2026 Galleries
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2026 Galleries // 2026 Spark: Spring Student // ReNest
ReNest
Winner - Gold
Competition:
Spark: Spring Student
Designer:
Minho Son
Design Type:
Company / Organization / School:
KDM+
Team Members:
Minho Son, Ji Won Lee, Ji Su Kim & Minseok Shin
ReNest is a nest-based ecological restoration system that leverages nature's processes to help ecosystems recover after wildfires.
Conventional restoration efforts have usually focused on simply replanting trees. Restoring a healthy ecosystem, however, requires more than just vegetation and depends on habitat reconstruction, biological interaction, and ecological connectivity. ReNest solves this problem by combining moss regeneration ability with the natural mobility of birds.
The system provides two forms of biodegradable habitat: "Fruit" and "Seed," which are inspired by nature's breeding mechanisms. These habitats induce birds to settle and engage in activities, helping to restart the ecological process in the affected area.
The moss spores embedded inside the structure stabilize the soil and lay the necessary foundation for early-stage ecosystem recovery, allowing other creatures to return. Birds act as ecological carriers of nature. Throughout wildfire-affected areas, ecological connectivity is strengthened through the movement of birds, feeding, and nesting behaviors, and the spread of various biological substances such as seeds and spores is promoted.
Biodegradable bio-composite materials were developed and used with fillets, starch, and agar powder extracted from wildfire-damaged trees. The colors of the nest were expressed using natural pigments such as beet, spinach, and chisel. By recycling wildfire by-products and using materials that can be obtained from nature, we build a circular recovery process.
Designed to combine and stack with each other, it optimizes transport efficiency for large-scale ecosystem deployments. Structures that have done their job will naturally decompose, return to the soil, and fully reintegrate into the environment.
By creating optimal conditions for nature to regenerate on its own, ReNest proposes sustainable and scalable ecosystem restoration measures that minimize direct human intervention.
