At the Expo Milano 2015, an incredible invention was revealed to the public which is capable of producing nearly 330 pounds of biomass per day.
What is it? The Urban Algae Canopy, developed by ecoLogic Studio.
The bio-digital architecture combines microalgal cultures and real-time digital cultivation protocols to produce the same amount of oxygen as four hectares of woodland. That’s pretty impressive!
Inhabitat reports that the first-of-its-kind invention formed part of the Future Food District project curated by Carlo Ratti Associati and took six years of researching to produce.
The structure is open to the flow of energy, water and carbon dioxide based on weather patterns, visitor’s movements, and other environmental variables.
“It is now time to overcome the segregation between technology and nature typical of the mechanical age, to embrace a systemic understanding of architecture,” stated Claudia Pasquero of ecoLogicStudio.
“In this prototype the boundaries between the material, spatial and technological dimensions have been carefully articulated to achieve efficiency, resilience and beauty.”
The custom designed ETFE cladding system, which consists of three layers, was designed with the assistance of Taiyo Europe. This feature enhances the already exceptional properties of the microalgae organisms.
Special CNC welding technology enables the ecoLogicStudio to alter the canopy’s morphology and control the dynamic behavior of the water that courses through the structure to act as a medium for the living organisms.
When the sun shines rapidly, the algae photosynthesize and grow, which in turn reduces the transparency of the canopy and provide more shade. It is shared that with micro-algae as the foundation of the canopy, it is inherently responsive, which means visitors may influence the building’s behavior in real-time.
That means that at any given time, the transparency, color, and shading potential of the canopy will be the product of the interrelationships between climate, micro-algae, visitors and digital control systems.
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