Honorable Mention
2019 Skyscraper Compettion
PIN Architects + Kalebodur Team
Salih Kucuktuna, Fikret Sungay, Mert Sezer, Ekin Arslan, Erdem Gunsur, Hande Mumcu, Oznur Pehlivan, Yildiz Yildirim, Eda Cidamal Erdogmus
Turkey
The Philosophy of Architecture
From Vitruvius to Le Corbusier, A.gaudi to Z.hadid, architects are constantly adapting to new situations by developing their own methodology and by continuously pushing the boundaries. From the Pantheon to the Bilbao Museum by Gehry, architects are also building under different conditions, sometimes by following principles of architecture and sometimes by challenging them. The tension that exists between the architects and the age in which they belong creates this evolution. Our environments are constantly forcing us to discover.
Unfortunately, this process has had a dramatic breaking point in the middle of last century. In the second half of the 20th century we built massive quantities of buildings, which caused the cities to get more and more crowded. Architects, urban planners, engineers and other professionals began to feel more helpless about the complexity of the problems in the cities. Architecture lost its appeal as cities began to strive to meet the housing demand through the mass production of buildings. We are hoping the first quarter of the 21st century is a turning point and we will see the wind change in a more positive way.
The Team & The Methodology
This inquiry is based on creative ideas derived from multidisciplinary collaboration supported with scientific research and experimentations.
A team of individuals from different fields (architecture and design, molecular biology and genetics, materials engineering, chemical engineering, business and strategic design) have combined ideas from each field developing innovative outcomes which were then put to test both in theory and practice through laboratory experimentations.
The primary goal of the project is to render a solution for the future which is based purely on scientific theory and experimentations orchestrated with the opportunities of today.
The Problem
Concrete is the most widely accepted and used material for construction worldwide. Because of its ease of use and application concrete is one of the primary reasons for uncontrolled, irresponsible and unsustainable rapid and vertical urbanization worldwide. The effects of uncontrolled concrete urbanization have economic, social and environmental impacts around the globe.
Besides these factors, concrete is a material which is very hard to recycle. Recycling concrete and transforming concrete structures requires high amounts of energy consumption and pollutes the natural environment.
The Solution
The proposed solution is a suggestion towards transforming existing concrete structures rather than building new ones.
A novel bio-chemical pathway and methodology is theorized through scientific observation and experimentation to convert existing concrete structures into natural habitats which are able to regulate and re-organize their systems, respond and adapt to their environment and endure by evolving.
A patented geopolymer foam material is to be converted into a living tissue by the addition of a genetically modified strain of bacteria which are able to dissolve concrete and turn it into natural stone (calcite) by the extracellular secretion of a specific enzyme. The bio-engineered cocktail of concrete-dissolving material is thought to be 3D printed on existing concrete structures, since the foam material expands in volume over time.
The Purpose
Humanity deserves a better quality of living environment. So today’s thinkers, scientist, architects, makers, young entrepreneurs, designers and urban planners are more focusing on how to make things better through the use of new technology and multi-disciplinary collaborations. The aim is to focus more on reuse, repair, resilience instead of consuming resources and building more.
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