A
Marine Tectonics
Name
Brayan Felipe Torres Jaimes
Education degree
Kandidat
Fagfelt
Architecture
Institute
Architecture and Technology
Program
Computation in Architecture
Year
2026
This project explores how mussel shell waste can become a printable building material through sand-based additive manufacturing. It proposes a small coastal structure that supports aquaculture while testing regenerative materials. By linking digital design, fabrication, and marine ecologies, it reframes waste as a local, circular, and ecological architectural resource.
A Computational Framework for Regenerative Marine Architecture
Eutrophication as a Material Opportunity
The project begins with the environmental conditions of Danish coastal waters, where excess nitrogen and phosphorus from agriculture contribute to eutrophication and ecosystem degradation. While these nutrients are typically understood as pollutants, they also support the growth of organisms capable of transforming excess nutrients into biomass. This research positions eutrophication not only as an environmental challenge but as a source of material potential, establishing a direct relationship between ecological remediation and architectural production.
To test these ideas architecturally, the project focuses on two specific coastal territories in Denmark: Mandø and Limfjord. Both sites are located within regions affected by marine eutrophication while also being directly connected to existing or emergi
Biological Infrastructure
Mussels as Ecological Actors
Mussels operate as living filtration systems. By feeding on suspended nutrients and organic matter, they improve water quality while simultaneously producing calcium carbonate shells. Through this process, biological growth generates both ecological benefits and material resources. The project therefore considers mussel cultivation as a dual infrastructure capable of supporting environmental restoration and material production at the same time.
Material Harvest
From Marine By-product to Construction Resource
After consumption, mussel shells are typically discarded despite containing high quantities of calcium carbonate, a mineral widely used in construction materials. This project repositions shell waste as a valuable architectural resource. Through grinding, classification, and material processing, discarded shells are transformed from an overlooked by-product into the primary constituent of a marine-based biocomposite material system.v
Material Development
Designing with Marine Matter
Rather than seeking a standardized material recipe, the project explores how variability can become a design driver. Different shell sizes, aggregate distributions, and binder compositions produce distinct mechanical, visual, and environmental properties. Material development therefore becomes a process of negotiating between ecological availability, fabrication requirements, and architectural performance, allowing local resources to directly inform material expression.
Computational Material Analysis
Translating Physical Behaviour into Design Data
Material testing evaluates compression resistance, water absorption, fire response, and erosion behaviour. The resulting data is not used solely for validation but is translated into computational parameters that inform design decisions. Material performance becomes embedded within the digital workflow, enabling geometry, thickness, and fabrication strategies to respond directly to measured material behaviour.
Vision
Marine Origins
Marine Origins proposes a model of architecture in which materials are understood as ecological actors rather than passive resources. By combining marine biomass, computational design, environmental simulation, and digital fabrication, the project develops a framework where architecture participates in cycles of regeneration. The outcome is not a single building, but a scalable system capable of transforming coastal environmental challenges into opportunities for material production, ecological restoration, and architectural innovation.
Experiment 01
This experiment investigates architecture as a temporal system rather than a permanent object. Constructed from the same marine biocomposite, the shelter is designed to gradually transform under exposure to wind, rain, saltwater, and sunlight. Instead of resisting environmental forces, the project embraces erosion as a design parameter and explores how material loss can be anticipated through computational simulation.
The shelter becomes a living record of its environment, where changes in form reveal the interaction between architecture and natural processes over time. Through this approach, weathering is reframed as performance rather than deterioration, allowing architecture to participate in ecological cycles of growth, transformation, and renewal.
Experiment 02
This experiment investigates how marine biocomposite elements can be assembled into larger architectural structures through principles derived from cyclopean masonry. Rather than treating the material as a continuous surface or standardized component, the research explores architecture as an aggregation of differentiated pieces whose geometry, size, and position respond to material availability and fabrication constraints.
Inspired by historical masonry systems, the benches operate as a testing ground for computational sorting, component classification, and assembly strategies. Individual printed elements are evaluated not only for their material performance but also for their ability to form stable architectural configurations through geometric interlocking and collective behaviour.
The bench therefore becomes more than a piece of furniture. It serves as a prototype for understanding how marine-derived materials can transition from individual components to architectural systems, establishing the assembly principles that later inform larger-scale interventions.
Marine Origins proposes that architecture should not merely be built from ecological resources, but participate in ecological cycles. Through assembly, transformation, and regeneration, the project repositions material as an active agent connecting marine ecosystems and the built environment.
The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals
Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s)
