Habitat Weaves is an interdisciplinary research platform where biohybrid architecture meets ecological restoration. It functions as a convergence framework, bringing together designers, biologists, and the community to repair depleted ecosystems through site-specific interventions.
Key Research Strands:
⦁ Weaving with wood-based materials : Multispecies habitat formation and landscape fabric making.
⦁ Fungal materials: Biological substrates and nesting structures.
⦁ Participatory Making: On-site monitoring and eco-social development.
Founded by Asya Ilgün and Phil Ayres, the platform integrates expertise from the Artificial Life Lab at the University of Graz through projects HIVEOPOLIS (EU) and Flora Robotica (EU), Chair for Biohybrid Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy (DK) through projects Flora Robotica (EU), FUNGAR (EU), FUNGATERIA (EU), Kagome Architectures (DK), K-Lab Zürich (CH) and Insect Collective to create a living laboratory for the future of our shared environment.
The aim of Habitat Weaves is to develop and test Architectural Ecosystem Starter Kits: minimal yet effective spatial-material interventions designed to initiate ecological succession in depleted urban environments.
The project seeks to:
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Support pioneer species such as fungi, mosses, algae, microorganisms, and wild bees.
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Regenerate soil health through composting, nutrient cycling, and microbial activation.
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Explore how distributed fabrication and local craftsmanship can contribute to ecological repair.
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Establish architecture as a research instrument for observing multispecies interactions.
The guiding question is:
What constitutes a minimally sufficient architectural intervention capable of catalyzing long-term ecological processes?
First pilot study at the historical Kaufhaus Zeeck
Habitat Weaves project picks up on the spirit of the Bauhaus, which originally set out to break down boundaries between art, craft, and technology. Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, the Bauhaus treated making as a way of thinking and working together, with workshops acting as spaces for experimentation, collaboration, and new ways of living.
In our case, we try to extend this idea into an ecological context. Our project brings together craft, digital fabrication, and material experimentation with living systems. It is not only about designing objects, but about creating situations where different species, materials, and people interact.
The first pilot of Habitat Weaves was realised during an artist residency at the Bauhaus Foundation. We developed a series of ecostarter kits focused on nesting and composting. You can think of them as a kind of ecological “furniture” or emerging material systems placed in the landscape. They are designed to test how small-scale architectural interventions can support ecological regeneration, while also engaging people locally and contributing to social processes in the region.
These structures are not temporary installations. They are intended to remain on site, slowly changing over time as they interact with soil, insects, fungi, and weather. In this sense, they function both as habitats and as long-term experiments. There is also the possibility that they will become part of future public programs, such as the Bundesgartenschau 2035.
Rather than aiming for a fixed outcome, the project works through ongoing observation, making, and adaptation. It creates a space where design, ecology, and community practices come together, continuing the Bauhaus idea of rethinking how we live and make, but shifting it toward a more-than-human perspective.
Timeline
2023 Initiation of Habitat Weaves as a collaborative research framework. Integration of fungal material research, Kagome structural systems, and pollinator habitat studies.
2024–2025 Development of modular ecosystem starter prototypes. Testing of soil regeneration strategies and mycelium-based materials.
2026 Site-specific implementation in Dessau (Kaufhaus Zeeck courtyard). Public exhibition phase with integrated monitoring, archive, and workshop formats. Post-exhibition observation and continued ecological monitoring in collaboration with local partners.
Methods
Habitat Weaves combines ecological field research, material experimentation, digital fabrication, and community engagement.
Key methods include:
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Ecological Site Reading: Mapping soil conditions, microclimates, and existing biodiversity to define site-specific interventions.
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Craft-Based Spatial Structures: Triaxial Kagome weaving with locally sourced willow to construct elevated and ground-level structures that shape microclimates and support composting practices.
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Biohybrid Material Development: Production of modular nesting elements using clay mixtures, recycled polymers, plant fibers, organic waste streams, and living mycelium networks. Mycelium functions as a structural binder, decomposer, and biochemical mediator.
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Digital and Distributed Fabrication: Laser-cut components, 3D-printed clay modules, molded bio-composites, and parametric design workflows that allow reproducibility while remaining adaptable to local materials.
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Citizen Science and Monitoring: Integration of beeHome systems by Wildbiene+Partner and image-based nest recognition tools. Custom citizen science sensor kits developed in collaboration with Fablab Barcelona enable environmental data collection, including temperature, humidity, and microclimatic variation.
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Community Composting and Care: Compost derived from local organic waste is used to enrich soil and activate microbial processes. The installation includes participatory workshops and collective maintenance phases.
Partners
Core Academic and Research Partners
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Chair for Biohybrid Architecture, Institute of Architecture and Technology, Royal Danish Academy – Architecture, Design, Conservation
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Artificial Life Lab, Institute of Biology, University of Graz
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K LAB Zürich – Community Lab for Mycelium, Research & Innovation
Community and Applied Partners
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Insect Worldings Association, Denmark
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LOU Restaurant, Dessau & LOU Team
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Wildbiene+Partner, Dietikon
Prospective Local Institutional Partners
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City of Dessau-Roßlau, Department of Environment and Nature Conservation
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Biosphere Reserve Mittelelbe
Contributing Research Frameworks
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FUNGATERIA (EU)
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Kagome Architectures
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HIVEOPOLIS (EU)
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Custom citizen science sensor kit developed with Fablab Barcelona
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inMyco, Materiability Research Group, Design Department Dessau, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences