“ReHousing”

Team: Mariam Zelimger, Anastasiia Stolyarova, Ksenia Kazak

Type: Competition

Year: 2020

Location: London, UK

During the global pandemic, our team explored affordable social housing, addressing the challenge of separating privateand public spaces while allowing them to coexist. Recognizing the importance of personal space for psychological health and community cohesion, we turned to nature, inspired by the cocoon as a universal life cell. The project uses residential capsules in three types: individual, shared, and public. Suspended from a steel beam structure like cocoons on a branch, the capsules are flexible, transformable, and swappable, extending existing housing. For example, in the Balfron Tower, capsules fill empty space between building sections, increasing living areas.

The main capsule material is biodegradable leather, made from common biopolymers: cellulose, chitosan, and pectin, which can be sourced from plants, recycled tree branches, shrimp shells, or fruits. It has two layers: the top coat of chitosan and cellulose, and the bottom layer of chitosan and apple pectin. The programmable, recyclable material allows 3D printing of capsules with variable stiffness, strength, color, and transparency. The biodegradable skin, stretched over the skeleton, acts as a filter for the environment and provides comfortable living for residents. After use, it disintegrates in water to nourish new life.

Urban Cocoon:

There are three types of capsules with different dimensions and functions: individual, shared, and public. The capsules are suspended from a steel beam structure like cocoons from a tree branch and are easy to transform, twist, and swap, acting as extensions to any existing housing developments. The main capsule material is biodegradable leather, obtained from the most common biopolymers on Earth: cellulose, chitosan, and pectin. Biodegradable leather consists of two layers: the top coat of chitosan and cellulose and the bottom layer of chitosan and apple pectin. All these materials are programmable, fully recyclable, and are the exact opposite of plastic.

About the materials:

The design of each capsule is based on the bionic skeleton of a real cocoon, reflecting its oblong, soft shape and layering. Capsules are partially open to allow maximum natural light, essential for residents’ psychological health, with glazed sections for ventilation and views. The main material is biodegradable leather, made from cellulose, chitosan, and pectin, sourced from plants, recycled branches, shrimp shells, or fruits. It has two layers—top coat of chitosan and cellulose, and bottom layer of chitosan and apple pectin. These programmable, fully recyclable materialscan be 3D-printed to adjust stiffness, strength, color, and transparency. The biodegradable skin, stretched over the rigid skeleton, acts as a filter for the environment, providing comfortable living while in use and disintegrating in water to nourish new life afterward.