2024 Galleries
The Spark Gallery pages are one of our most popular design destinations, with thousands of visitors each year. Check out some of the latest Spark entries, in the galleries below.
Galleries // 2024 Spark:Spring Student // THE DEGRADABLE HOUSING
THE DEGRADABLE HOUSING
Entrant
Competition: Spark:Spring Student
Designer: Jun-Ki Kim
Design Type: Spaces: architecture, interiors, landscape
Company / Organization / School: Orange Cube Art
The Degradable Housing project presents an innovative approach to mitigating the environmental footprint of traditional building practices. By integrating materials that naturally decompose over a 30-year lifespan, both the exterior facade and selected interior walls are designed to degrade in a controlled manner. This strategy effectively reduces the need for frequent demolition and reconstruction, thereby minimizing construction waste and CO2 emissions associated with conventional building methods. The exterior facade features a randomized degradation pattern that ensures complete decomposition within three decades, significantly curtailing bulk waste production and environmental hazards linked to demolition activities. Interior walls are similarly engineered to decompose, enabling the building to adapt its internal layout over time. For instance, a residential structure could effortlessly transition into an open-plan office or retail space as its interior walls naturally degrade. This adaptive flexibility not only extends the building's functional lifespan but also curbs the environmental impact of continuous rebuilds. By accelerating the decomposing process and promoting reuse rather than disposal, the proposal advocates for sustainable construction practices that can prevent environmental hazards and pollution. If widely implemented, the degradable housing concept holds the potential to revolutionize the construction industry by offering a compelling alternative that promotes longevity, adaptability, and ecological responsibility.
