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Envisioned for the Empordà Wetlands of Catalonia, Spain, this winning project by students at Carleton University and the University of Manitoba puts forward a self-sustaining eco-village built on care and community. Tempo-, as the proposal is called, speaks to the movements of human and more-than-human life through built spaces and across seasonal rhythms. The micro-neighbourhood features 20 housing units, various markets and floating farms, as well as a town hall, a school, a multi-faith building and a biogas facility. The homes, in a diversity of typologies, face each other — only three metres apart — to create vibrant pockets of semi-public space between them and encourage group activities like gardening, chatting and communal child-rearing.

In true it-takes-a-village spirit, the student team also stresses that the lightweight structures made of locally sourced timber require continual tending — from renewing the grass bundles tucked into the exposed wood joists for insulation to re-weaving window coverings. The embrace of such humble and readily available building materials enforces an active relationship with the built environment, one that is ongoing and involves everyone. The team illustrates this dynamic with didactics that evoke considered scenes of life in the village.

They also elucidate the infrastructure supporting the scheme. Because the site is a wetland ecosystem, granite slabs elevate the buildings to avoid flooding, and waterborne farms provide sustenance: An innovative agricultural system grows food on floating platforms using hydroponic or aquaponic methods. “These farms,” the student team explains, “optimize space and water use, addressing land scarcity and adapting to rising sea levels while promoting food production.” By giving both humans and more-than-humans an active role in “this great harvest,” tempo- is a thoroughly ambitious concept for a nature-led development.