Researchers have grown bacteria in sand-based materials, combining biology and architecture to create sustainable building practices.
Cyanobacteria strengthen materials and help fix CO2 using innovative manufacturing methods that combine robotics and biological processes.
Innovative biodesign for sustainable construction
Researchers have successfully grown bacterial cells in sand-based building materials, as reported in Research directions: Biotechnology designa new journal from Cambridge University Press.
This breakthrough represents a significant advance in the field of biodesign, which combines biological and architectural innovations to create more sustainable building materials. By integrating living organisms into construction, this approach aims to transform the way structures are designed and built.
Cyanobacteria, known for their unique biological properties, have the potential to solidify inorganic materials such as CO2. Their ability to influence their environment highlights the immense value of integrating living systems into industrial processes, particularly in the construction sector.
Innovative additive manufacturing techniques
The article describing this latest research into potential sand-based materials describes the novel development of an additive co-fabrication manufacturing process.
Specifically, the process examined involves the biological deposition of bacteria – for example, the precipitation of cyanobacterial calcium carbonate – and its integration with a robotic deposition, namely a sand-based biomix, into an architectural biofabrication workflow.
Strengthening sand-based components through photosynthesis
After successfully growing two strains of bacteria in potentially sand-based building materials, the researchers used microbiological protocols such as optical density and fluorescence measurements to track the bacteria's growth and activity. This was done with the larger goal of capturing light photosynthesis and use it to produce CO2 Deposition and sedimentation of calcium carbonate to reinforce sand-based components.
Ultimately, the researchers managed to design a robotic deposition system for sand-based mixtures.
The paper was co-authored by researchers at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, in the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.
Asst. Prof. Shany Barath, head of the Disrupt.Design Lab and Ph.D. Candidate Perla Armaly from the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning explained the value and impact of the research in more detail.
On the way to a sustainable construction future
“The experiments presented in our study provide a novel design approach to fabricate bio-based architectural components that may be capable of fixing carbon dioxide during an additive co-fabrication workflow,” they explained.
“Society needs pathways to more sustainable building materials – and we hope to develop one of those pathways.”
“We hope that the results of our study will encourage further collaboration between architects and biologists, create and improve building materials, and thus promote more sustainable construction. Through interdisciplinary collaboration we can find innovative, unexpected solutions – and that is something to be excited about.”
Reference: “Prototyping an Architectural Additive Co-Fabrication Workflow: Using Cyanobacterial MICP in Robotic Deposition” by Perla Armaly, Lubov Iliassafov, Shay Kirzner, Yechezkel Kashi, and Shany Barath, July 19, 2023, Research directions: Biotechnology design.
DOI: 10.1017/btd.2023.5