Page 61 - JCAU-6-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Exploring abduction in regenerative design

Figure 2. Cognitive diagram of the GAN_Physarum model. Source: ecoLogicStudio, Deep Green, Urbansphere, Venice, 2021

2. Nonhuman entities as the design agents: circular system, thereby rendering the cities regenerative
The bio-cybernetic stance and approach (Pasquero & Poletto, 2019). The research outcomes,
at various stages, have been exhibited at prestigious
DeepGreen is a long-term project-based research initiative platforms, such as the Tallinn Architectural Biennale, the
presented by ecoLogicStudio in collaboration with the Venice Architectural Biennale, the FRAC in Orleans, the
University of Innsbruck and Bartlett UCL, focusing on Shanghai-Hong Kong Biennale, CAFA Beijing, and the
the development of ecological infrastructure and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among others. Furthermore,
planning of blue-green cities. This research has yielded these outcomes have contributed to a series of urban-scale
the DeepGreen protocols, a comprehensive urban design projects in collaboration with UNDP (United Nations
workflow, through sub-projects and design explorations in Development Programme) and local municipalities,
various cities across multiple countries. These sub-projects including Aarhus and Tallinn, among others.
encompass a range of urban challenges and future scenarios. Employing advanced and sophisticated algorithms for
They involve the speculation and planning of wastewater the analysis of urban big data and the simulation of new
treatment networks in a post-flooded future Tallinn, urban patterns, Deep Green achieves a morphogenetic
Estonia (Pasquero & Poletto, 2019); water collection and workflow that is both iterative and adaptive to the designed
distribution networks in Guatemala City, Guatemala; environment (Pasquero & Poletto, 2021b) (Figure 3). “The
municipal waste recycling networks in Mogadishu, workflow includes four main levels of computation: input
Somalia; renewable energy networks in Vranje, Serbia data reading, biotic-abiotic analysis, network analysis,
(Pasquero & Poletto, 2021b); canal systems in Venice, and finally, scenario modeling. For the first level analysis,
Italy (Pasquero & Poletto, 2021c); and wet path systems advanced algorithmic design techniques are used to read
in Paris, France (Pasquero & Poletto, 2022). The planning large data sets (...) Levels two and three recognize and
strategy advocates for the integration of these systemic analyze the morphology of the city, the surrounding
networks with biotic layers and landscape design, aiming landscape and the resources’ networks. The analysis
to create urban ecological facilities that accommodate produces density maps and path systems for several urban
both human and non-human entities. It posits that what is systems such as biomass, water collection, solar energy,
conventionally regarded as human waste and pollution can community waste, and so on” (Pasquero & Poletto, 2021a,
serve as a source of material and nutrients for the growth p. 669). In the case of Bio.Tallinn and its urban proposal,
of living organisms, especially microorganisms. Through Tallinn Wet City, the blue-green plan diverges from the
intervention, waste can be converted into raw materials for conventional typology-driven approach. Instead, it directly
new production processes, signaling a transition in urban identifies green vegetation areas utilizing satellite data. This
metabolism from linear consumption to a closed-loop method allows for the inclusion of small-scale vegetation

Volume 6 Issue 1 (2024) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.1084