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From Structure to Soil: The Home that Grows, Dies, and Revives

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Thesis(49.67 MB)

Date

2025

Authors

Wong, Kaylee

Supervisor

Joseph, Frances
Sargent, Nick

Item type

Thesis

Degree name

Master of Architecture (Professional)

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Publisher

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

In the face of escalating climate change and construction waste, this thesis explores how biodegradable biomaterials can form the basis of a regenerative architectural model — one where buildings are not static monuments, but living, temporal systems that return to the earth and contribute to new ecological growth. Modern architecture often prioritises durability and permanence, yet the environmental crisis calls for a radical rethinking of material lifecycles — one that acknowledges temporality as an inherent condition of all living systems. Here, time is not treated as a force to resist, but as an active agent in design, guiding how buildings emerge, transform, and eventually dissolve. This research investigates how natural materials such as straw, wood, and others can be used in small-scale housing that supports both human habitation and ecological regeneration. These materials are selected for their ability to break down harmlessly at the end of life, feeding soil systems and creating conditions for plant and wildlife growth. Through a modified practice-led methodology, the thesis is structured in three phases: contextual and theoretical grounding; speculative design strategies informed by material and decomposition research; and applying findings to a speculative architectural design that embodies decomposition as a generative act. The project frames architecture as a synanthropic and posthuman practice — where materials, humans, and nonhumans co-exist and co-evolve. By engaging with temporality, degradation, and ecological cohabitation, this research reimagines architecture as a process rather than a product — a temporal practice that values change, decay, and renewal. Designing with degradation in mind, this thesis proposes a new material narrative in architecture — one where buildings are not end points, but beginnings.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20780

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Masters Theses