2020-2023

Research Project: Culture of Making

Location: Sweida, Syria

Collaborations: Damaa Al Abdalla

Area: 4 m2

The Qash Plate experiment collaborates with weavers in southern Syria to create architectural-scale objects using straw coiling. Imagining roofs as woven rather than built, the project reinterprets straw plates as horizontal surfaces of straw and mud. By integrating Finite Element Method design with traditional weaving, the process aligns fibers along stress lines of a slab, providing resistance where needed. The plates were crafted during the harvest season, embracing a slow, reflective approach that balanced design and craftsmanship. This fusion of technology and tradition reimagines vernacular techniques, emphasizing sustainability and the interplay between material, structure, and time..