New-Territories/ M4 has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund MMYST, a hybrid architecture project that combines a hotel with a manufactured habitat for Swiftlets, a bird native to Thailand. Located in Krabi, the building will be used almost exclusively by backers of the project and will be set for removal in 10 years. In order to be realized, the project requires $200,000 in funding before October 25, 2015. Read more about this experimental project after the break.
MMYST seeks to address three issues with its construction: mutualism between organisms, time-concept sharing in architecture, and robotic fabrication. The project will exist as a collection of large, habitable volumes wrapped in a starch-flax foam generated to resemble the volcanic rock where the building is sited. Each volume will be separated for human and Swiftlet occupation. By creating habitats that mimic the natural caves where Swiftlets live, the birds will be naturally attracted, allowing for the farming of a special medicinal ingredient found in Swiftlet nests. The project will demonstrate peaceful co-habitation between humans and nature.
The payment model of the project also addresses a key concept in architecture – ownership. Following a principle of time-concept sharing MMYST is realized only by the funding of its supporters, rather than the typical economy of a building, which is owned and operated by few people. Backers will receive a certain numbers of nights to book use of the building, coordinated through the internet, within a period of 10 years. After the 10 years, the building will be removed from site, returning it to its previous conditions.
Fabrication will largely consist of a steel frame structure and the aforementioned starch-flax foam. Robot extruders on scissor lifts are planned to do most of the construction work. Small-scale experiments with the technology have successfully produced the geometries of the project, but complete testing has yet to be completed.
Help fund, and read more about this comprehensive and innovative project here.
