PIN–UP’s Desert issue features Forensic Architecture, Ra Paulette, Oana Stănescu, Chris Kraus, Studio Anne Holtrop, Eric N. Mack, Umberto Riva, OMA, Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, Michael Anastassiades, Sarah Ortmeyer, Ra Paulette, and much more (including a machine elf’s guide to desert flora by Carlos Sáez).

Hot, dry, and hostile to (human) life, deserts the world over continue to be the subject of both fascination and fear. Their indomitable conditions have posed a challenge to many an adventurous spirit, from artists, architects, and businessmen to engineers and even entire governments. Perhaps these self-anointed pioneers are looking to widen their consciousness, or to build glitzy oases of glass and steel; maybe they’re erecting scientific test sites, or simply using the “wild” as a nuclear dump; but what they all have in common is their preconception of the desert as an empty space, a tabula rasa, an outlet for the perpetual human urge to conquer, colonize, build, and generally do whatever they want...

PIN–UP’s Desert issue features Forensic Architecture, Ra Paulette, Oana Stănescu, Chris Kraus, Studio Anne Holtrop, Eric N. Mack, Umberto Riva, OMA, Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu, Michael Anastassiades, Sarah Ortmeyer, Ra Paulette, and much more (including a machine elf’s guide to desert flora by Carlos Sáez).

Hot, dry, and hostile to (human) life, deserts the world over continue to be the subject of both fascination and fear. Their indomitable conditions have posed a challenge to many an adventurous spirit, from artists, architects, and businessmen to engineers and even entire governments. Perhaps these self-anointed pioneers are looking to widen their consciousness, or to build glitzy oases of glass and steel; maybe they’re erecting scientific test sites, or simply using the “wild” as a nuclear dump; but what they all have in common is their preconception of the desert as an empty space, a tabula rasa, an outlet for the perpetual human urge to conquer, colonize, build, and generally do whatever they want...