Photosynthetic Architecture by ecoLogicStudio

Bartlett Design Research Folios

ecoLogicStudio Photosynthetic Architecture

BARTLETT DESIGN RESEARCH FOLIOS

ecoLogicStudio Photosynthetic Architecture: Human to Non-Human Co-Living

CONTENTS

Project Details

1 (previous) H.O.R.T.U.S. The SuperTree Berlin (2018).

A photosynthetic sculpture that creates an artificial habitat for cyanobacteria.

2 PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki, 2019. Front view of the Urban Tiles pilot scheme.

5

6

Statement about the Research Content and Process

10

Introduction

14

Aims and Objectives

30

Questions

30

Context

34

Methodology

36

Dissemination

58

Project Highlights

59

Bibliography

65

Related Publications

66

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Project Details Author

Claudia Pasquero

Title

Photosynthetic Architecture: Human to Non-Human Co-Living

Output Type

Design and built installations

Projects/Dates BioBombola (2020) BioSerie, Frankfurt (2020) Deep Green (2020) H.O.R.T.U.S. Conclusus and Convivium (2020) PhotoSynthEtica Playground, New Delhi (2020) H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g (2019) PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki (2019) PhotoSynthEtica Tower Linz (2019) H.O.R.T.U.S. The Super Tree Berlin (2018) PhotoSynthEtica Dublin (2018) BioTechHut Astana (2017) Urban Algae Folly Aarhus (2017) Urban Algae Folly Braga (2016) H.O.R.T.U.S. BioBriccola Venice (2015) H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM (2015) Urban Algae Folly Milan (2015) Project, Design and Research Leaders

Claudia Pasquero, Marco Poletto

Design Teams Georgios Drakontaeidis, Riccardo Mangigli, Eirini Tsomokou (BioBombola, PhotoSynthEtica Playground); Joy Boilous, Claudia Handler, Maria Kuptsova, Emiliano Rando, Eirini Tsomokou (BioSerie); Konstantinos Alexopoulos, Michael Brewster, Korbinian Erzinger, Xiaomeng Kong, Eirini Tsomokou, Lixi Zhu (Deep Green); Konstantinos Alexopoulos, Georgios Drakontaeidis, Eleana Georgousi, Terezia Greskova, Claudia Handler, Xiaomeng Kong, Riccardo Manigli, Eirini Tsomokou, Lixi Zhu (H.O.R.T.U.S. Conclusus and Convivium); Konstantinos Alexopoulos, Matteo Baldissarra, Michael Brewster, Terezia Greskova, Maria Kuptsova, Emiliano Rando (H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g); Konstantinos Alexopoulos, Lisa Brunner, Terezia Greskova, Maria Kuptsova, Ricardo Mangili, Emiliano Rando (PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki, PhotoSynthEtica Tower Linz);

6

PROJECT DETAILS

Konstantinos Alexopoulos, Shlok Soni, Chiawi Young (PhotoSynthEtica Dublin); Kostantinos Alexoploous, Apostolos Marios Mazoukopolus, Matteo Pendenza (BioTechHut Astana); Kostantinos Alexopolous, Terezia Greskova, Apostolos Marios Mazoukopolus, Matteo Pendenza (Urban Algae Folly Aarhus); Olga Carcassi, Alberto Chiusoli, Fanny Ciufo, Andrea Dal Negro, Kyriaki Goti, Terezia Greskova, Nikolaos Xenos (Urban Algae Folly Braga, H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM); Elisa Bolognini, Alessandro Buffi, Andrea Bugli, Julien Sebban (Urban Algae Folly Milan) Commissioning Bodies/Clients BioSerie (German Federal Cultural Foundation, Museum for Communication Frankfurt, Berlin); PhotoSynthEtica Playground (GlaxoSmithKline); COS (H.O.R.T.U.S. Conclusus and Convivium); Helsinki Fashion Week (PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki); Upper Austria Cultural Institute (PhotoSynthEtica Tower Linz); Centre Pompidou Paris, MAK Vienna, Mori Art Museum (H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g); Climate-KIC (PhotoSynthEtica Dublin); EXPO 2017 Astana (BioTechHut Astana); Aarhus European Capital of Culture (Urban Algae Folly Aarhus); INL Braga and the City of Braga, International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (Urban Algae Folly Braga); Biennale Arte 2015 – La Biennale di Venezia, Azerbaijan Pavillion (H.O.R.T.U.S. BioBriccola); ZKM Karlsruhe (H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM); EXPO 2015 Milan (Urban Algae Folly Milan) Research Partners Synthetic Landscape Lab at Innsbruck University (BioSerie, Deep Green, H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki, PhotoSynthEtica Tower Linz, H.O.R.T.U.S. The Super Tree Berlin, PhotoSynthEtica Dublin); CREATE Group/WASP Hub Denmark (H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g); Catherine Legrand, Lund University Bioplastic Supply

James Woollard, Polythene, UK (PhotoSynthEtica Dublin)

Construction Support

Hugo Cortez, Cristina Padilha (Urban Algae Folly Braga)

Digital Responsive Systems

Immanuel Koh, Nick Puckett, AltN Research+Design (Urban Algae Folly Braga); Nick Puckett, AltN Research+Design (Urban Algae Folly Milan)

ETFE Contractor

Tayo Europe (Urban Algae Folly Aarhus, Braga, Milan)

7

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Metal Structure

GV Filtri (H.O.R.T.U.S. Conclusus and Convivium, Urban Algae Folly Aarhus, Braga)

Microalgae Supplies

Ecoduna AG (BioSerie, H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki); Bantry Marine Research Station (PhotoSynthEtica Dublin); Sciento UK (Urban Algae Folly Braga, H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM); Algainenergy (Urban Algae Folly Milan)

Project Management

Paolo Scoglio (Urban Algae Folly Braga, Milan)

Structural Engineering YIP Structural Engineering, Manja Van de Worp (H.O.R.T.U.S. Conclusus and Convivium, PhotoSynthEtica Playground, H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, PhotoSynthEtica Dublin); Format Engineers (BioTechHut Astana, Urban Algae Folly Braga); Nicola Morda, Mario Segreto (Urban Algae Folly Milan) Timber Contractor

Palumbo Legnami (Urban Algae Folly Milan)

Budgets €20,000 (BioSerie); £150,000 (H.O.R.T.U.S. Conclusus and Convivium); £190,000 (PhotoSynthEtica Playground); €20,000 (PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki); €75,000 (H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g); €50,000 (PhotoSynthEtica Dublin); €750,000 (BioTechHut Astana); €75,000 (Urban Algae Folly Aarhus); €50,000 (Urban Algae Folly Braga); €30,000 (H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM); €250,000 (Urban Algae Folly Milan) Grants £15,000 The Bartlett Architecture Project Fund (APF); €50,000 Danish Public Art Grants; £5,000 Innovate UK; €30,000 Innsbruck University; $60,000 UNDP

8

PROJECT DETAILS

3

3 PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki.

CO2 absorption diagram.

9

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Statement about the Research Content and Process Description

Methodology

Photosynthetic architecture suggests that a non-anthropocentric mode of reasoning and deployment of cutting-edge technologies based on digital and biological intelligence could be at the core of urban design.

Powered by solar energy, photosynthetic architecture aims to integrate living microalgae and artificial intelligence within architectural systems to re-metabolise carbon dioxide (CO2) and pollutants from the urban atmosphere and increase levels of visual interaction between pollutants, microorganisms and urban dwellers.

1. Cross-disciplinary engagement with marine biologists, algae farmers, interactive designers, computational experts, manufacturers and city municipalities in the development of 1:1 testing of wetware, software and hardware; 2. Welding, laser cutting, 3D printing and lab-grade glass modelling to evolve the hardware design and functioning; 3. Lab-based and onsite material testing of microalgae mediums to achieve balanced growth in the architectural context;

Questions

1. Can the urbansphere develop a symbiotic relationship with the natural biosphere?

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

2. What material contribution can photosynthetic architecture make to renew the relationship between the urban condition and biosphere?

Dissemination

This series of photosynthetic projects has had wide press coverage and has featured in more than 500 printed and online articles over the past five years. Notable interviews with the author include the BBC News (2019) and CNBC (2019). Print and online articles have featured in publications including Architectural Design, Domus and Wired, amongst others. Urban Algae Folly was shown at Expo Milano 2015, which was visited by 22,200,000 people; BioTechHut and H.O.R.T.U.S. Astana were exhibited at Expo Astana 2017, which was visited by 3,997,545 people.

3. What is the role of large-scale 3D-printing techniques in the realisation of photosynthetic architectures?

10

STATEMENT ABOUT THE RESEARCH CONTENT AND PROCESS

Project Highlights

The individual projects have won various awards. H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM and The Urban Algae Folly were awarded Best Digital Design 2016

by IDEA TOP Shenzen and PhotoSynthEtica Dublin received an honourable mention in the Fast Company awards in 2019. Further to this, Pasquero featured in Wired’s 2017 Smart List, where ‘tech’s biggest names pick the stars of tomorrow’, for her work with bioarchitecture, specifically citing Expo Milano 2015. Pasquero was the head curator for the Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2017.

11

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

12

STATEMENT ABOUT THE RESEARCH CONTENT AND PROCESS

4

4 H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM, 2015.

The SuperTree (detail).

13

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Introduction

and proposes a novel architectural symbiosis.

The projects discussed in this folio can be interpreted as a crucial transition in the architectural paradigm, whereby the urban environment is no longer a container of programmes or functions, as in Le Corbusier’s modernist ideal of ‘a machine for living’ (Le Corbusier 1927), but instead becomes a dynamic process of production, a ‘living machine’.

A total of 13 experimental projects have been carried out with three families being considered as the most significant:

Cities emit 70% of global CO2. Buildings alone consume approximately 36% of the world’s primary energy and are responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions, which is estimated to increase to a further 60% by 2050. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we must ‘reach “net-zero” climate goal by 2050’ to avert catastrophic impact (Carbon Brief 2019), meaning that any emissions must be balanced by appropriate schemes to offset them.

Algae has the capacity to digest and break down not only CO2 but also other air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). Current research indicates that algae also has the potential to capture trace metals dissolved into the environment by biosorption and bioaccumulation processes (Malinska and Zabochnicka-Swiatek 2010). Alongside this, algae can also be harvested to supplement protein intake from animal products, which leads to more sustainable food production and supply chains. The nutritional composition of microalgae is mainly made up of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and trace nutrients, including A and B vitamins and antioxidants.

This research investigates the materials and conceptual consequences of the integration of microalgae in the built environment. The growth of algae is dependent on the amount of CO2 that it is fed with but also environmental conditions that can be systematically optimised. There are many variables to be considered ranging from habitat and climate to the specific type of algae and the conditions necessary for its growth: solar radiation, temperature and pH. Coupling algal growth with building operations affords a renewed level of efficiency

BioTechHut

BioTechHut (6–8) was conceived as a permanent biotechnological dwelling and is composed of three fluidly interconnected environments that loosely embody the fundamental programmes of a living space: the Biolight Room, a dark and calm space in which the only visible light is emitted by bioluminescent bacteria when oxygenated by the air handling system; a further room featuring H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g; and a more open environment encompassing the Garden Hut, a space for the production of superfoods and bioenergy. Here, the Algae Photobioreactor Room is filled with growing phototropic micro-organisms that use photosynthesis to generate biomass and oxygen (O2) while absorbing CO2. At the core of the Garden Hut is a harvest area for the processing and transformation of biomass into food and electricity. Measuring 180 m2 in plan, BioTechHut can host a large family and supports 1,600 l of living cyanobacteria cultures in its glass photobioreactors.

In optimal conditions, it produces approximately 1 kg of dry algae per day.

14

INTRODUCTION

5

5 BioTechHut Astana, 2017. H.O.R.T.U.S. An installation inhabited by photosynthetic colonies of cyanobacteria. Visitors are encouraged to nurture the colonies with CO2 in order to generate O2 and a growing biomass. The living cultures of chlorella growing within the glass photobioreactors can absorb 2 kg of CO2 per day.

15

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

6

6 BioTechHut Astana, 2017.

Garden Hut. Green microalgae can contain up to 60% oil from which 1 kg of biofuel can be produced, releasing 10 kWh of energy, which is enough to power the average home in the UK.

16

INTRODUCTION

7

7 BioTechHut Astana, 2017.

The Harvest Room. Every day, the BioTechHut produces up to 600 g of protein, enough to supply the recommended daily intake of 12 adults; the equivalent in meat-based proteins from eight cows.

8 (overleaf) BioTechHut Astana, 2017. Glass tubes.

17

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

H.O.R.T.U.S.

Hydro Organism Responsive to Urban Stimuli (H.O.R.T.U.S.) is the name of a series (12–3) of photosynthetic sculptures and urban structures that create artificial habitats for cyanobacteria. These structures can also absorb emissions from building systems.

They constitute a new active layer of both urban and natural metabolic cycles, thus reconnecting the so-called ‘green’ and ‘dark’ sides of ecology.

H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Astaxanthin.g is inspired by the collective behaviour of coral colonies and their morphogenesis. Individual coral polyps host microalgae called zooxanthellae within their tissues. As the algae photosynthesise, they provide a metabolic flow of energy to the polyps, which in turn use this energy to build their exoskeleton of calcium carbonate. Exposure to sunlight results in more rapid growth. This positive feedback loop enables the characteristic convoluted morphology of many known coral species to emerge (3, 11).

9

9 XenoDerma, 2019, The Bartlett, UCL. Urban Morphogenesis Lab. Claudia Pasquero with Filippo Nassetti and Emmanouil Zaroukas and with research assistants Meng Xuan Li and Xioa Ling.

20

10 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Astaxanthin.g, 2019.

Interior view. The metabolisms hosted by the structure are powered by photosynthesis, converting radiation to O2 and biomass. The density of bacteria on each bio-pixel has been digitally computed to ensure the organisms are positioned in areas of increasing incoming radiation.

INTRODUCTION

10

21

INTRODUCTION

11 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Astaxanthin.g, 2019. Front view of the installation and cyber-gardeners.

A digital algorithm simulates the growth of a substratum inspired by coral morphology, which is digitally deposited by 3D-printing machines.

The photosynthetic bacteria are inoculated on a bio-gel medium in triangular units (bio-pixels), arranged to form hexagonal blocks of 18.5 cm.

11

23

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

12

12 H.O.R.T.U.S. Astana, 2017.

Study 1:10 model.

13 H.O.R.T.U.S. Astana, 2017.

Cutting lines plan.

24

INTRODUCTION

13

25

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

PhotoSynthEtica

PhotoSynthEtica Dublin is a large-scale façade installation designed for Climate-KIC, a prominent EU initiative with an aim to accelerate the adoption of nature-based solutions to tackle the global climate crisis.

The project was conceived as an ‘urban curtain’ that can capture CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in real-time at a rate of approximately 1 kg of CO2 per day, which is equivalent to that of 20 large trees.

Composed of 16 modules, each 7 × 2 m, this unique curtain prototype enveloped the first and second floor of the main façade of The Printworks at Dublin Castle (15–6). Each module functions as a photobioreactor, a digitally designed and fabricated bioplastic container that utilises daylight to feed the living micro-algal cultures and releases luminescent shades at night. Unfiltered air is introduced at the bottom of the façade and rises through the watery medium within the bioplastic photobioreactor, coming into contact with voracious microbes. CO2 molecules and air pollutants are captured and stored by the algae and grow into biomass. This can then be harvested and employed in the production of raw material for bioplastic products, such as the main building material of the photobioreactor itself. To culminate the process, freshly photosynthesised O2 is released at the top of each façade unit into the urban microclimate.

14

14 PhotoSynthEtica Dublin, 2018. Inoculation detail. Thanks to their serpentine design, the modules optimise the carbon sequestration process.

15–6 (overleaf) PhotoSynthEtica Dublin, 2018. Façade view.

The full curtain pattern is reminiscent of a large trading data chart that embodies Climate-KIC’s commitment to solve the global climate crisis.

26

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Aims and Objectives

Questions

1. Engage with the systemic nature of urban landscapes and their architecture;

1. Can the urbansphere develop a symbiotic relationship with the natural biosphere?

2. Address the necessary drive to a sustainable urban future by challenging existing design and life value systems;

In order to understand the role that architecture can play in rebalancing the relationship between the urbansphere and biosphere, we need to consider that architects and urban planners have inherited a view of the city in which zones are clearly defined and morphologically demarcated.

In this context, areas of production or treatment of waste have traditionally been located away from the city centre to prevent possible contamination of the living quarter.

We have a sanitised vision of the world where bacteria and micro-organisms are considered dangerous. We talk about re-greening cities and re-naturalising forests as if such processes could lead to the re-equilibrium of a temporarily perturbed biosphere; however, most natural and artificial systems are non-linear and are composed of billions of interlocking feedback loops.

Destruction, death, decay, digestion and dissolution are some of the most fundamental processes of nature and are a critical part of its circularity. They trigger in us atavistic fears of contagion. They constitute ‘the dark side of ecology’, as defined by philosophers Timothy Morton (2009) and Slavoj Žižek (2010), that we have all but erased from our consciousness, but is crucial to the functioning of ecosystems.

Micro-organisms have exceptional properties and can turn what we consider pollution or waste into nutrients and raw materials; they are the missing link in redefining urban metabolism. In this vision, organisms such as microalgae and cyanobacteria become bio-citizens contributing to a sophisticated form of collective intelligence that supports a symbiotic relationship between the growth of cities and the natural biosphere.

3. Promote a new urban aesthetic centred on a novel appreciation for the urban microbiome; 4. Research and develop new architectural products for the building innovation market that are biologically active (BIO), digitally connected (SMART) and capture CO2 as part of a carbon-negative process; 5. Deploy biological algorithmic models to engineer endosymbiotic relationships between what is hosted and the host; 6. Investigate large-scale 3D printing as an alternative fabrication process for the cladding of buildings.

30

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES / QUESTIONS

17

17 Tallinn Wet City, 2018.

Morphological study and proposal for new blue-green infrastructure for Tallinn, connecting the existing wastewater system with a new urban terrain for rainwater capturing, wastewater processing and protection from Baltic Sea surges and contamination.

Bird’s-eye view of the main urban structures.

31

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

2. What material contribution can photosynthetic architecture make to renew the relationship between the urban condition and biosphere?

Photosynthetic architecture aims to achieve complete biodegradability and a closed-loop material cycle in which algae constitutes up to 80% of the base material. The algae locks-in carbon that is captured from the air and makes the system overall carbon negative over its entire lifecycle, including construction and decommissioning. The creation of a closed-loop material cycle will allow for system upgrades on a three- to five-year basis, with no impact on carbon footprint. This will mean a constantly renewed and renewable architecture with improved design and performance.

3. What is the role of large-scale 3D-printing techniques in the realisation of photosynthetic architectures?

By deploying biological algorithmic models, we can engineer novel endosymbiotic relationships between what is hosted and the host. The use of large-scale 3D printing as an alternative fabrication process for the cladding of buildings is becoming increasingly common, reducing cost and allowing for mass-customisation of parts that are able to materialise this relationship.

18 PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki, 2019. Prototypical photobioreactor study catalogue.

32

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES / QUESTIONS

18

33

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Context

but we still do not act energetically upon them because we cannot rationally believe them. That is why Žižek suggests that true ecologists should look for trash and not for trees, which is to say that they should look for the hidden by-products of our society rather than cover them in green propaganda.

Can the visual and spatial interaction of production through photosynthetic architecture allow a deeper reading of the ecological systems that surround us? Recent developments in evolutionary psychology, described by Anjan Chatterjee in The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art (2013), demonstrate that our sense of beauty and pleasure is part of a co-evolutionary system of our mind and the surrounding environment. In these terms, our sense of beauty and pleasure has evolved as a selective mechanism. Cultivating and enhancing it enables us to compensate and integrate our logical thinking to gain a more systemic view of our planet and the dramatic changes it is currently undergoing.

This lineage of projects seeks to illustrate how a renewed appreciation of beauty in architecture has evolved into an operational tool to design and measure its actual ecological intelligence. If we understand this potential, we can begin to see buildings as not necessarily finished on completion of their construction but as continuing and evolving organisms. The architect can now imagine and design new urban typologies and hybrid habitats for these emergent conditions.

The author has a longstanding interest in ecology and aesthetics. According to Gregory Bateson in his book Steps to an Ecology of Mind (1972), we live in a world populated by ecologies of mind, and our functioning as humans within these ecologies can only pass through a combination of logical and metalogical communication channels linking us with the world that we inhabit. For Bateson, ‘mere purposive rationality unaided by such phenomena as art, religion, dream, and the like, is necessarily pathogenic and destructive of life’ (Bateson 1972). Bateson’s book is not an attack on traditional science, rather it underlines that reality consists of interlocking feedback loops and that through our rational understanding we are only partially able to grasp this, and consequently reality may be ‘pathogenically’ misread. Only by combining the conscious and unconscious grasp of complexity can we see the overall system and eventually figure out how to co-evolve.

The aesthetic becomes a means to establish a cybernetic conversation, within which human and non-human ecologies constitute co-evolutionary systems, a form of extended mind. Following Bateson’s reasoning, the contemporary philosophers Slavoj Žižek and Timothy Morton are particularly relevant. They each promote a view of ecology without nature, suggesting, albeit rather differently, a greater role for the aesthetic in the reframing of ecological issues. Their approach articulates the shift from a problem-solving framework to a cybernetic one. Žižek, in his critique of the current condition, proposes what we may define a design-driven solution. He identifies our current condition with ‘disavowal’, arguing that we know very well what the threats of an imminent ecological catastrophe are

34

CONTEXT

19

20

19–20 BioBombola home algae garden. Developed by ecoLogicStudio, 2020.

35

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Methodology

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

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

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).

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.

21

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

36

METHODOLOGY

22

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

37

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

23

23–4 Urban Algae Folly Aarhus, 2017.

38

METHODOLOGY

24

39

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

40

METHODOLOGY

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.

25

41

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

26

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

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.

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

30 BioTechHut Astana, 2017. Biolight room.

48

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

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

29 (previous) Urban Algae Folly Milan, 2015. System plan.

32 BioTechHut Astana, 2017. Photobioreactor (detail).

METHODOLOGY

30

31

32

49

CLAUDIA PASQUERO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

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

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.

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

50

33 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019, for the Centre Pompidou Paris.

Radiation map exposure vectorial diagram.

35 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019.

Threshold overlaps.

34 H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g, 2019.

Cells of body.

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

Incident radiation.

METHODOLOGY

33

35

34

36

51

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

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

40 Deep Green.

Redefined morphology in Guatemala City; proposal based on bio-artificial intelligence algorithms.

37–8 GANPhysarum.

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

41 Deep Green.

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

39 Deep Green.

Redefined morphology of local to municipal waste collection networks 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.

38

52

METHODOLOGY

39

41

40

42

53

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

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.

54

METHODOLOGY

43

55

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.

44

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Dissemination

Lectures

The various projects have been the subject of multiple keynote speeches by the author, including the following: · School of Architecture, UIC Barcelona (2020) · Politecnico di Milano (2019) · Technical University of Munich (2019) · Centre Pompidou, Paris (2019) · Norman Foster Foundation, Madrid (2019) · University of Miami (2019) · New Generations Festival, Warsaw (2018) · 16th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia (2018) · University of Kent (2018) · Delft University of Technology (2017) · Orleans Architectural Biennale (2017) · Tallinn Architecture Biennale (2017) · The Bartlett, UCL (2017) · University of Helsinki (2017) · University of Pennsylvania (2016)

Selected Exhibitions and Collections

·

·

·

·

·

Urban Algae Folly Milan was exhibited at Expo Milano 2015 – visited by 22,200,000 people – as part of the Future Food District curated by Carlo Ratti and the RMIT University; H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM was exhibited at ZKM Karlsruhe and is now part of their permanent collection; BioTechHut was commissioned for the Kazakhstan Pavilion at Expo 2017 Astana, which was visited by 3,997,545 people; H.O.R.T.U.S. XL Asthaxantin.g was commissioned by the Centre Pompidou in Paris for the exhibition La Fabrique du Vivant. It was subsequently exhibited at MAK in Vienna as part of the Vienna Architectural Biennale, and is currently exhibited at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo; PhotoSynthEtica Helsinki was commissioned by, and exhibited at, Helsinki Fashion Week 2019.

Selected lectures by the author: · The University of Texas at Austin (2020) · Tonji University (2020) · Florida International University in Miami (2019) · MAK, Vienna (2019) · Tufts University, Medford, Mass. (2018) · Virginia Tech, Blacksburg (2018) · Expo Centre Sharjah (2017) · Städelschule Architecture Class, Frankfurt (2016) · University of Pennsylvania (2015) · ETH Zurich (2014)

Publications

The author has published more than 15 chapters and articles about this research, including in Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape Architecture, Architectural Research Quarterly, Architectural Design and The Routledge Companion to Paradigms of Performativity in Design and Architecture (see pp. 72–188).

The series of photosynthetic projects has had wide press coverage. It has featured in more than 500 printed and online articles over the past five years (Architectural Design, Corriere Della Serra, Domus, Metropolis and Wired, etc.). Notable interviews with the author include the BBC News (2019) and CNBC (2019).

58

DISSEMINATION / PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Project Highlights Algae is a resilient organism and comparatively more photosynthetic than trees. This concept has been widely tested in the series. Our tests have shown that 2 m2 of the PhotoSynthEtica urban curtain system is equivalent to one large tree in terms of its CO2-capturing ability.

The individual projects have won various awards: H.O.R.T.U.S. ZKM and Urban Algae Folly Milan were awarded Best Digital Design 2016 by IDEA TOP Shenzen and PhotoSynthEtica Dublin received an honourable mention in the Fast Company awards in 2019. BioTechHut is the first permanent photosynthetic architecture and was shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival 2019. Further to this, Pasquero featured in Wired’s 2017 Smart List, where ‘tech’s biggest names pick the stars of tomorrow’ for her work with bioarchitecture, specifically citing Expo Milano 2015.

Pasquero extended this research as the head curator of BioTallinn, the Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2017, that explored the convergence of biology and computation in urban design and architecture.

59

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

45

45 PhotoSynthEtica Tower Linz, 2019. Atrium view.

60

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

46

46 PhotoSynthEtica Tower Linz, 2019. Façade (detail).

61

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

47

47 The City as Biological Computer, The Gallery at Foyles, London, 2019.

62

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

48

48 XenoDerma, La Fabrique du Vivant, Centre Pompidou, Paris.

The Bartlett, UCL Urban Morphogenesis Lab. Claudia Pasquero with Filippo Nassetti and Emmanouil Zaroukas and with research assistants Meng Xuan Li and Xioa Ling.

63

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

49

49 BioTallinn, Tallinn Architecture Biennale, 2017.

64

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind. University of Chicago Press.

Chatterjee, A. (2013). The Aesthetic Brain: How We Evolved to Desire Beauty and Enjoy Art. Oxford University Press.

Le Corbusier (2008). Vers une Architecture.

Paris: Editions Flammarion.

Morton, T. (2009). Ecology Without Nature: Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics.

Harvard University Press.

Reynolds, M. (2017). ‘WIRED’s 2017 Smart List: Tech’s Biggest Names Pick the Stars of Tomorrow’. Wired. 23 March.

[Viewed 26 August 2020]. www.wired.co.uk/article/wireds-2017smart-list Taylor, A. ed. (2009). Examined Life: Excursions with Contemporary Thinkers. New York: The New Press. Žižek, S. (2010). Living in the End Times.

New York: Verso.

65

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Related Publications by the Researchers Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2015). ‘Cities as Biological Computers’. Architectural Research Quarterly: Architecture and Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology, Cells as Architects. 20 (1). pp. 10–9.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2015). ‘Urban Algae Folly for the FFD Expo Milano 2015’. Computational Ecologies: Design in the Anthropocene. Acadia 2015. pp. 218–21.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2016). ‘B.I/O.SMART: On the Implications of Biocomputation in Architecture and Urban Design’. IaaC bits. 5. pp. 2–17.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2016). ‘Cyber-Gardening the City’.

Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape Architecture. pp. 94–101.

Pasquero, C. (2017). ‘BioTallinn: A Space for Reasoning Between Design, Biology and Computation’. Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2017. pp. 8–10.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2017). ‘Biodigital Design Workflows’. 4D Hyperlocal: A Cultural Toolkit for the Open-Source City (Architectural Design). 87. pp. 44–9.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2019). ‘Beauty as Ecological Intelligence: Bio-Digital Aesthetics as a Value System of PostAnthropocene Architecture’. Beauty Matters: Human Judgement and the Pursuit of New Beauties in Post-Digital Architecture (Architectural Design). pp. 58–65.

Pasquero, C. (2019). ‘Adapting Lessons from “Dark Ecology” Shows us Whole New Ways of Designing Buildings and Cities’.

Blueprint. 362. p. 19.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2019). ‘Polycephalum’. C. Najle, ed.

Notas CPAU: Superdigital. 42. p. 23.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2019). ‘Synthetic Landscapes’.

IaaC bits. 9. pp. 35–41.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2020). ‘Designing the Urban Microbiome’. Landscape. 3. pp. 51–3.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2020). ‘Deep Green’. Topos. 112. pp. 24–30.

Pasquero, C. and Poletto, M. (2020). ‘Performative Biotechnical Forms: Culturalising the Microbiota from High-Tech to Bio-Tech Architecture’.

M. Kanaani, ed. The Routledge Companion to Paradigms of Performativity in Design and Architecture: Using Time to Craft an Enduring, Resilient and Relevant Architecture. London: Routledge. pp. 174–88.

Pasquero, C., Poletto, M. and Alexoupoulos, A. (2018). ‘Tallinn Wet City’. City Unfinished: Tallinn Green Networks. Estonian Academy of Arts Faculty of Architecture. pp. 38–51.

Pasquero, C. and Zaroukas, E. (2016). ‘Design Prototype’. Research Based Education 2016. 1. pp. 96–108.

Related Writings by Others Azure (2017). ‘ecoLogicStudio’s Bio.Tech Hut Offers a Beautiful Method for Turning Algae into Energy and Food’. Azure. October. pp. 84–5.

Botha, N. (2019). ‘Beyond the Folly: ecoLogicStudio: A Nostalgia-Free Harvest’. Damn. 71. pp. 106–12.

Breunig, M. (2019). ‘Energie Pflanzlichen Ursprungs’. Haustech. 4. pp. 32–5.

Brownell, B. (2019). ‘The Future’s Building Blocks’. Metropolis. January/ February. pp. 120–3.

Budže, K. (2017). ‘Dzive Antropocena Laikmeta’. Kauno diena. 19 October. pp. 16–7.

Conde (2017). ‘Bio.tech Hut’. Conde. pp. 98–9.

Domus (2018). ‘Urban Microalga Against CO2’. Domus. p. 5.

Lana, A. (2019). ‘La Tende Italiane che Depurano l’Aria Sfruttando il Sole’.

Corriere Della Sera. 30 April.

Marks, A. (2019). ‘Liquid Architects’. Wired. May/June. p. 43.

Pagliara, C. (2020). ‘Technical Tests of Bio-Cities’. Abitare. 593. pp. 108–15.

Printed article

Online article (clickable link)

ECOLOGICSTUDIO

PHOTOSYNTHETIC ARCHITECTURE

Image Credits

Bartlett Design Research Folios

All images © ecoLogicStudio, unless otherwise stated.

ISSN 2753-9822

1, 4–8, 10–1, 14–6, 19–24, 30–2, 45–6, 48–9

© NAARO 2 Photo: Tuomas Uusheimo 9 © Urban Morphogenesis Lab. The Bartlett, UCL 44 Photo: Kiezu Keizo

© 2022 The Bartlett School of Architecture. All rights reserved.

Text © the authors Founder of the series and lead editor: Yeoryia Manolopoulou Edited by Yeoryia Manolopoulou, Barbara Penner, Phoebe Adler Picture researcher: Sarah Bell Additional project management: Srijana Gurung Graphic design: Objectif Layout and typesetting: Siâron Hughes Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of the material reproduced in this publication. If there have been any omissions, we will be pleased to make appropriate acknowledgement in revised editions.

BARTLETT DESIGN RESEARCH FOLIOS

2022 SERIES

Design for Learning AY Architects

Poikilokydric Living Marcos Cruz

Life of Clay Guan Lee

Audialsense Paul Bavister

Warsaw Karowa Bridge DKFS Architects

Flood House Matthew Butcher

Photosynthetic Architecture ecoLogicStudio

Digital Manual Guan Lee, Daniel Widrig

Instruments Nine and Ten Nat Chard Coworking Spaces Izaskun Chinchilla Architects Organic Growth Pavilion Izaskun Chinchilla Architects TransDisciplinary PostDigital FrAgility Marjan Colletti + REX|LAB

Discrete Timber Architecture Gilles Retsin LA Futures Smout Allen

Kew House Tim Lucas

Infractus Smout Allen

Losing Myself Yeoryia Manolopoulou, Níall McLaughlin

A Register of User Adaptations Storp Weber Architects

Oxford Projects Níall McLaughlin Architects

Uncovering Casa Sperimentale Storp Weber Architects

High Street Regeneration Jan Kattein Architects

Funicular del Tibidabo Miàs Architects

Oxford North Jonathan Kendall

The Cloud Miàs Architects

Cork Construction Oliver Wilton, Matthew Barnett Howland

Hakka Cultural Park Christine Hawley, Abigail Ashton, Andrew Porter, Moyang Yang

Alga(e)zebo mam

55/02 sixteen*(makers)

Chong Qing Nan Lu Towers mam

Envirographic and Techno Natures Smout Allen

City of Ladies Penelope Haralambidou Discrete Methods for Spatial Robotic Extrusion Manuel Jiménez García, Gilles Retsin

Playing the Picturesque You + Pea

2015 SERIES

Bloom Alisa Andrasek, José Sanchez House of Flags AY Architects Montpelier Community Nursery AY Architects Design for London Peter Bishop 2EmmaToc / Writtle Calling Matthew Butcher, Melissa Appleton River Douglas Bridge DKFS Architects Open Cinema Colin Fournier, Marysia Lewandowska The ActiveHouse Stephen Gage Déjà vu Penelope Haralambidou Urban Collage Christine Hawley

House Refurbishment in Carmena Izaskun Chinchilla Architects Refurbishment of Garcimuñoz Castle Izaskun Chinchilla Architects Gorchakov’s Wish Kreider + O’Leary Video Shakkei Kreider + O’Leary Megaframe Dirk Krolikowski (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners) Seasons Through the Looking Glass CJ Lim Agropolis mam

ProtoRobotic FOAMing mam, Grymsdyke Farm, REX|LAB Banyoles Old Town Refurbishment Miàs Architects Torre Baró Apartment Building Miàs Architects Alzheimer’s Respite Centre Níall McLaughlin Architects Bishop Edward King Chapel Níall McLaughlin Architects Block N15 Façade, Olympic Village Níall McLaughlin Architects

Hydrological Infrastructures Smout Allen Lunar Wood Smout Allen Universal Tea Machine Smout Allen British Exploratory Land Archive Smout Allen, Geoff Manaugh 101 Spinning Wardrobe Storp Weber Architects Blind Spot House Storp Weber Architects

Regeneration of Birzeit Historic Centre Palestine Regeneration Team

Green Belt Movement Teaching and Learning Pavilion Patrick Weber

PerFORM Protoarchitecture Lab

Modulating Light and Views Patrick Weber