TELECITY

Concepts | Ideas | Research

At MDS, our exploratory projects represent ongoing forays into critical areas of architectural research—ranging from sustainability and emerging materials to modular systems, prefabrication, live-work dynamics, and more. These investigations allow us to test ideas, challenge conventions, and imagine new possibilities for how architecture can shape the future of living, working, and building.

One such project is Telecity (above) —a standalone, net-zero, off-grid city designed around a dense, culture-centered urban core. The city gradually transitions outward in concentric rings of decreasing density, integrating housing, light industry, fulfillment infrastructure, agriculture, renewable energy production, and untouched natural landscapes. Telecity is a conceptual framework for a more resilient, self-sustaining urban model—one that places community, ecology, and adaptability at its center.

  • The home office building combines residential and commercial space in a fresh way: office space is stacked on top of units, “zipping” them together into one building. The functions are segregated such that office floors are accessed by separate elevators from a separate ground floor lobby; yet, internal stairs connect office and residential within the units.

  • This theoretical tower combines office, residential, hotel, retail, parking and public space in a single vertical expression that angles forward like the prow of a ship.

  • The concept for this tiny house is based on the simple form of a precast concrete underground culvert. Using a special concrete mix that replaces Portland cement with an algae-based compound (the Portland cement production process is harmful to the environment). A self-supporting structural shell is created, inside of which a small living space is built. The open ends of the tube are enclosed with glass, creating a comfortable, cave-like character. The glass can be inset from the end of the cylinder to make room for a covered outdoor space.

  • The design strategy here attempts to “touch” the earth as minimally as possible. The home is designed on a long “spindle” that’s driven into the ground anywhere in nature and supported by guy wires. The spindle digs its own well and creates a localized septic field. Energy is provided by integrated solar panels and a wind turbine.

    Delivered by helicopter and accessed by manned drone, there is no need to cut roads or bring utilities to the home, dramatically reducing the impact on its natural surroundings.

  • This Dubai monument tower is modeled after an Arabian sword and conceived as a folded concrete plane infilled with a series of steel viewing platforms that can be accessed by elevators and a central stair. Naturally ventilated and protected from the sun, the tower uses minimal energy while giving visitors a memorable cultural experience.

  • This proposal is for a building containing a dining room and a majalis (Arabic meeting space) for His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. The design is based on a cylinder laid on its side and anchored into the ground. The diagonal structural system creates a rhythmic ornamentation and, in combination with the cylindrical shape, gives the majalis a dynamic vaulted ceiling. Layering of transparent and opaque materials change the degree of enclosure, light and view in alignment with the needs of the interior functions. The materials form a canopy at the entrance, a bright and airy lobby, and a dimmer, moodier character at the inwardly focus majalis and dining areas.

  • Numismatic World is a museum dedicated to the history and study of coins. The design is modeled after a bank vault, the vault door being a large glass wall with an LED light matrix that can display different coins or other graphics. The interior of the museum carries on the vault concept, with galleries designed as smaller spaces within the main volume of the “vault”.