01

Introduction

Bio-Integrated Design

Material research and fabrication tests inform a design framework that is reconfigurable, adaptable, and regenerative, placing the material lifecycle at the centre of the design process.

Introduction

Introduction

Designing with biomaterial subverts the linear lifecycles of obsolescence and demolition. This project extends design thinking across the building’s life cycle, from birth to decay, embedding sustainability at both the cellular and urban scales.

02

Designing in Multiple Resolution

Multi-scalar Architecture

The amalgamation of different cross-section timber elements creates a corbelling effect in the prototype, accentuating the multi-scalar language of the project.

Biomaterial Cultivation and Performance

Biomaterial Cultivation and Performance

Bacterial Cellulose is synthesised as a by-product of the fermentation of a kombucha culture. The SCOBY grows through microorganisms’ metabolic processes at the liquid-air interface of the tea medium.

Bacterial SCOBY

Dried SCOBYS possess a leather-like finish, which, depending on the drying method and age of the dried sample, varies in stickiness or moisture levels. The more hydrated the dried sample, the more flexible and strong it will be.

Biomaterial Fabrication

Biomaterial Fabrication

The project explores various BC pulp application methods, examining casting, robotic printing, and biomaterial spraying as methods for conversations of scale and resolution.

Biomaterial Layering

Additive manufacturing enables the hybrid assembly to adapt and bind seamlessly along geometric edges resulting in a complex layered structure.

03

Digital Testing and Prototype Design

Digital Tests

Initial procedural models exploring multi-material assembly logic generated through iterative digital combinations that respond to environmental data such as wind or force vectors combining three functional material elements.

Prototype Studies

Prototype Studies

Hybrid fabrication processes require the establishment of strategies for assembly, both geometrically and biologically.

Bio-Integrated Design Prototype

A digitally developed scalar fabrication framework produces interlocking timber assemblies, 3D-printed BC, and dried BC sheets simulating material performance over time.

04

Tending as an act of Evolution

Biomaterial Tending

Biomaterial Tending

The project advanced towards understanding how BC could be tended within an integrated design framework. This inquiry focused on developing protocols for care and adaptation.

Prototype 4.1

A month-long study recorded material performance and environmental interaction, embracing the unruly tectonics of wear.

05

Architectural Design

Blurring Environmental Boundaries

Architectural Design

Architectural Design

Environmental feedback, material behavior, and computational simulation are interwoven to sustain adaptability, allowing the built environment to emerge as a co-evolving system of biological and architectural interactions.

Interior Render

Exterior Render

Ageing and Tending

As the architecture engages with the environment , processes of community monitoring and care become integral to its evolution. Actively reshaping the ageing of materials and transforming decay into a site of renewal, redefining the material cycle.

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