Constructing Ecosystems
Individual Master Dissertation studio 26-27
Max 3 students
Tutor: Jan Wurm
EN
Brussels
Materials Making Change – constructing bioregional and ecological relationships between land, resources, people and building
“The marvel of a basket is in its transformation, its journey from wholeness as a living plant to fragmented strands and back to wholeness again as a basket” (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
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, addressing climate change and environmental degradation. Constructing Ecosystems aspires to make positive changes towards a post-humancentric approach by embedding architecture in the context of regional ecological challenges, resources and natural agencies. Next to mapping the selected region and its resources, and the architectural intervention, the research focuses on a design by making approach to produce physical prototypes synthesizing the micro scale of materials, the mezzo scale of architecture and the macro scale of reginal ecology. 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 are architectural tectonics and aesthetics be informed by regenerative resource flows of the place? How can architecture be an enabler for the transition towards regenerative land-use?
Each student will select a bioregion that they can travel to at least three times over the course of the dissertation: Within the selected region, students will identify and describe an ecological challenge related to climate change, resource extraction, pollution or denaturalization. Students will develop a strategy to transform processes and practices, employing the agency of natural systems and cultivated materials, to establish a regenerative material toolbox, driving regenerative change in the region, exploring specific materials, technologies and processes (3). Students will engage with key stakeholders from the location, to outline regenerative material flows, from harvesting to assembly.
For all students, prior reading of the book “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants” is a pre-requisite.
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 approach 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 caretaking. 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 2027 for the “New European Bauhaus Rising Stars” Category.
Deliverables
- Map of the bioregion with key places and geological features; resources and, material related processes synthesizing ecological, physical and cultural information (scale 1:100.000 – 1:10.000),
- Regenerative Material 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 architectural design (M 1:20), Axonometry of the house with technical description of key components and physical model (M 1:10 – M 1:1)
- Material Logbook and Dissertation booklet synthesizing research, experiments and design
Literature List
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, 2020
Charles, L., Dodge, J., Milliman, L., & Stockley, V. (1981). Where you at? A bioregional quiz. Coevolution Quarterly, 32, 1.
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.
Bioregioning, Future Observatory Journal Issue 1, April 2024 https://fojournal.org/
Daniel Christian Wahl, Designing Regenerative Cultures, 2016
Kirkpatrick Sale: Dwellers in the Land, 200056
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.
Material Cultures – Material Reform: Building for a Post-Carbon Future, 2022
Paul Hawken, Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation, 2021
Material Cultures, Circular Biobased Construction in the North East and Yorkshire, 2021
Billy Fleming, Design With Nature Now, Lincoln, 2019
Wearne S, Hubbard E, Jónás K & Wilke M (2023) A learning journey into contemporary bioregionalism. People and Nature.
Hubbard E, Wearne S, Jónás K, Norton J & Wilke M (2023) Where are you at? Re‐engaging bioregional ideas and what they offer geography.
Capra F, Luisi PL. Frontmatter. In: The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. Cambridge University Press; 2014:i-iv.
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
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
Regenerative land use in Scotland: https://www.thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative/2023/11/21/dark-matter-scottish-land-commission-paper, https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/downloads/655b1bb264fac_SLC-DML_Discussion-Paper_for%20publication.pdf
Regenerative Farming: https://www.climavore.org/, https://www.rca.ac.uk/research-innovation/research-centres/climavore-x-jameel-at-rca/
Local advanced manufacturing: https://royaldanishacademy.com/en/case/bio-local-advanced-manufacture, https://royaldanishacademy.com/en/case/living-prototypes
NEB Project – Cultivating Companionship: https://www.linahuelsmann.com/cultivating-companionship/