Question submitted by one of our readers:

Hello, I’m doing my second year of architecture in Dubai. Our design project for this semester is to build a research center. The project has certain criteria such as horizontal spatial planning, repetitive units, passive architecture, and bioclimatic responsive architecture. My project is located in the Al Qudra Desert Lakes.

So I’m looking forward to ideas to kick start my design concept, keeping in mind the deserted location.

Really looking forward to your help!
Thanks in advance.

Such an interesting architectural project! I bet that our readers just had one of those two reactions:
1) Yeyy, nothing around the site! Complete design freedom.
2) The setting is quite tricky actually.

Stay with me for a moment as we discover together which reaction is more plausible. To compare it to something fun, let me tell you a story.

Do you remember the last time you were at a supermarket at a busy time of the year? You’d be going around in circles, and circles, trying to find a parking space for your car. Suddenly, you see that tiny car leaving at that right end corner. Laser focus mode on! You don’t want to lose it. You sprint there. You park. And you’re just SO happy to find a spot even if it’s far, dark, and tiny.

Now imagine all of these cars as the constraints of your project! [Old heritage building + busy urban street + strict laws and regulations regarding the architecture + endless other parameters] will all lead you to that only ‘parking space.’ To that special concept that checks all the right boxes.

As if all these constraints slowly sculpt your project to make it the ‘only’ way it could be!

In contrast, do you remember when you went to the supermarket super early in the morning? The parking is almost empty. It’s all yours. So you quickly park in the easiest spot. But then, you realize that there’s another one much closer to the entrance. You change your mind, and you go there.

‘Oh, but wait. This space is actually tiny. They might scratch my car here.’
Change of direction again. Does it feel familiar?

In psychology, we call this the paradox of choice.
In architecture, I will call it the paradox of the desert.

Having no buildings around you, you get lost in the concept creation. You wander around for hours not knowing where to start. Do you see the trick that the desert is playing on you?

Now that the trick is revealed, I have some very good news for you! Even in the desert, you have SO MANY parameters to work with. Here’s a quick cheat sheet below of some general constraints that you face in a normal project.

Quick break! Speaking of constraints, do you have the right tools in hand to create your concept freely? Believe me, it’s all fun and games up until you have to spend sleepless nights juggling between AutoCAD and a basic 3D software! Why not use the all-in-one Revit instead?

Besides, we’ve made it easy for you with a complete starter Revit course specifically created for architects. It’s all under the button below!

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So let’s get back to these constraints. I like to divide them between ‘Exterior’ constraints related to the context, the environment, etc. And ‘Interior’ constraints related to the requirements of the project itself.

What happens now if we compare this list to the constraints that should be taken into consideration for the desert?

Pretty self-explanatory, right? If there are no buildings around, this doesn't mean that we have no other parameters to consider! In fact, we have so many constraints as proves the comparison above. At this point, we can simply take this list and apply it to our specific project.

In the case submitted, for instance, we should consider the functional program required for the research center, the user experience, the extreme weather conditions, the proximity to the Al-Qudra lakes, etc. And I promise you that the concept will reveal itself slowly just like a sculpture!

For a great practical example of how to do that, you could also check out our article on Louvre, Abu Dhabi. Jean Nouvel based his entire concept on cultural and environmental factors solely. Ingenious!