Bio-tectonic

FINALIST of New Zealand Nature Retreat: Antipodes Island

+ FINALIST

New Zealand Nature Retreat: Antipodes Island

[19832]

Bio-tectonic: Growing Grounds of the Antipodes

Team

Name: İrem HAFIZ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iremhfz/

Nationality: Turkish

Institution / Company: Sakarya University, Department of Architecture

Name: Rowan SIMMONS

Nationality: New Zealander

Institution / Company: The University of Waikato, School of Design

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Bio-tectonic proposes a living architectural organism embedded within the cliffs of Antipodes Island, where remoteness and fragility define existence. The project envisions architecture as an evolving, self-forming structure that mediates between geological and biological systems.

A double-layered mycelium–geopolymer shell grows from a biodegradable flax-fiber framework, thickening at the upper cliffs to generate enclosed research and observation pods for up to four scientists, then branching and thinning as it descends toward the shoreline to create open, sun-lit surfaces where penguins and sea lions can rest, nest, and shelter.

The system follows a generative growth logic inspired by slime-mold behavior, reacting to gradients of humidity, wind, and topography. Rather than occupying the land, it invests in it—absorbing, adapting, and coexisting. Over time, the mineralized shell partially erodes and reintegrates with the soil, leaving porous traces that host moss, algae, and nesting birds.

Through this adaptive metabolism of growth and decay, Bio-tectonic redefines architecture as a symbiotic formation—a living tectonic body shaped by ecological intelligence and the island’s own slow respiration.

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Jury Comments

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