# Design Research, 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/ ## Timber Mosques of Kerala | Architecture as Cultural Synthesis Strand: Design Research. Led by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed, Collaborative Architecture. Collaborative Lab documented a group of historic timber mosques in Kerala in collaboration with Professor K. T. Ravindran and a team led by conservation architect Savita Rajan. Tracing the architectural expression of Islam along Kerala’s historic trading coast, the research examines how early mosques emerged through an exchange between religious traditions and indigenous building practices. Rather than reproducing imported architectural forms, these structures evolved from local timber construction, craftsmanship, and spatial traditions, offering insight into how architecture mediates cultural exchange and acquires meaning through place and rootedness. - Collaborators: Prof. K. T. Ravindran, Savita Rajan Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/lab/#lab-design-research-timber-mosques-of-kerala-archi ## Project Brick | Reconsidering a Fundamental Building Material Strand: Design Research. Led by Lalita Tharani and Mujib Ahmed, Collaborative Architecture. Project Brick investigates the brick’s enduring influence on architectural form, urban development, and the relationship between cities and their hinterlands. As countries restrict traditional brickmaking to protect agricultural land and reduce emissions, the research examines how this ubiquitous material can evolve in response to environmental and resource constraints. It explores practices of material reuse, including *wapan*, popularized internationally through the work of architect Wang Shu, alongside cleaner production methods and the supply networks that connect urban construction to the landscapes that sustain it. ### From material tradition to circularity By examining the connections between material production, reuse, and regional resource systems, Project Brick questions the linear processes through which cities consume and discard building materials. It seeks to identify pathways toward a more circular material economy, where established building traditions and emerging production methods inform a more resource-conscious architectural future. Page: https://collaborativearchitecture.com/lab/#lab-design-research-project-brick-reconsidering-a- ## 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)