Pioneering Construction Materials through Prototypological Research.

Felix Heisel,Dirk E Hebel

doi:10.3390/biomimetics4030056

Abstract

The article at hand follows the understanding that future cities cannot be built the same way as existing ones, inducing a radical paradigm shift in how we produce and use materials for the construction of our habitat in the 21st century. In search of a methodology for an integrated, holistic, and interdisciplinary development of such new materials and construction technologies, the chair of Sustainable Construction at KIT Karlsruhe proposes the concept of “prototypological” research. Coined through joining the terms “prototype” and “typology”, prototypology represents a full-scale application, that is an experiment and proof in itself to effectively and holistically discover all connected aspects and address unknowns of a specific question, yet at the same time is part of a bigger and systematic test series of such different typologies with similar characteristics, yet varying parameters. The second part of the article applies this method to the research on mycelium-bound building materials, and specifically to the four prototypologies MycoTree, UMAR, Rumah Tambah, and Futurium. The conclusion aims to place the results into the bigger research context, calling for a new type of architectural research.

Highlights

The article at hand follows the understanding that future cities cannot be built the same way as existing ones, inducing a radical paradigm shift in how we produce and use materials for the construction of our habitat in the 21st century
Construction at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Germany and the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) Singapore concentrates its research on alternative materials and their building application in specific contextual settings by taking into account the metabolism of material resources, local human capacities, and accessible skills and technologies
The method we propose allows for a dispersed understanding of the architectural body in order to be informed and reintroduce knowledge into a continuous development loop of adaptation

Summary

Alternative Construction Materials

The construction industry today represents one of the biggest sinks of energy and raw materials, accounting for an estimated 32% of global energy consumption, 25% of CO2 emissions, 12% of water use, 40% of waste generated (by mass), and 40% of materials used [1,2]. The research follows two strong convictions: The future city cannot be built within today’s wasteful linear economic system but requires new alternative materials and circular construction technics; and the 21st century will face a radical paradigm shift in how we produce materials for the construction of our habitat [3,4]. It calls for an adequate research methodology and/or method combining the many interdisciplinary aspects concerned, as well as spanning the bridge from basic research to application

Approaching Architectural Research

Through Prototypological Research

Construction

Findings

Conclusions