Desert Blossom (DB) is a flexible infrastructure enabling multi-species cohabitation in urban environments. It is a shelter that can be adapted to different contexts and different human activities, from a bus station to an outdoor market, thanks to the use of dynamic design strategies combined with additive manufacturing technologies. Architecture acts as a scaffolding that changes over time, where natural and artificial elements blend in a bio-integrated system.
It is a fact that contemporary cities suffer from a loss of biodiversity in urban areas. This project encourages a fusion of architecture and local biological components to enhance ecological cycles and include buildings in a mutual exchange between humans, vegetation, and animals. This configuration was developed for cities with a hot desert climate like Dubai specifically to reintroduce local species into the urban environment, but the principle could be adapted to other climates and conditions.
The pavilion is composed of a series of 3D printed columns that gradually expand their horizontal section as they rise vertically. These funnel-like elements connect to one another generating a vaulted shelter. They can also be combined in different configurations, adding additional elements or scaling the installation up or down. The columns generate a system of pockets that are inhabited by local vegetation at the roof level. The plants, in turn, attract birds that can make their home in DB: the cavities in the columns and the gaps between the masses become the infrastructure for their nests.
