Archive

Natural Systems

“The Water Cathedral is a large, horizontal urban nave for public use, discreetly exposed so that enigmatic and semi-dark atmospheres can be made out through its topographic lines of floor and ceiling. Both topographies are surface systems shaped by numerous slender, vertical components, which hang or rise like stalactites and stalagmites in a cave, varying their heights and concentrations. A physical organization with regimes of proliferation and differentiation; a series of columns, platforms, arches, curtains, domes and caverns emerge, qualifying the project spatially and atmospherically.Water embedding / Dripping, duration, delay by integrating water within its spatial and material logics, the project promotes a form of architecture that systematizes dripping pulses and speeds, consistently exacerbating the water drop as primal atmospheric matter.”

“This is accomplished through the hanging components of the roof topography, constituted geometrically and materially like textile prisms placed upside-down with a partial granular substratum filling. They are fed by a hydraulic network that continuously irrigates using measured doses. When filled with small amounts of water, these elements act as regulators or atmospheric interfaces, experiencing a phenomenon of absorption and release where, through capillarity, water drops gradually flow against gravity along the prism edges, slowing down the time of concentration and fall. This delay process that consequently produces multiple dripping rhythms over the ground topography, formally demonstrates management of duration. It materializes an architectural form in which water can be particularized in a system that has extensive effects over an area. The delay principle, established through mediation by the prisms, is translated into the possibility to define the layout and use the water as it drops.Form Principles as an abstraction and geometrical transposition of the stalactite, a three-dimensional spatial component, is developed. A three-phase prism with an equilateral base that varies in height and area. These elements proliferate in a grid system, forming curves of different lengths and intensities. This variation capacity component, allows to effectively producing diversity of spaces, textures, patterns and interactions with environmental dynamics based in a principle of material abundance.Geometrical studies from two dimensional curve variation and three dimensional arrangements constrained to equilateral modules. These forms of proliferation deliver rich arch formations, defining interiorities, structural points and modular connectivity.”

WATER CATHEDRAL | GUN Architects

WATER CATHEDRAL | GUN Architects

WATER CATHEDRAL | GUN Architects

via WATER CATHEDRAL | GUN Architects.


Ecovative are a New York based research group who are growing a new material using fungi. The process uses an organic aggregate, such as seed husk or other agricultural / industrial by products, as its base. This aggregate is mixed with mycelium fungi and packed into a former to give it the desired geometry. Being a loose aggregate it will fill any former created. The mixture is then left for several days, over which time the fungi grows into a microscopic web of fibres which bond the aggregate into a solid mass. This growth requires no water, light or petrochemical inputs. Every cubic inch of material contains a matrix of 8 miles of tiny mycelial fibres. At the end of the process, they put the materials through a dehydration and heat treating process to stop the growth. This final process ensures that there will never be any spores or allergen concerns.
The company are currently exploring applications of the material in multiple industries from packaging and consumer products to architecture and automotive manufacture. They are also looking for potential partners with which to develop aspects of the material further.

More info: http://www.ecovativedesign.com/

Below is an inspiring documentary on the Cradle to Cradle design concept of the chemist Michael Braungart and the architect William McDonough:

 

Summary of the C2C approach:

“Rather than seeing materials as a waste management problem, as in the cradle-to-grave system, cradle-to-cradle design is based on the closed-loop nutrient cycles of nature, in which there is no waste. Just like nature, the cradle-to-cradle design seeks, from the start, to create buildings, communities and systems that generate wholly positive effects on human and environmental health. Not less waste and fewer negative effects, but more positive effects of regeneration, seed, growth, plant, product, “upcycle” and/or seed, growth, plant, product etc etc. One organism’s waste is food for another, and nutrients and energy flow perpetually in closed-loop cycles of growth, decay and rebirth. Waste equals food.

This is not just wishful thinking or “concept” design. The cradle-to-cradle philosophy is driving a growing movement devoted to developing safe materials, products, supply chains and manufacturing processes throughout architecture and industry. It is being adopted by some of the world’s most influential corporations, including Ford Motor Group, Nike and Herman Miller Furniture. Even densely populated China is looking at development and the impact of the rapidly growing population on housing development.”

via designindustry

Above: Nike Considered Design, made respecting the C2C protocol

Above: Herman Miller Mira Chair based on the C2C protocol

Above: The Ford Model U and its compostable body parts. Made respecting the C2C protocol

Above: Ford Motor Company River Rouge production plant (Michigan, USA)

Above:  Ferrer Research & Development Center, Barcelona; a.k.a. “The Butterfly Building” by William McDonough + Partners

Above Cradle to Cradle certification

Above: William McDonough (Architect) and Michael Braungart (Chemist)

More on Cradle to Cradle:
-Link to the book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
-Wikipedia article
-Cradle to Cradle Community
-Cradle to Cradle Facebook Page
-Interview of McDonough

For more documentaries, go to http://documentaryheaven.com/
via Rory O’Grady from A Beautiful Planet

This model takes the Latex & Thread Skin Model 01 to a larger scale developing the minimal system and forming a 1:20 fragment of a potential skin. The result is an intricate but surprisingly strong web.

This small scale model attempts to create cleaner intersections between threads of the minimal system by using latex instead of resin, previously explored. The latex forms a web like surface joining the threads smoothly. This model is made by cross referencing all points i.e. each pin is connected to all other pins by the thread. The latex is then applied and the model is then relaxed to allow the overlength of thread to form find its minimal path.

Vertical growth/closed loop production has been developed by biofuel companies to produce algae faster and more efficiently than open pond growth. With vertical growing, algae are placed in clear plastic bags/tubes, so they can be exposed to sunlight on all sides. The extra sun exposure increases the productivity rate of the algae, which in turn increases oil production. The algae are also protected from contamination due the closed envionment of their growth.

This small scale experiment shows the growth of algae in a clear plastic tube of rainwater exposed to sunlight. An air pump is used to circulate the algae solution and to provide ample ‘dirty’ air including carbon dioxide. The rainwater provides nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus also required for algae growth. It can be seen that algae grows rapidly – in a matter of days – unlike seasonal crops.

 

 



The culmination of the crest pouring and component diversion technique… The pouring of a full dune in RealFlow to create the superstructure of the building. On the south facade large components create circular openings in the structure which are able to house fresnel concentration lenses. On the north facade smaller components create a thickened bottom edge to diffuse light back into the interior space.

As a continuation in the development of the Crest Pouring technique, diverting components are introduced in order to gain control over the flow paths of the material. These videos show a series of initial experiments in RealFlow, which help to understand how different components placed in different configurations have a specific effect on the material flow. These experiments will now be backed up by more specific investigations and physical experiments.

Before algae appeared in Earth’s history billions of years ago, our planet’s atmosphere was saturated with CO2 – by producing O2, algae, also known as cyanobacteria, made our atmosphere breathable. Similarly, fossil fuels are comprised of carbon-rich deposits of ancient algae and other similar organisms. Basically, there has never been a breathable atmosphere, or a drop of fossil fuel pumped from below, that does not originate from these organisms. Today, living algae represent a new source of regenerative energy for our vehicles, industries and power plants. By converting perceived waste into resources, algae has the potential to transform economies and create closed loop systems to sustain life.

Algae needs sunlight + waste H20 + CO2 to grow = and produces O2 + clean H2O + lipids [which can be used for a variety of products i.e. biofuel / pharmaceuticals / food / plastics / energy]

There are different ways to extract the oil [lipids], H20 and biomass from the mature algae solution, the following are links to some video’s showing the cultivation and extraction processes that are used in algae based systems.

Growing Algae : GreenFuel Technologies

Processing Algae for Oil: Algae Bioreactor

Single Step Extraction for Oil from Algae:

“ Pohl Architects have designed the Cocoon_FS for PlanktonTech, a German research institution that studies plankton. The form was inspired by a type of phytoplankton called diatoms, and is made of fibre-reinforced polymer panels. PlanktonTech will travel around the world and use Cocoon_FS to promote their work.”

“The Cocoon_FS pavilion was constructed from leaf-like panels of fiber-reinforced polymer. Fifteen original base modules were designed and a total of 220 modules were manufactured. Each panel fastens to the next to form a super strong, self-supporting dome. Its translucent shell admits light during the day and illuminates its surroundings at night.

The temporary featherweight structure weighs in at just 1650 pounds and measures under ten feet tall. Both exterior and interior walls carry the same variety of pores, ribs, minute spines, marginal ridges and elevations that characterize the silica cell wall of the slimy brown surface algae that inspired it. Researchers at PlanktonTech used microtechnology to transfer the richly patterned shells of the plankton to a 3D model. Those models were then analyzed and optimized using various computations to unlock biomechanical qualities and re purpose them for architectural design.

Algae is growing in popularity among biofuel enthusiasts, food developers, and entrepreneurs, but as far as we know, the Cocoon_FS is the first prefab to take its design cues from phytoplankton. The plankton-inspired building made its debut in Germany and will be erected at sites around the world in an effort to draw support, awe, and admiration for PlanktonTech’s ongoing investigation of plankton-based solutions.”

Via Inhabitat and Contemporist

 

 

 

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 61 other followers