EMBERLIGHT

Emberlight is an underground capsule city designed for Photie, light-dependent creatures that cannot survive under direct sunlight. The city emerges from fear as much as from necessity: unpredictable external threats and harmful solar exposure force Photie to retreat below the surface and inhabit a protective glass enclosure. This transparent yet defensive shell allows observation without vulnerability, shaping both the psychological and architectural character of the project. The structure of Emberlight is organized vertically and governed by energy rather than conventional urban hierarchies. Spaces are defined by metabolic function instead of social order. Resting zones are located at the lowest level, where darkness, enclosure, and stillness provide safety and recovery. Above them, storage units and energy analysis centers regulate daily decisions, determining whether a Photie has sufficient capacity to ascend, contribute to production, or return to rest. The uppermost level acts as a temporary interface with the surface, accessed only during night cycles to collect stones containing residual solar energy. Architecturally, Emberlight is composed of modular geometries that support controlled expansion. Stones depleted of energy are not treated as waste; instead, they are transformed into glass material and reused to expand the capsule itself. In this closed-loop system, the city grows from its own byproducts, reinforcing its self-sustaining structure. From the perspective of a Photie, everyday life follows a precise and repetitive routine. It wakes in the resting chamber, feeds from stored energy stones, and passes through the energy analysis center. Depending on the results, it ascends to collect materials, works in the glass production zone, or descends. When energy levels drop, Photie slides back into the resting area, completing the cycle. Emberlight is therefore not a static settlement, but a living organism shaped by fear, energy, and repetition.