Methodology

1. Cross-disciplinary collaboration on the development of 1:1 testing of wetware, software and hardware

Collaborations have been established with biological and computing scientists throughout the projects. This includes Catherine Legrand, a micro-biologist at Lund University who has been working on isolating specific strains of microalgae found in Sweden. The multiple colours and properties of microalgae were highlighted through this collaboration and became part of future prototypes. A priority was to explore microalgae’s resilience to thermal stress and its capacity to absorb and re-metabolise air pollutants. In the future, it could be possible to engineer algae variants to develop a portfolio of proprietary strands with optimised resilience to urban conditions. This research has been further developed to an architectural scale.

For Urban Algae Folly Milan, Pasquero’s team collaborated with Nick Puckett, a computational expert at The University of British Columbia. They developed a sensing and actuating mechanism that records the properties of the microalgae medium and its surrounding environment. This was further advanced with integrated sensors and data representation devices. Under development is an interface that allows biological intelligence and AI to interact with human needs to achieve a bio-autonomous self-regulating and sufficient system.

2. Welding, laser-cutting, 3D printing and lab-grade glass modelling to evolve the hardware design and functioning

Materials were tested that can host microalgae cultivation and adapt to the built environment. A digital welding technique was developed and tested for ETFE (22). Starch-based bioplastic foils enabled systems to be proposed for building façades that provide shade and security (23–4) and host urban algae farms. Initially, the geometry of existing closed-loop algae farming systems was mapped to compare them with cladding structures. This allowed for a hybrid system to be engineered that acts as both cladding and container for microalgae growth (21).

21 Urban Algae Folly Aarhus, 2017. ETFE photobioreactors (detail).

22 Urban Algae Folly Aarhus, 2017. Aerial view of ETFE photobioreactors.

23–4 Urban Algae Folly Aarhus, 2017.

25 25 Urban Algae Folly Braga, 2015. Axonometric diagram of physical to virtual interaction.

26 (overleaf) Urban Algae Folly Braga, 2015. Exploded grid diagram showing system structure.

27 (overleaf) Urban Algae Folly Milan, 2015. System diagram plan view.

For BioTechHut, lab-grade glass tubes were developed and tested in the built environment, transferring techniques from the lab and traditional algae farming systems to architecture. Different curvatures of lab-graded pipes (usually straight) were tested for the creation of 3D spaces. Curvature was deployed that could be achieved in manufacture and would allow the growth of microalgae. Designed in collaboration with marine biologists and algae farmers, the photobioreactive cladding is developed from a system that uses high-speed air flow to lift the living medium into the glass tubes. The air stream creates eddies of the fluid inside the tubes and generates a stirring effect that catalyses the desired O2/CO2 exchange. The fluid then descends by gravity to complete the loop. Multiple glass tubes are coiled around the BioTechHut and become architectural elements supported by a series of sectional frames in high-performance honeycombed polycarbonate (8). The resulting structure is lightweight, fully recyclable and has the unique effect of scattering and enhancing the penetration of solar radiation deep into the BioTechHut.

Large-scale 3D printing was developed for H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g to be able to work with a higher degree of articulation of the morphologies of photobioreactors. A complex morphology was modelled, starting from biological algorithms describing the relationship between microalgae and substratum in coral systems. A 3D-printing technique was then adopted with a resolution that would allow the formation of triangular bio-pixels, where microalgae – in this case growing in gel medium – would be deposited. The final digital model of the substratum is then prepared for 3D printing in PETG on a Wasp machine and processed with Cura software. The layering process is algorithmically controlled to match the curvilinear profiles of the outer layers with the actual toolpaths of the 3D-printing nozzle. In this way, the digital description is perfectly translated into lines of deposited material. Each layer is 400 microns thick with triangular infill units of 46 mm. It is printed in 105 hexagonal blocks of 18.5 cm2, producing an overall substratum that is tall enough to enclose an adult human, reaching 317 cm at its tallest point.

28 (previous) Urban Algae Folly Milan, 2015. System section.

29 (previous) Urban Algae Folly Milan, 2015. System plan. 30 BioTechHut Astana, 2017. Biolight room.

31 BioTechHut Astana, 2017. Human to non-human interaction.

32 BioTechHut Astana, 2017. Photobioreactor (detail).

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3. Lab-based and onsite material testing of multiple microalgae mediums to achieve balanced growth in the architectural context

Both water-based (Urban Algae Folly, BioTechHut and H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM) and gel-based mediums (PhotoSynthEtica and H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g) have been developed for algae growth in architectural photobioreactors. The water-based medium was developed in collaboration with biologists and algae farmers, and has been tested in different concentrations and conditions. The bio-gel medium was first tested and monitored in the lab at material and microscopic scale. It was later tested in a large-scale sculpture that was subjected to varying conditions. Multiple systems providing CO2 to the algae were also tested, varying from the manual to the electronically controlled.

For H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, photosynthetic cyanobacteria cultures are inoculated on a bio-gel medium into the individual triangular cells or on bio-pixels forming the units of biological intelligence of the system. Their metabolisms, powered by photosynthesis, convert radiation into O2 and biomass. The density value of each bio-pixel is digitally computed to optimally arrange the photosynthetic organisms along iso-surfaces of progressively higher incoming radiation (24). Among the oldest organisms on Earth, cyanobacteria’s unique biological intelligence is now gathered and organised by means of the latest innovations in 3D printing.

The scales of architectural detailing and the urban microbiome become compatible for the first time in history, conjuring a new form of bio-digital architecture. Noticeably, there are multiple interactions in buildings that can be activated by the intelligence of microalgae colonies. The microorganisms grew faster in the bio-digital environments designed by the author compared to those in the wild, because in the artificial habitats they are closely connected with human life. Manmade emissions like heat and CO2 stimulate biomass growth. The biomass in turn can be used as a source of energy or food.

33 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019, for the Centre Pompidou Paris. Radiation map exposure vectorial diagram.

34 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019. Cells of body. 35 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019. Threshold overlaps.

36 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019. Incident radiation.

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4. Testing and coding of software to measure environmental variables and record performance data

Coding and testing was used in the development of a digital recording system that integrates cameras to capture colour and pattern changes and sensors that record pH, air and water temperatures and human proximity. The information from the sensors is then processed by microprocessors to deploy autoptic cultivation.

37–8 GANPhysarum. Redefined morphology and materiality of local to municipal waste collection networks in Guatemala City; algorithm training based on Physarum polycephalum behaviour.

39 Deep Green. Redefined morphology of local to municipal waste collection networks in Guatemala City; proposal based on bio-artificial intelligence algorithms. 40 Deep Green. Redefined morphology in Guatemala City; proposal based on bio-artificial intelligence algorithms.

41 Deep Green. Redefined morphology of the green networks and vegetation in Guatemala City; proposal based on bio-artificial intelligence algorithms.

42 Deep Green. Redefined morphology of water flow and collection sequences in Guatemala City; proposal based on bio-artificial intelligence algorithms.

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The H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g structure, as in the case of corals, is developed to support the proliferation of colonies of cyanobacteria that will inhabit its individual cells (bio-pixels). Each cell is therefore occupying the interstitial space between inner and outer layer. These two layers are translated into a porous field of contour lines indexical of incoming solar radiation. This curvilinear profile provides partial enclosure to the cells, while enabling light penetration and O2/CO2 exchange.

The H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g prototype demonstrates incredible potential in creating material structures that can be optimised for specific environments and operating conditions to increase the bio-diversity of the systems and its capability to host both human and non-human (microbial life) organisms. A digital algorithm is deployed in H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g to simulate the growth of a 3D substratum inspired by coral morphogenesis. The resulting set of digital meshes are then analysed, with two selected as inner and outer layers of the 3D-printed substratum of the sculpture. In the meshes, each vertex represents a virtual version of coral polyps. The substratum is then further developed to become a 3D-printable structure hosting the cyanobacteria.

43 DeepGreen algorithmic process diagram.

44 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Astaxanthin.g, Mori Museum, Tokyo, 2020. Detail of the structure with a view of Tokyo by night.