Adriaan Gjalt de Groot

A Material Language for Liquid Building

"We build to endure. To resist time; although we know that ultimately time will win. What previous generations erected for eternity, we demolish. And then - with similar intent - we build again. Permanence is instinctively sought."  

   N.J. Habraken, 1964

As the acceptance of the need for circular material flows increases, it is becoming even more important to acknowledge the impermanence of our built environment and focus on material exchange in between applications. Rather than approaching each building in isolation; how do we make sure that value of construction material is maintained throughout multiple lifecycles and varying applications? Drawing inspiration from both natural systems as well as - more concretely - scaffolding, this project imagines a future in which construction material is designed specifically for perpetual use, reconfiguration and change.

It takes modularity down from the component to the material level. Could we design the 'building blocks' of our structures to be generic and durable enough to become a lasting currency, and might this eventually allow the built environment to become 'liquid' - evolving gradually, in sync with our ever changing urban needs? 

citypixels.cc explores the opportunities as well as challenges of renting rather than selling construction material on a system level, and proposes the first iteration of a universal material language for 'Liquid Building'; SCAFFOLDx V1.0.