Anne Nequette is currently pursuing research for a comparative study of sustainable practices for hot, arid climates, using case studies from the American Southwest, Australia, and Southern Spain. Sustainable practices are considered in their broadest sense to include a balance of universal and local materials and technologies, construction that has both a lasting core and built-in flexibility, and cultural needs for individuals and communities that are both global and regional. Her first phase of research was begun in Australia 2003, continued in the American Southwest in 2004, and was extended to Spain in the summer of 2005 with visits to the offices and buildings of many of Spain's leading architects.