THE BIOENGINEERING EXPERIMENTAL SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE: DESIGNING FOR THE PREVENTION OF FIRES, AND THE REPOSITORY OF LABYRINTHS, DIMENSIONS AND SCALES

This interdisciplinary faculty aims to develop, test and implement bioengineered construction materials and methods through proto-practices. The proposal is a contemporary monument to fire that alludes to the man-made Grenfell Tower disaster. While the tragic repercussions are ongoing, the architecture hopes to encourage conversations that extend beyond blame to raise awareness and create preventive solutions. This also concerns climate change and the destruction caused by recurring wildfires. Hence the need to address these issues through sustainable innovations are imperative. The narrative of ‘fire’ includes laboratory experiments in the ‘gallery’ for public knowledge, heat distribution to the surrounding buildings and provision of green spaces. The dense urban site of Little Britain is approached as a Borgesian labyrinth that includes resting places for the homeless community embedded within the public realm. The generated heat is further used to cultivate the exotic celebratory public gardens that extend across the horizontal and vertical landscapes. Through this architectural proposal the memory and presence of fire is manifested as a positive symbol.