Patrick Sisson | Curbed
When you’re an architect working in the desert, you’re bound to be inspired by nature’s adaptations to the climate. Christiana Moss, a principal and founder of Studio Ma in Phoenix, draws ideas from the fragile ecosystem, how cacti adapt to extreme sun and dryness, and how simple plants can present lessons in self-shading and adaptive design.
But for Moss and her colleagues, the lessons of the desert go much further. Founded in 2003, Studio Ma sees designing similarly evolved environments as its mission, whether its creating a new addition for a downtown campus or devising attainable infill housing projects that works amid shifting neighborhood dynamics.
“We truly think about design in terms of its space, and the space it makes,” she says. “The name of the studio actually comes from a Japanese term that means a space between things.”
Moss sees the stark nature of the Southwest as evidence that architecture, and its relationship to a natural flow, is the key to good design. It’s not just some New Age desert minimalism; it’s about systems and balance, and how when done correctly, architecture can be a restorative medium that can make a place work better.
