Interface Organism: Natural Metabolic System

Contributors, Densities, Designing Matter, Energy and sustainability, Formats, No Density, Project, Siim Karro / Myceen, Technology and fabrication, Topics.

Brick, Circular design, Designing Matter, Estonia, Green growth, Health, Lifecycle, Metabolism, Natural materials, Organic life, Organism, Project, TAB 2022, Tallinn.

This project is part of the exhibition at Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) 2022.

Derived from Marx’s ecological take on society, John Bellamy Foster coined the term “metabolic rift” to define the disruption of natural processes between humans and nature.

In his legendary book Mycelium Running, Paul Stamets describes fungi as the great recyclers of our planet. Fungi disassemble large organic molecules into simpler forms, which in turn are useful for the other members of the ecological community.

The cult of growth is pushing towards constant progress, strongly influencing the environment and its mechanisms. As in nature, growth symbolizes life and therefore could be seen as a natural quality inherent in development. But in natural systems, growth also needs to be balanced with decay, which provides the nutrients for new energy. Instead, decay is stigmatized and hidden, while excessive growth in dense centers demands increasingly more resources.