Constructed Ecosystems: Ideas and Subsystems in the Work of Ken Yeang

Presented here are the assemblies and subsystems used in Ken Yeang's projects, illustrating the ways in which ecological architecture could advance technically through devices and components that articulate and enhance "passive-mode" (bioclimatic low-energy design), mixed-mode, and sub-systems that foster ecological integration between the organic landscape, human occupants, and the inorganic, human-built environment. While the focus of most "green architects" tends to be technical compliance, Yeang's contention is that an eco-architecture needs to fully embrace the natural world and to have buildings designed and constructed as "living systems." Green design is still very much in its adolescence, and there is considerable work to be done. The assemblies and subsystems here illustrate the need for such developmental work. This is Eco-Architecture.