Regenerative Architecture Lab

Hoping for answers to the origins and cures of human diseases, the Human Genome Project was initiated almost two decades ago. Surprisingly, it revealed that genetic information accounts for only 10% of human illnesses, while the remaining 90% are caused by what we eat, what we wear and most of all which environment we live in. Contrary to general beliefs, many conventional building materials today contain harmful substances, most of which actually comply with regulatory frameworks. Part of the problem might be that the selection of materials during the design process is often subsumed under the rubrics of aesthetics, performance and price. This seminar seeks to retrieve the inherent values of materials by specifically focusing on questions of health, ranging from the scale of the construction detail to broader social and political implications.

This course focuses on the domestic environment. Especially during the recent global pandemic, our homes became much more than shelter. They can be understood as safe heavens of health — merging home, work, school, recreation and even occasionally health care functions into the same space. Our houses deserve a paradigm shift in the way we design and construct, utilizing materials that maximize our personal wellbeing, health and safety.

The aim of this seminar is to “peel away” the material layers of a selected domestic building in order to locate the hidden hazards within. Informed by research, group discussions, readings and input lectures, students develop a thorough understanding of materials’ compositions, production processes and local applications as well as associated global issues. In response to an individual investigation of specific housing precedents, students “invent” alternative construction systems and test their implications on design strategies.