SYMBIOTIC ARCHITECTURE
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This project began as an investigation in to the
nature of parasitic architecture. The term suggests
a symbiotic relationship of which parasitism
is one thread when typically commensalism
or mutualism would more aptly describe the
relationship between most examples of ‘parasitic
architecture’ as the host is rarely harmed.
This caused me to re-frame the term ‘parasite’ as
the French philosopher Michel Serres employs the
term: to mean an ‘other’. A parasite in this sense
allows us to re-frame the host through a new lens.
The coupling of the two creates a new thing whose
worth can not be determined by simply adding the
value of the individuals. The parasite often creates
a commentary on the nature of it’s host or of the
temporal context in which the two are connected.
The project to explore this idea looks at repurposing banal horizontal surfaces as a substrate
for urban farming. Small autonomous climbing
pods maneuver to position themselves in a
microclimate best suited to grow their payload.
The resulting pattern speaks to the specificity of
the site and what plants are carried by each pod.
Adaptive Re-use
Resourcefulness
Topological
Guerilla Intervention
Shared Infrastructure
Symbiosis
Contextual Dialogue
‘The Other’
Juxtaposition
Biological Determinance
SYMBIOTIC ARCHITECTURE
1st YEAR MASTER CHARETTE
Programmatic Diversity