Metabolic Architecture. Structures that Grow, Decay and Regenerate

Metabolic architecture defines built systems as dynamic entities capable of growth, degradation and regeneration, being able to adapt through these means to climate’s constant changes. This article investigates the principles of metabolic design and architecture through the lens of speculative prototypes: a network of architectural interventions created as a global infrastructure that monitors ecological and climate changes. By analysing and adapting to the dynamics of unique geographical regions, these structures transform and react to the changes of their surroundings while contributing to ecological global monitorization.

This article analyses concepts of adaptive architecture, based on the theories of Reyner Banham, an acclaimed English critic, Janine Benyus, a biologist who popularized biomimicry, Neri Oxman, a researcher known for integrating biology, advanced materials and digital technologies in architecture, Kisho Kurokawa, a Japanese architect and founder of the Metabolism movement, and others. Complementing the proposed speculative prototypes, examples such as the Nakagin Capsule Tower and the Eden Project demonstrate the integration of metabolic principles in real-life scenarios. Speculatively, the research relates to the visions of the Archigram group, where projects such as Walking City or Plug-In City explore the continuity between experimental architecture and new sustainable directions.

The architectural prototypes studied in this work represent a personal project, developed during my Master in Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Following a personal desire to develop and deepen this research, this article aims to integrate this system into the theme of metabolic architecture, exploring its applicability and positioning it within the field of architectural scientific research. Functioning as nodes in a global network, each prototype adapts to the specific conditions of its environment, emphasizing interconnectivity and ephemerality. Associated renderings contextualize these interventions, illustrating the relationship between architecture and its context over time.

Using comparative and exploratory analysis, this paper investigates metabolic architecture as a multi-scale system of interaction in which prototypes function as active agents of environmental transformation. This architectural network, which monitors and contributes to ecological regeneration, operates with a logic similar to that of interconnected biological networks.