CONQ. Marine biobased building materials

Project implementation: Argentina and Germany
Project development: Argentina and Germany

Every year, more than 10 million tons of marine shells—primarily from oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels—are discarded as waste. This project explores how marine resources, often overlooked as byproducts, can serve as a basis for material experimentation in architecture, design, crafts, and science. It highlights innovative practices with materials that redefine the relationship between the built environment and the ecosystems that sustain it.

Spanning multiple scales—from buildings and building elements to materials value chains—the project examines how design can foster new interdependencies between materials, construction, and ecological systems.
At the heart of this exploration is the collaborative research of environmental architect Angie Dub and experimental designer Heidi Jalkh, who are transforming discarded seashells into a sustainable material for the built environment. By combining crushed seashells with algae-based biopolymers, they produce a heat-free bioceramic composed entirely of marine biomass. This practice-based research rethinks bioregional value chains, exploring the potential of marine food waste in urban areas such as Buenos Aires and Berlin, where the designers are based.

Through prototypes, raw materials, molded components, and test samples developed during the research phase, the project provides an in-depth exploration of material transformation from shell to tile.

CONQ presents an emerging modular construction system, illustrating the potential application of this shell-based bioceramic and pointing to future research directions. Furthermore, the material samples showcase the diverse colors and finishes that naturally arise from different shell species, demonstrating the material's inherent variability and the design's balance between mechanical performance and aesthetic versatility.

The project highlights the urgency of transitioning from extractive material practices to regenerative and circular economies. Rather than viewing raw materials as inert, extractable resources, it proposes a systemic and dynamic approach, one that recognizes the deep interconnections between materials, buildings, and the ecosystems that sustain them.

Participate in the program of debates, workshops and associated activities!

TODAY (10.10)

2:30 pm – table Risk-Free Periphery in the Context of Climate Change

4pm – table Knowing to Transform: Community Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans

6:30 pm – table Inclusive Adaptation: Nature-Based Solutions in the Peripheries

9am – Drawing Workshop: Oscar Niemeyer's Architecture in Ibirapuera Park and the Climate Challenge

IN THE NEXT DAYS (11 to 14.10)

ATTENTION the table Palmas: For 36 years, the ecological capital of Tocantins which would be held on 10/11 | 7pm was canceled.

11.10 and 12.10 | 9am – workshop Inventa(rio) Fronteiras: Playing for Multispecies Cities

11.10 | 10am – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 11am – table Learning to inhabit the Anthropocene: the crisis of architecture

11.10 | 2pm – table Architecture for Learning and Civic Use

11.10 | 3pm – table Culture and Public Architecture

11.10 – 15h – workshop Elémenterre teaching bag

11.10 | 4pm – table Reconnecting with Nature & Circular Design

11.10 | 5pm – table Architecture of Belonging: Interpreting Heritage Through Place

12.10 | 10am – table Experience: Climate Refuges and Naturalized Public Spaces, with Eco-Neighborhood

12.10 | 10:30 am – table Childhoods and Climate: Climate Justice in Vulnerable Territories

12.10 | 10:30 am – Windsock Workshop with the Floating Collective

12.10 | 3pm – table Doing a lot with a little: architectures for a planet in transition with Esteban Benavides from Al Borde office

12.10 | 4:30 pm – table Earth – building a sustainable and democratic future

12.10 | 5:45 pm – table French presence at the Biennale and screening of the film AJAP – Albums of Young Architects and Landscape Architects

13.10 – activity Pantanal Action at IABsp

10/14 | 10am – table Urgent Panorama! Space as an act of permanence

14.10 | 6pm – Launch of the “Nature-Based Education” Guide

JOIN! IT'S ALL FREE!

And there's much more until October 19th!

NOTE OF CONDOLENCE

With deep sorrow, the Brazilian Institute of Architects – São Paulo Department (IABsp) mourns the passing of architect and landscape architect Kongjian Yu, a global leader in ecological urbanism, and the members of his team who accompanied him, tragically killed during the filming of a documentary. The institute is honored to have had him as a participant in the 14th São Paulo International Architecture Biennial, where his transformative vision strengthened the dialogue between global challenges and local realities. IABsp emphasizes that Yu's contribution, which transcends borders, will remain an inspiration for generations and expresses its condolences to China, to the families of all the deceased, to his friends, and to all those impacted by his genius and dedication. Read the full note here.

Heidi Jalkh and Angie Dub