🏗️ Construction and Housing
Activities
Heritage Preservation
Heritage work prioritises buildings and landscapes that can still speak clearly to history—not every structure can be saved, but exceptional ones can be repaired, reused, and interpreted. Wood and stone return to use in living architecture where possible; hayfields are managed without chemicals; hand tools from shepherd culture stay in circulation so skills stay practical, not museum-bound.
Biofabric Places Network
The Biofabric Places Network is a collaborative system of material production hubs. The network enables different bioregions to learn from each other—materials "cooked" in similar ways but adapted to local contexts, from Middle Eastern deserts to European cities. Each time, they work together with industries, universities, and build local networks with cities and various partners to find cooperatives that can continue building and producing these materials locally. They're mainly focused on building materials, examining how waste streams in cities and larger regions can contribute to a healthier building industry.
Sustainable Building Demonstration
One of their most significant projects is the comprehensive renovation of a 2,000-square-meter industrial building on the Luma Arles site. Completed over three years in collaboration with two architectural teams, the project demonstrates sustainable construction principles. They developed 20 materials from the region within a 70-kilometer radius, using the building site itself as a key source. The building is connected by the materials with the landscape, but it's also an ecosystem in itself—collecting gray, green, and yellow water to irrigate gardens, with water filtered by algae used in their research programs.