Project by I Fu Chang
My design proposes a construction system that reuses up to 100% of waste generated in limestone quarrying. By analyzing each step of extraction, I identified distinct by-products—large broken blocks, mid-sized fragments, and stone slurry—and re-organized them into a structural logic. The wall system follows the principle of “waste holding waste”: a timber framework clamps and supports stone waste of varying sizes, while a secondary rammed earth layer, mixed with stone slurry, regulates thermal and moisture conditions. Large blocks create a U-shaped base, smaller fragments fill the frame, and mortar binds irregular pieces at the upper levels, producing an elevation that visually blends with the quarry and makes the building appear to grow from the earth. The program evolves with the quarry’s life cycle. During remediation, the building functions like a linear factory: waste storage on one side, processing in the middle, and a warehouse for reusable blocks on the other. Once quarrying ends, the structure transforms into a visitor center, where its tall truck entry becomes an exhibition hall displaying stone artifacts and narrating the quarry’s history. Through this approach, construction is no longer detached from extraction but emerges from it—extending the quarry’s life from industrial operation to ecological restoration and public use. Waste is not a by-product but a building material; structure and environment grow from the same site. This is an attempt at endogenous architecture: built from the quarry, for the quarry, and through time.
