Group Work

The construction industry today largely relies on standardized materials and centralized supply chains, making it difficult to integrate local industrial byproducts into architectural processes. This limits both sustainability and innovation in material use. This project proposes a bio-coupled material workflow that transforms cab mud—a calcium-rich waste from sugar refining―into an extrudable construction material. The process begins with material testing and prototyping, combining cab mud with lignosulfonate to create a natural binding network through ionic interactions. This avoids high-energy purification while improving water resistance and structural cohesion. The calibrated mixtures are then applied through an extrusion-based fabrication system, using toolpath testing and print parameter tuning (e.g., nozzle size, pressure, layer height) to adapt the material‘s behavior to 3D building. The project ends with a spatial prototype that demonstrates how localized waste can be reimagined as architectural matter—both structurally and symbolically—through low-energy, digitally informed methods