The key to building sustainably in the desert is to protect the building and the urban spaces around it from the desert sun. A traditional block of program would get heavy exposure on the vertical facades and leave all of the surroundings bathed in the sun.

For a 200,000 m2 mixed-use development in Dubai, BIG mobilized all of the knowledge and processing power available at the time and ended up with an architecture relying on its design rather than its machinery to create optimal living conditions in the Emirate climate. Engineering without Engines: a new vernacular architecture for Dubai.

BIG proposed leaning the facades of the building outwards until the inclination reaches the average angle of the sun, the facades dodge the sun rays and rest in the shade of the building itself. Due to the relatively high average position of the sun on the sky the total sun exposure can be reduced dramatically at relatively small inclinations. The resulting building volume is a sort of inverted pyramid with the apex buried deep in the desert sand.

By conceiving the building as cluster of small and tall pyramids, a shaded space is created beneath the canopy of the large floating building mass. Like an urban oasis, an open air market occupies the space between the trunks of the 5 hotels.

From some angles, the development would look like archways and arcades, while from others, people would see a cave of stalactites. Rather than being an obstacle occupying a site, the project becomes a connection point and a public space reintroducing the shaded outdoor souk as an alternative to the air conditioned interior atrium.