DESERT-ARCH

Project idea

Desert-Arch - Located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, a city with a rich cultural background and a passion for innovation. With an open attitude towards the future of living, Desert Cube seeks to bring about cultural, environmental and technological change at the architectural level to the local living environment. Desert-Arch pursues the unique culture of the Middle East while optimizing the diversity of architectural forms. Therefore, a modular approach is the centerpiece of this design, which is completed with the unique humanistic background of the region. The building's exterior is characterized by highly symmetrical squares and simple curved roofs based on the Islamic palace and Ghutra. The energy strategy utilizes both local traditional building energy techniques and high-tech energy strategies. The new design of the Mashrabiyah, for example, utilizes a glass façade to achieve constant indoor temperature. The combination of high tech and low tech will create new architectural strategies. The impact of new and old cultures will reshape the future of UAE's urban form. At the same time, the goal of localizing future architecture will be achieved.

Project description

The concept of Desert-Arch was inspired by simple LEGO modules and the traditional arches of the Middle East. The beauty of traditional architecture is presented in a simple form in a contemporary ordinary house. In addition to preserving the Islamic architectural culture on a social level, it also provides a more affordable and culturally distinctive living space for the local residents.

The modular cube units are composed of 3X3, 6X3, 6X6 m and this modular size will be enough to be used in a wide range of spaces on a wide range of architectural bases. All supports in the units will be of uniform size, so that they can be fully connected to different sized units when joined. The units will face highly complex architectural applications, such as connected buildings in metropolitan areas, or single-family houses or temporary venues. The high degree of variability is also sufficient to meet local architectural requirements.

Technical information

The design process is based on a modular subdivision and green vegetation program. The building's energy strategy is then taken as a second level of thinking, For example: cooling systems, shadow cover and airflow. To achieve the goal of sustainable building

The choice of construction materials is based on adobe and artificial sandstone, which are the main local building materials and are relatively mature in terms of insulation and manufacturing process. For the future living style, bio-building materials such as mycelium can be added to increase the life span. Artificial sandstone can be easily modularized during the manufacturing process to provide the desired shapes and angles for roofs, facades and modular spaces. It plays an important role in the modularization process. Roof supports are shaped from a small amount of reclaimed timber and are assembled and erected on the roof.

The façade structure is expected to achieve the goals of temperature insulation and light penetration. The design of the Mashrabiyah is based on traditional Arabic patterns, the façade was constructed using adobe 15 centimeters of adobe was used for part of the exterior wall, together with glass to insulate the interior and exterior of the house. The result is to increase the brightness of the interior during the day and still maintain a constant temperature inside the house. The other part of the wall is made of 30cm thick artificial sandstone, without adding any windows to these walls to ensure that the interior space is not exposed to more sunlight than is needed in normal daily life. Water storage is provided on both sides of the house, partly for water storage or distillation purposes, and partly to maintain the cooling system under the floor of the house to avoid high temperatures caused by over-exposure to the sun.