Site Area : 2,500 m2
Building Area : 1,600 m2
Location : Non-Fixed / Context-Responsive (From dense urban centers to ecological edges)
1. Background & Philosophical Proposition
“Let the Space Breathe” is not merely a building, but an architectural proposition—an exploration of an alternative to the emphasis on permanence, control, and fixed enclosure that has shaped much of modern architecture over the past century. While conventional design often imposes structural logic onto people and environments through steel and glass, this research demonstrates that space can instead be responsive and organically transient. Designed as a grand-scale nomadic structure (50m H / 40m W), the project treats any ground as its origin. It takes temporary material form without being bound to a fixed address, leaving the site fundamentally changed upon its disassembly.
[Spatial Concept Sketches] _ image above
2. The Three-Part Material and Construction System
The architecture manifests through a meticulously engineered tripartite material system that balances structural stability with organic volatility:
a. The Primary Spine (Timber Glulam): A fixed structural framework composed of naturally sourced timber Glulam. This engineering wood framework stands stable and silent, acting as a permanent logistical grid that holds space for the dynamic living systems within.
b. The Responsive Envelope (Kinetic Bio-Membrane): A pneumatic, soft-robotic responsive membrane composed of cultivated mycelium composite and bio-polymer. This skin shifts in texture and behavior over time, actively inflating and contracting.
c. The Perceptual Layer (Algae Cladding & Media): An outer layer of algae-based translucent cladding integrated with synchronized light and spatial acoustics. This layer serves as an environmental translator, turning unseen atmospheric conditions into an immersive sensory interior.
[Mechanism of Contraction and Expansion in Biological Membranes] _ image above
[A Planar Composition Concept Based on the Expansion and Contraction of Organic Membranes] _ image above
3. Production & Manufacturing Process
The production workflow merges digital fabrication with bio-fabrication, shifting the architectural paradigm from manufacturing to growing:
a. Bio-Cultivation & Molding: The responsive membrane is grown from agricultural byproducts inoculated with fungal mycelium. The mixture is packed into custom-molded geometries where the mycelium networks bind the substrate into a lightweight, structural composite. Once the desired density is achieved, the growth is halted via a controlled drying process, resulting in a flexible yet resilient bio-composite skin.
b. Soft-Robotic Integration: The mycelium elements are integrated with bio-polymer pneumatic actuators. These actuators are linked to a network of environmental sensors that capture real-time data, including pedestrian density, carbon levels, and wind patterns, driving the kinetic movement of the pavilion.
c. Digital Pre-fabrication: The massive $50\text{m}$ Glulam spine is pre-engineered and CNC-milled off-site to allow rapid assembly and disassembly without heavy, permanent foundation work, minimizing site disturbance.
[Integration of Primary Structural Members and Organic Membranes, and Prototypes for Connection Details] _ image above
4. Ecological Life Cycle & Disassembly (Facts & Details)
The ultimate validation of “Let the Space Breathe” lies in its circular life cycle. In a discipline obsessed with leaving a permanent footprint, this universally deployable system is designed to fade away:
a. Environmental Dialogue: Whether deployed in a hyper-dense urban plaza or at the edge of a forest, the structure continuously reads the local soil and air, adapting its breathing rhythm to immediate environmental microclimates.
b. Zero-Waste Reintegration: Upon disassembly, the materials leave no waste behind. The cultivated mycelium membrane is returned to the local soil as a nutrient-rich organic compost. The Glulam timber spine is completely salvaged and reintegrated into the community for local construction or reuse, leaving only the memory of a breathing space embedded in the community.
[Architectural Mock-up Models Demonstrating the Expansion of an Organic Planar Concept into a Volumetric Architectural Space (Left row : Structures only / Right row : Models Combined with Organic Membranes)] _ image above
5. Biological Co-evolution & Living Envelope
Dynamic Co-evolution: Over time, the biological membranes of the structure naturally foster the growth of local green flora. As vegetation takes root, the architecture transforms into a continuously evolving organism, completing a living space and an envelope that changes with the seasons.
[Internal Perspective Views] _ image above
Designed by KIM MIN JAE