Biotopia imagines cities becoming forests, architecture growing like trees, and streets illuminated by bioluminescent lighting, alive with biodiversity. It envisions a world designed not just with nature, but as nature. At the heart of Biotopia is a global sponge: a dynamic bio-matter architecture that cools, filters water, generates energy, and shelters life while adapting like a living organism. The film traces the evolution of biomaterials, imagining a future where bio-matter transforms human settlements into vibrant, self-sustaining systems. The model, a prototype segment of a future architecture, illustrates the first steps toward a habitat that grows rather than being constructed.
Participants
WINY MAAS AND FEDERICO DIAZ ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS; PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Winy Maas, Schijndel, The Netherlands, 1959. Lives and works in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Federico Diaz, Prague, Czech Republic, 1971. Lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic.
Authorial Collaborators
The Why Factory: Javier Arpa Fernández, Thiago Maso, Adrien Ravon, Yayun Liu, Stavros Gargaretas, Leo Stuckardt; Jen Kratochvil
Technical Collaborators
Dimitri Nikitin, Záviš Unzeitig, Jonáš Kolařík, Petr Pufler
Team
The Why Factory: Javier Arpa Fernández, Thiago Maso, Adrien Ravon, Yayun Liu, Stavros Gargaretas, Leo Stuckardt; Barbara Holomková
Thanks
Students from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft, the School of Architecture at CTU in Prague, and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (Spain); MVRDV Next; Lucia Pedrana, Timur Bazarov, and Marco Fontichiari (European Cultural Centre Venice)
Supporters
So Concrete, Stimuleringsfonds creatieve industrie NL, TU Delft, CTU Prague, IAAC Barcelona
