{"id":223119,"date":"2025-12-09T05:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T05:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/223119\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T05:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T05:20:15","slug":"aditya-mandlik-on-how-decomposition-becomes-design-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/223119\/","title":{"rendered":"aditya mandlik on how decomposition becomes design method"},"content":{"rendered":"

factory 5.0: a pavilion shaped by biological intelligence<\/p>\n

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Studio Aditya Mandlik (SAM)\u2019s Factory 5.0 is a timber<\/strong><\/a> structure that positions biological intelligence as a genuine collaborator, co-authored by 10,000 king worms metabolizing Styrofoam in real time. \u2018When we design built environments, we\u2019re reshaping the planet\u2019s outermost skin, one that has always supported complex, multi-species life,\u2019 the architect tells designboom<\/a>.<\/strong> \u2018My instinct is to design in dialogue with that broader ecological knowledge system.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Founder of the studio, Aditya Mandlik, frames the work as a call to rethink architectural authorship in the context of the Fifth Industrial Revolution, a moment defined by the convergence of human and non-human intelligence. \u2018Making is no longer a linear, directive process; it becomes a co-evolution shaped by multiple intelligences operating simultaneously across material, biological, and spatial scales,\u2019 the architect notes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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At the core of the project is plastic<\/strong><\/a>, the defining material of the First Industrial Era, reframed through decomposition \u2018Plastic became a lens to understand how drastically our intentions and consequences can diverge,\u2019 Mandlik tells us.<\/strong> \u2018Working with worms revealed that nature already holds pathways for metabolising what we consider irreversible problems.\u2019 Speaking to designboom, Mandlik positions Factory 5.0 as a framework for rethinking material<\/a> futures, using decomposition to expand architectural imagination.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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all images courtesy of Studio Aditya Mandlik<\/p>\n

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how worms reshape the geometry of the structure in real time<\/p>\n

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Factory 5.0 is a composite system of 546 digitally fabricated timber components interlaced with 200 Styrofoam plates housed in transparent acrylic chambers. These interiors become operational terrains where worms, approached as collaborators of the project, actively reshape the geometry of the pavilion. \u2018Their behavior resembled that of micro-sensors, always recalibrating in response to temperature, light, and moisture,\u2019 Mandlik explains.<\/strong> \u2018These feedback loops began to dictate the pavilion\u2019s evolving porosity.\u2019 This procedure results in a continually transforming architectural section, revealed in various ways as visitors move around and through it.<\/p>\n

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Unexpected behavioral patterns soon become part of the design language. Worms clustered for warmth below 20\u00b0C, migrate toward darkness, and even metamorphose when isolated, behaviors that influence spatial rhythm and material decay rates. \u2018Designing with decomposition demanded accepting that anything we create should ultimately be able to return to natural systems,\u2019 the Mumbai-based architect<\/a> tells designboom.<\/strong> This approach shapes decisions from assembly logic to the portability of the pavilion. Factory 5.0 was already in its second life at DDW, having been flat-packed, transported, and reconfigured from its Mumbai debut.<\/p>\n

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This adaptability extends into its afterlife. \u2018Disassembly is not the end of a project, but the beginning of its next metabolic phase,\u2019 Mandlik notes.<\/strong> After the exhibition, timber components are repurposed, while worm-transformed Styrofoam plates, sensitive to light, sound, and human presence, are preserved as memory objects and later used as molds for casting metal lights. The project becomes a living model for regenerative architecture in a world where biological and technological intelligence co-author space. Dive into the full Q&A below.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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a timber structure that positions biological intelligence as a genuine collaborator<\/p>\n

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Interview with Aditya Mandlik<\/p>\n

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designboom (DB):<\/strong> Factory 5.0 introduces worms as active co-creators. What first prompted you to explore biological intelligence as a design partner?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Aditya Mandlik (AM):<\/strong> For me, collaborating with non-human intelligence has always felt like a natural extension of architectural thinking. When we design built environments, we\u2019re effectively reshaping the planet\u2019s outermost skin, a layer that has long supported complex, multi-species life. So my instinct is to design in dialogue with that broader ecological knowledge system. With Factory 5.0, this became particularly critical. Since the installation was conceived as a prototype for architecture in the Fifth Industrial Revolution, we chose to work with natural decomposers to break down single-use plastic, the defining material of the First Industrial Era. That act of decomposition became both method and message, positioning architecture as a metabolic, co-authored process rather than a purely human-driven one.<\/p>\n

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co-authored by 10,000 king worms<\/p>\n

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DB: As you mentioned, the project sits within the theme of the Fifth Industrial Revolution. How do you define \u2018non-human intelligence\u2019 in an architectural workflow, and what does it contribute to the act of making? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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AM: <\/strong>Architecture becomes truly contextual, geographically, socially, culturally, and ecologically, only when every actor present on a site is allowed to perform. I\u2019ve always believed that the planet operates through a dense web of behaviors, where each entity, human or non-human, contributes its own role to a constantly unfolding system. These behaviors are not passive; they are forms of intelligence that shape, negotiate, and adapt the environments we share. So when I speak of \u2018non-human intelligence\u2019 in architecture, I\u2019m not thinking of it as an add-on to the design workflow. Instead, I see it as an existing field of entangled, cooperative interactions that we must learn to work with rather than override. In that sense, making is no longer a linear, directive process; it becomes a coevolutionary act, shaped by multiple intelligences operating simultaneously across material, biological, and spatial scales.<\/p>\n

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the worms metabolize Styrofoam in real time<\/p>\n

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DB: Why did you choose plastic as the primary site of decomposition, and what did the worms reveal to you about its future? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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AM: <\/strong>Plastic is, in many ways, the great material triumph of the First Industrial Revolution. It reshaped human behaviour, accelerated production, and became inseparable from modern life. What interested me was this contradiction: a material originally engineered with ecological intent has, within a single generation, shifted into the category of \u2018waste.\u2019 Plastic became a lens through which to examine how drastically our intentions and their consequences can diverge over time. Working with worms made this contradiction even more compelling. Their ability, together with the bacteria in their microbiome, allows to break down complex molecular structures like single-use plastics, revealed something deeply optimistic. It suggested that nature already holds pathways for metabolising what we perceive as irreversible problems. This collaboration points toward a future where small-scale worm farms could become decentralized systems for decomposing not only single-use plastic but other organic waste as well. It reframes the issue from one of disposal to one of co-evolution, where natural intelligence and human design actively negotiate the lifecycle of materials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"factory 5.0: a pavilion shaped by biological intelligence \u00a0 Studio Aditya Mandlik (SAM)\u2019s Factory 5.0 is a timber…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[31934,18,19,17,456,28535,82,3489],"class_list":{"0":"post-223119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-architecture-interviews","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-materials","13":"tag-plastic-art-and-design","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-wood-and-timber-architecture-and-design"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115687930399675324","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}