Jordan SOLOMONIC

Jordan Solomonic Nourishing Dhaka Advised by Nicole Koltick

Nourishing Dhaka The design of an innovative, scalable, lowcost, carbon-positive community for climate change refugees.

Climate change

Refugees

Urban expansion

Low-cost shelter

Rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and other emitted greenhouse gases is causing anthropogenic global climate change.

As a result, rising seas, and more severe and frequent storms have destroyed villages, forcing people into cities to nd work. Bangladesh houses the most climate refugees of any country, most often in Dhaka from the rural south.

The world’s urban population experienced a 15-fold increase during the last century. Overcrowded megacities are growing faster than their infrastructure.

Dhaka, the world’s fastest growing megacity, is home to 17 million people.

Most Bangladeshis live on less than $2 a day. In Dhaka, a majority of the is especially high among migrants.

Living materials

Carbon sequestration

Concept

Jordan Solomonic Thesis 2015-16

Many natural materials may be grown from waste products at zero to minimal cost. Mushroom bricks and crops are examples of organic waste matter converted into useful products.

Living materials, such as plants, bacteria, and algae, are able to pull greenhouse gases from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Mycorrhizal fungi help convert this carbon into soil.

We are inexorably part of the systems and cycles of nature. This project aims to highlight the common misconception that we are able to create a world that is distinctly human.

Dhaka, Bangladesh General information

Location

Dhaka is located in a river basin and is surrounded by eight rivers. Two-thirds ow zone. of the city Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is located in the country’s geographic center. Dhaka’s most urgent ooding. New development is occurring in wetlands, exacerbating the problem.

Population

Dhaka is the world’s 8th largest and fastest-growing megacity. Its population is growing by 4% annually.

Dhaka is home to 17 million people, up from 12 million in 2005, and 6 million in 1990. It is projected to have 20 million inhabitants by 2020. Bangladesh is growing at 1.22% annually, with the US at .75%.

Demographics

Nearly half of Dhaka’s population live in slums. Wages are lower than anywhere in the world.

A large portion of the Dhaka’s population lack access to basic rights, making the city nearly uninhabitable. With a high reproductive rate and selective migration, 40% of the city is under 14.

History and Culture

Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. Most Bangladeshis are Bengali Muslims.

Bangladesh has historic ties to the Indian subcontinent. 90% of the nation’s population is Muslim and 9% are Hindus. The average family size is 4.4 and cricket is the most popular sport.

Traditional Housing

Mud and bamboo, available in the Ganges delta, are the most common building materials in Bangladesh.

Traditional mud houses are highly resistant to cyclones and tidal surges. Their thick walls and thatched roofs provide thermal comfort. However, the houses are susceptible to earthquake damage.

Age Demographics

Bangladesh

United States

Carbon and Climate Change Adaptation and mitigation g

Global Carbon Cycle

Carbon is cycled through the planet through a variety of natural and manmade processes.

Within this process, humans, through fossil fuel combustion and deforestation are moving carbon to the atmosphere. To the right, the storag of carbon is measured in Gigatons.

Climate Change

Carbon emissions are causing increased temperatures, sea level rise, and more severe and frequent storms.

The rate of warming averaged over the past 50 years is nearly twice the rate for the past 100 years.

Global surface temperature will increase by at least 2.0°C by the next century. (IPCC)

Carbon Sequestration

Biotic sequestration is a natural process and win-win scenario. Abiotic is man-made and not cost-effective.

Biotic carbon sequestration enhances ecosystem and agricultural services. As a result, it is both economically and environmentally positive. This occurs through photosynthesis and soil building.

Terrestrial Carbon

This project will act as a carbon sink, using the natural process of biotic terrestrial carbon sequestration.

Soil is the major carbon sink in the biosphere, holding nearly 3 times the carbon as crop biomass.

Terrestrial carbon sequestration is the process of converting atmospheric carbon to soil.

Drawdown

Drawdown is the point at which greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begin to decline (drawdown.org).

Drawdown is the overarching goal of sustainable practices. This project is looking to contribute to a global drawdown of atmospheric carbon pollution.

Climate Change in Dhaka Effects and strategies g

Climate

Dhaka experiences a hot, wet, and humid tropical climate. Most rainfall occurs during the monsoon season.

Temperatures never drop below freezing and 80% of the city’s rain falls between May and September.

The southwest monsoon occurs between tropical storm seasons, and tornadoes are very common.

Climate Change Effects

Winter Wind

Pre-monsoon

Monsoon

Post-monsoon

Climate change is triggering a migration the likes of which the world has never before seen.

Although it emits less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gases, low-lying Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change.

Climate Refugees

With estimates between 15 and 30 million, Bangladesh has more climate refugees than any other country.

Bangladeshi climate refugees often move to the slums of Dhaka in search of a new livelihood. As the massive migration continues, half of Dhaka’s population is expected to live in slums by 2050.

Rapid Urbanization

The city of Dhaka is seeing rampant oodplain development, increasing future risks.

In 1970 a Category-3 tropical cyclone killed 500,000 Bangladeshis. With the onset of climate change, Dhaka is facing even greater risks due to more severe storms and high population density.

Urban Flooding

ooding is the primary climate risk facing the city and it occurs mostly during the monsoon season.

According to the IPCC, Bangladesh will lose 17 percent of its land by 2050 and Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute, James Hanson, predicts the entire country could be under water by 2100.

Sea Level (m)

Precipitation (mm) and Days with Precipitation

Economy and Industry

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Slums of Dhaka

Industryy and land use

Informal settlements in the megacity g y

Garments account for 80 percent ($18b) of manufacturing exports and will triple by 2020.

Bangladesh is experiencing export-oriented industrialization, with the US as the its largest trading partner. The maps below shows clusters of development around Export Processing Zones.

Manufacturing

Garment Industry

Informal Settlements

40 percent of Dhaka’s population lives in slums beside railway tracks, along riverbanks, and on swampy lowlands.

Slums of Dhaka Metropolitan Area

Slum dwellers often have sporadic access to stolen electricity, share hand-pumped water with as many as 200 people, use communal open toilet pits, and lack access to waste treatment.

Slum Populations

Three-quarters of the residents living in Dhaka’s slums were migrants, with recent migrants being poorest.

Measured on a per capita basis, the largest number of migrants come from Barisal in the south. In this area of the low-lying Ganges delta, land is especially susceptible to sea-level rise.

Land Use

Dhaka is experiencing massive overcrowding and development has ood ow zones. occurred

Flood- ow Zones

Land Use over Time

Korail

The typical construction is one room of steel sheets held up with wooden poles. During the monsoon season, cholera and malaria are common as residents wade through muck and excrement.

Manufacturing development has occurred along waterways and roads for easy shipment of raw materials and nished products. This development is making the city more vulnerable to oods.

Pollution

Brick manufacturing is a major source of pollution. Associated annual health costs are estimated at $1million/kiln.

Brick Kiln Locations

Airborne Particulate

Housing

2,200-4,000 premature deaths and 0.2-0.5 million asthma attacks per year have been linked to brick manufacturing in Dhaka. With cleaner practices, health cost savings could be $1/4 billion by 2020.

Sweatshops and Exploitation

Bangladesh has the cheapest labor in the world. Minimum wage (garment) is $37/month, and was $20 in 2010.

82.8% of Bangladesh’s 150 million people live on an income averaging less than $2 a day. With doubledigit in ation, protest and clashes with police have become increasingly common.

Dhaka’s largest slum is home to roughly 70,000 people. Sanitation is absent and outbreaks are common.

The most common housing condition in Dhaka’s slums is an 85ft2 semipermanent, tin-roofed rental unit for 5.

Most houses are considered semi pucca structures with brick walls. Temporary, weak kutcha structures were nearly as common. The average community has 8 families per tap and 4 families per latrine.

Minimum Monthly Wage at 40 hrs/wk

$37

$1,276

Bangladesh

USA

Client

Latrine Access

by Type

Slum Population

by Origin

Pit 46.3% Sewerage/septic 33.7% 13.9% Hanging 3.2% Open 1.9% Water sealed

22.7% Barisal Faridpur 9.2% Comilla 9.1% 7.3% Mymensingh Rangpur 4.6%

Culture

Climate refugees g

Refugees

I use the term refugee to refer to Internally Displaced Persons, the UNHCR uses person of concern.

Formal beliefs

Experts expect 250 million people to be forced to move by 2050. Of those, 20-30 million are expected to be in Bangladesh, likely the largest number from one place.

Refugee Population

The Manasara and Mayamata are important treatises which describe rules for building. The Vastu Purusha Mandala, the master grid for design, symbolizes the cosmic man on an ordered site.

Climate change refugees are moving into Dhaka d a new livelihood after the destruction of their land.

Traditional Architecture

Female migrants, seeking education and marriage, are often younger than males who move in search of work.

Religion

Women residing in slums were much more likely to be engaged in paid employment than their male counterparts and have a somewhat higher level of education. Many migrants earn less than $1 a day.

Work

On average, household income in slums is $45 a month, water and latrines are shared by 9 families.

The majority of those who live in slums pull rickshaws or work as part-time domestics. Others, mostly women, work for apparel industries.

Children often scavenge instead of going to school.

Bangladeshi Culture

Much of daily life in Bangladesh takes place under a veranda. People speak Bang . than men but these rules are relatively relaxed in cities. The harmonium, tabla, and sitar are common musical instruments.

Various vernacular architectures of Bangladesh use local materials and are adapted to the tropical climate.

While there are distinct differences between the architectural styles of the tribes of Bangladesh, they employ the courtyard typology and use the grasses and mud widely available in the river delta.

The International Organization for Migration says about 70 percent of slum dwellers have come to Dhaka because of climate-change adversity.

Dhaka is the primary city for receiving in-migrants.

Slum Population

Vastu Vidya is the ancient Indian science of architecture dating back 3500 years.

Islam is the predominant religion in Bangladesh. The nation’s monuments are stylistically tied to India.

Historically, the country has been part of Buddhist and Muslim empires. As a result, much of the traditional architecture is Moorish in style.

Common Employment

Rickshaw driver

Use of space

In traditional Bangladesh, the veranda is the place where most of life occurs.

Everyday cooking is done outdoors.

Culturally, Bengalis are separated by gender, often at meals. However, this distinction is not as prevalent in the city. Also, when outdoor kitchens are enclosed, a new one is built for everyday use.

Apparel industry

Contemporary

Bangladesh has the lowest minimum wage of any country. Architecture is often made with u shed materials.

Although uncorrupted institutions and women’s education are some long-term solutions to Bangladesh’s troubles, inexpensive, beautiful architecture can help provide some hope.

Ward Number 17

Mycelium Materials

Materials

Materials

Materials

Mycelium y

Living g materials

Mycelium y blocks

Mycoworks San Fransisco, CA 2015

Bio-receptive Concrete

These materials are glued together through the growth of mycelia. They are designed to various

BiotA Lab Bartlett School of Architecture, London 2015

Self-Healing Concrete

This project explores robotic extrusion printing of cellulose-based materials as a physical and nutritional architectural scaffold for the growth of mycelium.

MycoTEX

Aniela Hoitink Mediamatic Myco Design, Amsterdam 2014

F ber Fernley, NV 2014

Polyominoes

Bamboo Reinforcing

Studio Mur Mur Chicago, IL 2014

In Vitro Meat Habitat

BioCouture Jacket

Ecovative’s renewable biomaterial solidi es through the growth of roots (hyphae/ mycelium).

Materials are baked to halt growth. This insulation showcases the variable densities of the product.

Veiled Lady Stool

Suzanne Lee Central Saint Martins, London 2010

Eric Klarenbeek The Netherlands 2014 Mycelial materials are 3D printed and grown inside a bioplastic scaffold. Eric fabricated an opensource 3D printer with heads for both materials.

Mushrooms grow out of openings in the scaffold.

Mush-Bloom Planters

Danielle Trofe Brooklyn, NY 2014 Danielle partnered with ecovative to grow planters from agricultural waste and liquid mycelium. At the end of its life, mush-bloom can be composted.

Materials

Materials

Material Palate

Emerging g g technologies g

Materials

Inexpensive local materials

Dirk Hebel Zurich, Swizerland 2015

Ecooler

BiotA Lab Bartlett School of Architecture, London 2015

Sandra Manso Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya 2012

Livin Studio, Utrecht University Austria 2014

DOSU Studio Architecture Los Angeles, California 2012 Bloom illustrates the emulation of botanical behavior in nonbiological materials. In the presence of direct sunlight, bimetal strips will curve upward, admitting light into the open air pavilion.

Mey + Boaz Kahn Ramot Hashavim, Israel 2010

Structure

This ceramic tile uses water to passively cool in arid climates. It is based on the traditional mashrabiya screen, which lets air and light into spaces, and the jara jug, which cools water.

Cool Brick

Virginia San Fratello & Ronald Rael Oakland, CA 2015

Calcium Carbonate Cement

Calera Los Gatos, CA 2008

Bricks

Natural Fiber Reinforced Concrete MIT Department of Architecture 2002

Interior Partitions and Screen walls

Chloe Rutzerveld Netherlands 2014 Seeds, spores, and yeast are 3D printed to form this future food. Within 5 days the plants and fungi mature and the yeast ferments the solid inside into a liquid. Still conceptual.

Traditional bamboo mat walls are prevalent and many weaving patterns are available.

These lightweight walls can admit light and air with low density patterns. Mat walls provide visual privacy at denser patterns. They may also be plastered for enhanced insulation.

g material is shrink ooring material

Roof and Floor is soil cement.

Steel reinforcing is expensive and often critically underused in developing countries. Natural bers retain carbon and are strong in tension. This study found an optimal ax ber reinforcing length of 3”.

Edible Growth

Bricks are grown and fused using mycelium. Minor variations allow the bricks to integrate with a diagrid.

Bricks walls are reinforced with vertical bamboo members. Bricks sequester carbon through the interaction of mycorrhizal fungi and plant roots in a layering material typology.

Calcium carbonate cement is carbon positive because its raw ingredients are water and pollution.

This material is made using the process that marine organisms use to produce shells and reefs.

Low-cost Reinforcing

The primary frame is composed of bamboo lashed together in a loose diagrid with jute rope.

This method is fuses traditional skills with locally available and rapidly renewable materials.

Furthermore, through the integration of a courtyard typology, vernacular traditions are suggested.

This 3D printed brick holds water for passive cooling in hot and dry climates. It is inspired by the Muscatese evaporative cooling window, which combines a wood screen and a ceramic jug.

This project uses a new process to cultivate edible fungi that digests plastic as it grows. Oyster mushrooms, used in mycoremediation, are used to convert waste plastic and toxins into food.

Bloom

Terreform One Brooklyn, NY 2008

Ecovative Green Island, NY 2014

Lee’s garment is made of bacterial cellulose grown in sweetened green tea. It is part of her collection of compostable bio lm wearables.

Researchers at UPC’s Structural Technology Group have developed a vertical multilayer concrete which acts as a biological support for the growth of microalgae, fungi, lichens, and moss.

Fungi Mutarium

Mushroom Insulation

This architecture studio tested a variety of mushroom material substrates and reinforcing methods for their structural capabilities. The report is completely open source.

This project focuses on the design engineering of bioreceptive bricks with a pH level of 7-8 for the colonization of moss species. Cementitious compounds are 3D p .

Biological Concrete

Mycoworks San Francisco, CA 2013

The Living, Arup MoMA PS1, New York 2014 Organic, biodegradable bricks composed of farm waste and mycelial cultures are grown over 5 days in a mold. The Living used a digital process to optimize form and determine brick placement.

Architectural proposal for the fabrication of 3D printed extruded pig cells to form organic dwellings.

Intended as a victimless shelter.

As a composite with org have a stronger strength-to-weight ratio than steel at a fraction of the cost. The material performs

Pervious Branching

Hy-

When these mycelium bricks are placed in contact with each other for a period as short as one day, they form an organic weld that permanently fuses them together.

Forti ber backs Ecovative’s rigid foam sheathing with building paper for weather protection. This is the rst of many steps towards Ecovative’s goal of developing a whole wall system.

Myclium Material Study

Henk Jonkers TU Delft, Netherlands 2013

Phil Ross Monterey, California 2009 Composed of reishi mushrooms and chopsticks, these blocks have mushrooms growing on one side to showcase the material. While on exhibit, visitors were invited to drink tea made from the bricks.

This concrete is colonized with calcite-precipitating extremophile bacteria which can repair cracks in the concrete. A potential downside is the inability to kill the organisms as they continuously grow.

As part of the Myco Design Lab Exposition at Mediamatic Fabriek, Aniela aimed to develop a new composite material, combining textile and mycelium for architectural applications.

Myco ber

Mycotecture

This interdisciplinary research proposal aimed to develop an innovative wall-panel system capable of growing microorganisms directly on its surface.

Bio-receptive materials strive to act like tree bark.

shop tools.

Filatures

Richard Beckett & Marcos Cruz Bartlett School of Architecture, London 2015

The roof consists of a faceted bamboo frame sealed with translucent shrink wrap. The oor is made of bamboo matting, and covered in natural clay-based textile-reinforced soil cement.

Apertures

Windows and doors are framed with bamboo. Instead of glass, transparent shrink wrap is used.

Bamboo is the framing material used for structure and apertures. Much of the material used can be grown in less than one year.

Mushrooms Biology gy and use

Life Cycle

The mushroom, the reproductive part of the fungus releases spores in a process known as sporulation.

Spores land and produce mycelium underground.

As the mycelium grow, they produce a small mushroom covered in a universal veil. The mushroom breaks through the veil as it grows.

Cultivation

Mushrooms may be cultivated indoors or outdoors. They feed by breaking down nutrients, some require light.

After choosing a mushroom spawn and substrate, the next step is inoculation. Given the right environment, the growing medium will ll with mycelium until mushrooms are ready for harvest.

Mycoremediation

Fungi are biological gateway species for remediation, producing enzymes which convert oil into fungal sugars.

Mushrooms, grown from hydrocarbons, sporulate and attract insects, whose larvae are eaten by birds, who bring in seeds, which sprout into plants.

Our best antibiotics also come from fungi.

Fungal Carbon Sequestration

Fungi sequester carbon in the form of calcium oxalates and in soil when living symbiotically with an autotroph.

Autotrophs are organisms which create their own food. The hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi form symbioses with plant roots, allowing both to grow much faster. Carbon in the hyphae remains in soil.

Symbionts

Lichens are fung lled with algae. Endophytic and mycorrhizal fungi associate with plant roots.

Lichens are symbionts whose parts cannot survive alone. Algae capture carbon in photosynthesis.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are found in 80% of plants and store carbon through soil aggregation.

Crustose Lichen Upper cortex Algal layer

Medulla

Site Location and Opportunities

1000 ft

Maps

Phasing

Land Use and Planning g

Planning g Strategy gy

Bangladesh

Sylhet

Impervious Cover

Permeable Cover

Vegetation

Water

Rajshahi

Dhaka k

Khulna Barisal

Katcha (Temporary)

Semi-Pucca (Transitional)

Pucca (Permanent)

Chittagong

Flood Zones

Phase 1 Site Phase 2 Expansion Potential Future Locations

Manufacturing

Slums

Areas of Interest

Phase 1

N

Phasing Planning g Strategy gy

Bangladesh

Sylhet Rajshahi

Dhaka k

Khulna Barisal

Chittagong

Phase 1 Site Phase 2 Expansion Potential Future Locations

Refugee Community Program g and standards Although minimum standards are often cited in refugee camp design, life that is expandable, positive, and enhancing requires more than the bare minimum.

Numbers have been increased beyond minimum upon further research.

48ft2

960ft2

6 people per shelter

Buildings, amenities, roads, open spaces, growth

100-160 people, 27 shelters

Shelter per person

Total area per person

Community size

Efficient stoves in kitchens

Renewable microgrid

Park, nursery, market, workshop, library, worship

Cooking

Energy

Community amenities

2 taps per family

1 per family

1 per family

Water

Bathing

Restrooms

Low Cost Solutions Technical Aspects and Case Studies

Air

Air is ltered with indoor plants.

Planters may face in, out or both.

Carbon and toxins are removed.

Using a variety of brick types, plants may be grown orist’s daisy, peace lily, song of India, lady palm, and oyster mushrooms break down environmental toxins as they grow.

Food

The small gardens described here will not provide full nutritional need in this dense urban setting.

The project will be interdependent with the existing market and bazar system of Dhaka. New market spaces may also be built in the community, utilizing this new architectural typology.

Cooking

Efficient low-cost stoves are provided in shared kitchens. Biomass is used in lieu of the spotty electrical grid.

The low-smoke chulha is a clay biomass cookstove which saves fuel and vents smoke through a stack of slotted clay tablets to remove particulates.

Energy and lighting

One solar panel and battery per house, minimal LED lighting, and wind power at the community scale.

Electricity production will provide for efficient lighting and USB electronics charging. Lighting will be adjustable, directional, and sufficient for night-time navigation and safety.

Water and Sanitation

Municipal water is currently available in 90 percent of Dhaka’s slums.

Composting latrines will be provided.

Water access will be universal, harvested rain and graywater will be reused. Easy Latrines are lowcost, do not require indoor plumbing, and convert humanure to usable compost in 2 years.

Sections

Sustainability

Buildings g and Site

Social, Economic, and Environmental

Scale Brick Production

Community Brick Fabrication

Site Infrastructure

Seed community

Intial Building Blocks

Grow the community

Train and educate

Low Tide

High Tide

1:30

Plant

Grow

Harvest

Building Designs

Brick Design

Selected Iterations

Ingredients g

Agricultural waste

Oyster mushroom

Mold

Sawdust

Textile waste

Plan o

Community House/ Brick Factory Kitchen Bath House/ Brick Drying

N 100'

Site Plan Refugee g Community y

5'

N 100' 00'

Engineering Considerations Technical Details

g

Mushroom bricks are waterproofed using natural resins and upper walls are made of bioplastic shrink wrap.

B ax oil, polymerized through oxidation, and natural shellac from lac insects are both non-toxic waterproofers which are locally available. Heavyduty lms are widely available.

Ventilation Strategy

Specialty shrink wrap zippers, often used for access will be used as ventilation apertures.

Zippers will provide for climate control. Passive ventilation will be optimized to provide for maximum exposure to summer breezes from the south.

Site Considerations

Carbon Accounting

Material/ Process Bioplastic Flax Oil Timber Piles Bamboo Jute Twine Transport by van Polycarbonate sheets Thermoforming Wood chips Public Space Allocation Solar Panels Electronics Lithium Ion Battery Electricity Production Offset Landfill Divergence Soil Carbon Sequestration Total Emitted Carbon (kgCO2e)

CO2e/ 2.32 1.915 6.73E-03 5.72E-03 2.581 3.70E-03 7.788 0.7824 1.10E-02 0.4 104.1 253 5.827 -0.0809 -0.031 -0.15

Unit kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/tkm kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kg kg/kWh kg/kg kg/kg

#Units 27 21 415 700 0.5 500 5.4 5.4 800 168 15 1 1.5 25550 1000 350

Ctot (kg) 62.64 40.215 2.794 4.006 1.291 1.85 42.1 4.22 8.76 67 1562 253 8.74 -2066 -31 -52.5 -91.29

Notes Shrink wrap (x3) Waterproofing (x3) Footings (3 @ 14'x10") Framing (at 85% of pine) Lashing Timber and Mold Delivery Molds Mold Processing Brick substrate (x2) 40% of housing total 180W/ house DC Electrical System 1 per courtyard solar minus coal at 15yr Waste to brick/ compost 15% of non-ag soil mass

Bamboo Details Typical y Connections

Namoshudra Housing

The Namoshudra People of Southern Bangladesh traditionally live in houses arranged around a courtyard.

Common materials include bamboo, jute, coconut grass), and wicker. Diagonal lashing with jute is the most common framing method. Courtyard layouts are inward facing.

Traditional Framing

Details are adapted from methods used in traditional bamboo frame houses of rural Bangladesh.

Bamboo is the most commonly used building material in Bangladesh. Dwellings built among different groups share a similar system of lashed bamboo structural framing.

Vernacular Adaptation

Learning from the local vernacular, the design of this community will adapt to the conditions of present-day Dhaka.

Principles which have evolved over millennia to mitigate ood risk and increase occupant comfort in a tropical deltaic region are crucial starting points for innovation in this project.

Notching and Lashing Methods

Typical Peg and Lashing Details

Lab Process Mushroom bricks from tissue culture

Oyster mushrooms at farmer’s market

Set up clean room

Sterilize materials in pressure cooker

Slant test tubes

Set up workspace

Obtain sterile tissue sample from center of mushroom

Carefully add mushroom tissue to agar

Label individual strains

Wait for mycelium to grow

Inoculate sterilized grain spawn with mycelium

Transfer colonized spawn to substrate, wait 3 days

Add colonized substrate to mold, bake after one week

Housing Design

Process

Bricks

Modeling g with Genetic Algorithms g

Brick Lab and Modeling g

Process and Iterations

Bricks

Process

Models

Molds and Material

Modeling g and Materials

Bricks and Buildings g

Wind and Water Bar

Case Studies

Case Studies

Bamboo construction

New technology gy

Vo Trong Nghia Binh Duong Province, Vietnam 2012

Spatium Gelatum

This thatched bamboo dome is located at the center of a lake in Vietnam. The lengths of bamboo are bound together and bent into arches.

Son La Restaurant

Vo Trong Nghia Son La Province, Vietnam 2014

Sphere grown from a gel of biological polymers suspended in agar solution, congealed around a balloon. He also grew organisms on polymeric 3D scaffolds for his Trangenic Habitat Project.

I’m Lost in Paris

A forest of clustered bamboo columns lls the dining room of this Vietnam restaurant. The design had to be easily constructed by local builders using materials readily available nearby.

Sen Village Community Center

Vo Trong Nghia Sen Village, Vietnam 2015

Penda Vienna/Beijing for China competition 2014

R&Sie(n) Paris France 2008 The exterior of this double skin is clad with 1200 hydroponic ferns and 300 glass components for bacterial culture.

Alga(e)zebo Photobioreactors

The community center’s thatch-covered roof is supported by 28 arched and rope-bound bamboo frame units. A circular skylight at the top admits light and air and provides passive cooling.

Modular Bamboo Hotel

Zbigniew Oksiuta Venice Biennale 2004

Richard Beckett London, England 2012 Columns within this pergola contain CO2 consuming algae and local bacteria. Irregular edges allow plants to grow and intermingle.

Urban Algae Folly

This exible, modular bamboo structure can easily expand both vertically and horizontally. Joints are tied with rope to allow for easy reassembly. Leaves minimal impact on the site.

EcoLogic Studio Expo Milan 2015 Spirulina microalgae oxygenate air while absorbing as much CO2 as a 4 hectare forest. The skin is composed of ETFE to house the algae while providing shade for visitors.

Horten Law Offices

3XN Architects Copenhagen, Denmark 2009 The architects of this law office used a digital fabrication process to construct an intricate geometry out of a few repetitive pieces.

The $700 House

Case Studies

Case Studies

Minimal shelters

Refugee g housing g

Jan Schreiber, Stefan Becker Berlin, Germany 2009

Kilis Refugee Camp

Turkish Government Kilis, Turkey 2012

10’

Kitchen

Designed for post-disaster Latin America, this 20m2 brick house is earthquake resistant, is easily dismantled and moved, and can be assembled in two days by inexperienced workers.

Progressive Shelters

Design Without Borders Guatemala 2002

This camp of 2,053 identical containers for 14,000 Syrian civilians has planned infrastructure, amenities like schools, workshops, and grocery stores, and is remarkably well-maintained.

Largo Refugee Camp

The rst two phases of this shelter are temporary. phase, the shelter made permanent by covering the walls with concrete, building foundation walls, and adding plumbing and electric.

paraSITE

Michael Rakowitz Cambridge, Masachussets 1998

With a total population of 7,000 inhabitants living in 1,564 individual shelters in 101 communities, each shelter averages 4.5 people and each community is composed of 16 shelters.

Jimmi Bagbo Refugee Camp

For less than $5, this shelter can be carried in a bag and deployed on an exhaust duct of a host building, instantly in ating and providing radiant heat to the homeless occupant.

Concrete Canvas Shelter

Concrete Canvas Pontypridd, UK 2007

Khondaker Hasibul Kabir Korail, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2014 A local Landscape Architect has developed strategies to ameliorate the effects of climate change in Dhaka’s largest slum. One of his projects is the Platform of Hope, built over a lake.

Hiroshi Imai Jimmi, Sierra Leone 2001 With a total population of 6,100 people living in 1,221 shelters across 115 communities, each shelter averages 5 inhabitants and communities are composed of 12 shelters each.

Flat Pack Refugee Shelter

This 270 or 580ft2 shelter is made of a exible, concrete impregnated fabric that hardens when hydrated around a self-in atable inner. It can be constructed by two people in under an hour.

Transforming a Slum into a Paradise

UNHCR Largo, Sierra Leone 2003

Ikea Foundation, UNHCR The Netherlands 2013 at-pack boxes and takes around four hours to construct without tools. At 17.5m2 it can house 5 people for at least 3 years. It includes solar panel with usb charger and a light.

SpaceSafe

Christian Dalsgaard, et al.

Denmark 2007 SpaceSafe shelters are tagged with a green color with a unique spectral signature, which is visible on satellite images. This enables aid agencies to locate their individual shelters, facilitating planning.

Bathroom

23’

Nepal Project

Case Studies

Case Studies

Low-cost building g techniques

Traditional technologies g

Shigeru Ban Architects Nepal 2015

DESI School

This building system can be assembled by connecting modular 3’x7’ wooden frames and lling with rubble bricks. The roof is made of a paper tube truss, covered in plastic and thatch.

Hybrid Muscle Pavilion

R&Sei(n), Philippe Parreno Chang Mai, Thailand 2003

The building has a g oor of loam (silt & clay), rice straw, and water, compacted by water buffalo.

The remainder is constructed of woven bamboo. It uses passive heating/ cooling, and solar electricity.

Sra Pou Vocational Center

The Hybrid Muscle pavilion generates all the electrical power it needs from the work of a single large ox lifting a two-ton weight.

Magunubwe Interpretation Center

Peter Rich Architects Limpopo, South Africa 2009

Simon and Jasmine Dale Wales, UK 2003

Maasai Integrated Shelter Project

Cal-Earth Baninajar Refugee Camp, Iran 1995

Green School

Hopi Nation Elder Home

This building uses structural straw bales to encourage independence in building nancing and construction. The material is low-cost and highly-insulating.

Case Studies

Case Studies

Living g Structures

Formal precedents

Khasi Tribe Cherapunjee, Northeast India Traditional

Kip

Ferdinand Ludwig Stuttgart, Germany 2012

Triptyque São Paulo, Brazil 2008

Flowing Gardens

VenhoevenCS Amsterdam, Netherlands 2006

Folk Art Galleries

Patrick Blanc Paris, France 2006 This vertical garden is built of a metal-framed, soilfree self-supporting growing system of polyamide felt stapled to expanded PVC. Drip irrigation at the top delivers a diluted fertilizer mixture.

Kengo Kuma China Academy of Arts 2015 This building is designed to look like a small village with each section appearing as a small house. The design uses tiles discarded from local housing to blend into its environment and reuse waste.

Panda Watching

This leisure centre is designed as an overgrown, camou aged fortress next to the entrance to the city. Both roof and elevations are covered with fty species of plants.

Musée du Quai Branly Living Wall

Groundlab Xi’an Intl. Horticultural Expo, China 2011 Three main sites are connected by bridge or boat.

The design of the landscape hybridizes the natural and arti cial.

Harmonia 57 treats and reuses rainwater, mitigates high temperatures and utilizes Brazil’s heavy rains.

The structure is made of organic concrete, which absorbs water and hold plants in its niches.

Sportplaza Mercator

Erik Kessels Eindhoven, Netherlands Dutch Design Week 2015 This pavilion was constructed of steel scaffold and shrink wrap. This faceted design was intended to look like a giant inhabitable chicken.

This is the largest and rst urban baubotanical building to date. A scaffold is erected with trees in planters. Once the branches grow strong and fuse, the planters and scaffolding are removed.

Harmonia 57

Nathaniel Corum Hotevilla, Arizona 2005

from inside, becoming strong and water resistant.

The Khasi people have been building root bridges for centuries. These bridges, grown out of rubber guided by hollowed-out betel nut trunks take from 7 to 15 years to mature.

Plane-Tree-Cube Nagold

John and Cynthia Hardy Bali, Indonesia 2008 The largest bamboo building in the world was built with traditional techniques and new forms. Bamboo reaches maturity in 4 years and produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent grove of trees.

The $625 4.6m2 shelters were designed for UNDP and UNHCR. They are made of sandbags and

Living Roof Bridges

Intermediate Tech. Development Group Kajiado, Kenya 1999 These $721 houses improve upon traditional cowdung plastering with rammed earth and cementstabilized soil blocks. New roofs of chicken-wirereinforced cement allow for rainwater collection.

This house was built for $4,650, mostly using materials found on-site. It is dug into a hillside and is well-insulated with straw bales under the oor and an intensive living roof.

Super Adobe

Rudanko + Kankkunen Sra Pou, Cambodia 2011 Made of local materials - red earth, sand, straw, cement, and bamboo - the school required no machine-made or prefabricated components.

The unreinforced, un red earth tiles that make up the compression structure use 75% less energy than reinforced concrete, are made with a handpress and are ready to use within one week.

The Hobbit House

Anna Heringer Radrapur, Bangladesh 2008

Zhe Peng Xueshan, China 2014 The design proposes a post-earthquake reconstruction of Xueshan, known as the hometown of the panda. The project revives traditional construction techniques and uses bamboo.

Traditional SE Asian Tropical House

The tropical house is open, light, and airy. Inhabitants are lifted up into breezes and away from damp earth.

Its large roof provides maximum shade and the high ridge allows warm air to vent out the upturned ends.

The high, steep pro le provides protection against heavy downpours during the monsoon season.