NECTO

an homage to the great lightweight builders of the past

Project by SO-IL, Mariana Popescu and TheGreenEyl at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice 10 May – 23 November 2025

Designed Globally built locally, reusable and biodegradable

working across borders and oceans we took inspiration from …..

Facts and Figures

90%

biodegradable

12

pieces of knit

40

hours to knit

70kg

total weight

23

programmed LED strips

Features

Performative design

the geometry is from-found considering fabrication constraints and material design choices.

Fabrication-aware design

the geometry is from-found considering fabricaiton constraints and material design choices.

Material intelligence

linnen, flax, pva etc all nice materials, all locally (europe)sourced all biodigredable etc…

Circularity – Future life – Accountability

will be reused after exhibition – we use DNA etc…

Spatial lighting

LED story

Credits
Design

SO – IL: Florian Idenburg, Jing Liu, Marlena Fauer, Demetri Lampris
Tailored Materiality Research (TU Delft/incoming MIT): Mariana Popescu
TheGreenEyl: Richard The

Membrane design and engineering

Tailored Materiality Research (TU Delft/incoming MIT): Valentin Lorenzen da Silva, Niclas Brandt, Nikoletta Christidi, Mariana Popescu

Experience design

TheGreenEyl: Richard The, Noah Feehan, Ben Bojko, Saralee Sittigaroon, Arden Schager

Structural Engineering

Professorship of Structural Design (TUM): Anass Kariouh, Pierluigi D’Acunto

Membrane fabrication and construction

Tailored Materiality Research (TU Delft/incoming MIT):Mariana Popescu, Nikoletta Christidi 
Steiger Participation S.A: Jean-Luc Lepieszko, Jean-Francois Cochez

Bio-coating and DNA data embedding and error correction

Shaping Matter Lab (TU Delft): Kunal Masania, Jasper Groen
Functional Materials Laboratory (ETH): Robert Grass, Francesca Granito
Professorship of Machine Learning (TUM): Reinhard Heckel, Maria Abu Sini 

Structural Reuse column supports

Design for Sustainability (TU Delft): Jelle Joustra, Jesse Pupping

Sound Design 

Marian Mentrup

Furniture

Tim Teven Studio

Opening Performance

Riley Watts

Made possible with the support of

Steiger Participation S.A.

Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, University of California, Davis

EIC FlexiForm 

Creative Industries Fund NL

Consigli Construction Co., Inc.

TU Delft Climate Action programme

Fraunhofer IWES

EIC DiDAXJakob AG