For Dubai Design Week (Oct 26-31, 2015), Loci Architecture + Design designed six pavilions, including this ethereal pavilion featuring an exterior skin composed of polycarbonate sheets with sand poured into its internal channels.

The combination of sand with polycarbonate not only results in an exterior façade with excellent thermal and acoustic properties, but also a visually intriguing screen between indoors and out.
As a material, polycarbonate already has great insulation properties on its own. The addition of sand to its channels strengthens its thermal performance, which is much needed to mitigate against the severe surrounding desert heat.

Visually, the exterior design is influenced by the surrounding natural geography of the Middle East. The panels have a windswept look, capturing the essence of how sand shifts and moves across the landscape.

This pavilion is part of Dubai Design Week’s ‘Abwab’ (meaning ‘doors’ in Arabic) exhibition, which includes six pavilions hosting a selection of works by exciting new designers from Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE.

(Pavilion photos via Loci Architecture + Design)