Five Architectural Installations Explore Bio-Based Materials and Digital Fabrication

Published on March 30, 2026, an article examines five small-scale architectural installations that experiment with bio-based and biodegradable construction materials combined with digital fabrication techniques. These projects aim to address ecological challenges by moving away from energy-intensive conventional building materials like concrete and steel toward regenerative, low-impact systems. The installations demonstrate how living materials with non-linear temporalities can redefine conventional notions of durability, maintenance, and sustainability. The featured projects include: Java and Jam Pavilions by i/thee, constructed entirely from biodegradable materials using digital fabrication and manual craftsmanship, featuring a biocomposite cladding made from used coffee grounds and white grape skins. Mycelial Hut by Yong Ju Lee Architecture, which explores mycelium as a building material through custom 3D-printed robotic molds, creating a bio-hybrid pavilion with mycelium tiles on a wooden frame. Growing Matter(s) Pavilion by Henning Larsen Architects, an interactive installation of 80 unique mycelium spheres grown from organic substrates, some dried for stability and others kept alive to continue evolving. Moss Columns by Yong Ju Lee Architecture, a prototype that directly embeds non-vascular mosses into artificial materials using computational design and large-scale 3D printing with an industrial robotic arm. AirBubble Restorative Space by ecoLogicStudio, a biotechnological garden featuring a cylindrical wooden frame enclosed in an ETFE membrane housing living algae bioreactors that filter polluted air and produce oxygen, with harvested algae reused as food or fertilizer. These experiments seek to recalibrate technology with ecological questions, pointing toward an alternative architectural language emerging within planetary practice.