Life Under the Desert Sun

Arch 100D - Life Under the Desert Sun
Taught by Liz Galvez
20250507

Life Under the Desert Sun is an exploration of how relationships between architecture and climate can be redefined through the <p-color-blue>reclamation of vernacular technologies<p-color-blue> and strategies for dealing with extreme climates from <p-color-blue>across cultures and time<p-color-blue>. Students explored how these strategies could be reimagined into a <p-color-blue>contemporary context<p-color-blue>, engaging in the <p-color-blue>discursive relationship <p-color-blue>between <p-color-blue>architecture<p-color-blue> and its <p-color-blue>construction<p-color-blue>.

Mass Production
ARCH100D - Techno-Envronmental Artifact
Taught by Liz Galvez
20250219

A <p-color-blue>collaborative work<p-color-blue>, the Techno-Environmental Artifact is a synthesis of existing building technologies in order to <p-color-blue>develop new relationships between building and climate<p-color-blue>. Mass Production proposes new ways of engaging with <p-color-blue>stick frame construction<p-color-blue> and its insulation, using <p-color-blue>thermal mass<p-color-blue> dry-stacked within a contemporary framing system, and organizing space sectionally to create a <p-color-blue>thermal cascade<p-color-blue>.

Structure is constructed using contemporary stick framing, and mud bricks are mass produced using a cast which can create 100 bricks at a time.

The entire assembly is dry-stacked, and materials used meet the perceptual or environmental needs of the space; cooler toned stone used in cooler spaces and warmer brick in warmer spaces.

Space is organized sectionally; a wall hangs down from above as a stalactite, and a wall grows up from below as a stalagmite. This creates a thermal cascade which divides the artifact into thermally distinct spaces: the stalactite traps warmer air on one end, and the stalagmite keeps cooler air on the other.

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Siteless Climatics
ARCH100D - A Room with Multiple Climates
Taught by Liz Galvez
20250310

Imagined without context, <p-color-blue>Siteless Climatics<p-color-blue> pushes the limits of how a thermal cascade can <p-color-blue>organize space<p-color-blue> in a single room. Cooler spaces are pushed further down to create almost <p-color-blue>cavernous atmospheres<p-color-blue>, and warmer spaces rise up into <p-color-blue>cozier nooks<p-color-blue>.

The cavernous nature of the lower(cooler) space lends itself to movement and play.

The warmer, cozier spaces are well equipped to handle more leisurely activities, such as sleeping, relaxing, or eating.

apertures are extruded out of a base form, and then punched in to suit the needs of the spaces they open into.

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A Village in the Desert
ARCH100D - Life Under the Desert Sun
Taught by Liz Galvez
20250507

<p-color-blue>A Village in the Desert<p-color-blue> is an adaptation of the <p-color-blue>climate resilience<p-color-blue> found in the communal living developed by the <p-color-blue>pueblos<p-color-blue> of New Mexico to respond to the <p-color-blue>extreme conditions<p-color-blue> of Phoenix, Arizona. The residence is organized around a series of <p-color-blue>thermally distinct spaces<p-color-blue>, which are adapted in climate and in program. As inhabitants move inwards, they travel from <p-color-blue>outdoor common spaces<p-color-blue>, into shaded porticos, and then into <p-color-blue>private indoor areas<p-color-blue>.

Shared activities, such as playing and cooking, are often done in outdoor spaces, as was common in settlements like the Taos Pueblo.

Spaces to rest and relax are given space in semi-private shaded areas, and spaces to sleep and work are finally in more private spaces.

As shaded porticos transition into indoor spaces, the quality of light shifts dynamically, with dappled light and indirect light helping guide the climatic experience of space through its percieved ambiance.

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Tall, thermally massive walls create an atmosphere which looks inwards. The residence develops an internal world, even when outside.

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GABRIEL NUER