The CDCA Protocol
Integrating Reclaimed Materials and Living Trees through Digital Design Methods
Damtsas, E. and Spaeth, A. B. (eds.), Informed creativity in architecture and engineering - Proceedings of the 44th Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe 2026), Lübeck, 07-11 September 2026, Volume 3, pp. 51-60
Open Access Paper ︎︎︎
The transition toward circular construction and climate-responsive design requires architectural methods that work with locally available, non-standard materials and integrated greenery rather than with globally standardized components. Although research on material reuse, bio-integrated design, and computational assembly has advanced these agendas, these domains are usually addressed separately and rely on stabilized elements or predefined construction logics. Their combined application therefore remains limited when confronted with heterogeneous reclaimed materials and living systems. This paper presents the CDCA protocol (Collect-Digitize-Compute-Assembly), a computational design and construction method that integrates reclaimed construction fragments and living trees within a shared architectural framework. Demolition-derived elements combining multiple construction layers, together with trees as co-constitutive building elements, are 3D-scanned into a digital catalogue. Combinatorial algorithms and structural simulations generate and evaluate assemblies according to weight, geometry, connection potential, and structural performance. Large Hybrid Building Components (LHBCs) act as intermediate-scale units enabling multi-scalar aggregation and spatial variability. The method is demonstrated through the installation Hybrid Space-Making, where five LHBCs were constructed using augmented-reality guidance. A university seminar confirmed the protocol's transferability. The research positions computation as a mediator of material heterogeneity, enabling architectural form to emerge through combinatorial interaction rather than predefined typologies.