# Inventing Kaera: Architect and material scientist Kody Kato on building in harmony with nature - **Source:** EdgeProp Singapore - **Published:** 2026-07-14T05:16:40.000Z - **Author:** Fiona Lam - **Original:** https://www.edgeprop.sg/property-news/inventing-kaera-architect-and-material-scientist-kody-kato-building-harmony-nature - **Topics:** Commercial & Industrial, Government & Policy, Sustainability & PropTech ## Featured rationale Its concrete-comparable strength, lower weight and carbon-negative properties could encourage adoption across residential, hospitality and commercial projects seeking lower embodied carbon and construction efficiencies. ## AI summary Kody Kato is introducing carbon-negative building material Kaera in Singapore after 15 years of development, with about 10 to 12 Asia-Pacific projects upcoming. ## Original article Growing up in Hana, a scenic town on Maui's verdant eastern end, Kody Kato was surrounded by little in the way of buildings. The laidback Hawaiian island’s windward coast is dense with tropical rainforests, waterfalls, pools, bamboo groves, underground lava tubes, and black sand beaches. Mesmerising for its terrain and seascapes alike, it was a place where manmade structures were few and far between, dwarfed by the natural world around them. For an architect and material scientist in the making, this turned out to be a fitting environment to grow up in. Kato is the inventor of Kaera — a carbon-negative alternative building material made from nature-based waste streams and by-products — which he is now introducing in Singapore after 15 years of research, development and real-world application. The roots of that work trace back to his childhood in Hana, and to his family, as Kato tells EdgeProp Singapore in an interview. His father was a construction contractor; his mother an intensive care unit worker with a deep love of science, biology and nature. "I came from a family that tinkered quite a lot, always inventing things and trying new things," he says. With construction, biology and the wilderness as constants in his upbringing, in a town that was "just complete nature", pursuing sustainable architecture felt like an obvious next step, Kato shares. Charting an unconventional path In university, in the early 2000s, he requested to major in architecture alongside structural engineering and biology at the same time, but was told it was impossible as those fields were too distinct. Refusing to accept that, he crafted a custom course syllabus of his own and presented it to the faculty in architecture school. "I'm a bit stubborn and didn't want to give up," Kato quips. "At 19 years old, I was trying to change the university system." They eventually agreed to tailor his programme to include the different disciplines. He would spend the next decade working across them, culminating in a PhD with a focus on performance-oriented design, structural engineering, and mathematical biology. That formed the foundation of what he now calls Creative Engineering — a unique design methodology combining architecture, engineering, material science, biology, and environmental performance into a single continuous process. Creative Engineering at work Under the proprietary framework, pioneered by Kato in the early 2000s, material development is inseparable from architectural thinking. The multidisciplinary approach has given rise to his most innovative work to date: Kaera, which is designed as an active carbon-negative, bio-material system that sequesters carbon throughout its lifecycle while meeting the structural demands of construction. "With Creative Engineering, we're trying to create 100% recycled structures and buildings that are high-performance, eco-friendly and respond to their surroundings," Kato says. This design philosophy is also the foundation at the Office for Design Evolution (ODE), a Kuala Lumpur-based architectural firm he founded that explores how architecture can be conceived at the level of raw materials instead of applied finishes. With a lean team of about six, ODE's practice draws on computational studies, sustainable processes, as well as recycled, natural and alternative materials. The firm designs low- to zero-carbon solutions for international projects that have included residences, offices, skyscrapers, museums, symphony halls, factories, exhibition spaces, and bridges. Innovation through practice In 2010, Kato and two other students entered an international competition for architectural design with a project named Liberated Memories, which received the Best Prize. The proposal was for a structure that comprised columns and slabs made with indigenous materials such as recycled earth, bamboo and ash, at an abandoned building from 1906 in rural Hawaii. Unfortunately, the vision for the earth columns could not realistically be brought to life then. "When we tried to build the project, there was no such thing as Kaera or structural earth columns and walls at the time," Kato says. "The moment I realised we couldn't build it … was pretty major." It led him to start what would become the painstaking 15-year journey to create Kaera, by investigating material behaviour, ageing and environmental interaction. The first decade went into research and development. Kato's experience working with alternative materials and hand-casting at BCHO, the office of Byoung Soo Cho — an acclaimed South Korean architect known for his understated, nature-oriented designs — laid the foundation for Kaera's development shortly after. At the firm, Kato and the BCHO team could experiment with a wide variety of materials, which included combining earth with different binders. "I was free to explore," he says. "Getting to cast and make things with my hands at full scale [in real architectural contexts] was another stepping stone towards being able to create new materials," Kato adds. "If I had just been stuck in a lab, it would have taken a very long time." Such a hands-on, practice-led process was key to Kaera’s development. 'Icing on the cake' After Seoul, he headed to Kuala Lumpur, where he later set up ODE in 2017 and continued to research, engineer, test, and use Kaera in actual projects. It was around 2019 when tests indicated the material was also able to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits, creating a net-beneficial environmental impact. This carbon-negative finding let Kato heave a sigh of relief. "I could relax for a little bit. But the carbon-negative aspect was not something I was originally after, so when it happened it was icing on the cake." Kato's main aim had been to change the way that traditional building materials are sourced, handled and processed. "Just by doing that, we’re able to create a product that has low-carbon emissions," he says. On top of its climate credentials, Kaera also offers thermal insulation, design flexibility due to its free-form capabilities, soundproofing, fire resistance as it is non-combustible, and a compressive strength of about 25 megapascals and higher — comparable to concrete and making it robust enough for structural, load-bearing use. Making Kaera easy to use After 10 years of researching and developing the product, Kato spent the next three years from 2020 on making the new material cost-competitive and user-friendly, with plenty of trial and error. "We were working with contractors on the ground to make it very easy to use, and that took years to fix. There's now very little friction and pushback," he says. Contractors can simply mix a powder and liquid which will solidify and harden in as little as two minutes. The curing duration depends on the scale of the application or pour. The material can also be cast into any shape or even applied by hand as a skim coat — a thin finishing layer — on walls and surfaces. Lighter than concrete by 30% to 40%, it is easier and costs less to transport and handle onsite as well. In contrast, early versions of Kaera were unwieldy and more of a precast system. It was heavy, bulky, far more difficult to use, and would have required significant manpower to install onsite. First adopters in residential projects Kaera was first supplied exclusively to selected ODE clients from 2023, with a broader soft launch and scalability following in 2025. The projects to date have been primarily private residential properties, especially bungalows, in Malaysia — where many of the pilots for the product had earlier been conducted. Little convincing was needed, as the early clients had requested the innovative material for their homes. Many of them wanted to be "first movers and pioneers", says Kato. "I don’t really believe in hard-selling, and don't like to force things onto people. The market has to be ready for and want such a material first," he adds. The contractors on those projects were also "shocked" by how quickly Kaera could set and how strong it was, Kato shares. Clients have responded well to Kaera's look and feel — a natural, organic tone that he describes as off-white and similar to raw earth. While it can be painted, most clients choose to leave it as is. Kaera can be used for interiors such as walls, as well as for exterior panelling and landscape elements such as external paving, sidewalks and curbs. In the longer term, Kato's goal is for Kaera to be adopted more widely as a load-bearing structural material. Plane House: A carbon-negative family home An early adopter of the product is the Plane House, a bungalow sitting on a mountain slope in Selangor, Malaysia. Kaera made up 79% of the materials used in the project, while concrete accounted for 15%. The entire building, including its concrete and glass, is carbon-negative. "We were able to achieve that by working with the engineering consultants and the client from the very beginning, to optimise and reduce the use of concrete while increasing the amount of Kaera," Kato says. Notably, the house has a "very optimised structure" — with no beams and just a few columns — which was also made possible by the ODE team’s collaboration with the consultants and client, he adds. ODE applied the Creative Engineering method and analysed environmental data such as wind flow and solar exposure at the earliest design stages. The result is a project with a total embodied carbon of -3,600kg in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e). Embodied carbon refers to emissions from the entire life cycle of building materials, including extraction, manufacturing, transportation, and construction. “That means, if you add up all the embodied carbon being released from the production of glass, concrete slabs, et cetera, then subtract the amount that Kaera is sequestering, you get a negative embodied-carbon factor overall [on a cradle-to-gate basis],” Kato explains. The Plane House also cools naturally and relies less on mechanical systems. The dining area does not require air-conditioning, for example. Expanding internationally Outside of Malaysia, Kaera is now being introduced across the Asia Pacific region and Europe. Markets in focus include Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and parts of Europe. "We are interested in markets that are advanced in carbon reduction efforts," says Kato. He and his team are speaking with real estate developers, hoteliers, manufacturers, distributors and other partners spanning the residential, hospitality and commercial property sectors. In particular, they are in discussions with a party for full distribution rights in Singapore. "We're looking at about 10 to 12 upcoming projects across Asia Pacific," Kato says. On the certification front, 25-year regional patents for Kaera are currently pending. Independent testing and verification has been conducted by a range of accredited laboratories and specialist organisations in Malaysia and Singapore, including Anton Paar, the National University of Singapore, and environmental engineering companies. Further testing and certification is ongoing with TÜV SÜD. These assessments have covered carbon footprint assessment, life-cycle assessment, material durability, compression testing, and chemical composition analysis, says Kato. They confirm a climate impact of -0.05kg of CO2e per kg of Kaera, or -87.2kg of CO2e per cubic metre of the material — a carbon-negative result aligned with the ISO 14040 international standard for life-cycle assessments. Building a greener future Work on the next iterations of Kaera is already underway at ODE, where research has not let up. "We are continually exploring how Kaera can be combined with other materials, and if the current formula can be modified to get an even greater carbon sequestration percentage or have different characteristics," Kato says. "And cost is always a consideration, so that's something we look at simultaneously." The goal is to further improve Kaera's performance without making it harder or more expensive to use. Kato hopes to see more buildings that are carbon-negative and "much more beneficial for the planet" in time to come. Fifteen years into developing Kaera, he has never lost sight of why he embarked on this journey. His upbringing in Hana, amid lush forests and rugged volcanic landscapes, instilled in him a lasting concern for the environment. That sense of purpose continues to guide him — especially when progress stalls. "I’m quite an environmentalist… I try to focus back on what I was trying to do, which makes dealing with bottlenecks and delays a bit easier," Kato says. "With Kaera, we are saving ecosystems and not damaging the planet. Having that as a driver behind everything really helps me push through tough times." ---------- What is Kaera? Kaera is a durable earth-based, bio-composite building material made from renewable resources. It locks carbon in multiple mineralised forms and is designed to actively sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) throughout its life cycle. An estimated 119,805kg of CO2 equivalents have been sequestered across Kaera-based projects. It has a verified footprint on a cradle-to-gate basis. Use cases for Kaera include walls, structural elements, panels, paving, and innovative forms. The patent-pending product is made from abundant mineral waste streams and by-products, including excavated soil from construction sites that would otherwise head to the landfill. Its production process does not extract from natural resources, uses low-temperature processing, and follows a zero-waste manufacturing model — with the aim of minimising energy consumption and eliminating environmental damage from the outset. Characteristics of the material include: Carbon-negative: traps more CO2 than it emitsLoad-bearing: compressive strength of 25 megapascals and higher, similar to concreteFree-forming: can be cast into any shapeLightweight: 30–40% lighter than concreteThermal-resistant: insulates up to 40% better than regular dense concreteFire-safe: non-combustible and fire containmentTermite-resistant: prevents termite, pest and mould damageSound-proofing: dense yet porous structure enables high acoustic dampingMinimises pollution: Up to 90% reduction in on-site airborne pollutants compared to conventional construction materials Kaera was developed through architectural and material science research at the Kuala Lumpur-based Office for Design Evolution (ODE), a sustainable architecture firm founded by Kody Kato. It has been refined through real-world architectural projects rather than laboratory-only testing. According to ODE, the name Kaera combines Kato's family name with references to renewal and terra, the Latin word for earth, reflecting the material's environmental focus. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok ### 发明Kaera：建筑师兼材料科学家Kody Kato谈与自然和谐建造 一种由回收废料制成的新材料，源于一个无法落地的设计，助力住宅、酒店与写字楼更绿色地建造。 Kody Kato在茂宜岛（Maui）东端风景如画的小镇Hana长大，周围几乎没有多少建筑物。 这座悠闲夏威夷岛屿的迎风海岸，密布热带雨林、瀑布、水潭、竹林、地下熔岩洞与黑沙海滩。 地形与海景同样令人着迷，人造构筑物寥寥无几，在周遭自然面前显得渺小。 对一位未来的建筑师与材料科学家而言，这正是合适的成长环境。 Kato是Kaera的发明者——一种由自然废物流与副产品制成的碳负建筑替代材料。经过15年研究、开发与实际应用后，他现正将其引入新加坡。 正如他在接受EdgeProp Singapore采访时所言，这项工作的根源可追溯到他在Hana的童年，以及他的家庭。 父亲是建筑承包商；母亲是重症监护室工作人员，热爱科学、生物与自然。 “我来自一个经常动手鼓捣的家庭，总在发明东西、尝试新事物，”他说。 在“完全就是自然”的小镇里，建筑、生物与荒野贯穿成长，追求可持续建筑似乎是理所当然的下一步，Kato分享道。 走出非常规道路 2000年代初读大学时，他要求同时主修建筑、结构工程与生物，却被告知不可能，因为这些领域过于迥异。 他拒绝接受，自己编写定制课程大纲，提交给建筑学院教员。 “我有点固执，不想放弃，”Kato打趣道。“19岁的时候，我就想改变大学制度。” 校方最终同意为他量身定制跨学科课程。此后十年，他横跨这些领域工作，最终取得博士学位，聚焦性能导向设计、结构工程与数学生物学。 这奠定了他如今所称“创意工程”（Creative Engineering）的基础——一种把建筑、工程、材料科学、生物与环境性能整合为连续过程的独特设计方法。 创意工程如何运作 在这套由Kato于2000年代初开创的专有框架下，材料开发与建筑思维密不可分。 跨学科方法催生了他迄今最具创新性的成果：Kaera。它被设计为一种主动碳负的生物材料系统，在整个生命周期中固碳，同时满足建造的结构需求。 “通过创意工程，我们试图打造100%回收的结构与建筑——高性能、生态友好，并对环境作出回应，”Kato说。 这一设计哲学也是他创办的吉隆坡建筑事务所Office for Design Evolution（ODE）的基础。ODE探索如何从原材料层面构思建筑，而非仅依赖表面饰面。 ODE团队精简，约六人，实践依托计算研究、可持续流程，以及回收、自然与替代材料。 事务所为国际项目设计低碳至零碳方案，涵盖住宅、办公、摩天楼、博物馆、音乐厅、工厂、展览空间与桥梁。 在实践中创新 2010年，Kato与另外两名学生以名为Liberated Memories的项目参加国际建筑设计竞赛，并获最佳奖。 方案设想在夏威夷乡村一座1906年废弃建筑上，以回收泥土、竹与灰烬等本土材料制作柱与板。 遗憾的是，当时土柱的愿景无法真正落地。 “当我们尝试建造时，世上还没有Kaera，也没有结构性土柱与土墙，”Kato说。“意识到建不出来的那一刻……影响很大。” 这促使他踏上日后长达15年的Kaera创造之路——研究材料行为、老化与环境互动。 前十年用于研发。Kato在BCHO——以南韩建筑师Byoung Soo Cho低调、亲近自然的设计闻名的事务所——与替代材料打交道并亲手浇筑的经历，为Kaera随后的开发奠定了基础。 在该事务所，Kato与BCHO团队可试验多种材料，包括将泥土与不同粘结剂结合。“我可以自由探索，”他说。 “在真实建筑语境中，以全尺寸亲手浇筑、制作，是能够创造新材料的又一块踏脚石，”Kato补充。“如果只困在实验室，会花很长时间。” 这种动手、由实践驱动的过程，是Kaera开发的关键。 “锦上添花” 离开首尔后，他前往吉隆坡，并于2017年创立ODE，继续研究、工程化、测试，并在实际项目中使用Kaera。 大约在2019年，测试显示该材料还能从大气中清除比其排放更多的二氧化碳，形成净正向的环境影响。 这一碳负发现让Kato松了口气。“我可以稍微放松一点。但碳负并不是我最初追求的目标，所以出现时就像锦上添花。” Kato的主要目标是改变传统建材的获取、处理与加工方式。“仅仅这样做，我们就能做出低碳排放的产品，”他说。 除气候表现外，Kaera还具备隔热性能、因可自由造型而带来的设计灵活性、隔音、不燃的防火性能，以及约25兆帕及以上的抗压强度——可与混凝土媲美，足以用于承重结构。 让Kaera更好用 在产品研发十年后，Kato从2020年起又用了三年，让新材料在成本上具竞争力、使用更友好，过程充满反复试错。 “我们与一线承包商合作，让它非常好用，这花了好几年才解决。现在阻力已经很小，”他说。 承包商只需混合粉末与液体，最快约两分钟即可固化变硬。固化时间取决于应用或浇筑规模。 材料也可浇筑成任意形状，甚至可手工以薄抹层（skim coat）施作于墙面与表面。它比混凝土轻30%至40%，运输与现场搬运也更易、成本更低。 相比之下，早期版本的Kaera笨重，更接近预制体系——又重又大、难用得多，现场安装需大量人力。 住宅项目的首批采用者 Kaera自2023年起先向部分ODE客户独家供应，2025年进入更广泛的软启动与规模化。 迄今项目以马来西亚私人住宅、尤其洋房为主——许多产品试点也在当地进行。 几乎无需说服，早期客户主动要求把这种创新材料用于自家住宅。Kato说，许多人想当“先行者与开拓者”。 “我不太相信硬销，也不喜欢把东西强加给人。市场必须先准备好、并真正想要这种材料，”他补充。 这些项目上的承包商也对Kaera凝固之快与强度之高感到“震惊”，Kato分享道。 客户对Kaera的观感与触感反应良好——一种自然、有机的色调，他形容为米白、接近原土。虽可上漆，但多数客户选择保持原貌。 Kaera可用于室内墙面，亦可用于外墙面板，以及外铺地、人行道与路缘等景观元素。 更长期而言，Kato的目标是让Kaera更广泛地被采用为承重结构材料。 Plane House：一栋碳负家庭住宅 早期采用者之一是Plane House——坐落马来西亚雪兰莪山坡的一栋洋房。项目材料中Kaera占79%，混凝土占15%。 整栋建筑——包括混凝土与玻璃——实现碳负。 “我们从一开始就与工程顾问及客户合作，优化并减少混凝土用量、提高Kaera占比，才做到这一点，”Kato说。 值得注意的是，这栋房子结构“高度优化”——没有梁，只有少数柱——同样得益于ODE团队与顾问、客户的协作，他补充。 ODE运用创意工程方法，在最早设计阶段分析风流、日照等环境数据。 最终项目的总隐含碳为-3,600公斤二氧化碳当量（CO2e）。隐含碳指建材全生命周期排放，包括开采、制造、运输与施工。 “意思是，把玻璃、混凝土板等生产所释放的全部隐含碳加总，再减去Kaera所固存的量，整体就会得到负的隐含碳因子（以‘从摇篮到大门’计），”Kato解释。 Plane House亦能自然降温，对机械系统依赖更少。例如餐厅区域无需空调。 国际拓展 在马来西亚以外，Kaera正被引入亚太与欧洲。重点市场包括新加坡、韩国、日本、台湾、澳大利亚及欧洲部分地区。 “我们对在减碳方面较先进的市场感兴趣，”Kato说。 他与团队正与房地产开发商、酒店运营商、制造商、分销商及其他伙伴洽谈，覆盖住宅、酒店与商业地产领域。 尤其，他们正就新加坡的全部分销权与一方商谈。 “我们在亚太约有10到12个即将推进的项目，”Kato说。 认证方面，Kaera的25年区域专利目前正在申请中。 独立测试与验证已由马来西亚与新加坡多家认可实验室及专业机构进行，包括Anton Paar、新加坡国立大学及环境工程公司等。与TÜV SÜD的进一步测试与认证仍在进行。 Kato表示，评估涵盖碳足迹评估、生命周期评估、材料耐久性、抗压测试与化学成分分析。 结果显示气候影响为每公斤Kaera -0.05公斤CO2e，或每立方米材料 -87.2公斤CO2e——符合ISO 14040生命周期评估国际标准的碳负结果。 建设更绿色的未来 ODE对Kaera下一迭代的工作已经展开，研究并未停歇。 “我们持续探索Kaera如何与其他材料结合，以及现有配方能否调整，以获得更高的固碳比例或不同特性，”Kato说。 “成本也始终是考量，我们会同步关注。” 目标是在不增加使用难度与成本的前提下，进一步提升Kaera性能。 Kato希望未来看到更多碳负、且“对地球更有益”的建筑。 开发Kaera已15年，他从未忘记当初为何上路。 在Hana的茂密森林与崎岖火山地貌中成长，使他持久关注环境。这种使命感持续指引他——尤其在进展受阻时。 “我算是环保主义者……我会把注意力拉回自己真正想做的事，这让应对瓶颈与延误容易一些，”Kato说。 “有了Kaera，我们在拯救生态系统，而不是伤害地球。以此作为一切背后的驱动力，真的帮助我撑过艰难时刻。” ---------- 什么是Kaera？ Kaera是一种耐用的土基生物复合材料建材，由可再生资源制成。 它以多种矿化形态固碳，并被设计为在整个生命周期中主动固存大气二氧化碳（CO2）。 在基于Kaera的项目中，估计已固存119,805公斤二氧化碳当量。其“从摇篮到大门”足迹已获验证。 Kaera的用途包括墙体、结构构件、面板、铺地与创新造型。 这款专利待批产品由丰富的矿物废物流与副产品制成，包括本将送往填埋场的建筑工地开挖土方。 其生产过程不开采自然资源，采用低温加工，并遵循零废弃制造模式——从源头尽可能降低能耗并消除环境损害。 材料特性包括： 碳负：捕获的CO2多于其排放 承重：抗压强度25兆帕及以上，与混凝土相近 自由造型：可浇筑成任意形状 轻质：比混凝土轻30%–40% 隔热：保温性能比常规密实混凝土高出最多约40% 防火安全：不燃并可遏制火势 防白蚁：防止白蚁、害虫与霉菌损害 隔音：致密而多孔的结构带来高声学阻尼 减少污染：相较传统建材，现场空气污染物最多可减少约90% Kaera由吉隆坡可持续建筑事务所Office for Design Evolution（ODE）通过建筑与材料科学研究开发，该事务所由Kody Kato创办。 它通过真实建筑项目打磨，而非仅依赖实验室测试。 据ODE，Kaera一名结合了Kato的姓氏，以及对“更新”与拉丁语terra（土地）的指涉，体现该材料的环境取向。