Digital Generative AI Engineered Living Materials Carbon Devouring Buildings (Published Version) (original) (raw)

Generative AI • Engineered Living Materials • Carbon-Devouring Buildings

AutopoietiX, 2023

Abstract Aware that microbes and fungi are decision-making organisms thriving and navigating harsh environments, it makes sense for architects/designers specializing in bioremediation to inquire into cell-level perception/response as assets for metabolic architectures. From that supposition, it follows that if imbued with biointelligent, responsive life — indigenous to some microorganisms — buildings could eat and metabolize pollution when “cellular systems . . . function as living materials.” This text outlines ideas and sources conceptualizing living materials and performative buildings for studio development using theory, design, and generative AI. Functions include searching out biological skills for metabolic architectures tasked to reverse fossil-fuel use, production, and damage. Forwarding that prospect, design theory anchored by Ecological Rift stabilizes metabolic architectural dialectics and practice by constructing pathways to discuss and design biologically performativ buildings. My proposition is that architects experimentally investigate biosystems along with plant/microbe capabilities for achieving the integration of life systems with urban structures in order to leapfrog conventional construction and materialization. The intention is to design AI-assisted, living-materials — then buildings — that eliminate CO2 utilizing microbe-activated facades and panels. With expected design advancements, life-sustaining organisms will populate structures to fortify cellular intelligence and AI systems — their job: metabolize pollution by colonizing buildings with biological agents. Specifically relevant is research dedicated to bacterial biofilms I return to, but preview below: ". . . natural systems grow, self-repair, and adapt to the environment, they have distinctive living attributes that are beyond the reach of the vast majority of existing synthetic materials. . . . This new tunable platform [engineered cells] offers previously unattainable properties for a variety of living functional materials having potential applications in biomaterials, biotechnology, [bioarchitectures], and biomedicine.”

Engineered Living Materials: Toward Microbially Alive Bio-Intelligent Buildings

AutopoietiX

Abstract. Microbes and fungi are living organisms autonomously thriving and navigating diverse and harsh environments, it makes sense for designers to consider primal levels of cellular perception/cognition as assets to deploy in next generation bioremediating buildings and city infrastructures. From that supposition, it follows, that if buildings could incorporate intelligent actions native to microbes and mycelial webs, they could sensory detect and biochemically eradicate (eat) pollution. Doing so, they would become be integral to future bioarchitectural systems. My proposition is to theoretically investigate realms of intelligences emerging from synthetic biology for experimental use in new materials and 3D fabrication envisioned for metabolic architectures. Self-maintaining microbes could facilitate the biochemical extraction of energy from airborne CO2 and thereby aid the continuous 24/7 eradication of fossil-fuel toxins. Ongoing research in synthetic biology and computation/simulation drive this design probe for Engineered Living Materials (ELM) to help eradicate atmospheric and urban pollution. They highlight biological methods for animating matter with microbial intelligences referencing bacteria, fungi, and forest mycorrhizal communities. Sourcing DARPA’s research objectives for ELMs further alerts architects, designers, and educators to the fact that the time has come for university and studio dialectics to factor in bioremediating living materials to ecologically pilot metabolic buildings, cities, manufacturing, landscape recovery, and reforestation infrastructures.

From Bioinspiration to Biomimicry in Architecture: Opportunities and Challenges

Encyclopedia

The term “bioinspiration” defines a creative approach based on the observation of biological principles and transfer to design. Biomimicry is the recent approach, which describes a large field of scientific and technical activities dealing with an interdisciplinary cooperation between biology and other fields with the goal of solving practical problems addressing innovation or sustainable development. Architecture has been influenced by many aspects of natural and social sciences, among these, biology is currently blending into design activities. Bioinspiration has evolved and shifted architectural practices towards numerous innovative approaches through different bioarchitectural movements from the past until the present. However, there is a blur of biomimicry within bioinspiration in architecture between the direct copy of mere natural forms and the true understanding of biological principles, which is the pivot of sustainable development. The main challenge remains in the gap bet...

CHALLENGES IN INTEGRATION OF BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTURE: TOWARDS A REGENERATIVE APPROACH

CHALLENGES IN INTEGRATION OF BIOMIMICRY IN ARCHITECTURE:, 2021

Living organisms over time appear to have evolved effective ways to cope with their natural environment. Nature has spent billions of years solving and refining so many of problems that we as humans are facing today and so it is logical for us to learn from nature’s existing solutions to solve our issues of sustainable design. The field of biomimicry rises from the view that these natural systems of adaptation can be emulated in the design of buildings as well as other aspects of technology. Some have even tried to draw analogies from nature to apply them to non-design fields like sociology and business. This paper is primarily a review of current literature covering approaches and theories on the subject of biomimicry and how it may be applied to architecture so as to produce more sustainable buildings. It concludes that biomimicry is the veritable for sustainability. Although there are many studies and approaches to designing more sustainable buildings, there is limited research on ecologically sustainable design approaches that can alleviate waste of resources by understanding the adaptation methods in natural systems. This research aims to examine biomimicry in architecture as a potential way forward for sustainable building design with the idea of co evolution where the ever growing field of technology can intersect with nature in a positive way and help buildings become closed positive loops wherein we also take care of the how the building can give back to the nature not only during its life period but also after it.

Biogeneration: Bio-Inspired Architecture for Regenerative Built Environments 1

The authors introduce a new concept termed "biogeneration," a reflection of bio-inspired architecture, including biomimicry and biophilia, in regenerative built environments. In elucidating the field's interdisciplinary span, the authors present how biogenerative approaches to architectural design can assist with the identification, ideation, innovation, iteration, and implementation () design thinking methodology. The authors expound on the need for and relevance of biogeneration in three major fields of design: development engineering, additive manufacturing (AM), and climate change adaptation and mitigation. By integrating human urban habitats into the living world, biogeneration can help development engineers find solutions that benefit the poor to bring about substantial change; design thinkers and professionals develop additively manufacturable artifacts and structures that create new AM-enabled opportunities, enriched design processes, new business models, and new technologies with AM; and urban planners transform the built environment to counter the human-caused climate crisis. T The research examines the mutualistic relationships between people and the environment that ensure the psychological well-being of the former and the ecological health of the latter.

Architecture Learns from Nature. The Influence of Biomimicry and Biophilic Design in Building

Modern Applied Science

Architecture is currently seeking to create new and innovative building forms that are more sustainable and less harmful to the environment. In this pursuit, architects are turning to nature for inspiration, utilizing biomimicry and biophilic design principles to create buildings that are more in harmony with the natural world. The use of biomimicry and biophilic design has produced encouraging results, as architects are incorporating natural forms and elements into their building projects. This approach has the potential to bring significant advancements in innovation and research, particularly in fields such as green nanotechnology and sustainability. Moreover, the intentional incorporation of nature in building design can have a positive impact on workers' health, leading to reduced stress levels and greater individual satisfaction with their work or living environment. Thus, biomimicry and biophilic design can play a key role in achieving a more sustainable and healthier bui...