Kontakte – Das Jahrbuch der KIT-Fakultät für Architektur 2023

The current built environment is designed on the assumption of an abundance
of energy, unlimited growth, and infinite resources. Regenerative architecture
engages in offering an alternative. In two studios and two seminars we have
systematically researched new architectural vocabularies that are the result
of radical circular design thinking. The first studio involved the reuse of the
OMA NHOW hotel in Amsterdam – in an unknown future. The second studio
concerned the remodelling of a brutalist parking garage in the centre of Amsterdam
for biodiverse housing designs: 50% human, 50% non-human. Both
studios not only aimed at rethinking the design process, but also looked at the
implications for architecture itself: What does regenerative architecture look
like? Two seminars investigated new ways of looking at the stuff that surrounds
us. Instead of perceiving architecture as a solid collection of materials,
the seminars attempted an emotive exploration of material’s identity. In
doing so, materials are not just things from the shelve, but become personalities
that evoke feelings. The seminar results have been published in two printed
publications, as tangible manifestations of the material’s research.
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