Images © Arup / F2K
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ADPT is a new system for how buildings are designed, built and evolved over time.

ADPT enables buildings to be tailored to specific sites and needs without starting from scratch every time.

By combining a modular kit-of-parts with digital systems, projects can be configured, delivered and updated with greater speed, cost predictability and circular material flows.

Futur2K

The construction sector is entering a fundamental transition. While most industries have adopted system-based and product-oriented approaches, buildings are still largely developed as fragmented one-off projects instead of scalable systems that improve with every building.

Futur2K develops the building system that enables a new generation of configurable buildings.

Operating at the intersection of architecture, engineering, manufacturing and digital technology, we collaborate with partners from industry and research to develop a new approach to system-based construction.

This work forms the foundation for ADPT – Futur2K’s system architecture for adaptable and circular buildings.

BUILDING SECTOR

© F2K


The Problem

Construction is one of the largest industries in the world — yet most buildings are still developed as one-off prototypes.

For nearly every project, design, engineering and supply chains are reinvented from scratch.
This leads to fragmented processes, long planning cycles, cost uncertainty and significant waste of time and material.

While industries such as automotive, aerospace or electronics rely on system architectures and product platforms, buildings are still typically conceived as isolated projects.

As a result, innovation is difficult to scale, circular material flows are hard to establish and construction productivity has remained largely stagnant for decades compared to other industries.

 

Structural challenges of the building sector

Fragmented production

Each project requires new planning, coordination and technical solutions. This results in slow planning processes, fragmented supply chains and significant uncertainty regarding costs and timelines.

Limited adaptability

Most buildings are designed for a single purpose and moment in time. When needs change, buildings are often demolished and rebuilt instead of adapted — leading to the loss of materials, embodied energy and asset value. Buildings who loose their function over time, often turn into stranded assets.

Linear material use

Construction consumes enormous amounts of resources. Most building materials are permanently bonded together, making reuse difficult and resulting in large volumes of construction waste.

 

The underlying issue

Buildings are still treated as isolated projects rather than configurable systems. As long as this logic persists, it remains difficult to improve productivity, enable circular construction or scale better solutions across the industry.

DEVELOPMENT PARTNER

© F2K

Rethinking how buildings are conceived and produced requires collaboration across disciplines and industries.

Futur2K works with partners from architecture, engineering, manufacturing, research and digital technology to develop new approaches to system-based construction.

Our collaborations include partners such as Arup, a global leader in engineering and sustainable design, and Ruhr University Bochum, where research focuses on the digital transformation of the construction industry.

Together, these collaborations combine expertise from industry, research and digital technology to develop the foundations of a new generation of system-based buildings.

 

TEAM & ORIGINS

Futur2K originated from three simple observations: buildings are still reinvented for every project, processes are not efficient and buildings are often not healthy.

Founded in 2021 as a small research initiative, Futur2K began exploring new approaches to system-based and circular construction.

During the first years, the initiative focused primarily on research, concept development and prototyping the physical dimension of ADPT. This part-time work laid the conceptual and technological foundations for Futur2K’s approach to system-based construction.

In 2026, Futur2K secured funding and is now evolving into a dedicated full-time startup supported by a strong network of industry and research partners.

The core-team combines expertise in architecture and systems thinking and will gradually expand in early/mid 2026 – particularly in digital and software development roles.

If you want to contribute to building the technological foundations of a new generation of system-based construction, we look forward to hearing from you (mail@futur2k.com).

ADPT

A modular building system based on interoperable components and digital technology.
Buildings tailored to specific sites and needs — without starting from scratch every time.
Projects can be delivered faster, adapted over time and integrated into circular material flows.

Freedom

ADPT-Buildings can be freely customized to perfectly align to individual needs and specific building-sites. In addition, they provide the freedom to evolve with you over time. If your needs or contexts ever change, ADPT-buildings change with you, making sure that you always have the building setup you need. No more, no less. More flexibility means more freedom to adapt and thus, more resilience.

Resilience

ADPT is developed to resynchronize our way of living with nature, contributing to local and planetary conditions that enhance comfort, health and performance. Establishing a radical circularity-framework at the core of the system, facilitates reusable buildings which are able to regenerate and adapt like the cells of a living organism. Thus, ADPT-buildings don’t loose function, value and meaning over time. They reduce CO2 emissions and waste and enable a new degree of durability and resilience.

Peace of mind

The ADPT-system is designed for peace of mind. Significantly reducing construction-times, complexity and risks, while providing transparency regarding costs, sustainability data, construction-phase and building-performance, enables informed decisions. Prefabrication is key to design out long time-periods of noise, dirt, weather dependent risks and other unpleasant aspects. Knowing that your building is a future proof asset, in congruence with regulations, while providing a positive impact on physical health, performance and mental abilities feels good. In addition, that ADPT-buildings can respond to unforeseeable changes means less reasons to worry about an unknown future and more resources to focus on what is important now.

More freedom

1. A building that adapts to individual needs, context and conditions (planning phase)

  • choose a building-configuration that fully aligns to your company’s or residential-project’s needs:
    • freely customize building size, materials, floorplans, technology, etc.
    • freely choose between different payment-options

2. A building that evolves over time (use-phase)

  • If there is no need for change, ADPT-buildings can be used like any conventional building. If needs or conditions change, they can adapt:
    • update or substitute ADPT-elements to regenerate buildings (i.e. technology, façade, space plan, etc.)
    • add ADPT-modules for additional space
    • add ADPT-elements (i.e. smart-building systems, a roof-top-terrace, energy-systems, etc.)
    • modify/repurpose building (i.e. an office-building into living units or vice-versa)
    • reduce modules for less space
    • utilize modules at a different location
    • sell/monetize them

3. A building, that is only there as long as you need it (post-use-phase)

  • Sell it to a third party, move it to another site or give it back for refurbishment & reuse.

Your freedom. Your choice.

More resilience

IN SYNC WITH NATURE

1. REDUCTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS & WASTE & DECOUPLING GROWTH AND RESOURCE CONSUMPTION

    • Circular Materials – biobased (high-performing, carbon storing) & recyclates (high-quality, aesthetic, made from “waste” = actively reducing waste from our environment)
    • merging carbon storing and waste reducing materials with a building-system designed for multiple re-use is a tangible key to decouple economic growth and resource consumption and facilitates buildings which not only respect planetary boundaries, but actively reverse damage done to our natural environment in the past
    • the freedom to modify ADPT-buildings, allows them to regenerate and to adapt to new usage demands, breaking the linear pattern of continous “demolition-build-demolition-build” cycles. This means an additional reduction of CO2 emissions and resource consumption.
    • at the end of their lifecycle, ADPT-buildings are not waste, but material banks, storing sets of valuable resources.
    • from “individual project” to „scalable and customizable product” means getting away from energy and resource “heavy” building-processes. While conventional approaches conceive buildings as isolated artefacts which need a lot of planning and building-resources, prefabricated and standardized buildings are highly efficient regarding their “input-output” ratio (personnel, materials, waste, energy, etc). Plus “products” get more efficient and better in quality with each iteration.
    • resource efficient building operations (advanced insulation, regenerative energy sources, etc. reduce energy-consumption and costs)

2. MINIMALLY-INVASIVE

  • significant reduction of landsealing, preserving ecosystem-functions of the soil (ADPT-stilted-system)
  • Flexibility & modularity of the building-kit enables thorough integration of buildings into the environment (i.e. to “build around” existing elements like trees, instead of cutting them down)

3. UNLOCKING POSITIVE EFFECTS OF A HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN

  • only what is perceived as beautiful and valuable is preserved over time and thus a human-centered and timeless design, is key for our sustainable approach.
  • We spend up to 90% of our time indoors, thus a surrounding which does not only impact our well-being, but also physiological measures like heart rate, blood pressure etc., matters. From air quality to light sources, a multitude of variables affects us every day and incrementally over time. That’s why we research, choose and design every material and configuration carefully to support a positive impact on comfort, health and cognitive capacities.

4. RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

  • The ADPT-buildings capacity to adapt empowers companies and communities to adapt to changes of markets, climate, technological advancements etc. fostering long-term resilience.

Scaling solutions like ADPT enables us to minimize emitting CO2 and to massively reduce the need for raw materials and landsealing. Once fully established, the ADPT-system has the potential to become the first climate positive and adaptive solution in the sector and to actively contribute to reduce waste from our environment.

Peace of mind

1. PEACE OF MIND DURING PLANNING PHASE

  • get a customized Building aligned to your
    • needs
    • building site / context / conditions
    • preferences
  • enjoy full transparency regarding
    • costs
    • sustainability data
  • customize your payment options to match your preferences
  • benefit from cost- and resource efficiency due to automatized preproduction and digitized processes
  • building is developed in congruence with EU-Taxonomy and SDG’s and (generally) eligible for public funding (Germany)

2. PEACE OF MIND DURING CONSTRUCTION-PHASE

  • fast & easy process: order » preconstruction » delivery on site
    • 50-70% faster than BAU (“build as usual“)
    • saving time & money
  • benefits of standardized prefabrication
    • security regarding time schedule and quality of outcome
    • reduced „site-condition dependencies” (i.e. weather)
    • reduction of stress on-site (construction noise, pollution, dirt, etc.)
    • fast erection of building („plug n‘ play“)

3. PEACE OF MIND DURING USE-PHASE

  • Future proof asset
    • congruent to current/upcoming sustainability regulations
    • flexibility » reduction of risk for stranded asset
    • helps to attract top-talent / positive impact on retention, performance and identification
  • Flexibility & Resilience
    • ability to regenerate and adapt prepares for the unknown. If something changes, the building can evolve too.
  • Organisms who adapt to changing contexts best, have an competitive edge. The same is true for companies and communities which utilize buildings that can respond to change.
  • Health, well-being and performance nurturing design
  • Durability
    •  lowering total costs of ownership

4. PEACE OF MIND DURING POST-USE-PHASE

  • do, what’s best for you
    • reallocate building to another site
    • Give it back for refurbishment and reuse
    • Sell and monetize modules or entire building
    • Building is not waste, but a valuable asset („material bank“)

USE SCENARIOS

© Arup
© Futur2K

ADPT buildings can be deployed across a wide range of development scenarios and spatial contexts, including:

Standalone buildings
High-quality detached buildings that integrate sensitively into natural landscapes.

Urban infill
Utilizing underused spaces between existing buildings to create additional housing or commercial space within already developed areas – enabling cities to grow within their existing footprint.

Vertical extension
Adding additional stories to existing buildings to increase density without consuming additional land.

Flexible small-scale units
Compact building units that activate unused or transitional sites and respond to changing spatial demands.

Flexibility enables resilient buildings

The flexibility of the ADPT system enables buildings to respond to specific sites, changing needs and evolving uses over time.

Instead of fixed structures with limited lifespans, ADPT buildings are designed as adaptable systems whose layers and components can be attached, detached and reconfigured.

This allows floorplans to be adjusted, extended or reorganised with minimal effort — making renovation, upgrading and functional changes significantly easier and more cost-efficient.

Buildings can evolve with new tenants, regulations or market demands.

By enabling reversible and interoperable building components, ADPT significantly improves long-term asset resilience.

© Arup

From Linear to Circular to Adaptive Buildings

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Most buildings still follow an energy- and resource-intensive linear lifecycle that generates significant waste and erodes asset value.

Circular economy introduces loops such as reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling to keep materials in use longer.

ADPT extends this concept to the level of entire building systems.

Instead of circulating materials alone, ADPT enables entire modules, components and building structures to remain in circulation within the ADPT ecosystem.

ADPT buildings therefore function both as material banks and as a reservoir of recoverable building components.

This approach preserves material and asset value, reduces resource consumption and enables a more efficient and resilient construction model — while reducing dependency on volatile resource markets and global supply chains.

The ADPT System Cycle

ADPT structures buildings across three interconnected layers:

Materials → Components → Configurable Buildings

Circular materials form standardized, interoperable components that can be configured into adaptive buildings.

This system architecture enables buildings to be tailored to specific sites while remaining adaptable and reusable over time.

© Arup

Sustainability performance indicators – Prototype 01

The first physical MVP was used to test the flexibility of structural elements and to explore circular materials and supply chains.

Material circularity 84%
CO2 Emissions compared to building as usual (BAU): 50%
2 times durability of building as usual (BAU) 100%
Detachability index 67%
Designed for reuse and recycling after ADPT-lifetime 68%

Aiming at climate positive solutions and zero waste, the first prototype demonstrates the potential of the ADPT-system. Results show that more carbon has been captured within the prototype than was emitted throughout the extraction and production process.

These results represent an initial step towards scalable climate-positive and adaptive construction systems.

SDG’s IMPACTED BY ADPT (SELECTION)

3 – GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
7 – AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
8 – DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
9 – INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
11 – SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
12 – RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
13 – CLIMATE ACTION
15 – LIFE ON LAND
17 – PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS

Find out more about the goals here.

Sustainable Development Goals

Prototype 1 – circular module

Prototype 01 – circular module

The first physical prototype of the ADPT system, “Building Block No. 1,” was exhibited at Museum Folkwang in Essen during the museum’s centenary exhibition “Folkwang and the City”.

The installation presented a full-scale ADPT module and served as an experimental platform to test circular materials, modular construction principles and adaptive building strategies.

Located within one of Europe’s largest urban regions and now situated on the site of the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein, the prototype creates an interface where visitors, architects and decision-makers can explore how configurable buildings contribute to climate-responsible and future-proof urban development.

Impressions from site / exhibition opening

Prototype 2 – From circular module to adaptive building

First real-world implementation of ADPT – Inclusive Housing

The first ADPT pilot building is currently being realized as an inclusive residential project in collaboration with Aktion Mensch and ARUP.

The project has been selected as a pilot project within the German federal innovation program “Zukunft Bau”, which supports pioneering projects shaping the transition of the building sector in Germany towards future-proof, climate-responsible and resource-efficient construction.

As the first real-world implementation of ADPT principles in the residential domain, the project demonstrates how ADPT-based-buildings can support inclusive, health-promoting and community-oriented living while also demonstrating how new building structures can be sensitively integrated into an existing site of high ecological value.

Project: ADPT Pilot for inclusive Housing – Kunstwerkerschule Essen
Collaboration: Aktion Mensch, ARUP & F2K
Funding: Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB)
Scope: First real-world implementation of ADPT Principles in a residential project

DEVELOPMENT ECOSYSTEM

INDUSTRY & RESEARCH

Arup
Arup University
Institute for Digitization of the building industry
(University Duisburg-Essen)

PROTOTYPE & MANUFACTURING

Baumgarten GmbH

START UP ECOSYSTEM & SUPPORT

Impact Factory
Innoshot
EWG

Team-Expansion

F2K started as a small research initiative and secured funding in early 2026. The project is now evolving into a full-time startup.

Throughout 2026 we are building the core development team – we are currently looking for a Principal System Architect, Modular Building Architect & Software Developer.

We are particularly interested in people working at the intersection of architecture, systems engineering, computational design and software development.

If you want to help build the technological foundations of a new generation of system-based construction, we look forward to hearing from you.

mail@futur2k.com.

Want to get in touch?

All images and graphics © Arup and F2K unless otherwise noted.

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