NEST — Natural Eco-System Tiles, ENTROPIC's ecological façade research, has won a 2021 New European Bauhaus Rising Stars prize in Solutions for the Co-evolution of Built Environment and Nature. The recognition places the building envelope at the centre of a wider architectural question: how can the spaces we construct for people also accommodate other forms of life?
Developed by Magdalena Mróz and Geoffrey Eberle, NEST explores a modular system of ceramic and clay components made through 3D printing. Changes in geometry, porosity and surface texture create different spatial conditions within the façade, from pockets for vegetation to cavities intended for insects, birds and bats. Material and form are considered together, with the panel becoming both an architectural element and a potential habitat.
The study looks towards new construction and the adaptation of existing buildings. Rather than reserving ecological thinking for ground-level landscapes, it investigates the overlooked vertical surfaces already present across the city. A repeatable component can be varied in response to local species and environmental conditions, connecting fabrication with a particular place.
The Rising Stars recognition highlights the ambition of that research. For ENTROPIC, NEST opens a direction in façade design where architectural identity and ecological responsibility can develop through the same material decisions: a building skin conceived as part of a living urban environment.
Explore NEST · The European Commission's NEST profile
