a Contemporary Architecture

Succulent House demands a systemic and structural reorganization of contemporary residential architecture. It explores possible solutions to water shortage issues and environmental consciousness  by treating the water collection capacities of houses as integral part of the design, instead of reducing it to a foreign body- an artificial addition to our, otherwise unburdened everyday lives. The large plastic curtains expand as they’re filled with water, enabling the whole process to be seen from the interior. Besides becoming a renewable energy source, this mechanism creates a continuous experience of sustainable action that is etched into the subconscious.

The roof surface is divided in two and is maximized for water collection, storage and distribution. It collects gray water used for showers, toilets and washing. The roof planes direct rainwater into storage cores around which program is distributed. Made of elastic material, the curtains act as “bladders”, accumulating water and distributing it further. Designed by LA-based Murmur, the Succulent House is a proposition for future sustainable building. In this experimental piece, Murmur captured the essence of frequently mentioned principles such as biomimicry, organic and flow. What the House obviously accentuates is that the implementation of those ideas has to be systemically and structurally necessary in order for them to become valid architectural Principles. In other words, it has to work.