Developing enzyme & probiotic applications that make households more environmentally friendly.
August 17, 2020
Use of Ureolytic Bacteria S. pasteurii for Soil Improvement and the Development of Predictive Computational Models
September 2, 2020
There is growing interest in nature-integrated design where living organisms such as algae, bacteria, moss and fungi are starting to be used as a building material in Architecture. These new materials require designers to look for new methods of fabrication as living cells exhibiting their own agency, and able to sense, and respond to environmental stimuli. This PhD research focuses on fungal-based fabrication.
This study suggests a fabrication process for fungi in which the fruiting body is grown with minimal physical intervention but is guided through the robotic control of the physical and chemical environment, such as temperature, humidity, CO2level and light exposure. This fabrication process involves both biological and digital sensing, and feedback. It takes advantage of the natural self-assembly capability of the fungal fruiting body.
The study aims to guide mushroom growth as a form of bio-digital-fabrication where a digital system is in conversation with the living material. The study includes biological experiments and the parameters which will be used to inform the guided growth of the oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) through a ‘robotic growth chamber’. The project will add to the latest thinking on the architectural fabrication and the role of designers in a system which is not fully under the control of the form maker.
