Knowledge - Page 2

The project introduces a circular value model where care, labor, and collective maintenance recalibrate housing equity. Residents offset rent through work in shared kitchens, farms, or repair hubs. Skilled contributors exchange labor for tool access, while caregivers earn credits for communal resources. This system is embedded in spatial thresholds and shared rooms designed for use, not just occupancy.

Glulam winter gardens are modular extensions grafted onto tower façades. Serving as thermal buffers and social spaces, they cut energy use while encouraging neighborly interaction. Rooftops host productive landscapes with farms and water systems; ground floors activate workshops from reused timber. Together, these interventions form a “metabolic” architecture that evolves with community needs.

Beyond technical innovation, the project reframes timber as essential civic infrastructure. It demonstrates how material choices can address climate resilience, spatial dignity, and social equity. Exhibited widely and debated in academia and policy forums, The Metabolic Estate challenges concrete/steel retrofit conventions, proving timber’s capacity to build thriving, low-carbon neighborhoods.