid Lake region, particularly at the Fly Ranch site, derived from the "Lodgers" project. It examines the complex question of how we navigate the tensions between "neighbors." The exhibition explores two distinct approaches to land engagement: the Wilderness and Land Reclamation Acts and indigenous land stewardship.
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Location: Cambridge, MA
Status: Completed in 2022
Status: Completed in 2022
Leave No Trace at Fly Ranch
This short film showcases a mesmerizing glimpse into the future of the Fly Ranch landscape, brought to life through LiDAR scanned point cloud. The film juxtaposes this futuristic representation with the author's on-site documentation, capturing the essence of the region's vibrant ecosystem, complete with enchanting glimpses of birds, rodents, and lush vegetation. By highlighting the disparities between these two readings of the same landscape, the film challenges the audience to contemplate and explore the possibilities of bridging the gap between them.
Watch
This short film showcases a mesmerizing glimpse into the future of the Fly Ranch landscape, brought to life through LiDAR scanned point cloud. The film juxtaposes this futuristic representation with the author's on-site documentation, capturing the essence of the region's vibrant ecosystem, complete with enchanting glimpses of birds, rodents, and lush vegetation. By highlighting the disparities between these two readings of the same landscape, the film challenges the audience to contemplate and explore the possibilities of bridging the gap between them.
Watch
Location: Cambridge, MA
Status: Completed in 2022
Short film for the Lodgers Exhibition
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Status: Completed in 2022
Short film for the Lodgers Exhibition
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Lycée Paul Valéry
Lycée Paul Valéry is a French international school in Meknès, Morocco. Responding to an increased enrollment and shifting academic needs, the client reached out to us for three new buildings (a science building, a visual and performing arts building, and a student housing building) and an overall landscape reassessment for this historic campus.
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Lycée Paul Valéry is a French international school in Meknès, Morocco. Responding to an increased enrollment and shifting academic needs, the client reached out to us for three new buildings (a science building, a visual and performing arts building, and a student housing building) and an overall landscape reassessment for this historic campus.
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Location: Meknès, Morocco
Status: Ongoing
Status: Ongoing
Overstory: Cape Town
“Overstory” is a winery and a shared ecosystem that enables a dialog among visitors, workers, and the native landscape. It is not only a place for production or leisure but also a small arboretum and a micro-habitat. Following the sloping terrain, the zigzagging continuum enables spaces for living and production, growing and nesting, and allows learning, socializing, and relaxing to occur spontaneously.
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“Overstory” is a winery and a shared ecosystem that enables a dialog among visitors, workers, and the native landscape. It is not only a place for production or leisure but also a small arboretum and a micro-habitat. Following the sloping terrain, the zigzagging continuum enables spaces for living and production, growing and nesting, and allows learning, socializing, and relaxing to occur spontaneously.
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Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Status: Masterplan completed in 2021
Status: Masterplan completed in 2021
Traveling Tables
The Traveling Tables are a collection of tables specifically crafted for showcasing models and artifacts in exhibitions. In contrast to conventional architectural exhibitions, which typically generate single-use infrastructures that are often oversized or tailored to specific locations, resulting in wastage once the exhibition concludes, these tables offer an eco-friendly alternative. They have been designed to be dismantled and integrated into domestic settings post-exhibition. As a result, these tables have journeyed great distances, finding new homes in various locations across the United States.
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The Traveling Tables are a collection of tables specifically crafted for showcasing models and artifacts in exhibitions. In contrast to conventional architectural exhibitions, which typically generate single-use infrastructures that are often oversized or tailored to specific locations, resulting in wastage once the exhibition concludes, these tables offer an eco-friendly alternative. They have been designed to be dismantled and integrated into domestic settings post-exhibition. As a result, these tables have journeyed great distances, finding new homes in various locations across the United States.
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Location: Cambridge, MA
Status: Completed in 2022
Status: Completed in 2022
Overstory: Baja California
The Valle de Guadalupe flourishes with a myriad of vineyards, but unfortunately, the ecosystem finds itself languishing, rejecting the winemaking process and relying solely on a lifeline of water piped from the Colorado River. The remaining untouched landscapes, perched upon steep terrains, stand as the last bastions of untapped potential, yet developers yearn to flatten them too.
Overstory proposes a parametric construction approach that harnesses networks of inhabitable beams, spanning between existing boulders on these challenging hillside sites.
These steep slopes hold the essence of the Valley's remaining wild ecosystems. Enveloped by rocks that cast local shadows, they become sanctuaries that capture precious moisture in the soil. It is within these secluded realms that a diverse tapestry of vegetation and wildlife thrives, creating a precious oasis known as the "last landscape."
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The Valle de Guadalupe flourishes with a myriad of vineyards, but unfortunately, the ecosystem finds itself languishing, rejecting the winemaking process and relying solely on a lifeline of water piped from the Colorado River. The remaining untouched landscapes, perched upon steep terrains, stand as the last bastions of untapped potential, yet developers yearn to flatten them too.
Overstory proposes a parametric construction approach that harnesses networks of inhabitable beams, spanning between existing boulders on these challenging hillside sites.
These steep slopes hold the essence of the Valley's remaining wild ecosystems. Enveloped by rocks that cast local shadows, they become sanctuaries that capture precious moisture in the soil. It is within these secluded realms that a diverse tapestry of vegetation and wildlife thrives, creating a precious oasis known as the "last landscape."
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Location:
Baja California, Mexico
Status: Masterplan completed in 2019
Status: Masterplan completed in 2019
Wobbles
While serendipity cannot be forced, we attempt to create spaces that bring pleasant surprises through people’s interactions with nature and social interactions among themselves. “Wobbles” consist of a series of hemispherical planters designed to provide aesthetic pleasure and resting support to users. The round bottom of the structure makes them swing up and down as people sit on them. They tilt, turn and rock, and thus can only reach equilibrium by a balanced weight on all sides. These dynamics and the sense of sharing are designed to make the experience more fun and also to promote interactions among users. Each planter has a theme, as they are filled with selected plant species, featuring the cultivated beauty and naturalist wilderness from the uninhabited landscapes that are far away from urban life.
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While serendipity cannot be forced, we attempt to create spaces that bring pleasant surprises through people’s interactions with nature and social interactions among themselves. “Wobbles” consist of a series of hemispherical planters designed to provide aesthetic pleasure and resting support to users. The round bottom of the structure makes them swing up and down as people sit on them. They tilt, turn and rock, and thus can only reach equilibrium by a balanced weight on all sides. These dynamics and the sense of sharing are designed to make the experience more fun and also to promote interactions among users. Each planter has a theme, as they are filled with selected plant species, featuring the cultivated beauty and naturalist wilderness from the uninhabited landscapes that are far away from urban life.
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Location: Cambridge, MA
Status: Ongoing
Status: Ongoing
Université Euro-Méditerranéenne de Fès
The competition to design a campus for the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez (EURO-MED) was launched in late February 2014 by the Union for the Mediterranean, a partnership that aims to create unity among Euro-Mediterranean countries. The objective of the project was to compose an environment that established a platform for discourse and correspondence between the Mediterranean’s diverse cultures, as well as to provide a medium through which to collaborate with universities in European countries.
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The competition to design a campus for the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez (EURO-MED) was launched in late February 2014 by the Union for the Mediterranean, a partnership that aims to create unity among Euro-Mediterranean countries. The objective of the project was to compose an environment that established a platform for discourse and correspondence between the Mediterranean’s diverse cultures, as well as to provide a medium through which to collaborate with universities in European countries.
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Location:
Fès, Morocco
Status: Masterplan completed in May 2014
Status: Masterplan completed in May 2014
Maison de l’Architecture
Maison de l’Architecture is a new architecure school located in Tangier, Morocco. It is designed to be a housing, museum, and hotel complex for architecture students and visiting scholars from nearby colleges as part of the Malabata Hills Masterplan.
Maison de l’Architecture is a new architecure school located in Tangier, Morocco. It is designed to be a housing, museum, and hotel complex for architecture students and visiting scholars from nearby colleges as part of the Malabata Hills Masterplan.
Location:
Tangier, Morocco
Status: Masterplan completed in May 2015
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Status: Masterplan completed in May 2015
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Cincy Stitch
Cincy Stitch emerged as the winning proposal in the 2019 Urban Land Institute Urban Design Competition, radically reshaping Cincinnati's waterfront. Rather than remaining at the city's edge, the project reconceives it as the vibrant heart of a connected region. By leveraging four key threads—Culture + History, Public Realm, Transportation, and New Economies—the proposal undertakes a strategic expansion, forging vital connections that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries. The reimagined site becomes a catalyst for dismantling barriers, fostering a sense of unity and cohesion. Cincy Stitch breathes new life into the waterfront, propelling Cincinnati towards a future defined by inclusivity, vitality, and harmonious growth.
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Cincy Stitch emerged as the winning proposal in the 2019 Urban Land Institute Urban Design Competition, radically reshaping Cincinnati's waterfront. Rather than remaining at the city's edge, the project reconceives it as the vibrant heart of a connected region. By leveraging four key threads—Culture + History, Public Realm, Transportation, and New Economies—the proposal undertakes a strategic expansion, forging vital connections that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries. The reimagined site becomes a catalyst for dismantling barriers, fostering a sense of unity and cohesion. Cincy Stitch breathes new life into the waterfront, propelling Cincinnati towards a future defined by inclusivity, vitality, and harmonious growth.
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Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Status: Completed in 2019
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Status: Completed in 2019
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Bookcase for a South End Home
This series of bookcases was custom-built for a private residence located in South End, Boston. With the aim of dividing the open floor plan into distinct and practical spaces, these versatile bookcases serve as spatial devices, effectively compensating for the absence of traditional walls within the apartment.
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This series of bookcases was custom-built for a private residence located in South End, Boston. With the aim of dividing the open floor plan into distinct and practical spaces, these versatile bookcases serve as spatial devices, effectively compensating for the absence of traditional walls within the apartment.
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Location: Boston, MA
Status: Completed in 2018
Status: Completed in 2018
Sidewinder
Sidewinder is a temporary installation crafted by interweaving raw plant materials. It showcases the ingenious use of locally harvested willow twigs for construction.
Sidewinder is a temporary installation crafted by interweaving raw plant materials. It showcases the ingenious use of locally harvested willow twigs for construction.
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Lead Artist: Patrick Dougherty
Status: Completed in March 2011
Lead Artist: Patrick Dougherty
Status: Completed in March 2011
Natural Water as Cultural Water
Natural Water as Cultural Water envisions the use of designed landforms as floodable infrastructure. This approach aimed to symbolize and represent the indigenous history of the land in West Lafayette, Indiana, combining functional stormwater management with cultural narratives. The project received the Award of Excellence in Planning from the American Society of Landscape Architecture in 2013.
Natural Water as Cultural Water envisions the use of designed landforms as floodable infrastructure. This approach aimed to symbolize and represent the indigenous history of the land in West Lafayette, Indiana, combining functional stormwater management with cultural narratives. The project received the Award of Excellence in Planning from the American Society of Landscape Architecture in 2013.
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Award: Award of Excellence in the Analysis and Planning Category 2013
Status: Completed in May 2013
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Award: Award of Excellence in the Analysis and Planning Category 2013
Status: Completed in May 2013