‘Local Adaptation’ in nature is when a population of organisms has evolved to be more well-suited to its environment than other member of the same species. We sought to discover a contemporary architecture of local adaptation in the hot dry climate of Morocco using the locally and abundantly available material – earth. By looking forensically at this place, projects emerged that were finely tuned to its context, climate and culture.
The unit visited Marrakech and trekked in the High Atlas Mountains to study vernacular earth architecture and natural construction techniques built to respond to the extreme environment. By focussing on earth as a material combined with the hot & dry context, we developed digital and physical tools that responded specifically to this environment through an immersive and hands on engagement with this place.
We have an environmental crisis right now because we have become so detached from the processes of nature and the environment that we do not value them or understand their importance. Our approach in Local Adaptation is to put people back in contact with the elemental, the essential and the natural through both the design process and the experience of a locally adapted architecture.