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Eugene Tsui builds like the barnacle

Architect Eugene Tsui systematically follows Mother Nature in his designs. There are no straight lines - nature, after all, knows no right angles. Tsui modelled his parents' house after the tardigrade, a microscopically tiny water creature, while a neighbourhood home annexe mimics the highly resistant shell of an ocean barnacle.  "These countless structures created by animals have been around for ages," stresses Tsui. His futuristic and energy-efficient designs largely employ recycled and local materials. As well as his work on a completely sustainable "City of the Future" in Mexico's tourist hub of Cancún, he is also consulting with Morocco and Spain to build a floating bridge across the Straight of Gibraltar. Tsui's plans envisage, among other features, an artificial island and the construction of 150 windmills, 180 desalination plants and 80 underwater turbines that would produce 4 billion watts of energy and 5 billion litres of drinking water annually.  "That would make it the biggest ecological project in the history of humanity," notes Tsui, who speaks fluent Chinese, has four professional degrees and is a two-time middleweight amateur boxing world champion. He lives out his ideals in his daily existence, eating only every other day to halve his consumption and waste. Tsui also designs his own clothes: ergonomic shoes, long capes and colourful, ventilated shirts.Get the full story by Tracie Broom in the San Francisco edition of MINIInternational