FINALIST
Santa Monica Algae Farm Bio-Architecture Every living organism on Earth christinecarter765@msn.com represents a perfectly functionHong Kong ing system, well adapted to the environment as a result of millions of years of evolution. The structure of these organisms can be developed into new dimensions in architecture and city planning.
Hui Christine
The proposed scheme is located on the Santa Monica beach, Los Angeles. Los Angeles was the first city, which mentioned sustainability in the 1970s. However, over the last 30 years Los Angeles has suffered from high levels of air pollution, and is considered one of the most polluted cities in the US. Santa Monica beach is in a worse situation with water pollution levels hitting a near-record high in Los Angeles County. Thousands of vehicles emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide. Therefore, the conditions of the site and temperature create the best environment for algae growth and soothing the pollution issues in the area. Algae are photosynthetic organisms; they vary from small single-celled forms to complex multi-cellular forms. They are regarded negatively by people and can be described as a dirty, nasty and smelly. Nevertheless, this small organism does play significant roles in air and water pollution.
The algae farm: The algae farm is a self-sufficient building. The form is inspired by the algae nanostructure systems and the program of the farm consists of a café, laboratory, gallery, staff rooms, sauna rooms and a bath area. Three entrances haven been designed to meet the circulation requirements. This design allows people to become more aware and understand the environmental issues concerned and addresses the importance of how people need to change in order to maintain a sustainable environment. My designs show an algae world for visitors who can observe the process of algae oil production. Human waste can also be utilized as the ‘nutrient’ of the algae. The by-products of algae (such as algae powder, clean water) are going to be used in the cosmetic bath, and will be pumped to taps around the building supplying drinking water for visitors. The algae fuel would be sold or be used in the farm. The skin: In my proposed design, the façade has two functions. Firstly, it provides the space for algae bloom and secondly, it creates an unpredictable ever-changing colour façade. The colours range from pale green to bright green; from bright green to brown; from brown to pink and white.
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