ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
EDITOR’S NOTE
Architecture Alive ! Architecture traditionally uses inert materials that are not in sync with the needs of an evolving environment, thus, creating a barrier between the natural world and the built environment. Where technology and nature are traditionally seen as two independent entities, they now merge and collaborate. This electrifying edition of Architecture Alive! kicks off the epoch of Timeless, Dynamic, and Responsive smart materials. Discussing hot topics ranging from climate change to self-healing materials, read on for what the future of Venice, the sinking Queen of the Adriatic holds. This exclusive edition of Architecture Alive! is a stage for us to keep up with the momentum of living architecture – the design of emergence, for us to detach ourselves from ignorance and act together as a voice with nature. Architecture Alive! creates a great intellectual dialogue that weaves ecology and technology to create viable solutions to challenges associated with climate change and pollution. With a passionate ambition and knowledge about living architecture, we can start to reshape and reimagine our future. The only question now is just how bold you are to be an active catalyst for evolution.
Make it happen !
A dissertation presented to the School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University in part fulfilment of the regulations for BA (Hons) in Architecture
Statement of Originality This dissertation is an original piece of work which is made available for copying with permission of the Head of the School of Architecture
SONG PEI FEN EDITOR
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ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
CONTENTS
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20 ARCHITECTURE ALIVE ! The Special Issue Winter 2014
40 ARCHITECTURE ALIVE ! 02 Editor’s Note
RETHINKING ARCHITECTURE
VENICE
TO SAVE OR TO SINK ?
05 Overview 06 Objectives
NATURE INSPIRED !
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE ! Published by SongAssociates OxfordBrookesPLC Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane, Oxford OX3 0BP Tel: +447741936220 11019165@brookes. ac.uk
Printed in the UK by OBU Media Centre brookes.ac.uk
10 Bio-Architecture - In a world of machines 12 Biomimetics vs. Biodesign 14 Chitosan – The recipe of Autonomous Healing 15 Living in the world of Permaculture 16 Emergence of synthetic biology as a natural computational tool
ENVIRONMENT TODAY, TOMORROW 20 Climate change 22 Pollution ArchiToxicity 24 Consequences of climate change & pollution
LIVING ARCHITECTURE TODAY
NEW MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY
SAFEGUARDING VENICE
LOOKING AHEAD
30 Bottom up approach in architecture 33 The Wonder of Self-Healing Materials 37 Updates At Your Fingertips
40 Introduction to Venice 42 Beneath the mask of Venice 44 The sinking of Venice 50 Effects of atmospheric pollution 52 Existing interventions 54 Reclaiming Venice with self-healing architecture
61 Introduction to hydrogel & chitosan 62 Science Behind Selfhealing Coating 67 The future of Self-healing coating
73 Benefits of self-healing architecture 74 Factors of reality 76 What the future holds for us 80 References 82 Bibliography 84 Image references
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
OVERVIEW
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ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
OVERVIEW
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OVERVIEW Architecture and science are inextricably linked to nature in the environmental realm. While science monitors the health of the planet, architecture helps us visualize and materialise our complex relationship to the natural world.
It is time to change our method of designing a sustainable built environment from a monastic top down approach to a more tangible bottom up approach that synthesises new structures from biological principles and natural systems.
Science postulates facts while architecture designs. Architecture itself is an environmental technology. In order to produce genuinely sustainable architecture, it needs to be part of the biosphere, not separate from it. Living architecture – the union of science and architecture, embodies the principles of emergence, bottomup construction techniques and self-assembly. It is connected to the environment through constant conversation and energy exchange with the natural world in a series of chemical interactions called ‘metabolism’. Previous Page Fig 2 Climate Change Fig 3 Safeguarding Venice Left Fig 4
Right Fig 5
Beauty of biomimicry in Calatrava’s architecture Algaculture symbiosis suit that turns CO2 into edible algae
Earth is rapidly crossing critical thresholds of climate change and other environmental challenges. Yet, architecture today still uses inert conventional materials that are belligerent to a changing environment.
Living architecture empowers us to take control over our surroundings based on a dynamic new standard of construction materials.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
OBJECTIVES
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OBJECTIVES Project Living Architecture : Stripping down to essentials
Rethinking Architecture as a Natural computer
Project Living Architecture strives to strip down the conventional approach for a built environment to the very essence of a material. It then gradually builds up a relation between the natural and man-made to reinforce a true ecological architectural significance.
Living architecture anticipates the development of a new set of construction materials that possess the ability to connect inert (traditional) structures with smart ‘living’ materials. Neil Spiller envisions a realm where the built and the natural environments are coupled together so that energy and information flow freely from the biosphere to the metropolis and back again. (Armstrong, 2010)
This requires us to think more holistically about the performance and intrinsic qualities of the construction materials in response to the environmental conditions we are facing. Project Living Architecture strives to design a built environment that behaves as an ecology, rather than enforcing the mechanical approach that underpins the way our modern cities are built. It challenges the future of creating a dynamic interface that will facilitate the integration of man-made structures with the natural world at a basic level of organization.
In the pursuit of living architecture, architects and scientists collaborate to develop an urban scheme through which cities can acquire ecological connectivity by the reskinning of conventional materials with ‘living, autonomous healing claddings’ Drawing inspiration from living systems such as bones, self-healing materials would be capable of repairing damages on structures autonomously without having to rely on traditional machine paradigm or human intervention to generate their responsiveness. The symbiotic relation between the smart material and the inert structure will prolong the life of the structure.
“Now, Architecture does not need to be limited by inert surfaces, which create a barrier between people and the environment but could directly engage the surroundings through active interfaces which act as vast synthetic materials” Armstrong, 2011
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
OBJECTIVES
TIME To Embrace Change & Getting Involved
“Without the participation of the inhabitants which includes humans, plants and other animals, modern cities are woefully inert.� Armstrong, 2009
Top Fig 6
What Time Is It? Time to change
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Self-healing architecture has significant relevance to the challenges of the 21st century where our megacities and urban environments continue to grow at alarming rates. We are living in an age where destructive human impacts on Earth are no longer negligible. It is high time that we engage in a big clean-up of toxic issues that deteriorate our environment. The aspiration to achieve a sustainable built environment in the 21st century and in the future will require effective coordination between disciplines, cultures and geographical regions. An set of efficient technological tools and public participation are key of adapting architecture over time with its environment. Armstrong (2011) cited Neil Spiller who emphasizes that the practice of the built environment has reached a critical point in technology and epistemology where cell biology has become the new cyberspace and nanotechnology. Progress in technology has opened up opportunities to create ecologically connected architecture that blur the conventional distinction between a building and the landscape.
“Good design depends on a free and harmonious relationship between nature and people, in which careful observation and thoughtful interaction provide the design inspiration� David Holmgren, 2011
Nature Inspired ! Top Fig 7
Nature Inspired !
Next Page (top to bottom) Fig 8 When Nature Meets Technology Fig 9 The living bridge in Cherrapunji
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
BIO-ARCHITECTURE
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bioARCHITECTURE The modern world relies heavily on machines as our technological instrument to understand how the world works. Man-made machines works in a reality composed of objects, which can be defined geometrically and hierarchically linked. Machines survive on external energy in a world assumed to be in equilibrium where matter is passive. Nature, on the other hand, works with a technology in sync with its metabolic processes. These are functional chemical interactions that are never static and are sustained by external energy from the environment such as carbon dioxide and the sun. It is crucial to have a holistic understanding of the form, function and mechanism of natural systems as
The locals hand-weaved the roots of the Ficuselastica tree to build bridges that could support the weight
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
BIO-ARCHITECTURE
in a world of MACHINES
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“What we have to learn from nature is to understand its technology.” Armstrong, 2013
well as the processes through which these outputs are produced. If we observe and analyse nature at a detailed level – from various perspectives of science – and unravel how nature lives and produces her effects, we will begin to understand the mechanism of ecological forms of technology. The living bridge in Cherrapunji, in northeast India is a perfect model of the union of architecture and nature.
of 50 people at one time and can reach 30 meters in length.
This inspirational model of nature-driven architecture has aroused huge attention in the field of architecture, challenging 21st century architects to design based on dynamic construction principles.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
BIOMIMETICS vs BIODESIGN
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BIOMIMICRY Throughout the ages, architects have looked for inspiration from Nature, to celebrate the creativity of the natural world through architecture. Some pioneers of architecture are inspired by models in nature, such as Richard Buckminster Fuller and Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi sought to replicate the perfection he saw in nature, a field known as ‘biomimetic’ architecture. His structural forms mimicked natural forms and functions thereby providing both ornamental and structural benefits to his creations. The tree-inspired columns of Sagrada Familia Cathedral, subjected to compressive and bending stress have branching systems with increasing slenderness as a result of the higher stability due to bundling. Like natural trees, each branch of a column in the Sagrada Familia only support one particular section of the superstructure, roof and ceiling, independently from the rest. They transmit forces in a uniform manner.
BENYUS (1997) COINED THE WORD ‘BIOMIMICRY’ TO DESCRIBE THE USE OF LESSONS FROM THE NATURAL WORLD TO DEVELOP A CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY FOR Left to right Fig 10 Sagrada Familia Fig 11 Structure of the tree that inspired Gaudi’s architecture Fig 12 Algaerium bioprinter that yields health food
HUMANKIND.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
BIOMIMETICS vs BIODESIGN
BIODESIGN The field of Biodesign extends beyond biology-mimicked design and fabrication. It goes beyond mimicry to integration; it incorporates of living systems as essential components to enhance the function of the product. Biodesign highlights experiments that replace industrial or mechanical systems with biological processes, synthesizing new hybrid typologies. Living architecture is a branch of biodesign that highlights the chemical composition and mechanism of natural systems that spatially react through metabolic processes to shape biological events. The paradigm that living architecture articulates aims to design and engage buildings with metabolic systems that could filter our environment and help us transform our waste into rich resources that do not deplete our environment This is the hope of the future of living architecture.
“BIOMIMICRY IS LIKE BIOLOGY FOR THE COPY AND PASTE GENERATION. FOR US TO RECLAIM POWER WE’RE GOING TO GO BACK TO A RE-ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MATERIAL.” RACHEL ARMSTRONG, 2013
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CHITOSAN
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CHITOSAN THE RECIPE OF AUTONOMOUS HEALING
Chitosan is a sugar derived from chitin, the second most abundant natural polymer after cellulose, found in the exo-skeleton of shellfish – crab, lobster, shrimp, and the cell walls of certain fungi. Chitosan is obtained from marine crustacean shells through a chemical hydrolysis process, namely, demineralization, deproteinization, discoloration and deacetylation. Chitosan plays a major role in biomedical applications especially bone tissue engineering and wound healing due to its excellent biodegradability, biocompatibility, permeability, osteoconduction and antibacterial nature. Top Left to right Fig 13 Prawn Fig 14 Crab Fig 15 Lobster All exoskeletons of the crustaceans possess selfhealing characteristic Next page Fig 17 Living wall@CaixaForum Madrid
Chitosan can be easily modified into various forms such as films, fibers, beads, sponges and more complex shapes for orthopaedic treatment.
Fig 16 Deactylation of chitin from chitosan
Grafted chitosan natural polymer with carbon nanotubes is a current development in bone tissue engineering to increase the mechanical strength of chitosan composites. Chitosan composites are thus emerging as potential materials for artificial bone and bone regeneration in tissue engineering. (Venkatesan & Kim, 2010)
WHAT IF OUR B UIL T ENV IR ONM E N T COUL D SEL F-H E A L L IKE THE CHITOSA N ?
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
LIVING IN THE WORLD OF PERMACULTURE
Permaculture is a budding branch of ecological design process working towards sustainable living and land use. It embraces both the production and the consumption side of how we live, and our values and behaviours. (Holmgren, 2013) Originating from ‘permanent agriculture’ and ‘permanent culture’, permaculture is about living lightly on the planet, and making sure human
L I VI NG I N
activities can be sustained for a long time, in harmony with nature. (Permaculture Association) Drawing on the principles of sustainability and permaculture, living architecture practices an ethical design framework to understand how nature works, and focuses on the relationships among elements by the way they are assembled.
T HE W ORLD OF
PERMACULTURE
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ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
THE EMERGENCE OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
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emergence of
Synthetic Biology as a natural computational tool
The design and engineering with living systems has made technologies available for us to work with the principles of transmutation of living systems.
From top Fig 18 Wound Healing in human skin Fig 19 Future Venice Project Next Page Fig 20 Protocell technology
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
The protocell technology, pioneered by Rachel Armstrong and her research team in University of Greenwich has become an icon of living architecture and synthetic biology. Armstrong first discovered a little fatty droplet whizzing around in a dish in the late 2008. It shed its cell to produce a basic building block. Upon the discovery of the potential for the protocell to become a design tool and a biological agent, she collaborated with scientist, Martin Hanczyc from the University of Southern Denmark to further develop the technology.
THE EMERGENCE OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
We now incorporate biological metaphors as the common conceptual language of living architecture.
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The oil and water droplet systems are programmed using various sets of chemicals and are introduced into orchestrated environment to obtain very specific or the most likely outcomes. A protocell is a primordial atomic globule, a simple form of life which can be made of pre-exisiting biological materials such as protoplasm. Scientists are trying to create it from organic and inorganic chemicals. It possesses material complexity, and is capable of self-organisation.
Future Venice, the remarkable brainchild of a research team of architects, scientists, environmentalists and planners including Armstrong proposes to grow an artificial reef under the city using the protocell technology to defend the city from its destructive tides. The protocell technology is programmed to move away from light and deposit limestone under the wood pile foundations of the historic city, that will gradually build up and form a generation of an artificial reef. This reef would be co-produced by the droplets working alongside the natural deposits left by marine wildlife such as mussels and barnacles. (InpossibleMe, n.d.). This natural building material continues to grow, self-repair and even respond to changes in the environment in real time.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
Cell
CHITOSAN
biology is the new cyberspace and nanotechnology. Once we fully understand the exact nature of how our world makes us and, indeed, how it sometimes kills us, we will be able to make true architectures of ecological connectability. Neil Spiller, 2008
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BIOMIMETICS vs BIODESIGN
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ENVIRONMENT
TODAY,
TOMORROW
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
CLIMATE CHANGE
GREENLAND
Climate change has caused the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to deplete at an alarming rate, affecting the world’s supply fresh water.
PINE ISLAND GLACIER Has reached an irreversible melting point even if global warming is resolved.
Already contributing to around 25 % of the total ice loss from West Antarctica, scientists predict that Pine Island will increase global sea levels by as much as 10 millimeters over the next 20 years. (Marks, 2014) Page 18 Fig 21 Nanotechnology meets Cell Biology Page 19 Fig 22 Environment Today, Tomorrow Page 20 Fig 23 Climate Change
UK
Owing to the rise in global temperature, sea levels have risen by about 10 cm around the UK and about 19 cm globally, on average since 1900. Summer rainfall is decreasing on average, while winter rainfall is increasing, according to the source on MetOffice website.
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ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
CLIMATE CHANGE
Since the industrial revolution we have established a new relationship with technology that has prioritized the industrial landscape over the natural environment, leading to a toxic relationship between human activity and the land. (Armstrong, 2010). Climate change is the symptom of corrupted modernization coupled with environmental neglect. It is a large-scale, longterm shift in the planet’s weather patterns or average temperatures, often characterized by soaring temperatures.
the big
C
’s
GLOBAL TEMPERATURE
The average temperature of the planet’s surface has risen by 0.89 °C from 1901 to 2012. (MetOffice, 2013) The National Research Council of USA(2010) has already warned us that we may live in world twice as much warmer as it has during the last 100 years as the average global temperatures are expected to increase by 2°F to 11.5°F by 2100.
Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are a major contributor to climate change. Since the Industrial Revolution in the mid-18th Century, the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has massively increased. Industrialization continues to grow exponentially with urban sprawl, stretching the boundaries of environmental toxicity. Deforestation further increases the imbalance between the CO2 we emit and the planet’s capacity to re-absorb it.
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Pollution
Archi
ARCHITOXICITY
Toxicity Currently, buildings account for 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions, which exceeds the carbon emission of transport. Construction promotes global warming as trees are being demolished to pave way for our homes and buildings. The construction industry is a major source of air, water, soil and noise pollution.
Fig 24
Panaroma of a construction site
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ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
ARCHITOXICITY
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Water Pollution
Air Pollution Construction activities that contribute to air pollution include: land clearing, operation of diesel engines, demolition, burning, and working with toxic materials. Diesel engine exhausts of vehicles and heavy equipment on the construction site generate high levels of dust and particulate matter that can be spread over large distances for a long period of time. These hazardous pollutants inflict serious respiratory diseases and cancer on humans.
Land clearance for construction to commence causes soil erosion that leads to silt-bearing run-off and sediment pollution. Surface water run-off carries silt, soil, pollutants and untreated wastewater from the site, such as diesel, toxic chemicals, and building materials like cement. When these hazardous substances get into waterways they destroy aquatic life. Pollutants on construction sites can also seep into the groundwater, harming the source of human drinking water
Noise Pollution Construction sites produce a lot of noise, from vehicles, heavy equipment, machinery and workers. High noise level upsets the natural cycle of animals and health of humans.
of cl i ma te c ha nge & p o llu t io n
UENCES
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION
CONSEQ
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D e ca y o f c onventi ona l c onstruc ti on mate ri a l s
Fig 26
Erosion of reinforced concrete caused by acid rain
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION
Concrete was a cutting-edge material in Roman times used to build architectural marvels such as the Pantheon in Rome and the Roman aqueducts. It is an extraordinary construction material with high compressive strength and improved tensile quality when reinforced with steel. However, the steel reinforcement often causes crack formation in the concrete when it surpasses its tensile load-bearing capacity during its service life. Other factors of damage in concrete are design and construction errors, as well as collisions and earthquakes
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that result in strength overload. Rainwater often enters the cracks in concrete and corrodes the steel reinforcement. The metal corrosion is accelerated by sulphur dioxide, a common pollutant in acid rain, released from the combustion of fossil fuels. Most structures such as bridges and metal framework-clad buildings are seriously affected by corrosive attacks of acid rain. In addition to atmospheric decay, structures that are submerged in acidified waters such as foundations and pipes are also affected.
Concrete is the most widely used building material and this substance alone accounts for 5% of our total carbon emissions. (Armstrong, 2011).
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
Fig 27
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION
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Cracked masonry wall of an old building
The effects of acid deposition on modern buildings are considerably less damaging than on ancient monuments, because of the difference in construction technology and life of materials.
Limestone and calcareous stones which are used in most heritage buildings are extremely vulnerable to corrosion and need continued renovation.
Renowned historical structures such as the Taj Mahal, Notre
the Colosseum and
Stone decay includes the removal of detail from carved stone, and the build-up of black gypsum crusts in sheltered areas.(AirQuality, n.d.)
Dame,
Westminster Abbey are all affected by environmental pollution. The current progress in sustainability in architecture is restrained and the technology that could potentially revolutionise our approach to reviving existing buildings has yet to mature since the invention of concrete.
When our environment changes and challenges architecture, buildings inevitably succumb, then we set about making new ones, based on a very standard set of rules for the materials used in building practice.
Previous Page Fig 28 Human is the Grinch Top Fig 29
Living Architecture Today
Living
Architecture today
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
BOTTOM UP APPROACH
Bottom
Unlike most architecture, which is normally constructed with a top-down blueprint, living architecture establishes a bottom-up technique of understanding the symbiotic relationship between natural sciences and architecture to create responsive materials through a positive feedback with nature.
Fig 30
Architecture evolving with Nature
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up Approach in Architecture
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
A genuinely sustainable built environment could only be realised through a two-way flow of energy between architecture and nature, rather than creating strategies that widen the gap between them. John Frazer believes that a mutually supportive interaction will allow architecture to enjoy a thermodynamically open relationship with the environment in both a metabolic and a socio-economic sense. A bottom up approach critiques the methods of construction we currently practise and produces real world models and prototypes in response to significant challenges such as climate change within our megacities. In an interview for Libertine magazine, Rachel Armstrong said “Cities and starships share common challenges: resource constraints, liveability and the health of an ecology. When we address those, we start to create viable habitats.�
BOTTOM UP APPROACH
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BOTTOM UP APPROACH
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J
ohn F r a z e r , 1995
Architecture is no longer a static picture of being, but a dynamic picture of becoming and unfolding – a direct analogy with a description of the natural world.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
THE WONDER OF SELF-HEALING MATERIALS
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the wonder of
Self-Healing
M a t e r i a l s Fig 31
Fig 32
Fig 33
The Universal Conductor, An Evolutionary Architecture A wall constructed from roughly dressed sandstone and lime mortar joints. Lime mortar is adapted to movements and soft masonry.
LIME MORTAR
Lime mortar is one of simplest self-healing materials known for centuries. The first mortars were made from mud or clay, which did not perform well in the presence of high levels of humidity.
Water penetrates into the cracks and dissolves the fragments of lime. As the water evaporates, lime is deposited and begins to heal the cracks. This process is called autonomous healing.
The earliest documented use of lime as a construction material was approximately 4000 B.C. in Egypt for plastering the pyramids. The Roman Empire used lime based mortars extensively. Mortars containing only lime and sand required carbon dioxide from the air to convert back to limestone and harden.
Free lime in the mortar combines with water and CO2 from the atmosphere and through carbonization is transformed into calcium carbonate which seals the minute fissures that occur as the mortar flexes. (Bates, n.d.)
Lime can be exceptionally durable. An outstanding example is the Pantheon Temple in Rome which has a lime concrete dome spanning over 43 metres and has survived for nearly 2000 years. Buildings made with lime are more likely to develop multiple fine cracks than the individual large cracks which occur in stiffer cement-bound buildings when they are subject to small movements.
Lime binders are used to repair buildings because they are vapour permeable and help to stabilize the internal humidity of a building by absorbing and releasing moisture.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
THE WONDER OF SELF-HEALING MATERIALS
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BACTERIAL CONCRETE In early 2006, Henk Jonkers, a microbiologist and Eric Schlangen, a specialist in concrete development, developed self-healing cement that would inhibit cracks from forming in concrete.
Clockwise from background Fig 34 Concrete is vulnerable to cracks Fig 35 Bacterial concrete Fig 36 A huge crack in concrete wall Fig 37 Bacteria-induced mineral deposit Fig 38 How bacteria reacts to heal the crack in concrete Next page Fig 39 Before and after the bacteria and its feed in the cracked concrete react
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
THE WONDER OF SELF-HEALING MATERIALS
The two Dutch researchers from Delft Technical University added a healing agent composed of bacterial spores and a feed into the concrete. The spores of a bacteria belonging to the genus Bacillus that thrives in the alkaline soda lakes of Russia and Egypt are combined with their food source, calcium lactate. These healing agents are inserted into small ceramic capsules that isolate them from the wet concrete mix. The mix remained dormant until the formation of a crack induced water to flow in and activate the bacteria and the feed. The reaction of the healing agents and water produced calcite (a very stable form of calcium carbonate), which patched up the cracks.
This project is funded by the IOP (Innovation Oriented research Programme), associated with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs At present, the biggest challenge is producing large scale quantities of healing agent at affordable costs. For this technology to be feasible on a large scale, a control system is crucial to regulate the production of toxic ammonium from the activity of bacteria in synthesising calcium carbonate. The issue of public perception and acceptance also is a huge factor in determining the long term success of this technology. Wet environments such as tunnels, basements and highway infrastructure will benefit from this technology. In the future, concrete may last for ever, thanks to new research into self-healing properties.
Rachel Armstrong calls this project a ‘landmark’ in developing ‘living’ materials. (Mandel, 2013)
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THE WONDER OF SELF-HEALING MATERIALS
SELFHEALING PAINT A new self-healing coating technology has been developed by B.Ghosh and M.Urban at the University of Mississippi. The technology could minimize upkeep and repair cost of damaged structures and also reduce waste.
The abundance of chitosan makes it very economical and feasible. Currently, the limitation of this paint is that the repair process doesn’t work a second time on a specific part of the coating. So, each part of the coating can repair itself only once. (Grieg, 2009)
Fig 40
Mechanism of optically-induced self-healing material
Next page Fig 41 Self-healing technology in the aviation and automoblie industries
This promising technology has to overcome the limitations of its own properties and its adaptation to the environment on various scales to be fullyfledged in a sustainable built environment.
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UPDATES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
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SELF-HEALING AEROPLANES UPDATES
A T Y O U R FINGERTIPS
SCRATCH GUARD COAT In December 2005, Nissan launched the world’s first smart paint composed of a high elastic resin that repairs scratches on vehicle surfaces – the ‘Scratch Guard Coat’. The performance of the coating depends on temperature and the depth of the scratch. The water-proof paint has higher resistance to scratches compared to conventional clear paints.
The ‘Scratch Guard Coat’ is predicted to be effective for about three years. (Hanlon, 2005)
Airplanes get old, and over time they develop tiny holes and cracks on their external skin. Ian Bond of the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bristol has developed a self-healing plastic that detects the damage and performs autonomous healing on the airplanes. The fibre-reinforced polymer composite material is made from hollow fibres filled with epoxy resin. When a hole or crack appears, the resin leaks out and seals the break and returns it to 80 to 90 percent of its original strength. The epoxy is colored, making it easy for mechanics to spot the repairs and make a permanent fix. This technology is reliable, safe, and light, making it an ideal alternative to aluminium. Researchers believe the technology could be commercially adopted in about four years. (Demerjian, 2008)
“We cut ourselves, we bleed, and heal. It’s the same kind of idea,” Bond says. (LeCompte, 2009)
COVER STORY
SAFE
Fig 42
Safeguarding Venice
Next page Fig 43 Water transport network in Venice
VENICE
GUARDING
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
V
Introduction to
V
INTRODUCTION TO VENICE
enice
enice is a significant economic magnet in Italy which generated around 5% of the national value added in 2005. The region also charted a low unemployment rate at 5.3%, in 2008.
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INTRODUCTION TO VENICE
Founded in 421 AD on March 25th the historical centre of Venice is built on several islands of a lagoon, all linked by bridges and now has a
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population of about 000 inhabitants Venice’s economy has flourished greatly throughout the ages, from a hub for in the Middle Ages & trade & Renaissance periods commerce to an 18th century
agricultural & industrial producer
TOURISM
Today is the economic pillar of Venice. As one of the most visited places in the world, Venice welcomes over 4 million overnight stay tourists and 10 million day tourists annually.
Venice’s tourism sector is the largest followed by industry, construction and agriculture. Shipbuilding, services and trade are the largest industries. (TheTimes, 2014)
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BENEATH THE MASK OF VENICE
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Factors depleting the roots of the city If you tear your eyes away from the impressive sights as you walk around the city, you will see unoccupied buildings that are peeling off, especially off the beaten tourist track.
Look further into the aquamarine waters of Venice, and you will be shocked to find that all the city sewage was once flushed into the canals, and still are today, untreated!
Like many other cities, Venice, during the 20th century, developed its industrial and commercial activities near water bodies. Since then, Venice has inexorably become an area of urban decay and pollution. The size, shape and structure of the lagoon have been transformed significantly by natural and human activities.
Furthermore the population has increased three times since the last 50 years, causing higher volume of sewage in the sea.
Porto Marghera a borough of Venice approximately 5 miles from the historical city, is one of the largest chemical industrial districts in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important and influential industrial complex in Europe, reaching its apex of Due to its peculiar urban structure, Venice has never been employment in 1965 with 32890 workers. (Marco, 2012) provided with an organized sewage system, and untreated The main activities of the effluents from the city are industrial area of Porto Marghera discharged into the canals.
are oil processing, production of petrochemicals, fertilizers and synthetic fibers, generation and distribution of industrial gases and electricity, waste treatment and others. As a result, the chemical contamination of the environment in Porto Marghera has become a serious threat to the built environment and socioeconomic state of neighbouring Venice. Transport on the water and land are also sources of pollution, as Venice is on the main route of traffic in Europe.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
Page 42 Fig 44 Venetian mask Page 44 Fig 45 Sinking of Venice Page 46 Fig 46 Venice versus the sea: Flood zone
SINKING OF VENICE
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Venice faces threats of morphological deterioration by the tides flooding in from the Adriatic, the Gulf of Venice between autumn and early spring.
SINKING OF VENICE
The most serious threat is the sinking as the polluted water has an erosive effect on the foundations of buildings and streets.
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B
SINKING OF VENICE
C
A
Clockwise from top Fig 47 Section of Venice Fig 48 Wood supporting structures are erroded Fig 49 Structures submerged in the water are constantly affected by erosion
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D
E
A
During the 20th century, the extraction of water from the aquifer for industrial and agricultural purpose using artesian wells has caused the whole city to collapse by 23cm in relation to sea level from the 1950s to the 1960s. Since the 1960s, artesian wells have been banned. However the sinking crisis is aggravated by land reclamation and excavation of channels for tankers that cause sediments, salt marshes, sand banks and mud flats to disappear.
Coupled with the environmental pollution and global warming inflicted by human activities, the city is still threatened by frequent low-level floods called Acqua Alta (high water) that creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. Classic Venetian buildings frequently suffer the consequences of subsidence. The staircases in old buildings are flooded, making the ground floors uninhabitable.
ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
B
C
SINKING OF VENICE
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The city is constructed on wooden piles, made from trunks of alder trees – a water resistant wood. Russian larch is also used to build some of Venice’s foundation. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay. Buried under layers of mud that stop all activity of the microorganisms that normally attack wood, in oxygen-poor or anaerobic conditions, the wooden piers and rafts do not decay as rapidly as on the surface. While piles under Venice are safe from the effects of flooding and subsidence, the wood above the water level faces wetting and drying and shrinking and swelling issues.
C
To compensate for the lack of ties between the inner walls and the perimeter walls and to maintain balance of horizontal elements, metal tie-rods are applied between floors and walls. Infiltration of highly polluted canal water rots the wooden beams and corrodes the metal tie-rods, gradually weakening the connection between the vertical and horizontal structures which leads to dangerous deformation in the unusually thin walls.
D
Another serious problem faced by all Venetian buildings due to rising sea water level is the erosion of the bricks and stones at the base of the buildings due to salt crystallization. Rising damp causes salt water to penetrate into the brick pores via capillary action and deposits large amount of salts as it evaporates. This leads to the chipping of plaster and the cracks on mortar and masonry.
E
Not only does the rising sea level bring detrimental effects to the buildings, it impedes the navigation of motor boats under bridges and the movement of people in flooded walkways.
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Atmospheric pollution also degrades the buildings in Venice. Unstable compounds of industrial pollutants accumulate on the surfaces of buildings. The rapid growth of industrialization and urbanization in Venice in the 1950s sharply increased the concentration of atmospheric pollutants, particularly sulphur dioxide. As a result of air pollution, centuries-old masonry deteriorated rapidly. During the 1980s, emission of atmospheric pollutants decreased as methane gradually replaced oil as a fuel for heating systems. Although sulphur dioxide emission decreased in that period, the rate of stone decay did not decrease.
EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
Effects of Atmospheric pollution
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According to Vasco Fassina, the scientific consultant of the Veneto Institute for Cultural Heritage, this phenomenon is known as the ‘memory effect’, whereby the state of conservation of a building material is affected by the cumulative exposure of environmental factors on building materials. Venetian industrial pollution has both aesthetically and physically tarnished the most distinctive and costly building materials in the city – Istrian stone and marble. The basements of most historic buildings in Venice are constructed from Istrian stone, a compact limestone with a very low porosity that is resistant to saltwater. As this imported stone is expensive and heavy to be transported, it is used only in the basement of buildings. Acidic rainwater and sea water cause black scabs of gypsum formation on the surface of Istrian stone. The decay of marble is a more serious issue. The penetration of highly acidic rainwater in marble produces a mixture of calcite, gypsum, carbonaceous particles, and natural or manmade atmospheric dust. Fassino explained that the amount of damage to a marble building depends on its geometry and degree of exposure to rainwater. (American Chemical Society, 2000)
Page 49, from top Fig 50 Corrosion of wood Fig 51 Erosion of stone wall Fig 52 Erosion of stone wall Fig 53 Corrosion of metal Fig 54 Flooding in 2012 impeded human movement Left to right Fig 55 A corroded Istrian stone ledge Fig 56 Marble floor of a church is damaged due to flooding
EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
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EXISTING INTERVENTIONS
Exis t in g intervention & What’s lacking
The lagoon has become a drainage basin retaining residuals of heavy metals and nonbiodegradable chlorinated aromatic compounds from past pollution. Over the years, several defence measures have been taken to overcome the problem of rising water levels and flood damage, such as raising embankments and reinforcing the coastline. Laws have been enforced to limit the discharge of industrial waste into the water and septic tanks have been implemented to treat sewage. The solution for salt crystallization is the replacement of wet salt-encrusted bricks and the placement of a damp-proof course at the base of the walls to prevent salt water from reaching the new bricks. Other environmental improvement projects such as harvesting macroalgae, building septic tanks in the city of Venice and developing phytopurification systems in the river estuaries have been carried out to preserve the lagoon from further degradation. (American Chemical Society, 2000) The most recent effort to mitigate the subsidence of Venice, the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), is a set of 78 hollow floatable gates that regulate the high
Fig 57
Fig 58
Right Fig 59
Installation of septic tanks and utilities underground Gatolo is the traditional Venetian sewer system
Mechanism of the Mose Gate
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EXISTING INTERVENTIONS
Project MOSE : How it will work
1
Barrier stays on seabed until high tides and storms are forcecast
2
Air is pumped into each hollow gate to raise barrier
tides flow at the three entrances to the lagoon. When the tides exceed 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be inflated to block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. Inaugurated by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in May 2003, the engineering work is expected to complete by 2014. At this stage of the project, environmentalists are re-evaluating the side effects of the Mose gates on the marine ecosystem. The cost of restoring existing buildings is a major challenge to the city given the complexities involved in procuring construction materials and transporting the materials through
3
Gates move independently, allowing barrier to deal with rough seas
the narrow canals. Most of the sites in the lagoon subject to regular flooding by the tides require advanced technology such as the use of pumps to remove water from the excavations. The success of such plans would depend on the availability and cost of the technologies. While we are resolving the effects of climate change and pollution, an intervention is needed to transform the root of the problems - industrial activities, to become more compatible with the surrounding environment and the local population.
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RECLAIMING VENICE WITH SELF-HEALING ARCHITECTURE
BEFORE
Venice is the perfect case study for us to understand the problems of an environmentally-declining industrial hub and to raise awareness about the regeneration of the World Heritage Site. Living architecture proposes to reclaim Venice with self-healing coating or paint. Self-healing coating acts as a synthetic skin that grows with life-like properties on all the existing buildings of Venice which need safeguarding from environmental problems. The project will first examine the hydrodynamics and morphology of the lagoon, the biodiversity and quality of the lagoon ecosystem and the efficiency of the lagoon metabolism in response to global climate change and pollution. A thorough evaluation of the quantity and
Reclaiming Venice with self-healing architecture As a site strongly dependent on water, Venice is a living example of conflict between man and environment.
Fig 60
Before and after healing mechanism of self healing coating
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RECLAIMING VENICE WITH SELF-HEALING ARCHITECTURE
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AFTER
quality of chemical interaction between the atmosphere and existing building material then formulates a fundamental framework for a composite material to act as an interface between the environment and buildings. Christian Kerrigan (2006) : “ We have reached a point in our evolution where we are now capable of creating design criteria to manipulate natural growth and development.” Venice represents an ideal laboratory to develop the self-healing coating using an analytical bottom-up approach which unites scientific, technological and economic knowledge. If we can develop a positive feedback with the self-healing coating as a resolution to our problems in Venice, then it might be possible to apply this technology elsewhere in the world.
IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN LOOK OUT OF THIS WINDOW HERE AT PALAZZO GUARDI AND SEE PEOPLE FISHING ALONG THE GRAND CANAL. AND SOME BIRD SPECIES THAT HAD DISAPPEARED WILL RETURN TO THE LAGOON. HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURE SMELLS FRESH AND APPEALING AGAIN.
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CHITOSAN
02
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BIOMIMETICS vs BIODESIGN
Venice and the lagoon are revitalized
03
IF YOU WERE waiting for
A
S I G N
THIS IS IT
PROPOSING
A new model of
SUSTAINABILITY
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PROPOSING A NEW MODEL OF SUSTAINABILITY
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Not a day goes by that Venice is liberated from the threat of subsidence, degradation and eventually extinction. Although a single crack in the buildings may seem like a minor issue, it can often be a difficult fix that is costly and time-consuming. Whenever one is scratched or cut, the body immediately acts on the wound. Likewise, when a lobster detects a crack in its shell, the exoskeleton which contains chitosan as a healing agent quickly repairs the wound. “In the same manner that a cut in the skin triggers blood flow to promote healing, a crack in these new materials will trigger the flow of healing agent to repair the damage,� said Nancy Sottos, a Willett Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois. (Kloeppel, 2007) This paper proposes a chitosan-based hydrogel coating as a self-healing material to sustainably regenerate the infrastructure and buildings in Venice.
Fig 61
Healing mechanism of human skin
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INTRODUCTION TO HYDROGEL AND CHITOSAN
I n tr oducti on to
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HYDROGEL
Allan S Hoffman (2002) defines a hydrogel as a permanent or chemical gel constructed on covalently cross-linked water soluble polymer network.
Chemical structure of hydrogel
Polymer hydrogels are still a new, rapidly developing group of smart materials, gaining wide application in many fields, especially medicine. Now, scientists are developing synthetic polymer hydrogels as selfhealing materials.
Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymer networks which may absorb from 10–20% up to thousands of times their dry weight in water. The high water content of the material contributes to its biocompatibility and good transport properties, making them attractive scaffolds for cell encapsulation. Hydrogel are synthetized through the cross-linking of natural and/or synthetic polymers through various polymerization techniques - bulk, solution, and suspension polymerization. The three integral parts of the hydrogel preparation are monomer, initiator, and cross-linker. Hydrogels take various physical forms in numerous biomedical disciplines. They exist as solid soft contact lenses, pressed powder matrices in pills or capsules for oral ingestion, microparticles in bioadhesive carriers or wound treatments, coatings in implants, catheters, capsules and on the inside capillary wall in capillary electrophoresis and liquids that form gels on heating or cooling.
I n tr oducti on to
CHITOSAN
Chitosan is obtained by N-deacetylation of chitin, a naturally abundant muco polysaccharide that forms the exoskeleton of crustaceans, insects, etc. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide on Earth, after cellulose.
Chemical structure of chitosan derived from the deacetylation of chitin
To broaden the applications of its dynamic properties, an extensive research has been devoted to explore ways of utilise chitosan as a healing material.
Chitosan is a highly basic polysaccharide, so it can form poly-oxysalts, films, chelate metal ions, and optical structures. It is a natural biocompatible polymer that is nontoxic and biodegradable, mucoadhesive, easily bioabsorbable and also possesses gel-forming ability at low pH. For these reasons much research interest has been paid to its biomedical, ecological, and industrial applications over the past decade. All of these properties of chitosan make this natural polymer an ideal element in the drug delivery systems and tissue engineering, for wound healing materials, skin culture and cartilage regeneration. Besides pharmaceutical applications, chitosan has been used to remove toxic metal and dyes for pollution control.
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The
SCIENCE
behind self-healing coating
THE SCIENCE BEHIND SELF-HEALING COATING
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Autonomic & Non-autonomic Healing systems Self-healing systems are classified as autonomic healing and non-autonomic healing. Autonomic healing is fully self-supporting and requires no external intervention. Non-autonomic healing systems are partially selfcontained and require additional stimuli such as heat or UV-radiation for the healing to occur. A main approach to the design of such systems employs the compartmentalization of a reactive healing agent, which is incorporated into a composite material. A propagated crack in the material induces the release of the healing agent from the compartment in which it is stored into the crack plane where it solidifies and repairs the material.
Fig 62
Healing mechanism of autonomous system
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THE SCIENCE BEHIND SELF-HEALING COATING
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A u t o n o m ic Hea lin g
Capsule Based Met h o d
Chitosan-based self-healing coating can be designed to contain polyurethane microcapsules which carry a reactive healing agent. The catalyst is isolated from the healing agent contained in the coating.
When the coatings are scratched, the microcapsules are torn open and healing agent flow into the crack and reacts with the catalyst, the gap that is formed due to an external stress on the material is filled in. The size of the capsules, shell wall thickness, and chemistry can be tailored for various conditions and applications.
Kathleen S Toohey (2007) mentioned that self-healing polymers composed of microencapsulated healing agents exhibit remarkable mechanical performance and regenerative ability, but are limited to autonomic repair of a single damage event in a given location. A major limitation to the microencapsulation-based self-healing system is that the crack-induced rupture of a microcapsule depletes the healing agent contained within it. “Once a localized region is depleted of healing agent, further repair is precluded� Toohey (2007). If there is another crack in the same area as a previous damage, there will no longer be a capsule available to break. Therefore, no reaction can occur to reform the material. Tomaro and Lauren (2013) in their recent research paper likened this method to the chemical process that makes a glow stick glow. The cracking sound produced when the glow stick is bent indicates the rupture of the capsules in the stick.
Fig 63 Fig 64
Healing mechanism of microcapsule system Microstructure of the capsules
The glow results from the reaction between the chemicals released from the capsules and the chemicals outside of those capsules. As the bursting of the capsules is irreversible, the glow stick can only be used once.
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THE SCIENCE BEHIND SELF-HEALING COATING
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A ut o n o m ic Hea lin g
Microvascular Me t h o d
Unlike the microencapsulation method, this circulation-based approach enables minor damage on the coating to be healed repeatedly.
This system is analogous to the human skin. A cut in the skin activates blood flow from the capillary network in the dermal layer to the wound site, rapidly forming a clot that serves as a matrix through which cells and growth factors migrate as healing ensues. Upon detection of damage in the coating, healing agent is channelled to the cracks via a three-dimensional microvascular network embedded in the substrate by capillary action. At the site of damage, the healing agent reacts with the catalysts embedded in the substrate to clot and heal the damaged area. The substrate could potentially be made of
hydrogel composite due to its excellent transport capacity and low viscosity. The hydrogel composite coating is deposited on the more ductile 3D microvascular network. Solid catalyst particles are embedded in the coating and the network is filled with healing agent made of chitosan composites. “The vascular nature of this new supply system means minor damage to the same location can be healed repeatedly,” said Nancy Sottos (2007). She has developed a new generation of self healing materials that consist of a microencapsulated healing agent and a catalyst distributed throughout a composite matrix. Another positive aspect of the microvascular method is that the material is often much stronger than it was originally. The coating is supported by a reservoir of healing components connected to the vascular network. As Sottos suggested in her research, the rehealing capacity of the material could be improved by a reservoir of healing components. Scientists have shown that this method has yet to be applied to very large or very small scale materials, or materials that move. The necessity of the material to stay on a mechanism that supplies the vascular circulation does not make these materials very practical. (Tomaro and Field, 2013)
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THE SCIENCE BEHIND SELF-HEALING COATING
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N o n A u t o n omic H e a lin g S y stem
Nonautonomic healing systems will be catalysed by external stimuli instead of an internal chemical catalyst in the material.
The rapid growth of the field of self-healing materials has also led to some interesting and insightful chemistries that are not entirely autonomic, adding to the design portfolio of smarter responsive materials. Graduate student Biswajit Ghosh and polymer research Marek W. Urban from the School of Polymers and High Performance at the University of Southern Mississippi have designed a coating derived from chitosan that heals itself when activated by ultraviolet light. Ghosh and Urban (2009) reported that the compound network consists of an oxetane-substituted chitosan
precursor incorporated into a two-component polyurethane. Upon mechanical damage of the network, four-member oxetane rings detach to expose two reactive ends. When exposed to ultraviolet light, chitosan chain breaks and forms crosslinks with the reactive oxetane ends, thus repairing the network.
Chitosan-based hydrogel coating could be designed to be versatile and responsive to environmental stimuli such as sunlight, temperature, moisture and pH. A certain degree of rainfall or moisture could induce the reaction of the healing agent and the catalyst in the coating in a controlled manner. With this direct connection with external factors, the coating can be more receptive to various environmental challenges.
Fig 65
Mechanism of lightinduced healing system
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HEALING AGENT The healing agent should have a low viscosity to facilitate its flow into the site of damage and complete coverage of the exposed surfaces. The healing agent has to maintain a stable and long shelf-life until it is released during a healing event. The ability to react instantaneously with the catalyst at the damaged site is important to counteract other non-productive processes like evaporation and side reactions. A high boiling point and a low freezing point are crucial to prevent phase changes during the reaction. Chitosan is considered among the most promising candidates in this context owing to its ideal qualities in adhesion to various surfaces and versatility associated with the ease of chemical functionalization. It is an abundant natural polysaccharide obtained by deacetylation of chitin. Furthermore, it has high solubility in water and is biodegradable. It accelerates wound healing and generally has no adverse effects.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND SELF-HEALING COATING
CAPSULE/ VASCULAR WALL The microcapsule shell wall has to be chemically inert and thermally stable. To facilitate the dispersion of healing agents effectively in the matrix, its mechanical property has to survive standard processing conditions. The microvascular structures that contains healing agent could benefit from incorporating a fibre reinforced polymer composite to have improved strength, stiffness, efficiency and sustainability of transport.
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CATALYST As a reaction initiator, the catalyst has to be highly soluble and dispersive in the liquid healing agent and chemically compatible with the healing agent under ambient conditions. Like the other two components, the catalyst possesses thermal stability to ensure optimum results. The solid-phase catalyst needs to remains reactive during and after curing of the coating.
A team of scientists at the University of Technology in Nanjing, China, has designed a healing layer composed of electrospun cross-linked nanofiber networks analogous to the blood vascularization.
Healing Components Characterization
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THE FUTURE OF SELF-HEALING COATING
FUTURE
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The
of self-healing coating Application on various surfaces
Like conventional paints, self-healing coating can be applied to nearly any structures, so that they heal instantaneously from fracture or corrosion and restore their mechanical properties.
coatings could protect the metal tie-rods that secure the wooden beams in Venetian buildings against corrosion. It could also save the masonry buildings in Venice that are suffering the impacts of salt crystallization.
The key to the coating technology, says Braun (2008), was encapsulating the catalyst. If unprotected, the catalyst could degrade the coating itself; encapsulating it makes the system compatible with a wide range of paints and coatings.
This repair process can be engineered to work in all climates and geographical settings, so it could work in other cities besides Venice. This technology could be applied in other industries as well such as ships, oil rigs, and pipelines, where metals are constantly exposed to harsh environments and frequent repair is costly.
The use of chitosan and its derivatives as protective
Fig 66 Fig 67
Corroded metal pipe Corroded metal window railing
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THE FUTURE OF SELF-HEALING COATING
Techniques of Application
COATING A chitosan-based hydrogel composite coating is produced with the appropriate concentration of healing agents and catalyst particles.
Dipping
Wet Layer Formation
Solvent Evaporation
The chitosan-based formulations can be applied by dip-coating, using a multilayer process in which the samples were immersed into and withdrawn from the coating solution at an optimum speed, and immediately dried before the deposition of the subsequent layer, until about 10 layers are accumulated. For metallic or plastic surfaces, before the coating is applied, chemical etching has to be done to remove any contamination from the surfaces through chemical erosion and prepare the surfaces for adhesive bonding.
Fig 68
Process of dip coating
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g n i y a p r ec h n i q ue THE FUTURE OF SELF-HEALING COATING
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s
t
The spray-applied, coating is embedded with catalysts and microcapsules loaded with healing agent. The cracks on the coating initiate the rupture of the microcapsules, releasing the healing agent. A team of scientists at Yonsei University, South Korea has invented a sprayable protective coating that can heal cracks in concrete. The capsule-based photoinduced self-healing system is catalyst-free, environmentally friendly, cost-effective and practical. It has been tested effective on mortar. The performance of the spray-paint technique depends on the condition of the target surface, the paint and the spray equipment. The viscosity of the paint being atomized is a crucial factor in ensuring an effective application. Air conditions such as humidity, temperature and wind velocity also influence the efficiency of the transfer of materials to the target.
Fig 69
Process of spraying
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THE FUTURE OF SELF-HEALING COATING
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ABILITY
S U S T A I N Sustainability is a very important aspect of every type of architectural design. It is crucial that when creating new designs and products, their impact on the environment is taken into account. With self-healing technology, the product does not need to be manually repaired or replaced frequently. Structures can last longer and create less toxic waste in our landfills. This idea is very similar to recycling bags. Plastic bags are usually weak and are disposed after one use. The stronger reusable bags last longer and therefore create less waste in the environment.
D
uring 2009’s International Coastal Cleanup, the Ocean Conservancy found that plastic bags were the second-most common kind of waste found. (Wills, 2010) Americans use approximately 102.1 billion plastic bags annually, creating tons of landfill waste. It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil. (Mieszkowski, 2007)
Like reusable bags, self-healing materials create a much smaller amount of waste which is undoubtedly sustainable to our environment. It eliminates the cost and time to fix every cut on a structure.
Light photodegrades the plastic into smaller particles that contaminate the soil and water. Biotoxins like PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) in the particles are passed down in the food chain, ending up in humans. The chemicals released by the decomposition process cause cancer and global warming.
According to Urban (2009) “It’s very economical,” he said. “You can get chitosan for almost nothing.” I wish the lobster or crab came at a similar price!
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In summary, chitosan-based hydrogel coating is a promising self-repairing biomaterial that has great biocompatibility, controlled biodegradability, and functionality. The key design challenge is to understand and extract the fundamentals of natural systems in
THE FUTURE OF SELF-HEALING COATING
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order to produce systems that can feasibly and cost-effectively be applied to the built environment. The hopes are that with a combination of these strategies new ideas, the perfect selfhealing coating will someday rejuvenate cities like Venice and Rome.
Fig 70
Plastic kills albatross
LOOKING
AHEAD
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BENEFITS OF SELF-HEALING ARCHITECTURE
The main benefit of selfhealing architecture is that is saves time, money and energy to preserve existing buildings, eliminating the need to demolish damaged architecture and construct new ones from scratch.
BENEFITS
Buildings are inert structures that inevitably deteriorate due to the continual action of nature. On the contrary living architecture uses nature itself to overcome environmental impacts and increase the life of buildings.
“Currently we spend around 2-3% of the original cost of a new building every year on maintenance and repair.”
“These structures (concrete and asphalt) degrade in time. They will get damaged, they will crack, and we have to repair them. If we have to repair them, we have to close the roads and bridges, and we cannot use them anymore. So if we could build these structures with materials that can repair themselves, that would be a great improvement, we will not have traffic jams anymore and no waiting time and also no repair cost.” Erik Schlangen, 2013
Armstrong, 2013
As the buildings age the maintenance work increases in scale and cost. The field of self-healing architecture will generate a promising job prospect in various disciplines related to living architecture – architecture, engineering, materials science, etc. As a contemporary, emerging field of research, living architecture seeks to recruit audacious young blood to drive a sustainable built environment into the 21st century and beyond, people who will shape the future of planet Earth and mankind. With the communication tools we have today, living architecture provides a platform for collaborations and construction of the futures we want.
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In reality the future of self-healing architecture is far more complex than just laboratory developments and prototypes, it is influenced by many factors that are beyond control of the designer. ‘The future’ is not an empirical quantity that can be guaranteed by setting up a chain of events – it is probabilistic.(Armstrong, 2013). There are several factors that need serious consideration for living architecture to be fully effective and sustainable for a long time. The most important aspect yet to be definite about this technology is a control mechanism to get desired results at a reasonable amount and rate. Like a biological system, the project has the natural tendency to work beyond the designers’ direct control. The concern is whether it will impose side effects on the ecosystem. Is it possible for the self-healing coating to generate a larger carbon
FACTORS OF REALITY
FACTORS OF REALITY
footprint than the existing buildings in the future? In order to avoid the self-healing hydrogel coating from producing effluents that may harm the marine life when discharged into the river, it is essential to practice health and safety guidelines throughout the process of design, prototyping, testing and application. It is crucial for the technology to be developed in parallel to certain building and environment standards for it to be practical and suited to the conditions of environment. The technology and its relationship with the environment need to work in ways that have been predicted. If not, further development in the research and experiment processes will need to be conducted to re-shape other possible desirable outcomes.
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As self-healing materials operate with life-like properties using biochemical systems and catalysts, they may have to be externally fed and replenished frequently to prolong their performance. The cost, time and effort needed to maintain the self-healing material periodically have to be wisely managed so that it does not defeat its own purpose of being a more economically feasible option to preserve existing buildings. In an interview with Kevin Holmes for the Vice magazine in 2012, Rachel Armstrong deduced, “Biological systems have yet to be used as construction materials in architectural practice as they pose significant design limitations upon the ‘technology’ – they would require nutrition, for example.” Self-healing architecture has to be coordinated with the political and economic situation of a country. Public, government or
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FACTORS OF REALITY
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FAILURE
+ EXPERIENCE
SUCCESS
private funding is extremely fundamental for the project to progress and yield results. Currently, there are many organizations that express interest in investing in green, sustainable architecture as a long-term game player in the industry. Active public involvement also plays a huge role in controlling the implementation of this technology in the real world. By instigating an awareness of these technological transitions
and environmental responsibility in the community, we could envision a successful community-driven symbiotic architecture. In order to fully achieve the potential of a new technology, we have to invest and dedicate time and resources to shape the process and outcomes that are important to us. We must be bold to take up the challenge of this technology and experience the outcomes and consequences of it.
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WH A T THE
FUTURE
HOLDS FOR US The age of living architecture could be a pinnacle in our building practice that improves living and non-living ecosystems, rather than aggravating the damage of our biosphere.
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR US
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Cities will be active sites of resource production and consumption, where living technologies consume the effluents of pollution and climate change to produce more resilient and adaptable buildings that heal themselves.
The industry of living materials with their own metabolisms could generate property market where recycling and regeneration of existing architecture are a more attractive investment than a new build, since they hold more exciting and extensive opportunities than conventional building.
This would constitute a major shift in building practice that contributes to the continued survival of our biosphere. The bottom-up, sequential deposition and remodelling of building material becomes the key tool of adapting architecture over time so that it is practical in the context of its environment.
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WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR US
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Each city will have its unique networks of politics, economic and social organization for the communities to be adaptable and responsive to challenges – rather than resisting change. With the support of local governments and international movements, this forward-thinking technology will be accessible to communities beyond the First World. The in-built
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receptiveness to changes would potentially give rise to a diverse range of self-healing materials that are uniquely designed for particular environments, such as areas experiencing natural disasters and pollution. Self-healing coatings could be the key to maintaining Unesco Heritage sites such as Venice and the rich Victorian and
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR US
Edwardian infrastructures in UK where classic architecture is challenged by an evolving environment. This appetite for regeneration of our habitat drives the co-working of technology and invention. “Technology follows, not leads, invention” (Armstrong, 2013) “Increasingly, I think we will see more of these living design
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provocations challenging us in our living spaces as a form of environmental technology that looks after our wellbeing in the same way that the health service takes care of our body.” (Armstrong, 2011) Self-healing material is a really promising new market for synthetic biology applications – so far, it has been commercially applied in tissue engineering, automobile industry and consumer electronics. It’s therefore really interesting to consider the infinite potential of self-healing materials beyond buildings and infrastructure when disseminated into social, cultural, economic, aesthetic, psychological and ethical dimensions.
We
would live in a more ecologically connected world which embraces a culture of interdependence between man and nature.
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References Printed books/magazines Armstrong R., 2011, ‘How Protocells Can Make Stuff Much More Interesting’ Protocell Architecture, Architectural Design, 81(2), p.71 Armstrong R., 2011, Is there something beyond ‘outside of the box’?, Architectural Design, 81(6), pp. 130-134 Armstrong R., 2013, Black Sky Thinking, Libertine, p.24 Frazer, J., 1995, An Evolutionary Architecture, London: Architectural Association E-book Kibert C.J., Sendzimir J. and Guy G.B., 2001, Construction Ecology: Nature as a Basis for Green Buildings [e-book] London:Spon Press, Available at: Google Books < http:// books.google.co.uk/books?id=x9KAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA19&lpg=PA19&dq=benyus+(1997)+coined+the+word+%E2%80%98biomimicry%E2%80%99+to+describe+the+use+of+lessons+from+the+natural+world+to+develop+a+concept+of+sustainability+for+humankind&source=bl&ots=KVPHqy9hWk&sig=vpWo9dwr7LpQwT3gtg3pX12OalE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N_LhUqSZMdKV7AbI3YDABg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=benyus%20 (1997)%20coined%20the%20 word%20%E2%80%98biomimicry%E2%80%99%20to%20describe%20 the%20use%20of%20lessons%20 from%20the%20natural%20 world%20to%20develop%20a%20 concept%20of%20sustainability%20 for%20humankind&f=false> [Accessed on 7 January 2014] PDF Armstrong R., 2010, Systems Architecture : A New Model for Sustainability and the Built Environment using Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Cognitive Science with Living Technology[pdf] Portland:MIT Press, Available at: <http://philipbeesleyarchitect.com/press/MIT-AL/MITAL_RAarticle.pdf> [Accessed on 27 October 2013]
REFERENCES
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Presentation Schlangen E., 2014, Urban Mobility in the Future City, Presentation at Tobacco Dock, London, 13 January 2014
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ARCHITECTURE ALIVE!
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