Built Ecologies: Metabolistic Resource Thinking Through Biogenic Materials

This paper introduces the concept of building ecologies as a framework to expand considerations of the temporal and relational aspects of architecture by highlighting the ongoing processes that constitute a state of continuous construction. Drawing influence from conservation, Science and Technology Studies, and sustainability studies, building ecologies develop the web of relational context from the world by building sensitivities to care, adaptation, and repair. These sensitivities render visible the often-hidden values, processes, and frictions influencing buildings, and knowledge of them can then be used to inform architectural production. The paper presents a case study examining how care, adaptation, and repair can become integrated into design and fabrication practices, enabling a rethinking of reparatory action and lifespan in architecture. Through building ecologies and to practices of care, adaptation, and repair, a holistic conception of sustainability is proposed which intersects with regenerative design by working to both improve the quality of relations and to incorporate a situation-specific and ever-evolving temporal responsiveness that can be applied to any architectural project.