Index|Architecture|Photography|Installation

Salt Oasis From Brine to Architecture: An Ecological Experiment in Salt and Circularity


2023 | Al Ain, United Arabic Emirate
Academic | Individual | KADK
Salt Recycle, Material Exploration

ConceptIn the United Arab Emirates, freshwater scarcity has long been mitigated through large-scale seawater desalination. Yet, its byproduct—brine—has been discharged untreated into the land, intensifying soil salinization and ecological imbalance.

The Salt Oasis Pavilion emerged as a poetic and critical response to this condition. By extracting salt from brine and combining it with seaweed-based bioglue, I developed a series of experimental salt panels that could serve as temporary architectural components. Through this act of transformation, waste material becomes a medium of reflection—turning residue into resilience.

Process & CollaborationDuring a one-month field practice in Al Ain, I collaborated with local artisans to integrate traditional palm-fiber weaving, mud-brick techniques, and contemporary material research. Together, we created a spectrum of salt-based panels, each embodying a dialogue between craft and science, fragility and endurance.

The final structure—a small pavilion built for local camel herders—served both as a material test site and a symbolic shelter, standing quietly in the desert to witness cycles of heat, wind, and crystallization.

ReflectionThe project questions the linear logic of industrial production and reclaims a circular aesthetic rooted in ecology. By juxtaposing natural crystallization with human fabrication, it seeks to redefine the relationship between the artificial and the organic.

“The salt returns to where it came from—
the sea, the sun, the wind—
reminding us that every act of making
is also an act of returning.”