Heterotopic Symbiosis: Accumulations

Heterotopic Symbiosis: Accumulations is a biophilic ecological research center that transforms Ascot Reservoir into a living educational landscape. The project explores how architecture can merge with water, vegetation, terrain, wildlife, and human experience, creating a space where built form and natural systems coexist.

During the site study, 3D LiDAR scanning was used to capture existing natural and man-made elements, including plants, stones, pipes, buildings, and reservoir structures. These scanned fragments were reinterpreted and fused into new architectural forms, turning the site itself into the foundation of the design.

The project includes greenhouse gardens, enlarged flower-like spaces, habitat hills, aquatic planting areas, a central courtyard, exhibition galleries, research spaces, and an underwater classroom. These spaces allow students to experience nature from different scales and perspectives, including the viewpoints of insects, animals, and aquatic life.

Water is treated as both a spatial and ecological system. It supports plant growth, humidity control, irrigation, animal habitats, and environmental learning. The underwater classroom allows students and researchers to observe algae, aquatic organisms, and the changing conditions of the lake directly.

By blurring the boundary between architecture and landscape, Heterotopic Symbiosis creates an immersive environment for education, research, and ecological coexistence. As a biophilic proposal, it reconnects people with nature through spatial experience, environmental systems, and a renewed relationship between the reservoir and its surrounding community.