Living Architecture: Investigating the interface between biology and architecture – a new vision for homes and cities
Living organisms can be used in the construction of buildings and to heat and light them
Thu, Dec 27, 2018, 06:00
Sylvia Thompson
Some scientists spend years manipulating and analysing microscopic biological, chemical or physical interactions in the hope of seeing something new that can increase our knowledge of metabolic processes – particularly when they go wrong. Others dream up new experiments which investigate how metabolic processes could be used for new purposes that many of us haven’t even imagined.
Dr Rachel Armstrong, professor of experimental architecture at the University of Newcastle in England, is in the latter category. Her experiments aim to discover how biological interactions could be used for functions we currently assign to other materials. In her research, she investigates a new approach to building materials which uses biological processes to create light, heat and waste disposal in our homes. She calls these metabolic interactions “living architecture†and develops prototypes to examine how they could be incorporated into homes and cities in the future.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/living-architecture-investigating-the-interface-between-biology-and-architecture-a-new-vision-for-homes-and-cities-1.3733994
