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SYN Architects’ Desert X Installation Evokes Synchronicity With AlUla’s Landscape

By Glanze Patrick staff@designtimes.com | May 02, 2024 03:21 AM EDT


(Photo: Lance Gerber)

In the vast expanse of AlUla's geological fabric, SYN Architects embarked on a journey to explore the possibility of establishing physical ties with the Earth. At Desert X, their installation is the window of the artwork and a bridge between the people and the environment. They encourage visitors to examine their connection with the land as they enjoy the natural setting.

Embracing Synchronicity

Synchronicity is the key point of the SYN Architects' idea, which stands that the interpretation and examination of the environment are always ongoing and in a different way. They challenge the notion that the environment can be fully understood or controlled, advocating instead for a fluid exploration of the connections between elements in nature. Their installation serves as a material offering, tracing and constructing these interactions to foster speculation and reflection on the ecological transition of the site.


(Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu)

Organic Emergence

The installation emerges organically from the landscape, dictated by the site rather than imposed upon it. SYN Architects blur the lines between architecture and the natural world by freely exploring material gestures and found forms. Spectators are invited to engage with the work, shifting the emphasis from the qualities of the installation to the aesthetic values of the exchanges involved in the investigative process.

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Understanding Subjectivity

Central to SYN Architects' approach is an understanding of subjectivity about positionality. Drawing inspiration from Rosi Braidotti's concept of the 'nomadic subject,' they embrace a fluid epistemological condition that refuses fixity and allows for articulating alternative realities. This perspective informs the discovery process of the more significant site, fostering new relationships between subject and object.


(Photo:  Lance Gerber)

Evolving Interpretations

The installation is designed to remain interpretable, evolving from the found forms and adapting to its surroundings over time. It operates within the existing site, revealing new layers of life and identity through transformation. Grounded in considerations of time, memory, materiality, and occupation, the intervention heightens awareness of the surrounding ecology. It creates a space for contemplation and meaning within the familiar landscape of AlUla.

The Desert X installation by SYN Architects invites viewers on a transformative journey of exploration and discovery, challenging conventional notions of art and architecture through innovative site-specific intervention. By their skillful sync of forms and materials with AlUla's raw nature, the architects blur the boundary between invented visuals and true world characteristics and thus, at the same time, allow for meditation upon the rapport between humans and nature. The work of art depicts what we can build when humanity works together and starts a conversation about sustainability and heritage. Through this connection, art becomes the means for opening the mystery of the Earth and inspiring the viewer to become an environmental advocate. Through SYN architect's innovative designs, the artistic function is an aesthetic expression, and platinum is used to bring about positive change. This dream of ethical beauty is for a day when art and architecture become signposts to the balanced and sustainable world we want to live in.

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