DESERT FOLDS: A MUSEUM

Desert Folds is a cultural complex located in Joshua Tree, CA, that brings together a museum, artist residences, and a restaurant within the desert landscape. The project explores how architecture can frame and intensify the experience of the surrounding terrain. Two primary buildings align with distant mountain views and guide visitors along a defined path through the site.

The folded geometry of the structures echoes the sharp forms of the nearby peaks, creating a contrast with the softer, organic qualities of the desert floor. Corten steel and concrete were selected to weather over time, allowing the architecture to gradually blend with the colors and textures of the landscape. Circulation through the site connects exhibition spaces, artists' work areas, and gathering spaces, moving a key part of the experience. As visitors move through the complex, shifting views of the desert and mountains create a dialogue between the built environment and the vast surrounding landscape.

STUDY MODELS

Developed a series of conceptual models following a site visit to Joshua Tree, examining the sensory fragments experienced upon first encounter with the landscape. The study explored elements such as thresholds, moments of stillness, and the sense of calm that emerged from the site, focusing on the features that stood out most during the initial observation.

CONCEPT

Desert Folds frames the experience of Joshua Tree through orientation, movement, and sensory transition. Folded forms align with distant mountain views and organize a sequence of public and private spaces, creating moments of shifting sound, taste, and vision. As visitors move through the site, architecture becomes a mediator between inhabitation and the desert landscape.