Thoughts for Next Semester

Based on the feedback I have received over

the last few weeks and at my final review there are a number of areas which I wish to

explore in semester two in order to further develop my thesis.

I hope to develop a contact with the science/ engineering department in order to continue my research into mycelium based composite materials. I hope that this would provide me with the right tools to properly fabricate and test different forms of the material in order

to further my knowledge on the subject and its possible role in the future of construction.

I would very much like to get in contact with Beth Shotton to find out more about her work

and research into dowel laminated timber and

its variety of capabilities.

In terms of architectural typology I intend to continue my line of inquiry into the exponential growth of urban populations and the architecture that would result from catering to this rise in numbers in a manner that does

not rely on conventional, high energy building methods. With this in mind though, there has also been a question of what architectural typology would be most fitting to explore these new building materials and methodologies and whether it would be suited to residential

architecture. Therefore I want to keep an open mind and to conduct further research into

what architectural direction I would like my project to take, by hopefully letting the choice of materials guide this process.

In addition, I would be interested in further developing my knowledge of the reuse of construction materials and how this could be

achieved in an Irish context

In all, my intention is to develop an idea for the future of the Irish construction sector, one which embraces low embodied energy construction whilst still maintaining low levels of operational energy consumption. I hope to do this through the continued research into new and innovative materials such as mycelium composites and dowel laminated timber and the ways in which they could be integrated into use and development in Ireland. I hope to understand how this, coupled with the reuse of construction materials could form a new

architectural language and method of design and construction throughout the country.