Architectural Proposal Uses Synthetic Incubators to Transform Inglewood Oil Field

Designers Zihua Mo and Chunyu Ma have developed a speculative architectural project called 'Rock and Roll: Synthetic Incubators for a Post-Human Nature' for the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles. The proposal introduces a system of autonomous architectural prototypes designed to facilitate environmental regeneration through synthetic ecological processes. Central to the concept are 'Homunculi'—full-scale architectural entities with sensing and reactive capabilities, including two primary components: the Rocker, which extracts and redistributes atmospheric moisture, and the Roller, which disperses biological material. Four specialized incubators—Manimal, Putant, Fungle, and Outsect—form a grid-based network to cultivate synthetic organisms, plants, fungi, and insects, creating a closed-loop system for growth, decomposition, and redistribution. The project reimagines architecture as an active agent in post-industrial landscapes, shifting focus from human-centered design to autonomous, process-driven environmental frameworks.