Malleability as a Driver for Design: Activating Alternative Resource Flows with 3D-Printed Biopolymer Composites

This chapter presents Rhizerial, a research-by-design project exploring biopolymer composites as a foundation for regenerative architectural practice. It introduces malleability as both a physical material property and a strategic design approach that foregrounds adaptability, responsiveness, and circularity. By revisiting the overlooked history of biopolymer composites, the chapter connects their ecological and geopolitical entanglements to contemporary questions of resource provenance and territorial impact.

Through the Rhizerial installation, a 3D-printed vaulted structure printed with graded biopolymer composites, the project demonstrates how material composition can respond to local availability, performance requirements, and environmental conditions. Central to this approach is the Recipe Explorer, a custom computational tool that enables designers to navigate recipe spaces, evaluate trade-offs, and guide fabrication with precision. Through this work, malleability emerges as a strategy for resilient design—supporting material reuse, environmental attunement, and regenerative practices. The chapter proposes malleability as a strategy for resilient design, fostering regenerative material cycles and repositioning architecture within its broader environmental and material context.