Ecolopes studio: post antropocentric 3d modular residential buildings
Studio theme
The studio tries to suggest a new approach to the conception of residential buildings by creating a synergy between three themes:
1. Ecolopes - multi-species approach the building envelope
2. 3D modular construction
3. Developing a new approach to residential building design
Theme 1: Ecolopes - multi-species approach to the building envelope
The first theme will be developed in collaboration with a studio in TU WIEN headed by Professor Michael Hensel. The theme is based on an EU grant recently won by a group of researchers, including both collaborating studios - see https://www.ecolopes.org
Ecological building enveLOPES: a game-changing design approach for regenerating urban ecosystems (Ecolopose project mission). "Urbanization constitutes a major environmental issue of the 21st century. In cities, densification, the decrease of green open spaces, and continued reliance on grey infrastructure approaches result in increased separation of people from nature and decreased access to ecosystem services. This decreases the livability of cities and reduces human well-being. Current approaches fail to provide breakthrough solutions because they perpetuate the human-nature dichotomy due to anthropocentric design. In ECOLOPES, we propose a radical change for city development: instead of minimizing the negative impact of Urbanization on nature, we aim for Urbanization to be planned and designed such that nature – including humans – can co-evolve within the city. We envisage a radically new integrated ecosystem approach to architecture that focuses equally on humans, plants, animals, and associated organisms such as microbiota. Over the next few years, ECOLOPES will provide the technology to help achieve this vision".
Theme 2: 3D modular construction
3D modular buildings are an efficient way to increase buildings' quality and decrease construction time. The studio will review the history and state-of-the-art design ideas in 3D modular buildings. Based on this review, students will be asked to develop an individual design approach for residential 3D modular buildings for a typical contemporary residential building in Tel Aviv/Haifa.
Theme 3: Developing a new approach to residential building design
Students will be asked to develop an individual experimental and critical approach to residential buildings in the 21st century about the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic and other trends in research on residential buildings. The studio project will be based on a collaborative database, including a literature review on residential buildings and a precedent-critical evaluation of exemplary contemporary residential buildings in Israel and abroad.
Link to sample student work:
Image: Shahat Shavit