Constructing Ecosystems

Individual master dissertation studio 25-26

Tutor: Jan Wurm

Max 2 students

Individual Master Dissertation Constructing Ecosystems 2025/26

Material Cultures – Building bioregional relationships between land, people and materials

How long is the growing season? (1)

The series of master dissertations on “Constructing Ecosystems” provides the opportunity for research through design and making, combining traditional design skills with systems thinking. The objective is to develop plausible spatial narratives that embrace the complex multi-scalarity of our built and living environment by relating the architectural intervention with the micro scale of materiality and the macro scale of ecosystems. Constructing Ecosystems aspires to make positive change by making sense of complexity and making prototypes synthesizing the micro, mezzo and macro scales. This dissertation encompasses a research part (2/3) and a design part (1/3).

The brief focuses on place-based experimentation rooted in the concept of bioregion. A bioregion or ecoregion is commonly defined as “a distinct area with coherent and interconnected plant and animal communities, and natural systems, often defined by a watershed”, that interconnects the land with human culture and non-human life. “[Bioregion] refers both to a geographical terrain and a terrain of consciousness to a place and the ideas that have developed about how to live in that place” (2). Bioregions can bridge the dichotomies between Nature and Culture, acting as a catalyst for ecological stewardship and regenerative design. How is architectural tectonics and aesthetics informed by the materials of the place ? How is the transition to regenerative agriculture and regenerative architecture entangled?

Each student will select a bioregion that they are close to and can travel to at least twice over the course of the dissertation. You will engage with stakeholders from the location resources are excavated or harvested, processed, assembled and experienced. You will relate traditions and current approaches of agriculture or forestry and architecture with novel techniques and technologies to design a building practice that contributes to the regeneration of the region. The objective is that you as a designer will engage deeply with the place, understanding the geological and climatic conditions, the flora and fauna, the social history, the existing and emerging (agricultural) industries aiming to develop a material culture, adopted to the resources available in the bioregion, exploring the variety of specific materials, products and processes (3).

For this edition of this master dissertation, there is the unique opportunity to work on the Paarl Ecoregion in the Western Cape of South Africa. The PROEFPLAAS site, an agricultural site inactive for more than 20 years, close to the centre of Paarl. The Paarl ecoregion in the Western Cape is known for is characterized by fynbos – a shrubland vegetation type unique to the Western Cape, known for its high plant diversity and the Mediterranean climate that supports thriving vineyards. It is part of the larger Cape Floristic Region, a biodiversity hotspot, and features unique geological Biodiversity. hotspot, with numerous endemic plant and animal species.

The student(s) choosing the Paarl ecoregion in South Africa, will be supported by guest professor Johannes Berry to arrange on-site meetings with local stakeholders. It is the intention that the outcome of this master dissertation will be part of an exhibition on site to initiate the re-development of the Proefplaas.

The project entails the following phases:

Phase 1 (semester 1): in-depth research and mapping on communities, (agri)cultures, and resources of the selected region, collating an observatory of resources and related processes and actors, identifying opportunities for regenerative transformation. During the atelier week you will plan and execute your discovery journey through the region to engage with real people and places, collect information, material probes (min 10) and stories; speak with key stakeholders and find inspiration. At the end of the week you will present the collections on a large scale map.

Phase 2 (first 4 weeks of semester 2): Select key material(s) and value chains to develop a regional material culture and manufacturing and construction processes to interweave land use, materials, technologies and communities with best practices from other places, e.g. diving deep into a regional network of natural fiber flows from farmers, processors, textile producers and consumers. Making, testing and prototyping will be a key part of this process.

Phase 3 (semester 2): Showcasing the bioregional material culture through the development of a construction approach and design of a building intervention (new built or renovation) at a key location demonstrating the regional material culture and regenerative practices of living, understanding and ecological care-taking. The design generates desired interactions between the house, the inhabitants, the land and its communities, improving inter-relationships.

You are strongly encouraged and supported to submit your project to the NEB Prices in 2026 for the “New European Bauhaus Rising Stars” Category.

Deliverables

Map of the bioregion with key places and geological features; stakeholders, material related processes synthesizing ecological, physical and cultural information (scale 1:100.000 – 1:10.000),
Material Culture Inventory – following materials from its source to part of a building system; synthesizing technical; processing, aesthetic and social aspects (M 1:1).
Construction toolkit for application of the materials for the new construction or renovation of an existing building
Design drawings of the house (M 1:20), Axonometry of the house with technical description of key components and physical model (M 1:10 – M 1:1)
Material Culture Logbook and Dissertation booklet synthesizing research, experiments and design

Literature List

1 Charles, L., Dodge, J., Milliman, L., & Stockley, V. (1981). Where you at? A bioregional quiz. Coevolution Quarterly, 32, 1.

2 Peter Berg and Raymond Dasmann ‘Reinhabiting California’ in Cheryll Glotfelty and Eve Quesnel (Eds.), The Biosphere and the Bioregion: Essential Writings of Peter Berg. London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015.

3 Bioregioning, Future Observatory Journal Issue 1, April 2024 https://fojournal.org/

4 Daniel Christian Wahl, Designing Regenerative Cultures, 2016

5 Kirkpatrick Sale: Dwellers in the Land, 200056

6 John Thackara, Bioregioning: Pathways to Urban-Rural Reconnection, She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2019,Pages 15-28,ISSN 2405-8726, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2019.01.002.

7 Material Cultures – Material Reform: Building for a Post-Carbon Future, 2022

8 Paul Hawken, Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation, 2021

9 Material Cultures, Circular Biobased Construction in the North East and Yorkshire, 2021

10 Billy Fleming, Design With Nature Now, Lincoln, 2019

11 Wearne S, Hubbard E, Jónás K & Wilke M (2023) A learning journey into contemporary bioregionalism. People and Nature.

12 Hubbard E, Wearne S, Jónás K, Norton J & Wilke M (2023) Where are you at? Re‐engaging bioregional ideas and what they offer geography.

13 Capra F, Luisi PL. Frontmatter. In: The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. Cambridge University Press; 2014:i-iv.

14 Dowling, R., Lloyd, K., & Suchet-Pearson, S. (2017). Qualitative methods II: ‘More-than-human’ methodologies and/in praxis. Progress in Human Geography, 41(6), 823–831. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132516664439

15 Jan Boemen et al, Atelier LUMA (2024) Bioregional Design Practices — Pratiques de design biorégional, les projets et recherches menés par Atelier LUMA entre 2019 et 2023

Useful Links

Bioregions: https://thackara.com/

Systematic design: https://systemicdesignlabs.ethz.ch/,

Designing Regenerative Cultures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9WA1IIohq0

Regenerative Futures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwaI29aNsSk

Chair of Affective Architecture: https://www.fonteyne.arch.ethz.ch/en/

Biodiversity in Belgium: https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=be

Blue and green infrastructure in Flanders: https://blauwgroenvlaanderen.be/

Regenerative Farming/ https://soilmates.be/

Agroforestry in Belgium: https://www.renature.co/articles/agroforestry_in_flanders_belgium/

Bioregion UK: https://southwestenglandfibreshed.co.uk/

Regenerative agriculture in Denmark: https://web-assets.bcg.com/a0/71/59d6ae4f40c4a8b81bfecba3afd7/bcg-the-potential-of-regenerative-agriculture-in-denmark-feb-2024.pdf