Conference Agenda

Recent architectural discourse has increasingly turned toward the expanded distribution of agency, particularly privileging biological and digital entities. Within this framework, the notion of aliveness—and synonyms—is frequently restricted to living systems, thereby excluding human-manufactured materials from being considered active participants in architectural processes. Yet a larger anti-anthropocentric perspective invites a broader understanding: aliveness need not be the exclusive domain of living entities but may also emerge from the contingent behaviors of human-made materials themselves. Vulcanized fiber (VF)—a chemically bonded cellulose compound derived from textile and cotton waste, and thus a biomaterial—embodies this condition. Exhibiting unpredictable responses as it transitions from wet pliability to dry rigidity, VF resists complete instrumentalization. Its expressive transformations are shaped by manual and environmental interactions, rendering it an active material rather than passive matter.

This contribution presents a design research case study that explores the collaborative co-design and co-construction of a spatial structure using vulcanized fiber. Unlike conventional construction materials, VF cannot be fully predetermined: when transitioning from wet to dry, each piece undergoes unpredictable curling, warping, and dimensional shifts. Here, aliveness is conceptualized in the persistent divergence between the geometry intended in the preliminary design and the morphology that ultimately emerges through fabrication. To engage with this variability productively, the design and construction processes employ technological tools—3D scanning, computational combinatorics, and augmented reality holographic instructions—not to enforce control, but to register and adapt to these deviations. Construction tolerances, allowances, and flexible assembly protocols become essential, making each VF element a singular participant in the collective construction.By foregrounding the incapacity to predict exact form, the project emphasizes the agency of an industrially produced biomaterial and reframes its role in architectural practice. The aliveness of VF lies precisely in its resistance to replication and its demand for negotiation in both design and assembly. This challenges the conventional dichotomy between nature and manufacture, as well as the assumption that industrial products are inert and uniform. Instead, the project demonstrates that the industrially fabricated can also introduce contingency, difference, and co-performance—forms of aliveness—into the architectural processes.

Armstrong, Rachel. 2018. Soft Living Architecture: An Alternative View of Bio-Informed Practice. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Bennett, Jane. 2010. Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.

Beesley, Philip. Hylozoic Ground: Liminal Responsive Architecture: Liminal Responsive Architecture. Riverside Architectural Press, 2020.

Coole, Diana. 2010. “The Inertia of Matter and the Generativity of Flesh.” In New Materialisms: Ontology, Agency, and Politics, edited by Diana Coole and Samantha Frost. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.

Garcia, Mark, ed. 2024. Posthuman Architectures: Theories, Designs, Technologies and Futures. Vol. 94. 1 vols. AD Architectural Design. London: Wiley.

Pasquero, Claudia, and Marco Poletto. 2023. Biodesign in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Deep Green. London and New York: Routledge.

Scholz, Ronja; Mittendorf, Roman-Marius; Engels, Jenni; Hartmaier, Alexander, and Walther, Frank. 2016. Direction-dependent mechanical characterization of cellulose-based composite vulcanized fiber, Mater. Test. 58, 813-817.

Foams are ubiquitous across industries such as construction, aerospace, furniture, and packaging. Their appeal lies in a unique combination of properties: extremely low weight relative to volume, high thermal and acoustic insulation, and the capacity to absorb shocks and impacts. Beyond utility, foams also transformed the way bodies meet surfaces, introducing softness, cushioning, and responsiveness into everyday design.

Yet most foams in use today are petroleum-based, toxic, and chemically irreversible, making them non-recyclable waste at end of life. This research addresses that condition by developing a biodegradable and thermoreversible biofoam system based on gelatin, glycerin, and water. By combining these ingredients with foaming agents such as sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, or surfactants, a castable foam is produced whose stiffness and porosity can be tuned through recipe variation. Unlike polyurethane foams, the resulting material can be re-melted, re-cast, and reintegrated into new batches, closing the material loop. Failed components or off-cuts are returned to the system, establishing the foam as a reusable medium rather than a single-use product.

To translate this into a design prototype, the research introduces a robotic casting method where a UR5e arm tilts molds during the curing process, using gravity to guide the flow of differently graded mixtures. This enables continuous gradation between softer and firmer regions without multi-part assembly. The findings demonstrate three qualities: (i) the feasibility of thermoreversible biofoam fabrication, (ii) the successful integration of robotic casting as a method for embedding gradients, and (iii) the capacity to spatialize responsiveness within a single material system. This work builds on research into functionally graded and variable-property materials in architecture, which has emphasized the potential of spatially differentiated matter to replace discrete assemblies. Potential applications include adaptive insulation panels, responsive cushioning, and graded surface assemblies that tune softness or rigidity to performance requirements. The project culminates in a curvature-driven wall panel prototype, in which zones of softness and stiffness are distributed according to surface geometry. Current limitations concern scale, environmental durability, and long-term performance, which are identified as areas for future development.

Grigoriadis, Kostas. 2016. Mixed Matters: A Multi-Material Design Compendium. Berlin: JOVIS Verlag.

Kalia, Karun, and Amir Ameli. 2024. “Additive Manufacturing of Functionally Graded Foams: Material Extrusion Process Design, Part Design, and Mechanical Testing.” Additive Manufacturing 79: 103005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2023.103945.

Kalia, Karun, David Kazmer, and Amir Ameli. 2025. “A Co-Extrusion Additive Manufacturing Process with Mixer Nozzle to Dynamically Control Blowing Agent Content and Print Functionally Graded Foams.” ACS Appl. Eng. Mater. 2025, 3, 3, 625–635 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaenm.4c00764.

Lazaro Vasquez, Eldy S., Netta Ofer, Shanel Wu, Mary Etta West, Mirela Alistar, and Laura Devendorf. 2022. “Exploring Biofoam as a Material for Tangible Interaction.” In Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’22), 1525–39. New York: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3532106.3533494.

Mogas-Soldevila, Laia, Jorge Duro-Royo, and Neri Oxman. 2015. “Form Follows Flow: A Material-Driven Computational Workflow for Digital Fabrication of Large-Scale Hierarchically Structured Objects.” In ACADIA 2015: Computational Ecologies: Design in the Anthropocene, 146–57. Cincinnati, OH: Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). http://rb.gy/9dtv9.

Mueller, Caitlin T., and Kam-Ming Mark Tam. 2017. “Additive Manufacturing Along Principal Stress Lines.” 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 4 (2): 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2017.0001.

Sabin, Jenny, Eda Begum Birol, Yao Lu, Ege Sekkin, Colby Johnson, David Moy, and Yaseen Islam. 2019. “PolyBrick 2.0: Bio-Integrative Load Bearing Structures.” In ACADIA 2019: Ubiquity and Autonomy, 222–33. Austin, TX: Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). https://doi.org/10.7298/7ky7-4e52.

With biomaterial fabrication on the rise across architecture and design, it is essential to conceive, develop, disseminate and teach tailored design strategies that address the inherent properties of biomaterials. While robotic 3D printing offers a promising platform to support such a shift in architectural production, biomaterials remain challenging due to their volatility and performance limitations. In response, two approaches have emerged: one seeks to overcome these constraints through technological innovation, while the other embraces the constraints by developing fabrication-informed design strategies that address the material´s behaviour. The student work in Figure 1 focuses on the latter by exploring how material characteristics can guide innovative design processes in the framework of a Design & Build elective course, instructed by the author. The course brief challenged students to rethink design objects or architectural components within the confines of a predetermined material system: construction timber combined with a 3D-printable paste from wood derivatives. The biomaterial mixture used is both biodegradable and suitable for circular reuse, making it well-suited for rapid prototyping in an educational context as well as for future applications in sustainable architecture. The circular material life cycle (Figure 2) is adaptable to locally available resources, as the biomaterial only contains plant fibers and gelatine. Since the 3D printed paste hardens slowly through natural drying, its physical behaviour shapes the design process. Students applied this knowledge by slowly drying 3D-printed, flat panels on a curved formwork to produce curved shingles in an otherwise unprintable shape (Figure 1a). Others applied their understanding of the material´s non-uniform, yet heuristically predictable shrinkage behaviour to fabricate conical components for a pressure arch (Figure 1b). These examples demonstrate that in biomaterial fabrication, material constraints are not merely limitations – they actively shape the design process. Thereby, material agency shifts from a (emergent) design intention to a technical asset. Beyond the communication of technical knowledge and practical research experience, the teaching initiative also trains future generations of architects in material- and fabrication-oriented design thinking by fostering problem-solving skills for complex material systems in preparation for the challenges of a world of ecological disruption and resource scarcity.

Bauer, Kilian. “Exploring Multi-Materiality: challenges and potential pathways for scaling up 3D printing of biomaterials.” Cambridge Open Engage (2025). https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2025-3h9s0 This content is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.

Grigoriadis, Kostas, and Guan Lee. 3D Printing and Material Extrusion in Architecture: Construction and Design Manual. DOM Publishers, 2024.

Kolarevic, Branko and, Kevin R. Klinger. Manufacturing Material Effects: Rethinking Design and Making in Architecture. Routledge, 2008.

Kretzer, Manuel and Sina Mostafavi. “Robotic Fabrication with Bioplastic Materials: Digital design and robotic production of biodegradable objects.” In Proceedings of the 38th eCAADe Conference Vol. 1, 603-12. Berlin: eCAADe, 2020. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2020.1.603

Mohite, Ashish, Mariia Kochneva, and Toni Kotnik. “Speed of Deposition. Vehicle for structural and aesthetic expression in CAM.” In Proceedings of the 37th eCAADe Conference Vol. 1, 729-38. Porto: eCAADe, 2019. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2019.1.729

Rasch, Miriam, Harma Staal, and Jojanneke Gijsen. Hands on Research for Artists, Designers & Educators. Set Margins’, 2024.

Rosenthal, Michael, Clara Henneberger, Anna Gutkes, and Claus-Thomas Bues. “Liquid Deposition Modeling: a promising approach for 3D printing of wood.” European Journal of Wood and Wood Products 76, no. 2 (2018): 797–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-017-1274-8

Rossi, Gabriella, Ruxandra-Stefania Chiujdea, and Laura Hochegger et al. “Integrated design strategies for multi-scalar biopolymer robotic 3d printing.” In Proceedings of the 42nd ACADIA Conference, 346-55. Philadelphia: ACADIA, 2022.

Stuart-Smith, Robert, Patrick Danahy, and Natalia La Revelo Rotta. “Topological and Material Formation. A Generative Design Framework for Additive Manufacturing Integration Material-Physics Simulation and Structural Analysis.” In In Proceedings of the 40th ACADIA Conference, 290-99. Online + Global: ACADIA, 2021.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNep). 2022 global status report for buildings and construction: Towards a zero-emission, efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector. UNep, 2022. https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/2022-global-status-report-buildings-and-construction

Developed within the framework of an ongoing PhD in architecture, this design research project examines how environmentally conscious design decisions that account for ideological, behavioural, material, and spatial implications can shape architecture across multiple scales. From urban morphology and building typologies to surface articulation and micro-material detail, the research positions architecture as a medium of cultural agency and ecological responsibility rather than a neutral problem-solving tool.

The project combines design theory, historical analysis, and empirical material experimentation, using contemporary digital fabrication as both a conceptual lens and an operational platform. At its centre is a series of 3D-printed sand samples to test how formal variation and geometric resolution affect environmental performance. Each component's outer facing surface is set at a specific level of detail, with LOD00 having a flat, continuous surface, LOD01 introducing moderate articulation, and LOD02 featuring higher-resolution complexity. Working across these three resolutions reveals how shifts in geometry and texture shape the material’s behaviour, thereby cultivating distinct surface delineations under weathering tests.

To broaden the scope of results, components are produced by two manufacturers using different sand-printing technologies and binder systems. Additionally, these samples are treated with various coatings, such as water-repellent and UV-resistant coatings, to examine how surface treatments interact with geometry and environmental exposure. This enables an elemental comparison of how different material and design choices impact the durability of the samples, their potential for reuse, and their resistance to local meteorological conditions.

The study treats resolution not merely as a formal or aesthetic choice but as a performative and conceptual variable that informs material lifespan, spatial expression, and environmental responsiveness. Rather than dismissing ornament and surface complexity as decorative, the research positions them as critical drivers of circularity and design intention.

The theoretical framework draws on Vilém Flusser’s critique of design as programmatic control, Philippe Morel’s digital rationalism and modular automation, and Albert Farwell Bemis’s vision of prefabricated construction. Through the synthesis of theoretical inquiry and material practice, this project proposes a model of architecture that is materially specific, ecologically informed, and critically engaged with the complexities of contemporary design.

Bemis, Albert Farwell. 1936. The Evolving House. Vol. III, Rational Design. Cambridge, MA: Technology Press (MIT).

Flusser, Vilém. Vom Stand der Dinge: Eine kleine Philosophie des Design. Edited by Fabian Wurm. Göttingen: Steidl, 2022. ISBN 978-3-96999-069-8

Morel, Philippe, and Henriette Bier, eds. 2023. Disruptive Technologies: The Convergence of New Paradigms in Architecture. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14160-7