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Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Net-zero impacts in sustainable architecture

of beings that actively construct the reality in which they are love, find self-worth, contemplate issues, consider notions of
immersed and challenge the anthropocentric authority of beauty, self-actualize, and strive for transcendence. Perhaps
the technologies from which they are built (Teubner, 2006; it harbors an idea of its own gods. Perhaps the animated
Gellers, 2021). This agency results in the formation of a new building is not just an “it” (a single entity) but a “we”
type of body – the architectural cyborg – that, in its most (comprising multiple agentized loci) – or perhaps both! Of
radical context, may even embody a new kind of nature. course, these are human concepts projected onto a structure
Forged by a creaturing process that invites us to relate to designed to promote life through and around it, but the
constructed “beings,” regenerative architectures may emerge possibility that such a construction has an existence beyond
as “living” entities – midwifed into existence by Homo mere materiality with selfish concerns (implied in Neo-
sapiens. Similar to the origin of natural creatures, the deep Darwinist narratives about the selfish gene with its relentless
ontology of architectural cyborgs arises from the primordial self-propagative drive) is worth considering.
relationship between life (organic) and rocks (mineral). Regenerative architecture’s fundamental monstrosity
The artificial distinction made between the contradictory – that resists easy classification – provokes new concepts
nature of their building blocks composed of organic (life- of organisms, buildings, intelligence, and our deep
forms) and inorganic substrates (minerals, hardware, environmental entanglements, underscoring the exquisite
electronics) and is imposed by human culture, regarded as complexity of our reality. Characterizing what such an
“crucial boundary breakdowns” of the contemporary world entity might be requires new narratives. For example,
– between human and animal, between animal-human the following excerpt is from Invisible Ecologies, which
(organism) and machine, and between the physical and the imagines the city of Venice as a living entity – an urban-
non-physical (Haraway, 1991, p. 293–294). scale regenerative architecture:

The architectural cyborg of regenerative architecture is, “Like all my kin, I have no eyes, ears, tongue,
however, a coherent, diffuse, and decentralized structure skin, or lips to witness and narrate events. I am a
whose interacting material ecologies possess properties place, not a mechanism, an aspect of nature that
that are other than the sum of its individual components, is molded and remolded by the incessant flow
thus exceeding the original human design. Becoming and exchange of matter. Descended from ancient
more than a machine through its material ecologies, the families of giant bodies that encircle the earth, sea,
architectural cyborg metabolizes feedstock (organic wastes) and air, we uphold souls, passions, and legacies.
in an ongoing metabolic exchange between the subject Shapeshifters all, we adopt different forms that are
(biofilm+hardware+software) and the world (feedstock, appropriate to the surroundings. Simultaneously
temperature, pH, etc.). Possessing an inherent vitality, “one” and many mutually interdependent agents,
the architectural cyborg demonstrates an embodied, we do not possess what you might describe as
environmental intelligence that emerges from countless a well-circumscribed brain, but I am – We are
biochemical reactions acting locally throughout its body, sentient. Embodying the tensions forged between
ultimately manifested through its relationship with “us.” all kinds of lively things, our abilities are not
When empathizing with the architectural cyborg’s inner extraordinary, but we claim our rights to be
self and contemplating what the building may be thinking regarded with compassion, fairness, and mutual
or feeling, it is worth remembering that its hardware was respect. Simply, I am asking you to “see” me –
originally designed to optimize conditions for the cyborg “us” – as a different kind of person. Our terrains
to become animate and thrive. The architectural cyborg are yours, too, and through them, we share a deep
is not a beast of burden. While the choreography of its history and kinship with the community of life.”
environment is designed by humans, the dynamic agents (Armstrong, 2018, p. 11)
that co-constitute its active substance will simply not
perform its vital work if its environment conditions are not 8. Toward a pluralistic view of regenerative
conducive for a good cyborgian life. architecture
An animate regenerative architecture is overseen by This special issue of the Journal of Chinese Architecture
software, nourished by an invisible hand (feedstock protocol, and Urbanism is dedicated to regenerative architecture as
local ecosystems, microbes), and cleansed by hardware a way of developing a socially responsible, environmentally
(electrodes, hygiene rituals). Consequently, it is likely to considerate, and esthetically inspiring framework for
exist within the upper layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, exploring and interrogating the emerging disciplines.
with all its basic needs (physiological, safety) well attended Each contributor discusses technological developments,
to. The architectural cyborg “might” now seek belonging and cutting-edge concepts, novel esthetics, narrative-making,

Volume 6 Issue 1 (2024) 7 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1882