CO-NET: FROM NETS TO NESTING

Abstract

CO-NET was an international Design-Build initiative that brought together over forty students and faculty from the United States and China to build a series of experimental structures on Dongtou, an island near Wenzhou renowned for its fishing industry, ceramic artisans, and tidal landscapes. Developed through a four-month remote collaboration and an intensive on-site construction phase, the project explored the architectural potential of locally sourced waste materials—discarded fishing gear, construction debris, obsolete scaffolding, and plastic waste—through vernacular craft techniques and interdisciplinary design processes. CO-NET functioned as a pedagogical platform for material-driven design, emphasizing sustainability, circularity, and intercultural exchange