Beit Al-Sha'r
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
This project seeks to produce condensations of atmospheric qualities present within the shifting natural conditions of desert terrain. Blurred edges, unsettled grades, and a thick presence of atmospheric weight constitute the qualities we choose to amplify in the design of the tent. Our proposal encourages moments of recognition of a primitive figure and a spatial logic, whilst providing cues of disfigurement due to preternatural forces. We promote an uncanny perception and believe these uncertainties will foster interest in experiencing the interior space defined by the tent.
Our desire to heighten atmospheric qualities and to produce the uncanny is achieved at two scales: through the creation of local formal idiosyncrasies on the interior tent surface, and through global deformations of the exterior tent surface caused by the accumulation of local operations. Our process of slumping the underside surface compels users to engage the catenary swells that share the occupation of space. This technique conceals any registration of surface edge in order to enhance physical and atmospheric depth, thereby befogging readings of gravity and intimating the presence of unnatural forces. Selectively and variably weighting the cavities allows us to augment the overall figuration of the tent, hence provoking an eerie and unstable sensibility.
