ENGINEERING SIDRA TREES The Education City Convention Center on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar, designed by Arata Isozaki, includes a giant structure resembling two intertwined trees to support the building's exterior canopy. Used in lieu of vertical columns, the 250-meter- (820-foot-) long, doubly curved steel tree structure forms the signature entrance to the convention center, currently under construction. — Published 2008.0227
	THE SUSTAINABILITY OF NINA MARITZ Architects practicing in wealthy countries are becoming increasingly aware that our resources are finite and that if climate change goes unchecked, we could face a much warmer, harsher environment. Scientists present us with images of expanding deserts, sinking water tables, and material scarcity. For Namibian architect Nina Maritz, the challenges of working in a harsh environment with limited means are already an everyday reality. Her work presents a model for making compelling buildings despite "a poverty of resources." — Published 2007.0613
	HOK STRAW BALE For over a decade, straw-bale construction has been growing in popularity among "alternative" house builders. The durable, low-cost, nontoxic, highly insulating, pest-resistant, and potentially structural material is especially practical in hot arid climates. It was used extensively in the treeless grasslands of the U.S. Midwest early in the 20th century. — Published 2007.0516
	SPLASHES OF HUE "Colors are like words," Italian architect Ettore Sottsass once said. "With colors you can tell stories... Architecture is made of color. Even those who don't want to use color must use it in the end. It's fundamental." Acknowledging the colorful work of Sottsass and others in architecture and interior design, the paint company Benjamin Moore & Co. presented its second annual "HUE Awards" in late September 2006. — Published 2006.1004
	AFTER AIR BASE ACTION The new student union at the Arizona State University's East Campus in Mesa provides the centerpiece to a positive outcome of a military base closing. The campus is located on a former U.S. Air Force base, and this new building, designed by Gould Evans Associates in Phoenix, is a creative interpretation of making a place in the desert. — Published 2005.0629
	POSTCARD FROM JAISALMER Dear ArchitectureWeek, In medieval times, camel caravans heading towards Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia, laden with silks and spices, would have seen Jaisalmer, India shimmering in the desert haze much as it appears today. The ancient fort, the oldest in Rajasthan, rises above a maze of streets, squares, palaces, and clusters of dwellings, all in the local golden yellow sandstone. — Published 2005.0420
	POSTCARD FROM TURKESTAN Dear ArchitectureWeek, While in Kazakstan on my round-the-world bicycle tour, I visited the Hodja Ahmed Yasavi Mausoleum, one of the country's architectural gems. Surrounded by desert and low, rough, mud-brick buildings, the green tiled dome shimmers above the city of Turkestan. — Published 2004.0107
	CREATIVE KINDERGARTEN Caesarea, Israel is a city founded more than 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great, who dedicated it to Caesar Augustus. Many of Herod's structures are well preserved — the palace, aqueduct, hippodrome, and the amphitheater, which is a modern venue for concerts and plays, valued for its superb acoustics. — Published 2003.0813
	VILLA MODA'S INTERNATIONAL CHIC Surrounded by shipwrecks from the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s, an unused dockland area on the outskirts of Kuwait City is an unlikely setting for one of the Middle East's most luxurious fashion stores. But adjacent to industrial shipping containers is a place where Kuwait's wealthy come to buy international chic. — Published 2003.0423
	PUEBLO LEGORRETA How can architecture be contemporary and timeless at the same time? Ricardo Legorreta offers an answer in his design of the Zocalo condominium community in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The name of the development is Spanish for "town square," and its site plan reflects that quality. Zocalo is organized in eight or nine clusters of "casitas," as Legorreta refers to the units. The casitas face open squares or small courtyards that reinforce a sense of community. — Published 2002.1106

In a Desert Climate page: [prev] | 01 | 02 | 03 | [next]