BIODEGRADABLE CITY
LOCATION:
HONG KONG
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CLIENT:
2021 VENICE BIENNALE OF URBANISM\ARCHITECTURE
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COMPLETION YEAR:
2020
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TYPE:
ART INSTALLATION
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TEAM:
Benjamin Lam, Kin Cheong Chan, Michelle Lo, Esther Cheung, Mabel Cheung
"THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CITY IS NO LONGER THROUGH DEMOLITION, BUT EVOLUTION"
A new energy-efficient green building may take up to decades to make up for the environmental impact of its initial construction waste, let alone the impact brought by the demolition of the original building. According to HK3030, “about 20% of the total waste intake at the three existing landfills are construction and demolition (C&D) waste. The inert nature of such waste causes tremendous impact to the environment.
Then, what if we start building with material that decays? What if we start dissembling buildings instead of demolishing buildings? What if we design the newly-built to help unbuild the existing?
Imagine a city that is constantly evolving and adapting, where the old expires and returns to nature, the new is being introduced to transform the old. Materials from the past are being redistributed to the existing and together they evolve into a Biodegradable City.
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The exhibit aims to explore the idea of biodegradable construction and deconstruction, reimagining a metropolitan city that is constantly breathing, evolving and decaying.
