Theme: Living Construction
Our vision is to develop biotechnologies to create a new generation of Living Buildings which are responsible and responsive to their natural environment; grown using living engineered materials to reduce inefficient industrial construction processes; metabolise their own waste, reducing pollution, generate energy and high-value products and modulate their microbiome to benefit human and ecological health and wellbeing.
A hi-tech and lo-tech approach which makes use of fields such as synthetic biology to create new biological systems while rediscovering the relevance of traditional and past construction and making processes:
• Establish a library of biomaterials and processes – focused on microbes including biomineralization, cellulose and other polymers and responsive materials.
• Develop design methods and processes which embrace the complexity of biological systems – interest in growth as a manufacturing process, sensing and responsive capabilities of living cells and materials.
• Make use of the matter transforming nature of biological processes to make use of waste or low value materials to make high value, useful materials.
The theme is co-lead by Martyn Dade-Robertson and Meng Zhang.
