DATECRETE STUDIO & LAB DEVELOPS SLOW, HANDMADE ARCHITECTURAL OBJECTS USING DATECRETE—A DATE-PIT-BASED, CEMENT- AND RESIN-FREE CONCRETE ALTERNATIVE.

Datecrete Studio & Lab is a material research and design studio co-founded by Sara Farha and Khaled Shalkha, creators of Datecrete, a sustainable cementitious material made using date pits. Sara, an urban planner and material researcher, explores spatial and material innovation, while Khaled, a chemical engineer specializing in energy policy, focuses on alternative binders and sustainable composites. Their work redefines construction materials in the MENA region, merging science, design, and environmental responsibility to create innovative, regionally inspired solutions. Their research has been featured in GQ, Architectural Digest Middle East, and Dezeen.

Datecrete is the result of a research-driven exploration into sustainable cementitious materials that started in 2022 during the co-founders' participation in the Tanween by Tashkeel program, focusing on the potential of date pits, a widely available byproduct of the date industry. The MENA region produces millions of tons of date fruit annually, generating significant amounts of date pits that are often discarded despite their rich mineral and carbon content. Similar in composition to wood, date pits contain cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose, making them a valuable organic resource for composite materials. This research was combined with the study of regional historical building technologies, which provided insights into material durability, composition, and environmental adaptability, laying the foundation for the development of Datecrete’s optimized binder system. By integrating traditional knowledge with modern material science, Datecrete transforms agricultural byproducts into a high-performance, regionally inspired alternative to conventional building materials.

The date seed has long been an integral part of the region’s heritage, valued for its cosmetic, dietary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. In addition to its wood-like composition, its historical significance made it a compelling material for exploration. Alongside investigating the structural potential of date seeds, research also focused on traditional binder technologies—materials historically used to bond and reinforce structures across the region.

Using scientific literature as a foundation, an iterative research process was undertaken, systematically testing variables such as roast times, drying methods, particle sizes, mix ratios, and curing conditions to optimize performance. Each stage of testing provided deeper insight into how date seed particles interact with binding agents, allowing for refinements that balanced aesthetics, strength, durability, and workability. This rigorous experimentation led to the development of a lab-validated binder system that integrates regional material traditions with modern composite innovation, forming the foundation of Datecrete today.

Datecrete is available in a wide range of formats, finishes, and customizations, offering versatility for both functional and aesthetic applications. It can be cast into tiles, panels, furniture, and sculptural forms, adapting to various design needs. Available in both matte and glossy finishes, Datecrete’s surface treatments can be further customized to achieve any texture, color, pattern, or profile, ensuring seamless integration into diverse architectural and interior applications, with endless compositional possibilities.

Datecrete sample box. Made entirely from Datecrete, it is small, compact, and designed to be handled. Two sliding lids reveal a two-level interior, holding up to 13 different Datecrete textures and finishes—a material archive in your hand. Beyond just samples, the box itself can be repurposed—as a container, display piece, or something entirely your own.

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّخۡلِ مِن طَلۡعِهَا قِنۡوَانٞ دَانِيَةٞ ٱنظُرُوٓاْ إِلَىٰ ثَمَرِهِۦٓ إِذَآ أَثۡمَرَ وَيَنۡعِهِۦٓۚ

And from palm trees come clusters of dates hanging within reach. Look at their fruit as it yields and ripens!

(Qur'an, Surah Al-An’am 6:99)

Perhaps no other tree has accompanied human civilization as intimately as the date palm. It is a fixture in landscapes both physical and cultural, a symbol of endurance and generosity. For millennia, it has provided food, shelter, and raw materials, woven into the daily lives and mythologies of the people who have relied on it. And yet, for all its familiarity today, it is easy to overlook.

Perhaps the sacred tree in Mesopotamian inscriptions was the date palm itself. In Mesopotamian mythology, the tree was bound to Inanna/Ishtar, goddess of love and fertility, with temple hymns praising date groves as spaces of divine favor. In ancient Egypt, temple columns were carved to resemble palm trunks, and inscriptions on temple walls reflected its significance in both daily and spiritual practices. Believed to be associated with eternal life, the palm was seen shading the afterlife in tomb depictions, while its fronds were placed in burial sites as symbols of resurrection and renewal.

The symbolism of the palm stretches beyond Mesopotamia and Egypt, appearing in biblical texts as well. In the Book of Psalms (92:12), the righteous are likened to the palm tree:

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

(Book of Psalms, (92:12))

This image of resilience, endurance and longevity echoes across Christian traditions, where the palm represents peace, triumph, and divine favor. The fronds of the tree were laid before Jesus during his entry into Jerusalem, marking a moment of reverence and celebration.

The palm is not only a provider but a presence on the tip of the tongue, woven into language and song. In Iraq, the phrase “above the palm tree” (فوق النخل) is an idiom used to express euphoria, satisfaction, or joy–in response to the question, “How are you?” It is also the title of a widely popular Iraqi folk song that depicts longing and a desire for that which shines from above the palm trees, the beloved’s cheek or the celestial light above:

فوق النخل فوق يابه فوق النخل فوق مدري لمع خده يابه مدري القمر فوق

Above the palm trees, father, above the palm trees, above I don't know if it’s his cheek that’s shining, I don't know if it’s the moon above.

(Fog al-Nakhal)

But beyond its sacred past, the palm tree has remained present, standing at the center of human struggle. In Youssef Chahine’s The Land (1969), the palm is ever-present–not as ornament, but as a quiet sentinel.

Nearly every frame holds its towering form, its roots buried deep in the soil of a village fighting for survival. As the farmers resist the forces threatening to strip them of their land, the palm stands–fragile yet unyielding–a reminder of what is at stake. Silent spectators to cycles of oppression and resistance, the palm trees mirror the resilience of those who fight to protect their fields. Chahine’s framing positions the palm as an active presence, embodying both the endurance and the vulnerability of the land and its people. Long a symbol of sustenance and survival, in The Land, it becomes an emblem of agrarian struggle, its towering form both a protector and a witness to the fight for belonging.

The palm’s presence, however, is not only metaphorical. It has shaped economies and agricultural landscapes for thousands of years. The resilient tree, capable of enduring extreme heat and sustaining itself in dry sand rather than soil, provided sustenance and stability across North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and Mesopotamia. The tree is thought to bring such prosperity that in Nubian traditions, a new-born child is given a date palm so that they are ensured economic stability by the time they have matured.

Its mid-ribs have been carved into Mashrabiya panels, replacing imported beech wood. In construction, palm trunks have been split and used as roof beams, doors, and structural supports, particularly in rural areas. Palm fronds, woven into baskets, mats, and screens, have shaped domestic spaces and marketplaces alike. Even the spadix stem, the part of the tree that holds the fruit clusters, has been crushed into strong fibers and used to tie agricultural crops.

Yet, despite this long tradition of sustainable use, the pit–the very nucleus (النواة) of the fruit–has remained largely overlooked in material applications. In Emirati traditions, roasted and finely ground date seeds were used in the production of organic kohl, a deep black pigment applied around the eyes for both aesthetic and medicinal purposes. In early Mesopotamian records, date seeds were documented as a currency of trade, medicine, and sustenance. Today, a small percentage of date pits are processed into sweeteners, coffee substitutes, and cosmetics–occasionally serving as raw material for activated carbon or as an adsorbent for dye-containing waters.

But in recent times, and as production has surged, vast quantities of date pits are discarded, accumulating as agricultural waste. While the palm tree has long been revered for its generosity, monoculture plantations and large-scale commercial production have transformed the once sacred, life-sustaining tree into an object of overproduction. The UAE alone produces hundreds of thousands of tonnes of dates each year. The fruit is eaten fresh and processed into syrups, confections, and pastes–but what of its pit?

Sara Farha and Khaled Shalkha’s work began with an act of noticing–of reconsidering what has always been within reach. Their idea was born from a simple observation: date pits are small, dense, and incredibly hard. Khaled, after stepping on one, compared the pain to stepping on a Lego. If something so small could hold such strength, could it be reconstituted into a material capable of bearing weight? Could the overlooked pit rival concrete, challenge wood, redefine waste itself?

Datecrete emerged from this recognition–not as a substitute, but rather as an extension of the tree’s utility, a continuation of its long history of being used to its entirety.

Once formed, Datecrete takes on a muted warmth, a density that resists mold, and a strength that rivals concrete. Unlike traditional particle board or engineered wood, which depend on synthetic glues and chemical binders, it maintains its integrity through its own molecular composition. Made primarily from crushed seeds, it challenges the assumption that durability in construction must come from industrially processed materials such as resin or cement. More than an alternative material, it repositions the overlooked and discarded as something foundational, asking whether waste, too, can bear weight.

Perhaps the date palm had been waiting all along–to be reconsidered. If palm midribs have already replaced imported woods, could Datecrete do the same for concrete? Could it redefine how we think about organic materials in architecture, not as waste, but as structure? If the past lingers in what we leave behind, then rethinking waste is not just an act of sustainability–it is an act of memory, of reclamation, and of seeing possibility where others see excess.