This volume details the recent efforts of developing sustainable approaches to reclaim synthetic polymers and explore natural polymers in design production. Not long ago, plastic was envisioned as a miraculous material. Now plastic pollution has become an inseparable part of the environment. How can the built environment make use of this prolific and ‘miraculous’ material in an environmentally responsible way?
Plastic Futures in Architecture focuses on plastic derivatives and complications in three main modes: Being, Becoming, and Beyond. “Being” presents the concerns and prospects of plastic continuation. “Becoming” provides insight into the technological advancements in the processing and production of plastic in the built environment. “Beyond” discusses the experimental transformation of plastic applications from synthetic polymers to more sustainable polymers in design. It focuses on projects that outline a journey from awareness to innovation, recycling synthetic polymers and exploring the use of bio-based natural polymers through rapidly developing digital crafting capabilities and techniques.
These project discussions will serve as an invaluable resource for students, educators, architects, product designers, practitioners in global sustainability, material innovation, digital fabrication technologies, and computational design.
1. Plastic Techne: An Introduction
Ehsan Baharlou
Part 1: Being
Being: A Preamble
Ehsan Baharlou
2. Being Plastic: Living in the Plasticene
Phoebe Crisman
3. Plastic Imitating Life: Future Potential for a Controversial Material
Blaine Brownell
4. Syntopia 0—Anthropos I Human: From “Designer Matter” to “Critical Material”
Karola Dierichs
5. Breathing Enclosures & Engineered Living Materials
Maria Paz Gutierrez
Part 2: Becoming
Becoming: A Preamble
Ehsan Baharlou
6. Sustainable Polymers in Architecture: From Recycling to Bio-Based Innovation
Philip F. Yuan, Jiapan Sun, and Liming Zhang
7. Infundibuliforms: Experiments in Spatial Plasticity
Kathy Velikov, Wes McGee, Daniel Tish, and Geoffrey Thün
8. Hybrid Composite Manufacturing: Plastic Futures for Architecture
Marshall Prado
9. Nature's Blueprint: Redefining Plastic Designs
Julia Koerner
10. Plastic Plus
Virginia San Fratello
Part 3: Beyond
Beyond: A Preamble
Ehsan Baharlou
11. A Path Towards the Biomaterials Age
Stylianos Dritsas and Javier G. Fernandez
12. ChitoFold: Designing 3D Forms from 2D Gels Towards a Fuel-free Future
Laia Mogas-Soldevila
13. Chitin-Based Biocomposites: Sustainable Alternatives for Architectural Applications
Paulina Grabowska, and Hanaa Dahy
14. Toward Natural Fiber Architecture: From Synthetic to Bio-Based Composite Building Systems
Christoph Zechmeister, Monika Göbel, Jan Knippers, and Achim Menges
15. Malleability as a Driver for Design: Activating Alternative Resource Flows with 3D-Printed Biopolymer Composites
Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, Gabriella Rossi, Carl Eppinger, and Paul Nicholas
Biography
Ehsan Baharlou, Dr.-Ing. is an Assistant Professor of Architecture and the director of Computational Tectonics Lab at the School of Architecture, University of Virginia. His research agenda unfolds through three interconnected streams: Computationally Driven Material Ecologies, Circular Robotic Fabrication for Performance and Living and Regenerative Architecture. He investigates regenerative architectural technologies across scales- from microscale material formulations to full-scale assemblies. His work has been internationally exhibited at the French Pavilion in Venice Biennale 2025 and at the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial. He has also co-edited a special issue of the International Journal for Architectural Computing (IJAC), advancing computational design discourse by foregrounding ecological levers such as autonomy and interdependence.
