# Architectural Cartographies, Collaborative Lab

Speculative futures

Collaborative Lab is the studio’s research platform, investigating emerging questions through research, prototyping and policy advocacy to anticipate the forces shaping architecture in the decades ahead and translate these insights into practice.

## 1 × 1 | The Material Cartography of Contemporary Architecture in Bahrain

Strand: Architectural Cartographies, Design Research. Led by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed, Collaborative Architecture.

Proposed by Collaborative Lab for the Bahrain Pavilion at the 2027 Venice Biennale, 1 × 1 examines the material footprint of a single square meter of built space in Bahrain. Tracing the origins, logistics, energy, and embodied carbon of the materials that shape the country’s built environment, the research situates Bahrain’s material dependencies within a comparative regional framework measured against relevant United Nations climate benchmarks.

Moving beyond diagnosis, the proposal explores pathways toward a more resource-conscious architectural future—from adaptive reuse and resilient, adaptable buildings to innovative production processes, and the enduring intelligence of vernacular construction. It positions material choice as both an architectural decision and a strategic question of environmental responsibility, resource dependency, and the future of the built environment.

- Collaborators: Dr. Ardeshir Mahdavi, Dr. Christiane Berger, Dr. Wafa Alghatam

Project page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/material-cartographies/

## The Measured City | Hidden Cartographies of the UAE

Strand: Architectural Cartographies, Design Research. Led by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed, Collaborative Architecture.

The Measured City is Collaborative Architecture’s proposal for the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates at the 2027 Venice Biennale. It positions the UAE as a laboratory for urban futures in arid regions, using data as a lens to examine how cities grow, function, and evolve. Moving beyond the familiar imagery of the region’s skylines, the exhibition maps decades of urban development across the emirates, examining livability, ecology, cultural continuity, and the networks that connect their cities. Through layered cartographies, it reveals patterns, achievements, and shortcomings that can inform future policy and design. An immersive spatial sequence invites visitors to encounter the UAE as a living, interconnected system—one whose hidden dynamics offer insights into the future of urbanism.

Project page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/work/the-measured-city/

## The Collaborative Logs

A monthly newsletter by Mujib Ahmed on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/collaborative-logs-7413949544054530048/):

- 2026 Oct: [Architecture is Located NOT Where it is Built](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/architecture-located-where-built-mujib-ahmed-ki4rc)
- 2026 Aug: [The Narrative Environment: re-imagining the contemporary retail interface](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/narrative-environment-re-imagining-contemporary-retail-mujib-ahmed-9w1rf)
- 2026 Jul: [The profession that counts carbon should count wars](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/profession-counts-carbon-should-count-wars-mujib-ahmed-9jpcc)
- 2026 Jun: [Could architecture save democracy?](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/could-architecture-save-democracy-mujib-ahmed-hcedc)
- 2026 Apr: [Architects’ Dunning–Kruger affliction](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/architects-dunning-kruger-affliction-mujib-ahmed-q678f)
- 2026 Mar: [Hidden Cartographies: perceptive phenomenologies](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/perceptive-phenomenologyies-mujib-ahmed-lsd6c)