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home / past work (academic) / moving sands

in studio DW5, epfl, 2008

preamble

about

reinterpreting the mall typology in the context of kuwait

an organic form born of the aggregation of 5x5m modules in three dimensions. 

built on prefabricated steel poles and beams with panels of prefabricated concrete, allowing unlimited growth into a labyrthine volumetry for protection from the desert climate.

the roof decks of the ground floor shops are accessible terraces, or advertising spaces when inaccessible.

in the summer, shading textiles can be hung over them, transforming the mall into a giant patchwork market.

circulation spaces between stores on the ground floor are covered with glass, and evolve in time, sandstorm after sandstorm.

 

scenario

moving sands super-mall in kuwait render 01

view from the highway. hazy silhouettes emerge from the sinuous desert horizon

moving sands super-mall in kuwait render 02

the fleeting image escapes you, dissolved in your speed. look back in the car mirror. what is rising from the dust?

moving sands super-mall in kuwait render 03

a road appears ahead. take it; it takes you. enter the long tunnel. where did you come from? where are you going?

moving sands super-mall in kuwait render 04

after your journey in the dark, you pierce into the brightly lit air-conditioned space, you have been conditioned.the light keeps changing, how much time has passed since you first came? one sandstorm, two or fifty six?

distribution diagrams

moving sands super-mall in kuwait distribution diagram

////basement/parking//// ground floor /shops, first level/food court, second level/restaurants and coffee shops, third and fourth level/fine dining, fifth to twelfth/mosque

model photos

moving sands super-mall in kuwait model
moving sands super-mall in kuwait model 02
moving sands super-mall in kuwait model detail

process/situation - study cases

exposed

exposed

it's not because you're not paranoid that there's no one watching you

fiat lux

fiat lux

let the car shine in

consumers in orbit

consumers in orbit

the only way in is through the skies

vertigo

vertigo

shifting plates of neon signs

chaos theory

chaos theory

the flutter of consumers' feet

personal shoppers

personal shoppers

always at your disposal

grasse matinee

grasse matinee

caught in between the conditioning sheets

foetus cells

foetus cells

just like home

car invaders

car invaders

they come from the streets and they're out to get you

ultimate drive-in

ultimate drive-in

taylored for you and your car

wheel world

wheel world

centrifugal circulation

mall hunt

mall hunt

watch me go, follow my footsteps

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