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panel system, allowing them to grow down the sur- face and naturally dye the palm fibres. The design is intended for use in the Arizona desert, where it will be tested under extreme heat conditions. The most technologically ambitious of the four research projects was K-Biotic , a kinetic, sun-responsive rotating shell embedded with electronic sensors. Built from a combination of mycelium, palm waste, and bacteri- al cultures, the structure behaves like a living skin - adapting to light, absorbing heat, and ultimately de- composing without a trace. “The idea was to provide an IKEA-type DIY package - you get a little box, spray bacteria on it, and then cook it a bit. You can then orient it to the sun automatically,” explains Piesik. Functioning as a kinetic façade, the system consists of modular panels mounted on rods equipped with sen- sors that rotate in response to solar heat. Bacteria act as a natural bonding agent between two bio-layers - myce- lium and date palm - creating a resilient, biodegradable composite. The shading system is specifically designed to withstand extreme desert conditions in places like AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Anand Popat, who led the K-Biotic design and recently completed his master’s degree in architecture at Pratt, found the process to be revelatory. “The benefit of working on a global level makes you think bio- regionally and more holistically for a resilient future for all countries and communities,” he said. “It was a completely new experience to collaborate with a microbiologist from the Dietrich Lab and learn how bacteria can engage with this novel material and reinforce the hybrid biomaterial.” He added, “The interdisciplinary framework pushes the boundary in my academic career to mutate my design knowledge with biomaterials to make habitable systems and frameworks for contemporary architecture.” FROM BROOKLYN TO THE GLOBAL SOUTH While the designs were born in New York, they are explicitly intended for application in arid and vulnerable regions from Western California to the Global South. The Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia all lie within a band of bioclimatic zones known for intense heat and water stress. Yet they also share a cultural and botanical connection through the date palm - a tree that thrives in similar desert ecosystems across continents. Piesik refers to this concept as bioregional design - a method of creating architecture that responds to shared environmental conditions, not geopolitical borders. “Date palms grow in similar environments around the world - California, the UAE, India, North Africa,” she explains. “By designing across bioregions, we can create horizontal collaborations that transcend borders while respecting local identities.” The potential is enormous. Over two billion people live in areas affected by desertification, according to UNCCD’s data. Solutions like Hybrid Habitats , which use locally available materials, low-energy systems, and decentralised fabrication methods, could offer scalable responses to this global crisis. Piesik envisions returning to the UAE to prototype el- ements of the project, particularly in Madinat Zayed and Liwa Oasis, where she previously conducted
Organic Motion: K-Biotic components for a high-tech solution. © Anand P Popat, Kayla J Reyes, Lucius Hu
Hands-on prototyping played a key role in the form-finding process. Pictured from top: Geometric Explorations - Palm Shade, Modularity - Desert Canopy, and Form-Finding BioHue. © Dr Sandra Piesik
لــم يعــد حلمــاً، بــل واقــع ممكــن - وخطــوة محوريّــــــــة نحـــــــــــو تمكيــــــــن المجتمعــــــات اقتصاديّــــاً.” وترســــــم بيسيـــــــك صــــــورة لمســتقبل أكثــر عــدلا واســتدامة: “ســواء كنــت فــي غاياتــري، أو فــي ليــوا، أو فــي مدينـة زايـد... يمكـن للنّسـاء والرّجـال معـا بنــاء هــذه الهيــاكل بأيديهــم، باســتخدام أدوات متاحــةٍ، ومــواد محليّــة، دون الحاجــة لمصانــع أو آلات معقّــدة.” وتضيــف بيســيك أن عمليّــات الإنتــاج يمكــن أن تنطلــق ببســاطة مــن ورش منزليّــة، أو كراجــات صغيــرة، أو حتــى مــن داخــل المجالــس التقليديّــة. وبهــذا، لا تكتفـي المجتمعـات بالمشـاركة فـي البنـاء، بــل تصبــح صاحبــة القــرار فــي تشــكيل تفاصيلـه الجماليّــة، وفقـا لهويّتهـا الثقافيّــة وذوقهــا المحلــيّ. ولكــن مــا يتجــاوز الجانــب الوظيفــيّ، ويتجـاوز التّصميـم، هـو هـذا البُعـد العميـق الـذي يُعيـد إحيـاء الإيمـان بقيمـة المعرفـة التقليديّــة، ويمنحهـا مكانهـا المُسـتحق فـي مســتقبل العمــارة. وتشــرح بيســيك ذلــك بقولهــا: “أنــا واثقــة مــن أن المجتمعــات المحليّــة ســتُضفي علــى هــذه النّمــاذج طبقاتهــا الثقافيّــة الخاصّــة، وســتكون مختلفـة بطبيعتهـا عـن النّظـرة الأكاديميّــة
بـــل جـــزءا لا يتجـــزّأ مـــن أهـــداف التّنميـــة ). وتختـــم بدعـــوة SDGs( المســـتدامة صريحـــة: “نحـــن مســـتعدّون للتّعـــاون مـــع أي جهـــة فـــي الإمـــارات أو فـــي المنطقـــة، جاهـــزة للمضـــي معنـــا فـــي هـــذا المســـار.” حيــــــــن تصبــــــح العمـــــــارة أداة للعدالــــــة المناخيــــــة فــي جوهرهــا، لا تُختــزل مبــادرة “الموائــل الهجينـة” فـي كونهـا ابتكارا تقنيّا فحسـب، بــل تتعــدّى ذلــك لتصبــح مشــروعا إنســانيّا عــادلاً. فــكل تصميــم فــي هــذا المشــروع يبــدأ مــن بيئتــه المحليّــة، باســتخدام أقــل قــدر ممكــن مــن البنــى التحتيّــة، دون الحاجــة إلــى مصانــع ضخمــة أو معــدّات متخصّصــة؛ مكتفيــا بأليــاف النّخيــل، وروابـط طبيعيّــة، وأدوات أساسـيّة. وهـذا يفتــح البــاب أمــام انتشــاره بشــكل أوســع إلــى المجتمعــات الأكثــر احتياجــا. تشـرح بيسـيِك هـذا التوجّــه قائلـة: “الفكرة بســيطة؛ أن نجعــل النّظــام عمليّــا وســهل المنــال، خصوصــا فــي أماكــن مثــل الهنــد، حيـث يمكـن للنّسـاء تصنيع هـذه المكوّنات بأنفســهنّ. إنّــه نظــام معيــاري وذكــيّ، لا يتطلّــب بنيــة تحتيّــة ضخمــة. قوّتــه فــي بســاطته، وفــي مرونتــه. التّصميــم القابــل للتّجزئــة يعنــي أن التّصنيــع الــل مركــزي
fieldwork on palm architecture. Other possibilities include regions in Rajasthan, Morocco, Saudi Ara- bia and Egypt. The project is also being reviewed for inclusion in the UNFCCC portal and has attracted at- tention from international NGOs working in sustain- ability and development. “The UAE is where my 21-year journey with the date palm began. It gave birth to this entire line of inquiry and practice. Even now, while I’m based in New York, I continue to work with date palms - some of which were sent here from California. So naturally, it would be incredibly meaningful to return to the UAE and re- engage in any capacity. That’s where it all started, and we remain deeply grateful for the relationship we’ve had with the country so far,” says Piesik. “Looking ahead, we’d love the opportunity to carry out testing on the four key components of this work, together with local communities and universities. We want to better understand how these systems behave in real-world conditions, collect meaningful data, and refine the models to make them more robust and commercially viable. That kind of collaboration is essential to evolving the work. We see it as part of the broader mission of the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] - and we’re eager to partner with anyone in the UAE or the wider region who’s ready to join us in that effort.” ARCHITECTURE AS CLIMATE JUSTICE Ultimately, Hybrid Habitats is not just about technical innovation - it’s about equity. Each design is meant to
Assembled model of Organic Motion: K-Biotic façade. © Dr Sandra Piesik
Organic Motion: K-Biotic component - Anand Popat ’ s experimentation at the Dietrich Lab, Columbia University. © Dr Sandra Piesik
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