DRY MATTERS: SPECULATIONS ON AN ARID FUTURE

JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION (2023)

“Dry Matters” describes a dual interest. The phrase reminds designers that drylands are active contributors to our collective futures and advocates for an expanded material palette to design resilient arid landscapes. I use this conceptual framework as the basis of my graduate design studio, which is predicated on the assumption that aridity is an intrinsically valuable ecological condition. I recount how dryland policies, attitudes, and perceptions manifest materially through design and planning. Then, I show how site history can be a pedagogical tool for students designing speculative dryland futures.