Built to Grow – Blending architecture and biology 9783035607475, 9783035609202

Table of contents :
Transitioning towards the Ecocene
Inhalt
Built to Grow-Blending Architecture and Biology
Aspects of Life
Plan Not to Plan Anymore – on Growing and Building
Methods of Science in Art
Experimentation
Growth Principles
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Three Dimensional Growth of the Slime Mould Physarum Polycephalum
Material systems
Mechanical Tests with Mycelium Stabilized Paper-Straw-Grain-Samples
Metabolic systems
Mobile 3D Printer
Approaches to Bio-inspiration in Novel Architecture
Reflections on the Future
Manifesto
Authors
Credits

Citation preview

Blending Architecture and Biology

Built to Grow Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber ( Eds. )

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

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Titel of the article

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Survival – the only criterion of success in biology – is largely about adaptation to surrounding conditions and change, both local and global. We need methods – technical or biological – of designing processes of adaptation that can make and maintain successful structures. Plants, which are constructed of semi-autonomous cells, suggest ways of achieving this goal. Julian Vincent

Biological solutions are cost- and energy-efficient, multi-functional, long-lasting and environment friendly and with several billion test runs, they have stood the test of time. Their combination of properties allows living beings to interact with their environments very efficiently. It also makes them fantastic role models for a new bio-inspired architecture in which living and non-living matter may eventually be combined. Thomas Speck

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I am fascinated by the possibilities of combining living matter and technology. To imagine a building like a second skin, breathing, regenerating, growing and shrinking as we humans do, presents an exciting and comforting future. I imagine a future in which we can dress and live within sentient and comfortable ‘built and grown clothing’ in the form of inhabitable urban spaces. Barbara Imhof

Book Series of the University of Applied Arts Vienna Edited by Gerald Bast, Rector

Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber ( Eds.) Built to Grow – Blending Architecture and Biology

Birkhäuser Basel

Our city and the sky correspond so perfectly … that any change … involves some novelty among the stars. Italo Calvino

Transitioning towards the Ecocene Rachel Armstrong

Legacy of the Anthropocene In 2000 algae biologist Erwin Stoermer and climate scientist Paul Crutzen observed the geological evidence for the human legacy on this planet. They decided our profound influence on terrestrial events warranted the name ‘Anthropocene’. These events are principally caused by side effects of the modern age that have a negative impact on the viability of life on the planet. Effectively, they are reverse-terraforming our world. For example a major report released in March 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, highlighted a substantial and largely irreversible loss of the diversity of life on Earth, with some ten to thirty per cent of mammals, birds and amphibians being threatened with extinction because of human actions. The World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF ) adds that we are placing such huge demands on our planetary resources that we are giving natural systems insufficient time to regenerate from the demands we place on them. The Anthropocene is now widely adopted in cultural discourse as the major condition of our times, based on a range of assumptions. Firstly, it looks to the past to examine present conditions and extrapolates them to predict events in the future. Marshall McLuhan calls this the rear-view mirror. Secondly, these projections result in extinction scenarios. If we have a good Anthropocene, then hyper-intelligent machines will replace us ; if we have a bad Anthropocene, we bring about the sixth great extinction. So, while Anthropocene has an ontological value in describing the story of man’s impact on the planet, its mythos and practices do not help us actually change the way we’re working so that we can create alternative outcomes and stand a chance of survival. We will not do this by being more austere ; reducing, reusing, recycling our consumption of energy and natural resources. The only way forward is to alter the fundamental paradigm on which human development is based. For this, we must first change our expectations in the overarching mythos of the story of humankind.

Foreword

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Introducing the Ecocene We need to enable the Ecocene – whereby human scale events augment and enhance the living ecosystems of our planet. This shift is not merely an academic attitude. It has already become an everyday reality with the advent of the Internet. This incredibly versatile communications platform has freed us from former limits, where previous boundaries and irreducible divides are now crossed – geography, culture, politics, matter and identity. Also, for the first time, we are viewing reality as hypercomplex, interconnected and constantly in flux. Previously, we’ve accepted that our world is forged through the hierarchical ordering of irreducible objects. Yet, the Ecocene is not about the greening of things. It is not concerned with the simple substitution of an object-centered view of reality by a process-oriented one. Rather, it involves constructing navigational tools or avatars that help us navigate the overlapping and competing ideas in which we’re immersed. These approaches are essential if we are to deal with the colossal changes which surround us. It means that we can work with the things we know and are good at, and also develop new practices around them. Appreciating these conditions also aids us in discovering the kinds of innovation we need if we are to deal with the novelty and uncertainty this world view requires us to master in order to respond both humanely and creatively to third millennial challenges. For example, we need to develop computational, technical systems that enable us to work with the principles of hyper-complexity which can be found in bacterial biofilms, developmental biology and thriving ecosystems. These are the conditions in which our global society is immersed, and because of the many different kinds of bodies participating in this reality, this realm is also rich with potential conflict. Part of the art of realising the Ecocene through design, art, cultural, social, scientific and engineering practices is to establish ways of negotiating peace between multiple, often conflicting, agencies – to find compatibilities where previously we saw boundaries. This need to merge our ideas and toolsets to produce new ways of working brings about paradoxes as inevitable convergences and inconsistencies arise in our attempts to solve complex challenges. For example, the so-called NBIC ( Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno ) merger described by Mihail Roco and William Bainbridge in 2002, is underpinning developments in design fields such as bio-design. The fashion designer Iris van Herpen relentlessly explores the synthesis of multiple materials in her couture collections, whereby magnetic self-assembly becomes the basis for sculptural details on clothing. Skylar Tibbits examines the possibility of 4D printing techniques that twist geometric forms into new configurations when

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permeated with fluid ; Henk Jonkers seeds his bioconcrete with bacteria ; Neri Oxman uses silk worms as a computer-guided agency within the production system of her Silk Pavilion. It is even possible to print entire 3D structures from cells that persist within our bodies as wholly functional systems, an approach that is being used in organ replacement. This evolving situation is an opportunity for radical change, in which we are not simply passive agents on the world stage of events, but through human creativity and actual experience, we may play a catalytic role in shaping both our future and the unfolding of planetary scale events. This is why the entire Growing As Building ( GrAB ) project is so important. It is part of our transition from Anthropocene to Ecocene, where we become codesigners of our existence working directly with natural forces so that we can forge new futures together, futures in which we are mutually invested in not merely surviving – but thriving. GrAB generates a platform where we may begin to explore alternative ways of thinking, working and living together, at a time of great change and opportunity where there are also many uncertainties and unknowns. It develops new approaches by establishing experimental practices that help us shape the important questions of our time by prototyping ideas and exploring them iteratively through many different kinds of media and audiences. GrAB seeks connection with other practices and knowledge sets, so that it can share the risk of these explorations collectively without predetermining their outcomes. It represents a different kind of thinking and a form of community engagement that is absolutely central for an optimistic, productive and creative third millennium – one that is not overburdened with forms of austerity and guilt complexes about human existence, but begins creatively and humanely to catalyse our transition towards the Ecocene.

Foreword

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Built to Grow : Experimenting with biology and architecture

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Introduction Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber

Aspects of Life Petra Gruber, Julian Vincent, Angelo Vermeulen, Thomas Speck

Experimentation Viktor Gudenus, Tanja Oberwinkler, Angelo Vermeulen, Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber, Waltraut Hoheneder, Damjan Minovski, Ceren Yönetim, Rafael Sanchez Herrera, Laura Mesa Arango, Julian Vincent, Thomas Speck, Andreas Körner, Mohammedneja Shikur, Mariya Korolova, Atanas Zhelev, Ioana Binica, Alexander Nanu

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Plan Not to Plan Anymore – On Growing and Building Waltraut Hoheneder, Petra Gruber 41

Methods of Science in Art Julian Vincent, Angelo Vermeulen

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Growth Principles 96

Material Systems 126

Metabolic Systems 134

Mobile 3D Printer

90 Insert I

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Three Dimensional Growth of the Slime Mould Physarum Polycephalum Linnea Hesse, Barbara Imhof, Ceren Yönetim, Jochen Leupold, Angelo Vermeulen, Thomas Speck 99 Insert II

Mechanical Tests with Mycelium Stabilised Paper-Straw-GrainSamples Stefanie Schmier, Sandra Eckert, Viktor Gudenus, Marco Caliaro, Georg Bauer, Thomas Speck

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Approaches to Bio-inspiration in Novel Architecture Thomas Speck

Biographies

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Reflections on the Future Editor : Barbara Imhof . 167 Manifesto Barbara Imhof, Viktor Gudenus, Damjan Minovski, Julian Vincent, Thomas Speck, Angelo Vermeulen, Petra Gruber, Waltraut Hoheneder

Credits

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Acknowledgements

Damian bilder oder ausstellungsbilder

Built to Grow-Blending Architecture and Biology Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber

With the growing urbanisation of our world, it is becoming ever more obvious that the city will become the biosphere of humanity. Ever more attempts are being made to integrate nature into our built environment, and the paradigm of biology permeates our building culture. Smart building shells, which react to and interact with their environment and inhabitants, are already part of today’s building scenarios. Concepts such as intelligent control systems, alternative concepts of mobility and moving building components are becoming part of our future vision of urban architecture. By 2050 two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities, which will also be where most of the world’s pollution is produced. We are already faced with metropolitan sizes of nearly 40 million inhabitants. As a consequence we are confronted with a problematic decrease in elementary resources such as clean air and water, and the challenges of massive waste production, and at the same time urbanisation contributes to climate change. In this situation sustainability, renewable energy, alternative building techniques, refined materials and interacting digital systems all play an important role. The project GrAB, Growing As Building, takes on these challenges with the concept of living architecture, focusing on dynamically growing architecture which can adapt to the environment and the needs of users in a process of constant evolution. Specifically, the team looked at material systems like the ones generated by mycelium, and growth principles found in the self-organising, ‘explorative’ growth nature of slime mould. Furthermore, metabolic systems were developed, in which organisms like algae and bacteria are integrated into semi-closed loops, generating, depositing and recycling building materials. The book reflects this broad research undertaken as part of the research project Growing As Building, GrAB, that was funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF within the PEEK program for 2.5 years, and which was located at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

Introduction

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The Biolabhapters of this book can be either read in order of appearance or can be started anywhere. However, the terminology of the most often and most important terms is clarified in Aspects of life. Here a general introduction to an understanding of the phenomenon of life is described, together with new approaches to understanding life through a system of signs and communication. The methods used are an important part of interdisciplinary research projects and artistic research. In the section Methods of science and art, two approaches from the disciplines of engineering and science were merged and introduced into architectural and artistic methods. The tools of the QFD (Quality Function Deployment ) are described : QFD is used in commercial research and design for combining ideas with outcomes, and for quantifiying qualitative relationships, the Biolab, a hands-on laboratory space constructed from simple off-the-shelf components was also introduced as a second approach. The core article where architecture and biology blend, is entitled Plan not to plan anymore, on growing and building. It puts GrAB into a space within current architectural discourse, and takes a comparative view on aspects of growth in biology and the built environment. The chapter Experimentation introduces the wide range of experiments that were carried out within the framework of the project. As the GrAB team was interested in sharing the knowledge acquired, recipes are integrated as in a real cookery book, so that readers can reproduce experiments and advance the status presented. The experiments described take current knowledge further, but can describe only a fraction of the experimentation carried out during the GrAB team’s efforts to advance current knowledge in the selected areas. In this “cook book” section, manuals detail how to grow mycelium, co-design with a slime mould, experiment with hydrogels and analyse biological structures such as Euphorbia, so that they can be read as a handbook presenting an overview of the results. In Approaches to Bio-inspiration in Novel Architecture two research projects are described and compared ; they tackle the topic from different perspectives, and therefore introduce a holistic understanding of the potential of bio-inspiration in architecture. Transitioning ourselves to the Ecocene as described in the Foreword, and already living in a highly technologised environment, the chapter Reflections on the future distills the symposium transcripts from the GrAB March 2014 event “Biological growth into technology – Between fiction and fact”. It creates a conversation through the project’s terminology described in Aspects of Life about inherent ethical values of projects such as GrAB, where biology, architecture and technology converge.

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A Manifesto closes the book with a set of statements that reflect the approach, providing a visionary outlook of what we imagine may become true for a promising future in our ever changing world.

Introduction

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Aspects of Life Petra Gruber, Julian Vincent, Angelo Vermeulen, Thomas Speck

In spite of all the efforts to understand and recreate the phenomenon of life, there is still no unified definition of what life actually is, and so far life has not been created artificially in any lab. Life exists in various forms, and an organism is characterised by an ordered and distinguished physical entity that self-sustains biological processes. In the biological sciences, a set of criteria, the so-called signs of life, are widely accepted as characteristics of living organisms. If all criteria are present, it is understood that the organism is alive. Some natural phenomena do not exhibit all of the criteria, and have a status in-between living and non-living, animate and inanimate. Some entities in nature are considered in-between, such as viruses that cannot perform propagation without a host body. The classical criteria of life are as follows : order, metabolic activity and the transformation of energy, homoeostasis, growth, sensing and reacting, adaptation and evolutionary development, propagation. Order is present on all scales of observation in biology, and the establishment of negative entropy is the precondition of life. From macroscopic patterns that have intrigued and challenged scientists for centuries to the nanoscale layers of matter, life is about ordered structures upon multiple layers of hierarchy. The dynamics of life, growth, metabolism, reactivity and adaptive behaviour involve change over time that can be understood as processes. The most intriguing phenomenon of life is that it not only sustains itself but evolves to even further complexity. All signs of life are inherently interconnected. Only the input of solar energy and nutrients allows the establishment and maintenance of ordered structures. Growth is made possible by metabolic activity and the transformation of energy and matter into new organic tissue. Sensing and reacting is necessary in the same way as is adaptive behaviour to define and orient growth action. Growth is the base for the cycle of life, from the single cell to the evolution of complex organisms and even ecosystems. Genetic code, as the base for information transfer over generations, defines growth

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Glossary

processes together with environmentally informed physical self-organisation processes. Within the development of science and technology in the past century, important discoveries have enabled progress in answering the question of what life actually is. For example, thermodynamics led to the interpretation of organisms as entropy machines and information technology led to the field of biosemiotics, striving to understand life as system of signs and communication. As the biological paradigm seems to underlie new developments in architecture and design, analogies and transfers from phenomena of life invade our built environment. A strategic search for signs of life in the context of architecture has identified the phenomenon of growth as one of the still blank spots on the landscape of biomimetic transfer, at least at the scale of building. Growth is a subject matter on an urban scale, and is explored in the digital realm, but we still do not have individual growing buildings exhibiting the qualities attached to growth in nature. Not all aspects associated with life are welcome in technology. In our human-made systems, we strive for predictability, controlled processes and defined outcomes. On the other hand we envision transferring aspects that we consider qualities to architecture, for example adaptation, selforganisation, self-design and resilience. In order to integrate aspects of growth into a technical context, we need to set system boundaries that define an environment where unpredictability and flexibility have the requisite conditions for them to thrive. The following glossary introduces terms which formed the vocabulary of the project Growing As Building.

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Glossary

Agency Agency implies independence of action. Through that action, an agent controls events in the outside world. It’s a term used in sociology, biology and robotics, where it’s applied to individual people, organisms and machines. Adaptation Survival of an organism depends on its ability to adjust to, or resist, external events. This requires appropriate behaviour, internal chemistry, morphology and control systems. If an organism can adjust these variables such that it survives, it is said to be well adapted. An organism living in an unchanging environment does not need to change its adaptations ; such species tend to survive long periods. An example is the Coelacanth, a ‘living fossil’ fish found in deep, unchanging, parts of the sea. Such organisms are rare since the presence of other organisms competing for the same or similar resource ( food, space etc ) makes existence more difficult. Thus the best adapted to deal with such competition will be the ones that survive. This might involve camouflage, mimicry, strength in fighting, speed in escaping, ability to feed on “indigestible” materials, high rate of reproduction, safety in numbers ( e.g. swarms, shoals, flocks ), chemical defence, etc. Organisms need to be adapted to the physical environment as well, and can do this in many ways. For instance organisms can survive sub-zero temperatures by development of an anti-freeze, dehydration, controlled freezing, modified diet, hibernation, migration or combinations of any of these. The adaptations are usually so specific that the lifestyle and ecology of the organism can be deduced from its adaptations.

1 www.complexityexplorer.org

Complexity This term means different things in different disciplines, and is not rigorously defined outside of a specific context. In general, the complexity of a system emerges from the interactions of its interrelated elements as opposed to the characteristics of those elements in and of themselves. Complexity science is the study of such emergent system behaviour, and seeks to understand how the complex behaviour of a whole system arises from its interacting parts. Complex behaviour generally cannot be reduced to, or derived from, the sum of the behaviour of the system’s components.1

[ 08 /2015 ]

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Glossary

2 Gruber, Petra : Biomimetics in Architecture [Architekturbionik]Architecture of Life and Buildings, Springer 2011

Emergence Emergence is the expression of novel properties, functions and behaviours of a system that are not observed in subsystems and their components. Emergent behaviour can arise through the application of simple rules. For example flocking, swarming and shoaling can be described by the interaction of three simple rules : separation, alignment and cohesion. Although hard to predict, emergence allows a system to optimise and adapt in real time, each new state building upon the previous one. Growth Growth is a gradual increase in physical size and occupying space with an integrated process of self-organisation. Development and growth are among the classical signs of living systems : in biology, growth is based on cell division and change of cell volume. On a larger scale, different growth strategies in organisms can be identified, such as for example tip growth, rim growth, extrusion or budding. To maintain shape during the change of size, secondary growth in trees and internal skeletons have evolved. Growth in organisms is a process of genetically controlled selforganisation. Growth in the built environment is the physical increase of settlement surface, building volume or element size. On an architectural scale, growth means addition of elements or deployment to increase space. Growth also applies to non material structures and systems. All growth depends on the availability of energy, matter and information.2 Intelligence Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills to solve novel problems. It is usually assessed by the appropriateness and speed of response to an external change. It is therefore a product of the relevance and amount of information stored in the system which affects the analysis of the change ; and of the speed with which information can be processed and acted upon. This definition covers all living organisms and human-made structures. Since the stored information is the sum only of the experience of the system, whether neural, chemical or morphological, external changes which are novel impose an extra load on the system.

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Glossary

Metabolism The term describes the entirety of all chemical processes in a living being. Typically it is split between anabolic and katabolic metabolic processes. In anabolic processes the body’s own complex molecules are synthesised under energy consumption from chemically ( more ) simple precursors ( constructive metabolism ). In katabolic processes, on the other hand, chemically complex nutrients are disintegrated to more simple substances under energy production ( energy metabolism ). Essential in all metabolic processes in living beings are enzymes which catalyse ( most ) chemical metabolic processes. Resilience The term describes the capability of a system ( plant, fungus, animal, building, machine…. ) to cope with internal or external changing influences or interferences. Resilient systems can deal with these interferences either by compensating for them or ( at least ) without losing their integrity. Resilient systems return to their initial (undisturbed ) state after being disturbed ( resilience in a narrow sense ), or the number of acceptable system states remains the same under disturbance. The term resilience is used in many fields of science often with a different meaning in the details. In ecology e.g. it means the resistance of an ecosystem against ecological disturbance, in engineering it often means the fault tolerance or the ability of a machine/system not to fail entirely after partial failure, whereas in urbanistics the ability of a city to bear up central functions after severe damage and catastrophic events is meant. Self-repair For 3.8 billion years various groups of living beings have independently evolved many different ways to cope with wounds. Self-repair is found at all hierarchical levels of living beings from the macromolecule to the entire organism, and can even be considered as a prerequisite for life. In technical materials and structures, however, self-repair still represents a major challenge and only very few successful examples exist in human-made material or structures. Self-repair processes in plants, fungi and animals can typically be subdivided into two phases : an initial quick self-sealing mechanism and a subsequent longer lasting selfhealing mechanism. If ‘self-repair’ is used as an umbrella term the

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Glossary

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two phases are characterised by different structural and functional modifications. (1 ) After the self-sealing phase, fissures are repaired functionally but not entirely structurally, and the mechanical properties are not re-established. ( 2 ) After the selfhealing phase fissures are repaired functionally and structurally and the mechanical properties are ( at least partly ) re-established.3

Speck T., Mülhaupt R. & Speck O. ( 2013 ): Self-healing in plants as bio-inspiration for self-repairing polymers. In : Binder W. ( ed. ), SelfHealing Polymers, 61–-89. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Harrington M., Wagner S., Speck O., Speck T. & Weinkammer R. ( 2015 ): Biological Self-healing Materials. Advances in Polymer Sciences ( submitted ).

4 Euler, M.: Selbstorganisation,

Self-organisation Self-organisation is a central concept bridging the gap between living and non-living nature. The theory of self-organisation is also called theory of non-linear ( dynamic ) systems ( chaos theory ). It is applicable to physical, chemical, biological, psychological and social systems and can occur in entirely different environments and scales. All biological processes are based on basic physical self-organisation processes. Self-organised systems are capable of spontaneously developing and maintaining order with no control from outside, and stability and change of self-organised systems depends on feedback mechanisms. Local interactions of elements or agents may follow simple rules but can generate complex and adaptive behaviour. The theory of self-organisation has made the simulation and prediction of those complex behaviours possible.4, 5, 6

Strukturbildung und Wahrnehmung in : Biologie in unserer Zeit, 30. Jahrg. 2000 /Nr.1 5 Schweitzer F. et al.: Communication and Self-organisation in Complex Systems, p.4, original in : SFB 230, 1994 : Evolution of Natural Structures, Proceedings of the 3 rd International Symposium ( Mitteilungen des SFB 230, Heft 9 ), 2007 http ://intern.sg.ethz.ch/fschweitzer /until2005 /papers.html 6 Camazine S, et al : Self-Organization in Biological Systems, Princeton University Press 2001

Stigmergy Stigmergy is a mechanism of indirect control of a system through information derived out of the environment. Stigmergy is a special kind of self-organisation, evolving complex and seemingly intelligent systems without direct control or communication between agents. Instead of taking information from rules or from other agents, in stigmergic behaviour agents take information directly from the outside world. Using environmental clues, stigmergic behaviour in biology leads to the efficient collaboration of simple organisms without memory or awareness of each other. Based on stigmergy, material systems can develop over time to become refined and complex structures. A well-studied example for stigmergic behaviour is the recursive building activity of termites. It seems that the building of termite mounds follows a process of decentralised coordination where individual termites respond to stimuli provided by the common medium of the emerging nest.6

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Glossary

Aspects of Life ( Setting the Stage )

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Plan Not to Plan Anymore – on Growing and Building Waltraut Hoheneder, Petra Gruber

The point of departure of the project GrAB – Growing as Building – was the exploration of the group’s architectural visions of growing a building. We related those visions to an abundance of biological phenomena in collaboration with biologists from various backgrounds including ecology, zoology, botany, microbiology, finally narrowing down the wide range of possible research topics to investigate a few promising ones. This project leaves a huge number of suggested topics untouched, but it also provides examples for relating biology and architecture and displays the huge scope of the research field. Biological growth manifests itself at many different levels. In natural systems it occurs at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ and organismal level as well as the development of populations, ecosystems up to the evolution of the biosphere. In a biological context, growth is one of the basic characteristics of life. In other fields, for example economic and social sciences, the term is used in a wider sense, referring to growth as the Mumbai – growth on an urban scale

quantitative aspect of increase. Quantitative growth in biology is also often characterised as reaching higher levels of complexity, adding qualitative change to the system. Changes on a cellular level might create another quality of tissue for example, a phenomenon linked to the principle of hierarchical structuring and emergence in design. Concepts of qualitative growth demonstrate approaches that differ from quantitative aspects, referring to more complex structure and emergent effects. In an architectural context growth is generally associated with construction, resulting in an increase in terms of material used or space enclosed. This association can include all steps of material processing, as well as the logistic efforts involved, but is best visible on building construction sites, or with spreading developments on an urban scale. All stages of creating buildings or developing larger settlements usually require extensive planning and coordination that are mainly performed topdown. By contrast, self-organised bottom-up processes are observed, for

Plan not to plan anymore

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example, in uncoordinated and unplanned urban, suburban or rural sprawls that reveal surprising similarities to natural patterns. Thus control of growth is a major issue, also the speed and the termination of growth. Aspects such as adaptability and resilience that biological systems exhibit are highly sought after in the built environment. Complex feedback systems are a prerequisite for adaptive capacities in natural systems. Biological systems that increase resilience and withstand unforeseen environmental developments, especially vulnerability during the processes of transformation, can serve as valuable role models for architectural applications. The biomimetic approach of deriving technological processes from research into biological growth principles provides insights that might improve or completely change contemporary traditions and technologies of building. Principles of biological growth All growth in biology is based on cells, which can increase both in number and size. All growth processes in biology are achieved by a combination of genetic and environmentally informed self-organisation. Since the two cells which result from cellular division do not need to perform the same functions, growth can lead to differentiation. The ability to generate new modules both locally and globally within the organism exceeds our technological capacity to achieve increase of size. Most building techniques are based on the principle of addition, often assembling prefabricated elements on site to create the intended structure. In plants cell enlargement is usually initially achieved by water uptake. It can be a relatively quick process that allows rapid increase in size whenever conditions are favourable. Rapid water uptake in combination with deployment of folded structures can quickly produce geometrically complex structures. This is best observed in spring, when leaves break out of their buds and develop to full size within a short time, sometimes within hours. The rapid elongation of bamboo at the rate of 90 cm per day is due almost entirely to uptake of water by already existing cells. Analogous systems for architectural application of cell enlargement are currently available only in the form of pneumatic structures that achieve their structural stability through internal pressure. Frei Otto investigated the potential of light-weight, deployable, pneumatic and membrane structures based on natural principles such as minimal surfaces. The performance of membrane structures is dependent on the properties of the membrane. Plant cell walls can be highly extensible, yet can be transformed into the main support structure by lignification. Investigations of new building materials with high extensibility and structural stability using freely available

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media such as air or rainwater could bring about new architectural typologies, transforming the current built environment. Deployment of folded Origami models of hornbeam leaf, GrAB Team

structures has been researched and developed for mobile, temporary and transformable permanent architectural applications – usually for the entertainment and leisure industries. Some biological role models, such as the deployment of a hornbeam leaf, reveal efficient strategies by inducing planar deployment through elongation of the middle axis. By its differentiation a cell can change its properties such as size or mechanical properties and thus fulfil different and specific functions. Greater differentiation leads to greater functional specialisation, masking more generic capacities that can still be expressed in emergency, such as repair of damage. Cell differentiation might be related to functional aspects in architecture. So-called smart buildings have integrated elements that

3D printed ceramic bricks, Brian Peters, BuildingBytes

optimise the overall building performance in relation to the environment as well as to the individual’s needs. Furthermore, cell differentiation can adapt to changes of material or systems properties of building elements. Additive layering of material is another aspect of growth. Sequential combination of different properties allows very finely tuned functional adaptation. The development of composite material systems in the building industry corresponds to the principle of additive material layering with distinct material properties. 3D printing, by adding layer upon layer of extruded material of possibly different properties, is an emerging technique directed at multiple scales, including the scale of buildings. In natural systems structure is usually optimised with regard to material and energy inputs. 3D printing opens up a new field for structural optimisation based on digital simulation. Creating buildings on site in an automated form is a process analogous to

ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion, Stuttgart 2014 – 2015

biological growth, being explored by several research institutes worldwide. The parameters of space and time Space and time are resources for which living organisms compete. The ecosystem is a scene of colonisation and competition. Favourable growth conditions may not always be available, and have to be exploited effectively if the organism is to be successful and reproduce. Growth and differentiation guarantee the successful exploitation of the space and nutritional options within a given ecosystem. Cellular addition, as a major method of occupying space efficiently, can be correlated with numerous modular concepts found in the history of architecture. At the level of building components a large variety of repetitive elements, such as bricks, panels, windows or larger spatial elements such as room-sized capsules and containers have been developed to simplify and

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accelerate material production and building. Agreeing on standards at many levels of production has helped to optimise building procedures. Modular concepts require compatibility and imply the need to control the properties of interfaces. Modular systems offer a tremendous range of possible combinations, providing high variability for a limited range of types of components. The variability of building elements is usually restricted to the On 11 February 2008, the Columbus

building process itself and ends with the integration of the building element

space laboratory is lifted by the ISS

into the whole building complex.

robotic arm from the loading bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

More flexibility during operation can be achieved in the spatial configuration of secondary space-defining elements in architecture. Depending on the capacity of the primary structure of a building, the division of space through secondary partition systems, such as light-weight walls, provides a degree of flexibility which allows complete reconfiguration of spatial layouts after the building has been finished. The two basic approaches to architectural space, open space versus the – now in architectural terms – cellular concepts are still in development, reflecting cultural, social and functional aspects of working and living environments. Visionary concepts based on the flexibility and mobility of larger architectural entities within superstructures have been developed over the past century. Nonetheless, their intended mobility and flexibility was limited by the sheer effort of moving such heavy objects around. Successful examples of flexible modular habitats come from design for outer space in low and zero gravity, for example the International Space Station ISS, where modules have been positioned with the help of a robotic manipulation arm. Time, the fourth dimension, is the second key aspect of growth. A growing organism develops and can transform its properties and functions. In most biological growth, the biochemical reactions take place under ambient conditions relying for transport mainly on diffusion and are therefore too slow to transfer techniques directly to technology. In comparing biological growth and building, no definite final state can be identified in the biological context, whereas in conventional architectural projects the completion of the building is the major goal. In biology, the major goal is a stage of maturity that is signalled by the onset of propagation. Many, especially simple, organisms continue to grow until they die. Architecture today could be less about reaching an allegedly static state than about a dynamic process, stretching the process design phase, required for the building process itself, beyond the finished state, to the operational phase and to recycling as well as demolition. Life cycle design and obsolescence challenge the range of conventional design parameters. Thinking in variables rather than in absolute figures emphasises the potential to change. The recently developing capacities of

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parametric design and computational simulation are valuable methods that assist process design and iterative approaches. Completion of a building might lose its significance in comparison with the potential of designing a process of dynamic building configurations that allow continual transformation. Integrating an increasing proportion of elements with limited durability – consumables – within a building system would challenge the predominant value of permanent settlements aiming at durability and conservation. Shape change In contrast to architecture and design, shape in biology is inherently connected to function. Specific shapes allow for material and energy to be harvested, provide protection against predators and other negative environmental challenges, or attract other organisms for help in reproduction ( e.g. cross-pollination ). Shapes of organisms can change over time, transforming at the level of the individual and evolving at the level of species. Shape change can play an important role for survival in biological systems. Many shape changes in living systems are linked to growth, for instance by increasing or slowing down growth in specific parts of the organism. Local growth can result in a global shape change. In some cases, shape change in biology requires the expansion and differentiation of tissues in an existing structure ; then it is defined as secondary growth, such as the stem growth of trees, in contrast to primary growth that is related to the overall increase in length of a plant. Some changes in shape in plants are based on intrinsic abilities, triggered by changes in external load ( leading to fracture ) or humidity ( transduced by differential expansion due to absorbed moisture ). A huge variety of geometries and opening mechanisms can be observed, all relying on simple principles. Such shape changes do not come for free – there are chemical and morphological differences ( e.g. fibre orientations and pre-straining ) that are expressed once the external influence has released them. Mechanisms initiated by fracture are obviously irreversible, but shape change effected by humidity change is reversibly cycled as the availability of moisture varies ( e.g. diurnally ). Developing specific building shapes and facades to match desired functions such as harvesting energy or material is an emerging field in architectural design. Simulation tools for buildings under specific environmental influences make functional shaping of buildings and elements possible. Dynamic shape change in architecture would allow another dimension of adaptivity that is yet not available.

Plan not to plan anymore

33

Self-organisation Growth in biology is based on genetically influenced self-organisation. A simple set of rules can yield an abundance of individual interpretations. In organisms, basic development is affected by a wide range of environmental conditions, making organisms specifically adapted to the environment that they grow up in. For this reason, even genetically identical organisms are not fully identical, and even modular parts of the same organism differ, so no leaf is an exact copy of a neighbouring one. Thus, individuals of a single species, genetically defined, commonly show a significant degree of variation. This biological blueprint could be compared to building codes and standards in architecture. Adapting the same set of building codes to different sites generates similar, but not necessarily identical buildings, that could be rendered unique by their context. With the implementation of computational design and production tools the possibilities of investigating numerous configurations has been enlarged tremendously. The new technologies allow complexity beyond the human architect’s capacity to integrate requirements into a design. A much larger set of rules can be processed, and digital design can integrate features of self-organisation. In this way, a basis for a future architecture reflecting a degree of complexity comparable to the multi-dimensioned interdependences in living systems is created. Adaptation and the role of information 1 S. Poppinga, T. Masselter, J.

The world of plants suggests important role models for the investigation of

Lienhard, S. Schleicher, J. Knippers

adaptability in architecture because buildings and plants share one basic

& T. Speck ( 2010 ): Plant movements

aspect : they are usually bound to a specific, permanent location and do not

as concept generators for deployable systems in architecture.

move. Plants are usually rooted in a substrate, just as most buildings are

– In : Brebbia, C.A. & Carpi, A. ( eds. ),

based on fixed foundations. Plants have to rely on the potential of their

Design and Nature V, 403 – 410. WIT

immediate environment to fulfil their need for matter and energy. The level

Press, Southampton.

of activity of higher plants alternates between periods of intense expansion 2 S. Poppinga, T. Masselter & T. Speck

when growth conditions are favourable and periods of inactivity when

( 2013 ): Faster than their prey : New

conditions are bad. On the other hand – in addition to growth processes –

insights into the rapid movements of

plants show a variety of active and passive movements.1, 2, 3

active carnivorous plants traps. – Bioessays, 35 : 649 – 657.

For achieving dynamic adaptation in building design, many challenges have to be met : stabilisation of the structural system along with the

3 S. Schleicher, J. Lienhard, S.

transformation and the integration of changes in the environment, or user

Poppinga, T. Speck & J. Knippers

requirements. Therefore, similarly to living systems, information on their own

( 2015 ): A methodology for transferring principles in plant

status as well as monitoring surrounding conditions is needed, and

movements to elastic systems in

processing of the information has to deliver actual change.

architecture. – Computer-Aided Design ( Special Issue on Material Ecology : Design and

For structural adaptation, the capacity of adding material locally to ensure structural integrity – like growing trees continuously enhancing the

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

34

volume of stem and branches – is a biological principle that would enable continuous building allowing adaptations whenever needed. Flectofin – a hinge-less flapping mechanism inspired by nature.

Material immanent passive systems or elaborate sensor/actuation

Lienhard J, Schleicher S, Poppinga S,

systems can deliver the adaptive capacity of living organisms, resulting in

Masselter T, Milwich M, Speck T,

higher efficiency in comparison to the capabilities of contemporary building

Knippers J., 2011

industries. Adaptation refers to the use of material as well. Contemporary building industry relies on energy-consuming distribution systems involving long distance transport at all stages of the process : from the extraction of raw material to the production of semi-finished building products, to further processing such as cutting, milling or production of composites, to the final work on the building site. The biological strategy of locally sequestering material and energy is increasingly applied for building operation, such as collection of rain water and solar power, but is not strategically applied to the building process itself. The industrialised world of plants, agriculture, highly optimised in a competitive system, might provide valuable insights for efficient resource management that can be applied in the architectural context. Sensor systems are widely integrated in contemporary agricultural methods and technology, being complemented by geo-information data provided via satellite. The automation level of even small family-run enterprises in Central Europe is high, when compared to the state of the art in building industry. Every single square metre is observed and analysed individually to optimise supply of nutrients, water or any other measurements to ensure healthy crops. Information is the key feature in agriculture, and it is all about timing. Resilience, safety strategies Biological evolution has provided organisms with striking resilience to changes in their environment, with effective, but not expensive, safety factors, some of which can be estimated or measured. In technology, resilience is mostly interpreted as safety with regard to possible damage due to unforeseen mechanical stresses, material deterioration, or system disturbance. For architecture, strategies to develop more robust typologies and environments may include higher flexibility within structural systems as well as more resilient material systems.

Plan not to plan anymore

35

Material systems Biological growth occurs at the cellular level and can affect other levels of Self-healing concrete by Bacterial Mineral Precipitation, TU Delft, NL,

hierarchy within the organism. Owing to the number of levels and the interconnectedness of structures across those levels, biologists commonly refer to material systems and do not clearly discern between material and structure. Biological materials have major advantages in comparison to contemporary building materials. In biology, materials are synthesised from a small range of readily available elements, at ambient temperatures. Building materials such as bricks, glass and cement are made from a similar range of

Self-healing foam coatings for Tensairity – constructions and other

elements, but are processed at high temperatures up to 1000°C and beyond,

pneumatic structures, Plant

and metals are chemically more complex. Properties of building materials

Biomechanics Group Freiburg 6

are usually improved in step-by-step processing, applying heat to increase

EMPA Dübendorf

durability. Production of building material by employing natural organisms aims at energy-efficiency and sustainability. The introduction of new hierarchical levels and thus information into our current materials leads in the direction of lightweight and anisotropic material design. Fibre reinforced structures seem to be specifically promising as role models as well as in technology transfer. 3D printing adds another possibility to produce complex geometries on at least a limited scale. Biological materials are usually soft and flexible during growth which

Transhab – soft inflatable structure becoming rigid after deployment

allows transformation, but still have to be capable of performing their function. The deployment of leaves is a good example : small leaves can already bear self-loads and photosynthesise as they grow to their full extent. During growth, soft tissues stiffen and cope with increasing loads. During apical growth in plants for example, the soft part at the tip extends, whereas the remaining parts start to increase in diameter and differentiate into functional tissues and organs. In contrast to the situation of plants, living cells of animals can selectively dissolve the rigid material and reorganise the structure. Due to the inability of plants to dissolve lignin, woody material is mostly dead and cannot change. It can only be added to from the layer of cells ( meristem ) at the outer surface of the trunk or branch. On the other hand bone retains many cells and so can be modified without changing its size. Regenerating parts of the non-lignified structures of plants, such as the leaves of deciduous trees, are a role model for the seasonal rejuvenation which might also be feasible for the building industry in temperate climate zones where seasons come with large temperature differences. Imagine a house that grows new facade elements, shedding the old ones from time to time. Most organisms have a finite lifespan. This is an adaptive aspect of evolution. But resources are finite, and it is necessary for the tissues of an

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

36

obsolescent organism to decay sufficiently to provide nutrition for the next generation. Thus the materials of nature have to be easily broken down for Funghi Tower, MOMA, New York, David Benjamin and ecovativedesign.com

recycling. These biological role models deliver valuable concepts for cyclic production processes for any field of technology including the building industry. The need for management and recycling of resources ( often called “waste”) can be traced throughout manufacturing, but it is especially critical where consumables are concerned. Huge amounts of waste are generated in contemporary industrial food production, amounts which are impossible to be recycled locally. They could be used as precious raw materials for building industries. Organic waste could be recycled and used again in building industries, integrating biomaterial and biological principles. We are arriving at a turning point in our economy where resources are becoming scarce and products and waste become overwhelming. Coupling agriculture and building industries appears to hold promising potential. We still lack strong concepts for feasible life cycle design for all architectural applications. Intelligent, learning systems All organisms have to solve challenges or problems and by changing their behaviour ( i.e. learning ) they can increase their chances of survival. A more complex organism can be expected to be able to solve more complex problems, and is said to be more intelligent. Some of this behavioural patterns can be modelled digitally. With the increasing activation of architecture and its elements, the behaviour of buildings becomes very important, and systems to provide sensing, control and actuation have been developed and become more or less integrated. So-called contemporary ‘intelligent buildings’ are generally optimizing building services with contemporary control technology. The integration of passive material systems into active steering devices provides a new field of energy saving elements in architecture. We do this already, with devices such as photochromic glass and bimetallic strips. Establishing intelligence reaching beyond adaptive capacities has been coined by numerous science fiction productions and is researched in the frame of ‘artificial intelligence’. The role of the user In many biological processes symbiotic relationships between different species have evolved, enabling additional capabilities to the mutual advantage of the organisms involved. Parasitic behaviour is not mutually beneficial, since the host is exploited and may be weakened ( diseased ). Plants – with the exception of some carnivorous species – are the only

Plan not to plan anymore

37

organisms that do not need to kill other organisms to survive ; all animals feed on plants or other animals. Protocells spontaneously organise into Turing bands, which Alan Turing

One of our architectural visions from this project imagines buildings that

proposed were an underlying tactic

behave like living organisms, developing and sustaining themselves

for forming biological patterns such

independently, and being part of a natural dynamic system. Contemporary

as, dappling.

buildings require a large amount of human attention to maintain their functional and aesthetic qualities. The envisioned buildings would work like temporary symbionts with the occupier, both being able to live independently for extended periods of time, providing each other with resources and information in cooperation. Man’s current approach to natural systems is mostly parasitic. We exploit natural resources. We do not replace ecosystems that do not appear necessary for maintaining the artificial systems we create. Buildings that are able to metabolise like living organisms would free us from the huge responsibility we have acquired by creating more artificial systems which are completely dependent on our care. Living within an artificial landscape that integrates and works like a natural system could be a step beyond automation. Such independent or semi-independent systems will challenge our attitude towards exerting and retaining control over the systems we live in, having determined the human development throughout human history. Gaining control is usually rated high in unpredictable, dangerous environments. Having reached a turning point where nature is considered vulnerable and worth protecting, natural principles are recognised as important role models for technological applications. “Plan not to plan anymore” could be valued as working with the unpredictable – not by gaining maximum control – but by increasing intrinsic adaptive capacities and cooperating with the environment.

References

J. Lienhard, S. Schleicher, S.

T. Speck, R. Mülhaupt & O. Speck

S. Busch, R. Seidel, O. Speck & T.

Poppinga, T. Masselter, M.

( 2013 ): Self-healing in plants as

Speck ( 2010 ): Morphological

Milwich, T. Speck & J. Knippers

bio-inspiration for self-repairing

aspects of self-repair of lesions

( 2011 ): Flectofin : a nature based

polymers. – In : W. Binder ( ed. ),

caused by internal growth

hinge-less flapping mechanism. –

Self-Healing Polymers, 61– 89.

stresses in stems of Aristolochia

Bioinspiration and Biomimetics,

Wiley-VCH, Weinheim.

macrophylla and Aristolochia

6 : DOI:10.1088 /1748-3182 /6 /4 / 045001

M. Rampf, O. Speck, T. Speck & R. Luchsinger ( 2013 ): Investigation of a fast mechanical self-repair

ringens. – Proceedings of the Royal Society London B, 277: 2113 – 2120.

mechanism for inflatable structures. – International Journal of Engineering Science, 63 : 38 61–70.

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

38

Connection between growing and architecture

39

Methods of Science in Art Julian Vincent, Angelo Vermeulen

Although artists ( i.e. creative people whose output cannot easily be classed as “science”) have always approached their work in a methodical fashion, and although many branches of art have rule books and a theoretical base ( e.g. music, some aspects of graphic art ), the idea that art can profit from techniques and methods stolen from scientific research is relatively new. But what, profitably, should artists steal? Some of the basic tenets of science – that an idea should be disprovable, or at least presented in a manner which allows it to be disproved ; that an idea should make predictions which can be tested ; that an idea should be quantifiable – appear not to apply to art. Nor is it obvious that the daily practise of science should apply – calculation and measurement ; carefully designed tests and procedures ; formalised methods of reporting and assessment ; acceptance on the basis of evidence rather than the opinion of one’s peers. Which of these might be relevant or, more important, useful? And who will be bold enough to adopt new ways of thinking that could well lead to failure and disappointment? But there is another set of reasons that encourage the arts to adopt methods and ideas from science – the Bologna Process, which essentially homologises higher education throughout Europe. One of its effects has been “to legitimise theoretical approaches in arts education and [ support ] an 1 von Borries, F.; ARTISTIC RESEARCH

attractive funding environment.“1. Although financial encouragement is

— WHY AND WHEREFORE?; JCOM,

welcome, the Bologna process has legitimised the fusion of art and science

Journal of Science Communication ;

and thus removed some of the stigma of failure. We are thus emboldened to

31/03 /2015 ; http ://jcom.sissa.it/archive/14 /01/ JCOM_1401_2015_C01/JCOM_1401_ 2015_C06 ( as viewed on 12. Sept. 2015 )

involve science and its methods in projects which might otherwise be approached purely as art. In GrAB we adopted two strategies, both supported by scientists embedded in the project. They are Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and a laboratory for biological experiments ( Biolab ). QFD is a widely used technique in commercial research and design, where it is used for marrying ideas with outcomes. Mostly it’s used to establish what are the important factors in meeting a customer’s needs. As a

Methods of Science in Art

41

paper exercise it needs little hardware, but it needs much thought. As an introductory exercise in GrAB it served to focus effort and thinking along the most profitable and practical directions. Biolab required more input, from both humans and hardware. The laboratory was limited by space and environmental control, and there was only a narrow budget, so the equipment had to be cheap and simple. Nonetheless, it produced interesting and challenging results.

How to organise creativity with Quietly Functional Discipline One of the aspects of creativity is making lists. This might seem as an attempt to impose some sort of control over an activity which is supposed to rely on unfettered imagination, but take a moment to realise what a list really is. What do you put in your list? Initial ideas? Concepts? Dreams? Impossibilities? Costs? Threats? There may be many ideas floating around, but often there is no way of pinning them down for comparison or rejection. Also the ideas may be bunched together and in no particular order, and it’s difficult to see where the gaps might be. Thus lists have two main functions. First, they keep your ideas and information recorded ; second, by ordering the ideas omissions become more obvious. A list is therefore a tool that ensures that you don’t miss a good thought and gives you time to consider and compare those thoughts. A list does not inhibit – rather, it checks and suggests. Making lists There are many ways of making lists. Probably the best ones are diagrammatic, which can be made to impose flow on the ideas. Ideally they should allow an idea to be developed in any direction. This rules out such techniques as mind-mapping, which impose a branching structure and make it difficult to introduce a network of interactions. None of these methods allows quantification or value judgments. They present ideas and concepts but there is no way to rank the ideas in order of merit, practicability, cost, etc. An ontology written in a logical language such as OWL can support a complex network of many dimensions, and can support quantification and reasoning, but it takes time and skill to construct. A simple spreadsheet is a good template which gets over some of these problems but it’s limited to the two dimensions of the paper on which it’s drawn ; ideally the list should

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

42

be a system and have as many dimensions as needed. This demands a hierarchy of lists. In GrAB we adopted an approach called “Quality Function Deployment”, usually abbreviated to “QFD”. In its original form it’s a system used in engineering and design to ensure that the customer is getting the product ( s ) he needs at an affordable price [1 ]. The method can be applied to any topic area where there are many ideas, factors and processes, some of 1 Prasad, B. (1998 ). Review of QFD

which have to occur in a particular order to be of use. Any criterion can be

and related deployment techniques.

imposed on the listed objects, processes or concepts, producing a new list

Journal of Manufacturing Systems

or a new order. It’s a very flexible approach and introduces a new kind of

17, 221– 234.

creativity. There are no rules of inclusion or exclusion, but it’s important that the method is used carefully and logically so that no idea is wasted. In the context of GrAB it allowed us to imagine all sorts of concepts, functions and things that we’d like to have in a building, taking no account whatsoever of their practicality, usefulness or means of implementation. The only criterion for the end product was that, somewhere in the mix, the idea had been compared with an aspect of growth and development of plants ( including fungi ). This criterion is not only the basis of the GrAB project, but it’s rationalised by saying that ( a ) plants do things that we haven’t imagined properly yet, and ( b ) if a plant can do it, there’s a good chance that we can. Implementation of Quality-Function Deployment First make a list of the ideas and dreams to be incorporated into architectural design ( see addendum for an example with explanations ). At

Fig 1. A simple QFD diagram

this stage they can be grouped roughly in accordance with what part of the design seems most relevant, for instance facades, dividers, moving around, seating, food, temperature control, etc. These are entered on the vertical axis of a spreadsheet (fig 1 ), known in QFD as the “WHAT” list. Since GrAB is looking at how growth of plants can be brought into the concepts of architecture, those process in plants that may be familiar, or could be manipulated, are listed along the top of the spreadsheet – this is the “HOW” list. Thus we have two lists arranged orthogonally. The items in the “what” list are then assigned numbers or rankings depending on their importance. These numbers are typically high (10 ) for good and low (1 ) for bad. It’s important to keep to this formality because later on you might want to enter costings into the mix, and the numbers then have a specific meaning! The relationship between the two lists, item by item, is made by entering the strength or significance of the relationship as strong ( 9 ), medium ( 3 ) or weak (1 ) in the squares where the row and column of the two items under

Methods of Science in Art

43

comparison cross. Note that this is essentially a logarithmic scale. Each column from the “HOW” list is then added up, multiplying the strength factor by the importance ranking. Thus the items in the “HOW” list are given an index relating to their quality in fulfilling the concepts. Figure 2 shows a worked example. The “HOW” list, together with the priorities just generated, is now transferred to another spreadsheet, where it becomes the “WHAT” list (fig. 2 ). A new “HOW” list is generated against this “WHAT” list and the process of assessing the strength of the relationship between “HOW” and “WHAT” is repeated. In GrAB the second “WHAT” list was the mechanisms delivering the Fig 2. A simple QFD matrix populated with

functions in the first QFD matrix ; the third matrix converted these into ways

concepts, ranking and data

in which the plant mechanisms and processes might be implemented in a

comparing “wish list” concepts with

technical environment, and the assessment of their likelihood of success

the botanical functions which might be available to implements them.

was ranked against the plant mechanisms, giving a new list, with indices of

N.B. the concepts have not been

practicability, of technical ways of implementing the original ideas. This could

filtered for practicality.

be followed by materials selection, costing, customer preference, etc. This process of moving from one spreadsheet to the next, introducing a

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

44

Fig. 3. The development of the QFD matrix from Fig. 2 when inserted into a cascade. In a real project there would be more steps in the cascade and the QFD matrices would be more complex ( see Prasad 1998 ).

new dimension each time, can be repeated as often as needed using whatever set of ideas seems necessary in each dimension, producing a cascade of spreadsheets (fig. 3 ). This is the hierarchy. There is no limit to the topics chosen for the “HOW” and “WHAT” lists or how many topics can be used. Each topic introduces a new dimension, so we have escaped from the 2-dimensionality of the paper or computer screen on which the spreadsheet is drawn. Moreover, since each spreadsheet diagram is linked to all the others, it’s possible to trace the change or generation of ideas, both forwards and backwards, seeing how a good idea has been lost or shown to be impractical, or how a rather simple and obvious idea suddenly becomes important and relevant. Any resource can be plugged in at the appropriate place, irrespective of where it comes from, so there’s no worry about mixing parameters or constraints. And, of course, the balance and importance of the ideas can be adjusted and modified. It’s a list of possibilities and not about proscription at all. Everything can be changed and traced. The diagrams show how we used this system in a cascade of spreadsheets. The order of importance of the various factors was, at times, surprising, and we had some lively discussion about where some of the rankings had come from. QFD was a core tool in the GrAB project. The advantages were that we had a well-tried system, we could mix-and-match anything we wanted, we could start with crazy ideas, rank them, see where biology might give an advantage, work out processes and methods to achieve a result which had the advantages of the biological paradigm, do the

Methods of Science in Art

45

quantity surveying, etc., and reduce the whole thing to a quite normal exercise in design. QFD shows how a list of wishes, some of which may be impractical at first sight, can be winnowed, assessed, converted into technical means of implementation, and costed. In other words, the QFD cascade is giving us a creative process that converts biological processes ( in this case, botanical processes ) into technical possibilities. The GrAB project was the first to use this technique for biomimetics, and it worked very well. Probably most important, it allows comparison and integration of concepts and processes from very different areas of knowledge and technology, and produces results that are useful and robust. This process of biomimetic design and implementation is recommended as a general tool for biomimetics.

Changing wall transparency

Humidity control

Temperature control

Imagine : the window is where

Exterior and interior humidity

The building has a thermal mass,

you choose it to be. But a

levels can differ widely, with

material or functional, which

window may be in the wrong

associated problems of comfort.

buffers and controls changing

place or missing, or perhaps you

Technical means to control

temperatures maintaining

would like to look in a different

interior humidity require

equable internal conditions.

direction. Windows let light and

machinery and energy ; ideally

Together with humidity,

heat into the building. Thus to

we need a passive mechanism.

temperature is responsible for

adapt the internal environment

A wall then would be a humidity

feeling of comfort. The

to fleeting needs the

buffer, storing and releasing

mechanism is passive and can

transparency of walls in buildings

water vapour so that internal

accommodate a wide range of

should be controllable. When you

humidity is acceptable

climatic conditions over space

need more privacy, or when it

independently of external

and time.

becomes too hot or bright, you

conditions. Changing shapes

can reduce transparency. This change can adapt the building as

Changing texture

Buildings are designed and built

it grows, or it can allow for

The appreciation of a space is

for permanence. They are

adaptation of the wall at any

associated with the texture of its

therefore difficult to adapt to

time by the occupier.

confinement ; specific functions

climate or function. As wind,

are associated with both wall

sunlight and rainfall change, so

Changing wall openings

and enclosed space. Rough

do the requirements of the

Imagine : the door is always

textures might deter touch,

building. A streamlined building

where you choose it to be.

smooth textures might reflect

will lose much less heat ; as

Planned openings do not always

light and be easy to clean, soft

shape changes, passing air can

provide the optimal solution for

textures might invite contact.

be scooped up and circulated

connecting spaces. Doors are

Changing the texture of walls

internally. On a hot day the

may be in the wrong place or

would allow us to dynamically

projected area towards the sun

missing, or perhaps you would

interpret the character of a

can be minimised.

like to go in another direction.

space to our needs.

Anything can enter the building

Changing size

through an opening. When you

Architectural spaces best fit the

need to enter a door it appears,

requirements of the occupants.

but when you don’t want to use

The space is usually fixed, and so

it, it disappears. When you

are buildings, elements and

choose to keep the opening, you

materials. Imagine your house

can do so. Open Sesame!

growing and shrinking as you wish, providing more space for children and visitors, less space when they leave.

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

46

Expanding cupboard

Rehabilitation floor, varying

Growing coatings/paint when

Imagine the furniture of your

softness

needed

home emerging according to

Imagine a floor sensing the

Imagine that a colour or coating

your need, disappearing when

activities of the user and reacting

layer would spread by itself on a

unused.

by changing softness, colour,

surface. It needs no primer ; it

lighting. If you trip up it becomes

changes colour depending on

Growing building from

soft and breaks your fall.

external conditions ( i.e.

top down

Similarly if you drop a fragile

photochromic, but over a very

A number of commercial

thing, it gives it a soft landing. Or

wide spectral range ); it signals

companies build from the top

it becomes hard so you can

damage ; it is self-healing ; it can

downwards. Foundations are

practise your tap-dancing.

provide lighting when needed.

Self-designing building

Growing insulation

The blueprint is no longer a

Imagine a building without

Growing building from

rough image of the final building

problems of thermal bridges and

bottom up

but a list of processes and

humid corners, and self

This is the normal way of

functions. The processes take

generated and controlled

building. In nature the roots are

account of environmental

incremental insulation that

developed at the same time as

conditions and the result is a

accommodates problems with

the above-ground structure. Thus

building adapted to its own

building physics. The complexity

the foundations are always in

conditions. Information is an

of a solid building in a changing

balance with their needs.

integral part of the creation of

environment is largely ignored,

the building.

leading to unwelcomed effects

protected by the walls and roof as they are excavated

typically where different building

Pollution reduction The building envelope is the

Self-cleaning building

elements meet. The insulation is

membrane across which the

Cleaning a building inside and

self-generating and self-

inner and our conditions reach

out takes resources and energy.

controlled. It adapts while the

an equilibrium. Compared with

Self cleaning surfaces using

building is in use optimising

current filtering systems, the

environmentally harvested

environmental energy to give a

amount of work per unit surface

energy ; dirt and dust

comfortable indoor climate.

area of a very large wall could be

automatically attracted to the

very low indeed, reacting with

dustbin. A building where

Intelligent scouting caravan

specific chemicals, and filtering

cleaning of walls and floors

Qualities appear in the urban

out dust particles.

needs only the energy of a light

fabric that were not anticipated

breeze.

or planned : spaces may be noisy or over-exposed to the sun.

Staircase on demand Imagine a staircase that emerges

Self-repairing building

Imagine an architectural parasite

only when you need it. Static

Imagine a building where any

that senses the environmental

elements consume space, but

crack disappears within a short

conditions of a space and

dynamic and flexible availability

time, and any leak is

develops towards the attracting

can save it. Perhaps the

immediately sealed and further

parameter, or just develops

staircase should morph into

damage is halted. This is an

where it is. It enhances and

some other internal structure

extension of self-designing, since

enriches the urban environment

when not needed.

the building needs to know its

without requiring documentation

size and structure to be able to

or planning.

Furniture on demand

restore itself. Repair is

Furniture appears only when

continuous, so there can also be

needed.

continuous adaptation to changing conditions of environment or use.

Methods of Science in Art

47

Integration, evolvability and co-creation are essential to create truly resilient systems. By interconnecting people, technology and biology deeply into adaptable systems we can create solutions for the future. All creative agents should be able to participate in this enduring process of adaptation : humans as much as AIs and biological organisms. Angelo Vermeulen Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

49

Biolab Early on during the conceptual development of the GrAB project it was decided to establish a lab in which the team could experiment with biological processes. It is highly unusual to set up such a Biolab in an architecture school, but bringing living organisms into a design context has several advantages. Firstly, by directly observing and physically manipulating biological processes, a much better and deeper understanding can be acquired of otherwise strictly theoretical research. Secondly, extensive hands-on inquiry is a path to new creative approaches and solutions. Directly engaging with ’life’ steers thinking into new directions. It opens a world of new insights about relationships, behaviours and dynamics that constantly surround us. And it’s precisely this increased awareness that can lead to an expanded creativity in terms of design and engineering. Moreover, biological experiments quite frequently have unexpected outcomes, and as such the results can lead to equally unexpected ideas. Because of the limited budget a DIY approach was used for the concrete set up of the Biolab. This is also in line with a broader cultural practice of DIY with such examples as garage science, the Maker movement, Hackerspaces and DIY biohacking. In all these cases, creative spaces are quickly and cheaply set up with a type of creative freedom that is different than what is typically found in academic or corporate lab environments. Being less constrained by running research programs and entrenched research paradigms, DIY labs open up the possibility for less conventional research and more eclectic experiments. However, the quality of the lab is inevitably going to limit the sophistication of the experimentation that can be done. In some aspects quality might be paramount ( microscopy might be one such ) and then it’s well worth spending extra on it. Apart from being cheap and quick to set up, DIY labs have the additional advantage that simplicity encourages direct observation. If done intelligently such direct observation can trump mindless measurement. The lab infrastructure was constructed with re-used materials from exhibition displays. Racks, shelves and work benches were created by combining wooden frames with Plexiglass sheets and boxes. Because of the modular nature of these materials we could easily switch out or extend parts where needed. The table shows a list of general equipment and materials that were used throughout the GrAB project. All these materials are off-the-shelf and can be acquired in regular hardware, appliance and drug stores.

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Item

Brand, type, size

Use

Microscope

AmScope B120C-E1 Siedentopf Binocular

Observation of cellular growth

Compound Microscope, 40X-2500X Magnification, Brightfield, LED Illumination, Abbe Condenser, Double-Layer Mechanical Stage, Includes 1.3MP Camera and Software Desktop computer

Windows 7

Data management

Fridge

Used small and large refrigerator

Mycelium growth

Blender

Second-hand standard kitchen blender

Preparation of mycelium substrate

Microwave oven

Second-hand standard kitchen oven

Heating water, melting natural hydrogels

Oven

Second-hand standard kitchen oven

Sterilisation

Plastic jerry cans

20 litres

Water supply

Lab tools

Scalpel etc.

General use

Lab glassware

Petri dishes etc.

Experiments with slime mould and mycelium

Chemical supplies

Alcohol

Sterilisation

Camera

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II, 20 megapixel Documentation digital camera, 3.6 optical zoom, Full HD

Water cooker

Second-hand standard kitchen device, 1 L

Heating water for sterilisation

Some of these components were further customised, and one additional piece of equipment was built by the team. For better temperature regulation the fridge was connected to an external thermostat. A DIY glove box was built for handling slime mould. Such a glove box is needed to minimize contamination of the slime mould culture with other microorganisms. It is essentially a see-through box with internal gloves, and a filtered air-flow generated by a vacuum cleaner. All procedures, maintenance tasks, and observations were logged in a hand-written lab notebook. This was done to ensure that findings could be confirmed by repeating experiments under the exact same circumstances. Experiments were always visually documented using a high resolution photo camera. Some of these photos can be found throughout the book. The growth patterns and growth characteristics of a range of different organisms were investigated, with a specific focus on mycelium, slime mould and single-cell algae. Other experiments included using hydrogels to create actuated systems, and the development of a mobile 3D printer that uses calcium carbonate as printing material. The technical details of all the experiments can be found in the “Experimentation” chapter. Oyster and Reishi mycelium was used to create bio-based building materials. Characteristically these fungal organisms decompose cellulose. Once the mycelium has grown and spread throughout the cellulose the

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resulting mass can be dried, resulting in a solid material. The Oyster and Reishi mycelium was ordered online at MycoMedica, Slovenia for Reishi, and at Pilzzucht Online Shop for the Oyster mycelium. A batch of mycelium was always kept in the fridge in airtight bags, available as supply for new experiments. It was grown in a range of different cellulose-based substrates to determine ideal growing conditions and achieve optimal structural integrity of the final dried material. The following substrates were used, either in a pure form, either mixed with other substrate types : straw, hay, saw dust, wood pellets, bran, wheat grains, newspaper, filter paper and cotton. Different types of sealed hard and soft templates were used to grow the mycelium into specific shapes. Templates were either ready-made ( such as PVC pipes ) or 3D printed ( PLA ). Additionally experiments were carried out to grow mycelium with an internal ‘skeleton’ ( 3D printed or cardboard ), and onto textile surfaces. Some of the resulting dried material was tested for structural integrity using an Inspect Retrofit material testing system at the Plant Biomechanics Group of the Freiburg Botanical Garden. Slime mould was used as a ‘co-designing’ organism and helped to solve spatial challenges in architectural design. The slime mould species Physarum polycephalum was ordered online at Carolina Science GmbH, Berlin, Germany. Since most of the slime mould cultures got rapidly infected with fungus, fresh slime mould was ordered for each new batch of experiments. Before each experiment all materials were disinfected with ethanol. All manipulations of slime mould and experiments were carried out inside the DIY glovebox. During the growing stage of the slime mould the glove box was covered with black plastic to create a dark environment. In a first series of Petri dish experiments, growing conditions for slime mould were explored. Agar Agar and filter paper were used as substrates, and oat flakes as food sources. In a second series of experiments slime mould was grown in a grid to allow the organism to grow in three dimensions and optimize spatial pathways. The grids were 3D printed ( PLA and EOSINT P760 Polymer laser sintering system ) and placed in a small container at the start of the experiment. An ultrasonic humidifier provided a continuing humidity inside the container. Oats were positioned inside the grids as ‘attractors’. Some of these results were scanned using MRI at the Plant Biomechanics Group of the Freiburg Botanical Garden. A photobioreactor was created for the algae using an aquarium, a water pump, an aeration pump, vinyl tubing, and fluorescent lights. The Chlorella algae originated from a nearby pond at the City Park in Vienna. The goal was to create a productive and visually interesting photobioreactor using simple materials. The algae culture was circulated through the vinyl tubing using the water pump. The tubing spiralled around the fluorescent lights optimizing

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illumination. To increase productivity, goldfish were added to the culture. Their metabolism provided extra nutrients, and stimulated the growth of the algae. A series of experiments was conducted with natural hydrogels based on gelatine, agarose, agar-agar and alginic acid ( alginate ). These experiments were not successful in the way the hydrogel could retract again when drying out. As a consequence the focus and the examples in this book are about hydrogels based on polyacrylic acid ( Aqua Perlen Hydro Gel 100 Gramm Klar ). The main direction of the experimentation was testing the expansion capacity of elastic and non-elastic tissues holding differing numbers of hydrogel spheres, and actuation through hydrogel expansion. A technology development derived from biological growth dynamics are two mobile, cable-driven 3D printers. These lightweight machines have the unique capacity to be deployed wherever needed because of their suspended design. They also reflect how trees, plants and basically anything in biology grows : the whole structure gets built in one part with thinner, denser, and more or less intricate parts. There are no individual parts with this form of 3D printing, no modular elements that are stacked or fixed to larger elements. The design of the two printer versions essentially integrates three concepts : a system that (1 ) can print directly in a given environment, ( 2 ) uses a bio-compatible printing material, ( 3 ) and is integrated into a full metabolic cycle. This loop is created with algae and the printing material comprising calcium carbonate, ethanol and acetic acid. Algae take up the CO2 which becomes volatile when the calcium carbonate based printing material is extruded. Algae and other plant-based materials are used to create acetic acid and ethanol needed in the printing process. Thus the cycle is completed considering the fact that one can retrieve the calcium carbonate form mussel shells, bones and other natural materials.

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Imagine a future where all things we make and that surround us, are as complex and alive as we are, and even beyond that, not just based on carbon, water, heat and emergence, but also incorporating the whole spectrum of elements and all our knowledge – a hybrid of technology and biology. Even though we are centuries away from that vision, this project investigates the first small steps in this direction. Damjan Minovski

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Methodology

55

Experimentation Viktor Gudenus, Tanja Oberwinkler, Angelo Vermeulen, Barbara Imhof, Petra Gruber, Waltraut Hoheneder, Damjan Minovski, Ceren Yönetim, Rafael Sanchez Herrera, Laura Mesa Arango, Julian Vincent, Thomas Speck, Andreas Körner, Mohammedneja Shikur, Mariya Korolova, Atanas Zhelev, Ioana Binica, Alexander Nanu

The ‘Experimentation’ Chapter describes the work done in the Biolab. The investigated role models were chosen through use of the methodological tool of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) as described in the previous chapter ‘Methods of Science in Art’. These experiments gave the team insights and experience in working with biology and living matter. It had been challenging to experiment under the constraints for DIY lab conditions within an Arts University setting, with no professional laboratories. Thus there were a lot of uncontrollable circumstances such as an epidemic of fruit flies and a lack of humidity in the environment that resulted in drawbacks during the initial phase of experimentation. In this sense the Biolab was a transformative learning space. Through the first experiments it was possible to establish hypotheses which could often be validated through follow-up experiments. All the outcomes displayed in this chapter present only the final outputs of research taking state of the art research further. This is detailed in every subsection. Warming up experiments used to familiarize the team with the status quo are not part of this book. All experiments described vary greatly in their goal and scale, but were repeated to verify the results. More specifically, the experiments covered different levels in the process of biomimetics. The team learned how to grow slime mould and worked with the cultivation of such organisms to create specific favourable growth conditions. The observation of the growth processes together with detailed standardised documentation is essential for real laboratory work, as is to compare the outcome data and to be able to identify important parameters of growth. The biologists on the team helped to introduce others in the team to these methodologies. A DIY glove box was made for the slime mould, which provided a controlled environment, but only up to a certain point because of its primitive construction. Nevertheless, proof was established that the slime mould can also grow in a three-dimensional grid and that it can become a co-designer for architectural concepts. Neither of these topics

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had ever been described in previous research of this type, but they were now experimented with successfully. Two refrigerators, which could maintain a temperature of around 16 degrees Celsius, were bought for the growth of the Oyster mycelium samples. Earlier experimentation in the basements of 19 th century Viennese housing proved not always to be successful because of insufficiently controllable variables. Other mycelium experiments with Reishi were more difficult due to the temperature requirements and humidity levels of a tropical climate, which was nearly impossible to create under the given circumstances. However, a lot of successful experiments have been conducted, with new artistic and scientific outcomes. They also showed that the resulting structure of the mycelium grown as building elements is quite strong. It has similar characteristics to a soft wood such as a willow. Successful experimentation with cardboard and membrane structures could not be traced in the literature and are thus considered novel and beyond the current state of the art. Another angle was the creation of systems that could generate multilevel systems connecting different experiments and organisms. The concept of a metabolic system integrating the printer material of calcium carbonate and the algae into a loop was created though only implemented in parts due to time constraints of the research project. Finally, a classical transfer approach from biology to technology was taken when the team created a 3D mobile printer that works analogously to termites building their mound in additive and subtractive layers. Further, this 3D printer is mobile, uses bio-material based on calcium carbonate and can also print on existing structures, using the similar precision and accuracy as nature has in-built. Concluding this introduction to Experimentation the following can be said : it is challenging (1 ) to produce an artificial growth environment, ( 2 ) to avoid growth of unwanted organisms, and ( 3 ) to have to conduct the process from hypothesis to a positive outcome within a certain space and timeframe. The four main sections of Experimentation are growth principles, material systems, metabolic systems and the mobile 3D printer. They reflect the main investigation areas of the GrAB team.

Growth principles When conceiving the architectural visions for buildings as inhabitable structures, imagining changing wall openings, ad-hoc adjustments in wall

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transparency, transformations in shape and size, and finally a house that could grow fast and could be used in every state of its growth process, the biological role models used imply fast growth principles such as fast water uptake. Buildings are exposed to environmental changes such as wind ( speed and direction ), temperature ( e.g. cold and dry winter, hot and humid summer ) and other exterior forces such as rain ( e.g. monsoon, hail ) or snow. So are plants and trees. To be able to adapt even while growing is necessary for plants and can be desirable for buildings, if a building could be used from the very seed onwards with its intended purpose or even with different ones. Explorative growth as the third component next to fast water uptake and adaptation describes the exploration of space by growth. It is very closely connected to sensing and adaptive growth. Sensor technology and spatial exploration have become two key aspects of mobile robotics but they are not seen together in architecture. Sensor technology is only now being integrated into buildings to measure temperature or wind speed in order to activate either shading panels or heating/cooling infrastructure. Inherent to all the growth principles described and investigated above is self-organisation. In biology physical self-organisation processes are integral to genetically controlled growth. With no control from the outside, selforganised systems are capable of developing and maintaining order when triggered. On a small scale agent interaction may follow simple rules, but it can within the whole system be described as system flexibility. The proceedings of the 28 th annual conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design In Architecture ( ACADIA ) show a great number of 1 Kudless, A., Oxman, N., &

individuals working in areas as diverse as robotics, philosophy, material

Swackhamer, M. ( n.d. ). Acadia 08

engineering, computation, and architecture. They have attempted to distil

Proceedings. Silicon+Skin : Biological

the generative logics of natural systems into their work.1 They state that the

Processes and Computation.

critical difference from the conventional centralised human design method is that the self-organised internal logic inside the system is able to search and design in a bottom up manner without knowing its transcendent global target, rather than setting and limiting the final form or gesture in a topdown manner before fulfilling all the requirements. In architecture new emergent forms are not always the results of optimal solutions for environments, occupancies, circulation, and so on. Selforganised structures which can be observed in nature, accomplished for example by slime moulds, seem to have a completely different method of setting up “aggregates”. Slime moulds might function fundamentally differently and the construction principles are based on completely different logics and behaviours to human intellectual power.

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Growth is an essential part of the cycle of life. The amazing choreography of self-organisation of matter into a living organism is truly fascinating. Aspects of growth, especially information transfer, sourcing of material, and control mechanisms are being explored and demystified. We hope that we can use some of those findings to enable another kind of technology to evolve. Petra Gruber

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

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Adaptive growth with full functionality During growth in nature, organisms usually already perform with full functionality. The structural capacity of growing plants is of special interest for architecture and construction. Many plants, such as for example the Sample of Euphorbia plant for

banana, exhibit extreme lightweight construction. In the plant kingdom, structural performance can be investigated in the growth of seedlings of specific high performance plants like the Banyan tree and specific plant parts such as roots. The adaptive capacity of those structures is one of the key interests in generating self-supporting and at the same time growing systems. Plants like the Euphorbia tree ( Euphorbia Abyssinia ) have interesting

Bulge at joints

anatomical features, demonstrating excellent adaptation to their size, structure and functionality. Individual structures can be analysed from an engineering viewpoint, considering sub-regions, their characteristics and the loading conditions. The Euphorbia grows its branches in different stages, introducing hard elements after growing a branch supported only by soft tissue. This differentiation in stages of growth is a potential for technical transfer. At the same time, the fibre orientation in the plant can deliver a role model for the generation of better fibre composite systems. A more detailed investigation was done on the joint system of the stem and the branches on the Euphorbia, which differs from the majority of similar plants. The cross section of the branch is thinner at the joint, then becomes thicker at some point, and eventually becomes thinner and thinner until it gets to the tip. Usually, in other plants, the cross section at the joint is thicker and gets thinner and thinner as it goes further away from the joint.

The three layers of the stem

But the Euphorbia achieves a very strong joint between the stem and the branches with a joint system having a relatively thin cross section. The objective of this analysis is to find out how such joint systems work, and to recommend adaptations that will result in improved joints. The following observations were made during the analysis. Although the joint has a thinner cross section, a bulge can be observed on the stem just below the joint. The bulge could probably be a result of additional strengthening fibres at the joint. The Euphorbia plant has three distinct layers in its stem and branches. The outer “skin” layer, the sandwiched wooden “ring” layer and the inner soft tissue “core” layer. To find out how joint structure of the branching, works the wooden “ring” layer was analysed, as the other two layers do not play a major role on the plant structure. Branches are always attached to the

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“edges” of the stem profile, coming out of the leaf-like extension of the soft tissue. Near the joint, the constituent layers of the branch are reduced to two instead of three. There is an outer “skin” layer and an inner wooden “core”. The cavity with the soft core is filled with woody material, representing the transition from a hollow profile to a solid one. This increase in wooden Wooden “core” at the joint

structural layer at the joint gives additional strength to the joint. The fibre structure of the wooden layer of the stem is very dense at the joint when compared with the fibre density of the wooden layer further away from it. This was observed by trying to deform the wood and by the fibres being torn out during cutting. In the denser areas, no fibres were torn out of the tissue. This increased fibre density would also give additional strength to the joint. At this early stage of branching, the branch is connected to the stem by a very soft tissue. As the branch develops, some thread like wooden fibres start to grow and connect the wooden “ring” layer of the stem with the wooden “ring” layer of the branch. These thread like wooden fibres continue to grow until they develop into a combined wooden core. The horizontal connection between the stem and the vertical part of the branch consists of soft tissue layers.

Fibre density at the joint

The previously mentioned observations lead to the following recommendations for improved joint design based on the joint system of the Euphorbia. When dealing with lightweight vertical structures, the first step of improvement is filling out the hollow profile with solid material at the joint section to avoid local buckling of the profile due to the load of the branch. Second, the fibre density in the stem where branches connect can be increased to improve mechanical properties. Specific to the Euphorbia as a role model would be the transfer of the gradual growth approach : generation of branches first in soft tissue layers with only a few lignified and thus hard fibres connecting, then of a hard core in the final state of the branch as a subsequent step. This strategy of “soft branching” could avoid unnecessary use of high performance material at an

The joint structure at different stages of development

early stage and allow for adaptation to local load conditions at a later stage of development.

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Contemporary buildings are like new-born babies, incapable of surviving unattended or taking care of their needs and those of their inhabitants. Every single action in a building still has to be planned and performed through the intervention of human beings. Imagine a grown-up building, able to sustain itself and cooperating with human symbionts … Waltraut Hoheneder Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

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Fast growth and the role of water Time is a key constraint in biological growth and its transfer into technology. Therefore fast growth is one of the principles investigated. In many fast expanding biological role models the speed is achieved by fast water uptake. Not only volumetric expansion can be achieved with the change of water content, shape change in general is also bound to specific water content. Plant fruits and seedpods utilise shape change for opening up and seed dispersal. One of the options to transfer fast volumetric expansion into technology is the use of hydrogels. Hydrogels can be used for mimicking the large and fast volume increase that occurs during some growth processes in nature. For the introduction of hydrogels into such systems, they have to be contained and thus the volume increase can be exploited for moving parts of the system. At the same time, the water uptake capacity can be exploited. Systems reflecting humidity conditions can be designed with them, in order to react to or to sense the 2 Rathee A, Mitrofanova E, Santayanon P. “Hydroceramics”

changes2. The following experiments with hydrogels are integrated into material systems to achieve performance related to volume increase or

2013 – 2014. Studio Digital Matter :

water uptake ; they are a simple technical mimicking of more complex

Intelligent Construction. IAAC,

processes in nature.

Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia.

Hydrogels are cross-linked water-swollen polymer networks. They are highly absorbent natural or synthetic polymeric networks, and possess a degree of flexibility very similar to natural tissue, due to their significant water content. Although there are many different types of natural and synthetic hydrogels we used polyacrylic acid ( PAA ) for our actuation experiments. Our research showed that PAA not only was the most stable in its swollen state but was also the only hydrogel that could be hydrated and dehydrated reliably multiple times. These characteristics were essential in choosing an actuator material. PAA was used for the integration of highly expandable elements through water intake into structures to generate directed movement through fibre alignment of constricting shells. Hydrogel balls of 3 mm diameter in dry state, expandable to 15 mm in wet state, were tested in confined spaces limited by the expansion capacity of tissues. Fibre directed motion and expansion capacities of tissues The first experiment tested the expansion capacity of elastic and non-elastic tissues holding differing numbers of hydrogel balls. Furthermore, the distribution capacity of the hydrogel was tested as well as the reaction of the hydrogel when the expansion capacity of the tissue was exhausted.

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Hydrogel

Hydrogel Balls ( Polyacrylic acid ) ( Aqua Perlen Hydro Gel 100 Gramm klar ) www.exoticsamen.com

Expanded hydrogel balls affected by mesh of

Membrane

constraining shoe lace

Non-elastic woven shoelace ( cotton )

50 mm, 100 mm

Elastic knitted stocking ( cotton )

100 mm

Cotton thread Hydration fluid

H 2O

Experiment ingredients

Although the shoelace and the stocking material both use non-elastic fibres, directional elasticity of the tissues used is influenced by the texture of the fabric. Directional movement can be achieved solely by constricting movement to a particular dimension. Due to the structure in which the fibres of the shoelace are arranged an expansion in width will lead to a reduction in length. The stocking material, however, will stretch in all directions because of the properties of the knitted texture, until the fibre length constricts the movement.

The woven, seamless shoelace tube was filled with different numbers of hydrogel balls and was sewn to a non-elastic cotton cloth to create separate chambers. In longer segments the hydrogel balls were distributed arbitrarily to test their distribution capacity during expansion. Through expansion of the hydrogels the width of the shoelace increased whereas the length decreased. The experiments showed that a reduction to 2 /3 of its original length was observed after complete expansion.

Expanded hydrogel balls damaged by mesh of constraining cotton mesh

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The stocking material was sewn tightly around the hydrogel balls to make sure that the limits of elasticity of the material could be tested. The The blue PVC foam board is rising with the expansion of the hydro balls

experiment showed that the hydrogel balls split and penetrated the elastic tissue when its capacity to expand was exhausted. Furthermore, the experiment showed clearly the difficulties in guiding the direction of movement of the hydrogels. If all directions in which the hydrogels are able to move are constricted the hydrogel disintegrates. It is obvious that the expanded hydrogel balls are capable of resisting pressure only to a limited extent. When the pressure is increased above a certain threshold they disintegrate. Actuation through Hydrogel expansion The following experiment was conducted to demonstrate actuation capacity of systems through local water uptake by hydrogels. The experiment emphasises the use of hydrogel as actuator in passive kinetic structures. The investigation concentrates on the capacity of the hydrogels to lift lightweight loads, and to achieve the shape change of material systems through local cell enlargement as observed in nature. Hydrogel

Hydrogel Balls ( Polyacrylic acid )

30 hydrogel balls ( 3 mm diameter

( Aqua Perlen Hydro Gel 100 Gramm klar )

expandable to 15 mm )

www.exoticsamen.com Membrane

Non-elastic woven shoelace ( cotton )

100 mm filled with hydrogel balls

Inlay

Two PVC foam boards with taped joint

200 x100 x 2 mm each

Dish

Waterproof containment box

300 x 200 x 30 mm

Hydration fluid

H 2O

Experiment ingredients

The hydrogel balls were placed arbitrarily in the non-elastic shoelace. The string of prepared shoelaces was then fixed to one of the PVC foam boards immediately next to the joint. In order to create a 3 mm distance between the two boards accept up the 3 mm flat shoelace tube, one of the boards was augmented with a strip of the 3 mm foam board. The structure was then positioned in the containment box and was submerged in water. The experiment was conducted over a time span of 240 min and a photo was taken every 7 minutes. The experiment resulted in considerable actuation of the plastic plates. However, because of the fragile nature of the hydrogel balls, the maximum weight that can be lifted still needs to be researched. Nonetheless, it appears to be a promising approach for the actuation of small, very lightweight structures, such as façade elements.

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Explorative growth The capacity to explore is one of the most striking features of biological 3

growth. Exploration is carried out to reach a suitable environment, and this

http ://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/pro

phenomenon is especially interesting in the plant kingdom. Although plants

tista/slime moulds.html

cannot usually move freely around, because they are bound to a specific

4

location, they have developed strategies to explore space by growth. In

Durham ACH, Ridgway EB. Control

higher plants, the capacity to explore is limited to sensing and adaptive

of chemotaxis in Physarum polycephalum. J Cell Biol.

growth. Explorative behaviour in growth is also observed in the kingdom of

1976 ; 69 : 218 – 23. Kincaid RL,

protists (unicellular organisms including slime moulds ). Slime moulds exhibit

Mansour TE. Measurement of chemotaxis in the slime mold

a collective intelligence to discover food sources and grow optimised

Physarum polycephalum. Exp Cell

networks. Slime moulds explore their environment by growth, being capable

Res. 1978 ;116 : 365 –75.

of “knowing” about their surroundings, able to find their paths efficiently and

5

to find a suitable environment for producing fruiting bodies. It is not fully

Dimonte A, Cifarelli A, Berzina T,

understood how those processes function in this simple organism. Some

Chiesi V, Ferro P, Besagni T, Albertini F, Adamatzky A, Erokhin V.

aspects, such as the sensing of past presence by chemical tracers, have

Magnetic nanoparticles-loaded

been described and could be mimicked in technical systems.

Physarum polycephalum :Directed growth and particles distribution.

Cellular slime mould cells move around as individual amoebas

Interdiscip Sci. 2014 Nov 6.

throughout their substrate. However, they can change their behaviour and

6

start aggregating to become a single multi-cellular body as a reaction to a

Ueda T, Kobatake Y. Cell Biology of

changing environment. Cellular slime moulds are thus of great interest to

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developmental biologists, because they provide a comparatively simple

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system for understanding how cells interact to generate a multicellular

1 :111–143.Beylina SI, Matveeva NB, Teplov VA. Biophysics (Oxf ) 1996 ; 41 :137. 7

organism.3 The species Physarum polycephalum was chosen for experiments in the GrAB Biolab, since it is a well-known model organism and has been used for

Costello, B. de L., & Adamatzky, A.

many studies focusing on movement and non-muscular mobility but also

( 2014 ). Routing of Physarum

because of its chemotactic behaviour.4 Furthermore, Physarum was used for

polycephalum “signals” using simple chemicals. Communicative and

designing novel sensing, computing and actuating architectures by loading it

Integrative Biology, 7.

with magnetic particles and positioning it in a magnetic field. Thereby, it was

doi :10.4161/cib. 28543

possible to route active growing zones of slime moulds and shape the 8 Zhu L, Aono M, Kim SJ, Hara M.

topology of its protoplasmic networks.5 In other experiments with Physarum

Amoeba-based computing for

the chemotaxis toward simple organic chemicals was assessed and the

traveling salesman problem : long-

organism routed signals at a series of junctions by applying chemicals. 6, 7

term correlations between spatially separated individual cells of

Additionally, the plasmodial phase of Physarum has been used to solve a

Physarum polycephalum.

wide range of computationally hard problems such as maze-solving, the

Biosystems. 2013 ;112 :1–10. Tsuda S, Aono M, Gunji YP. Robust and

travelling salesman problem, calculation of optimal graphs, construction of

emergent Physarum logical-

logical gates and arithmetic circuits, sub-division of spatial configurations of

computing. Biosystems.

data points and robot control.8, 9

2004 ;73 : 45 – 55. doi : 10.1016 /j.biosystems. 2003.08.001.

Some architectural groups have also chosen slime moulds as a model for

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new organic approaches in the field of “living architecture“. One group pursued the aim of being able to maintain a continuous exchange of matter and energy between itself and the environment, to be able to modify itself Aono M, Hara M, Aihara K, & Munakata T. Amoeba-based

and adapt to the external and internal condition. So they investigated the

emergent computing : Combinatorial

construction of a new relationship between the human and environment, in

optimization and autonomous meta-

which the architecture becomes the medium to build a negotiation between

problem solving. International journal of Unconventional

the parts 10. Another group was working on a project called ”Slime mould

Computing, 2009 ; 6( 2 ): 89 –108.

architecture in Venice“. Using slime mould as their conceptual metaphor,

9

they identified it as a versatile organism with an adaptive lifecycle that

Tsuda S, Zauner K-P, et al. et al.

changes according to the availability of food resources ( similar to the

Robot control : From silicon circuitry to cells. Lect Notes Comput Sci.

situation in Venice ). The resulting form will provide spaces that can be used

2006 ; 3853 : 20 – 32. Gough J, Jones G,

adaptively for different types of housing, shared facilities, communal lounges,

Lovell C, Macey P, Morgan H, Revilla F, Spanton R, Tsuda S, Zauner K-P.

facilitating the emergence of common interests among fellow local

Integration of cellular biological

Venetians.11

structures into robotic systems. Acta Futura. 2009 ; 3 : 43 – 9.

Physarum polycephalum is a plasmodial slime mould, basically an enormous single cell with thousands of nuclei. It is formed when individual

10 CodesInTheClouds design studio –

cells swarm together and fuse.12 P. polycephalum ordinarily inhabits forests

prof. Liss C Werner Dessau Institute

in many parts of the world. It has a complex life cycle but is usually found in

of Architecture :

its vegetative stage, a plasmodium ( a single cell, visible by an unaided

http ://temporaryautonomous architecture.blogspot.co.at/2011/1

eye ).13 During the foraging behaviour of Physarum, which includes

2 /citc-ii-slime-mold-team-midterm-

undirected and tree-like growth, the plasmodium makes blob-like colonies on

review.html

sources of nutrients. The colonies are connected as a single organism by a 11 SLIME MOLD ARCHITECTURE IN VENICE – Code : A0814E Y. M. Loh / Z.

network of protoplasmic tubes. Cytoplasm is streamed rhythmically back and forth through the network of tubular elements, circulating nutrients and

H. Qiu / F. Askari / J. Karakiewicz / K. Solanki / K. J. Hansen / P. A. Montero / S. Ghafouri / T. Kvan http ://www.cityvisionweb.com/com petition/a0814e/ 12 http ://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ protista/slimemolds.html 13 S. L. Stephenson and H. Stempen, Myxomycetes : A Handbook of Slime Molds, Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2000.

Life cycle of Physarum polycephalum ( modified after Zlir’a – own work and public domain, Wikimedia Commons )

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

70

chemical signals. The plasmodium propagates not only according to the position of nutrients, but also in response to external gradients in light level, humidity and the general availability of water.13 The network is considered to 13 Costello, B. de L., & Adamatzky, A.

be optimal14 in terms of efficiency of spatial covering of nutrients, sensitivity

( 2014 ). Routing of Physarum

to environmental conditions, and cost-efficient transportation of nutrients

polycephalum “signals” using simple

and metabolites in the plasmodium’s body.

chemicals. Communicative and

The goal of the slime mould experiments within the GrAB Project was

Integrative Biology, 7. doi :10.4161/cib. 28543

first to cultivate the model organism Physarum, to be able to grow it in

14

different environments, and then to observe and analyse the slime mould’s

T. Nakagaki, H. Yamada, and T. Ueda,

behaviour. There are two main areas of research that could greatly expand

“Interaction between Cell Shape and Contraction Pattern in the Physarum

current knowledge in slime mould behaviour and use. First, three-

Plasmodium,” Biophysical Chemistry,

dimensional growth of slime moulds which in turn concentrates on vertical

84( 3 ), 2000 pp. 195 – 204. T. Nakagaki, H. Yamada, and A. Tóth, “Path Finding by Tube Morphogenesis in an Amoeboid Organism,” Biophysical Chemistry, 92(1– 2 ), 2001 pp. 47 – 52. oi :10.1016 /S03014622( 01 )00179-X.

growth and on growth in three-dimensional grids. Second, the growth patterns of the organism were studied in order to use slime mould as a co-designer. For the GrAB research the slime mould was soley used as a tool to generate optimised patterns, which can then be translated into architectural structures. Three-dimensional growth of Slime Moulds Until now Physarum Polycephalum has been used to solve shortest path problems, creating complicated networks between nutrient sources optimising for efficiency, fault tolerance and cost. However, these experiments were limited to topological surfaces. The research GrAB focused on was the three-dimensional growth of slime mould in order to prove similar growth methodology and resource management results as in planar environments. Vertical growth The first stage of the investigation into the possibility of three-dimensional growth of slime moulds led to research of the vertical growth capabilities of these organisms. To this end, whether slime moulds can climb up strings, thereby growing in opposition to gravity, was investigated. Slime mould

Physarum polycephalum http ://www.carolina-science.com/

Dish Substrate

Glass Jar, aluminium foil

100 x100 x100 mm

Agar-Agar powder

2 spoons

100% cotton string Food

Inlay

Oat flakes Distilled H2O

200 ml

Plexiglass

2 sheets, 1 x 20 x 40 mm

Experiment ingredients

Experimentation

71

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

72

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

73

The agar-agar mixture is poured into a clean glass jar, resulting in a 10 mm thick layer. The inlay structure is prepared by winding the cotton string around the plexiglass sheets with an approximate spacing of 50 mm. The structure is then fixed in the jar by submerging the bottom plexiglass sheet in the agar-agar and aligning the top Plexiglass sheet with the top of the jar. The jar and containing structure is then placed in an oven and heated for 20 min at 160°C for sterilisation. After the jar has cooled down the slime mould is positioned at the bottom of the structure. Oat flakes are placed at the bottom as well as on the top of the inlay structure.

Date

Growth

Contamination Notes

28.06. 2014

-

-

Experimentation started

02.07. 2014

+

-

Slime moulds grows on the string

06.07. 2014

+

+

Slime moulds grows on the string, agar-agar contaminated

Growth progress

Although the slime mould was contaminated before the food source at the top of the structure was reached, the organism was clearly seen to have reached the top level. The experiment showed the capabilities of the slime mould to grow on cotton strings and on vertical surfaces. Furthermore the slime mould was able to bridge gaps between individual strings. The bridged distance in this experiment was approximately 1 mm.

Growing slime mould in the z-axis

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74

ree-dimensional growth After proving the possibility of vertical growth the second stage of the investigation was conducted. The goal was to research whether threedimensional growth of slime moulds would follow the same patterns as in the commonly seen planar growth of slime moulds. The hypothesis was that, given ideal conditions, the slime mould would spread through the threedimensional space equally in all directions. Possible deformations of the circular spreading could be based on gravity or irregularities in the workspace. After finding food it would choose the shortest path in the three dimensions. To guarantee equal growth of the organism in a volume it would be necessary to suspend the slime mould in a carrier material. This substrate needs to support the slime mould structurally without interfering and/or constraining its movement as would for example liquids with high viscosity. This, however, is hard to achieve because of the aerobic nature of the organism and its transformation to its dormant state under adverse conditions. Given these circumstances it was decided to use fine threedimensional grid structures. The slime mould would on one hand be limited to surfaces but at the same time uphold three-dimensional characteristics. Furthermore, the fine grid would allow for bridging gaps between the individual scaffold elements. A 3D regular grid with the dimensions 50 x 30 x 30 mm was printed. Two approaches for the placement of the slime mould and the oak flakes were tested. In the first case, the slime mould was placed at the edge of the grid and the oats in the middle, and in the second cube vice versa. The first arrangement would answer how a slime mould spreads into a structural volume and the second would answer how such an organism spreads throughout an area. The oats were placed at various locations in the grid and also differed in size. Slime mould

Physarum polycephalum http ://www.carolina-science.com/

Dish Food

Containment box ( Polypropylene )

200 x150 x 80 mm

Oat flakes Distilled H2O

Inlay

3D printed mesh

50 x 30 x 30 mm

Experiment ingredients

Experimentation

75

After difficulties of 3D-printing filigree geometry, the progress of this experiment became dependent on the extensive optimisation of the printing process. The aim was to generate a regular three-dimensional grid with as thin connection struts as possible. These dimensions were chosen to create a visual confirmation of the growth process. After successfully tweaking the 3D-printer to extrude the necessary grid, it was sterilised and placed within a containment box. This box was fitted with a humidifier connection aperture and drainage holes for condensed water. Sterilised oats were placed in the two grids in the predefined locations and then moistened with H2O. Finally, the slime mould was positioned in the centre of one grid and on the edge of the other grid.

Date

Growth

Contamination Notes

28.07. 2015

-

-

Experimentation started

29.07. 2015

+

-

Slime mould grew at the edges / new slime mould piece added on the opposite side/watered and oats added closer to slime mould

30.07. 2015

-

-

Little growth at the edges / no visible growth to the inner oats

03.08. 2015

+

+

Visible growth of the slime mould at the edges – oats inside

05.08. 2015

+

+

Visible growth on both sides, slime mould grew on grid / oats

the cube contaminated ( Cleaned )

inside the cube contaminated ( Cleaned ) 07.08. 2015

-

+

No visible growth on both side, slime mould grew on grid / one side fully contaminated / whole cube cleaned and sterilised

10.08. 2015

-/-

-/-

Two cubes are sterilised with %70 alcohol, cubes watered Cube 1 : slime mould placed in the centre of the cube Cube 2 : Slime mould placed at the grid edges wet oat pieces are placed around the slime mould

11.08. 2015

-/+

-/-

Cube 1 : no visible growth ( difficult to observe because of grid depth ) Cube 2 : little visible growth

12.08. 2015

-/+

-/-

Cube 1 : no visible growth ( hard to observe because of grid depth ) Cube 2 : little visible growth both cubes watered and more slime mould transferred from other cultures

13.08. 2015

+/+

-/-

Cube 1 : little visible growth Cube 2 : little visible growth both cubes watered and more oats added and more slime mould transferred from other cultures / Packed for the MR-imaging.

Growth progress of slime mould during the first phase of the 3D grid experiment.

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76

Conclusion Slime mould can grow in a given 3D structure. This could be demonstrated

3D model of the cube, 

by experiments which were conducted with 3D printed white cubes. Placing

dimensions of the 3D Grid

the slime mould into these very small boxes and into the grid with the oats proved to be very difficult, even though the slime mould was next grown successfully in a follow-up experiment using a 3D-printed black structure in 3 cm

the same atmospheric conditions. In summary, it did not grow very well in the white cubes. The oats got contaminated because the slime mould took a long time to

5 cm 3 mm

3 cm

spread through the 3D grid. The distance of gaps in the white grid was 3 mm instead of the 2 mm of the black structure grid, and one could speculate whether the larger gap was the reason why the slime mould did not spread

Growing slime mould in cube,  photo of the experiment Oat Flakes

Slimemould

very well. Since the gaps of the grid were bigger than in the black grid the water could not remain between the 3D printed parts without dripping off. So the surface could not stay sufficiently humid for the slime mould to spread.  First the slime mould was placed in the middle and the oats on the outer borders of the cube. The spacing of the 3 mm cube struts seemed to be too far for the slime mould to sense the bait. It was assumed that in a follow-up experiment the grid would be denser, approximately 2 mm or less, the oats closer to each other, and the slime mould would be able to grow fully into the 3D grid. Further, for easy handling, detachable layers are beneficial for

Cube material PLA (polyactic acid)

placing the slime mould and the oats, and so they were introduced in the subsequent stage of experimentation. Additionally, the growth of the slime mould can be better observed within each detachable layer.  Slime mould as Co-creator in architecture Multi-directional growth of the slime mould implies that it can create a threedimensional structure which directly relates to architecture. Thus the singled-cell organism slime mould can become the co-designer in such an experiment. As a co-designer, the slime mould can provide circulation patterns or spatial/programmatic arrangements. The idea was to let the slime mould grow within a 3D spatial scale model of the historic site of Fort Maunsell. The Maunsell Sea Fort of the Thames Estuary was chosen as an exemplary ‘location’ to redevelop and renovate. The slime mould should investigate both the interior of the individual buildings as well as the overall structure of the fort.  The Maunsell Forts are a small configuration of 7 platforms formerly joined with metal grate bridging connections in the Thames river mouth. They were built to block and to report German air raids during the Second World War. Built during this war and operated by the army and navy the forts

Experimentation

77

were named after their designer, Guy Maunsell. The structures were decommissioned in the late 1950s and later used for other activities including pirate radio broadcasting. In a plastic mesh grid which represents a scaled ground of one platform building, oat flakes were placed to be used as architectural ‘attractors’ and were inoculated with slime mould. The result of the slime mould growth pattern was digitally photo-documented and was transferred as 3D point cloud into CAD programs for further architectural design work. It was envisioned that the slime mould could provide stimulating ideas for the transformation of the Fort Maunsell structures into new architectural spaces which could be used today for a variety of purposes. In a co-design exercise the fort could be repurposed as social centre, radio station, music school, museum or a combination of those. Slime mould on the 3rd layer. 26.03. 2015, Vienna

Maunsell Fort – Individual Building The first phase of the experimentation was slime mould growth in the interior of an individual Maunsell Fort platform building and co-designing an architectural structure with the help of slime mould. Slime mould

Physarum polycephalum http ://www.carolina-science.com/

Growth process from 20.03. 2015

Dish Substrate

Petri dish

100 x 15 mm

Coffee filters

1 cm x 5 cm cut-out stripes

Melitta White no : 2 Food

Oat flakes Distilled H2O

Inlay

Plexiglass frame and plastic mesh

50 x 50 x 2 mm

Experiment ingredients

The experiment was started with a 3D-printed frame of the floor plan of one of the Maunsell fort towers composed of four layers, in the scale of 1 :100. A plastic mesh was attached to each floor plan layer. All equipment had to be sterilised : petri dish, coffee filter, and oats were heated in the oven for 20 min. at 160°C; the Plexiglass frames together with the plastic meshes were sterilised with Ethanol. After placing all materials in the glovebox and re-sterilisation, the coffee filter was placed in the petri dish and moistened with 4 drops of H2O. The first Plexiglass frame and plastic mesh were then placed on top of the coffee filter inside the petri dish. The grid was moistened and slime mould and oats are placed on the grid. The next four layers were placed on top of each other following the same procedure.

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78

Maunsell Sea Fort Redsandsforts Date

Growth

Contamination Notes

13.03. 2015

-

-

Experimentation started

16.03. 2015

+

-

Growth up to 3 rd layer

18.03. 2015

+

-

Growth up to 4 th layer

23.03. 2015

+

-

Growth on all layers

26.03. 2015

+

-

Growth out of the frames

27.03. 2015

+

+

Healthy culture, contamination on Plexiglass

31.03. 2015

+

+

Fully contaminated culture

Growth progress of the experiment

The slime mould successfully grew throughout the entire grid structure. Point cloud extracted from

Vertical growth, horizontal growth and diagonal growth could be observed.

photogrametry.

The organism could bridge the 2 mm distance between the grid layers. Growth conditions could be optimised by using a humidifier that led to a healthy growth time of 20 days. Then contamination with fungal mold started on the Plexiglass frame. After the culture was well developed, a simple photogrammetric process was used to extract a digital point cloud. To this end each layer was photographed 10 –15 times from different angles. The resulting images were then merged using Agisoft and Autodesk Memento to create 3D object data. Following that, the slime mould was digitally extracted from the plastic grid and irrelevant data cut from the image. Furthermore the dimensions of the slime mould point cloud were adjusted to the dimensions of the Maunsell fort in order to superimpose the data onto a 3D model of the fort. The slime mould data was then used to help design structural inlays for the fort.

Fort Maunsell architectural programme ENTRANCE EXIT WAR MUSEUM EXHIBITION SPACE CONFERANCE ROOM WC DORMITORY STUDENT TUTORS STUFF RADIO STATION MEETING ROOM RECORD ROOM WC SUMMER SCHOOL OF MUSIC LECTURE ROOMS WORKSHOP ROOMS INSTRUMENT ROOMS DEPO FOOD LAB CAFETERIA RESTAURANT BAR

Experimentation

79

Maunsell Fort – Bridging Towers In this second part, the aim of this experiment was to create an optimised connection between the Maunsell Fort towers and designing a landscape pattern which will provide outdoor activities as well as bridging the towers. The slime mould was used as a tool to find optimised patterns in threedimensional space showing the connection between different floors of different buildings according to the placement of oats. Slime mould

Physarum polycephalum http ://www.carolina-science.com/

Dish

Containment box ( Polypropylene )

Food

200 x150 x 80 mm

Oat flakes Distilled H2O

Inlay

3D printed mesh

6 sheets 100 x 70 x 3 mm

EOSINT P760 Polymer laser sintering system Experiment ingredients

The 3D meshes had to be printed at an external company because of the filigree geometry. The polymer laser sintering method was used since it doesn’t rely on scaffold structures that would interfere with the geometry. Further, this printing technology allows printing in sub-millimetre dimensions in all planes. Before the experiment could start the containment box and the grids had to be pre-processed. First the containment box was fitted with a humidifier access point and drainage holes for condensed water. Second the grid had to be connected to the containment box using styrofoam inlays so that it could be sent securely to the MRI facility. Then all equipment, the 3D meshes and the containment box were sterilised with ethanol and placed in the glove box. After an additional sterilisation the slime mould and sterilised food ( 20 min 160°C ) were moistened and placed in strategic points on each layer of the grid. During the growth process the styrofoam inlays were extracted from the box and were added again prior to postal transfer to the MRI facility.

Figure 20 : how the slime mould connects to architecture

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

80

Experimentation

81

Overview of slime mould experiments in 3D grid environments

Step 1 : Creating a 3D grid scale model of a

Step 2 : Placing slime mould into a

Step 3 : Growing slime mold using oats as attractors to

Maunsell Fort building using mesh layers.

mesh layer of the 3D grid.

generate a volumetric arrangement for the building.

Step 6 : Tracing the growth pattern of the

Step 7: 3D model from point cloud data.

slime mold, and consequently overlaying this

Step 8 : 3D model superimposed on the building layout.

with the point cloud data to improve accuracy.

Step 11 : A CAD model of the Maunsell Fort

Step 12 : 3D printed grid with Maunsell Fort

inside a 3D grid was created for the second

placed inside container with humidity

phase of the experiment.

regulation.

Step 15 : Point cloud data

Step 16 : 3D model of the connections

superimposed on the

between the individual buildings of the fort.

Maunsell Fort layout.

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82

Step 4 : Point cloud extracted from

Step 5 : Point cloud data superimposed on

photogrametry.

the building layout.

Step 9 : Interior view of the redesigned

Step 10 : Cross section of the

Fort Maunsell building.

redesigned Fort Maunsell building.

Step 13 : Growth of slime mold

Step 14 : Point cloud extracted from photogrametry.

throughout the 3D printed grid.

Step 17: Side view of the redesigned Maunsell Fort.

Experimentation

83

Date

Growth

Contamination Notes

23.07. 2015

-/-

-/-

Experiment started – sterilised with % 70 alcohol and after sprayed with water. Layer 1 : slime mould placed in the control tower position, oat added nearby Layer 2 : slime mould added to the music school position and oat added to the control tower, watered

24.07. 2015

+/+/-

-/-/-

Layer 1 : slime mould is healthy with little growth Layer 2 : slime mould is healthy with little growth Layer 3 : slime mould placed on the radio station position and oats added nearby / watered

27.07. 2015

-/+/+/-

-/-/-/-

Layer 1 : slime mould and oats look dried, watered Layer 2 : horizontal and vertical growth Layer 3 : slime mould placed on the radio station position and oats added nearby and wet oat added on the music school position /watered. Layer 4 : slime mould added on the 3 positions.

28.07. 2015

+/+/+/+/-/-

-/-/-/-/-/-

Layer 1 : slime mould is healthy and shows horizontal and vertical growth Layer 2 : horizontal and vertical growth Layer 3 : horizontal and vertical growth Layer 4 : slime mould placed on the control tower position. Slime mould placed on the museum position. Wet Oats are added / watered. Layer 5 : Slime mould added on the museum position in the middle. Wet oats are placed accordingly Layer 6 : Slime mould placed on the museum position / watered.

30.07. 2015

+/+/+/+/+/+ -/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers. Layer 1 : slime mould is healthy and shows horizontal and vertical growth Layer 2 : horizontal and vertical growth Layer 3 : horizontal and vertical growth Layer 4 : horizontal and vertical growth Layer 5 : horizontal and vertical growth

03.08. 2015

+/+/+/+/+/+ -/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers / watered and fresh oats added.

05.08. 2015

+/+/+/+/+/+ -/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers / watered and fresh oats added.

07.08. 2015

+/+/+/+/+/+ -/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers / watered and fresh oats added.

10.08. 2015

+/+/+/+/+/+ -/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers /

11.08. 2015

-/+/+/+/+/+

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers /

watered and fresh oats added. -/-/-/-/-/-

watered and fresh oats added. Layer 1 : lost its colour and shows a decrease in solidity 12.08. 2015

-/+/+/+/+/+

-/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers / watered and fresh oats added. Layer 1 : shows further decrease of solidity

13.08. 2015

+/-/+/+/+/+

-/-/-/-/-/-

Healthy culture / horizontal and vertical growth on all layers / watered and fresh oats added. Layer 1 : yellow colour back. Layer 2 : lost its colour and shows a decrease in solidity Packed for the MR-imaging.

Growth progress of slime mould during the second phase of the 3D grid experiment.

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

84

Conclusion The slime mould found its way through the 3D grid onto the oat flakes which were placed according to the architectural concept of the design programme. Overall, the experiment showed that the slime mould could become a codesigner to the architect and thus have its own influence on the design. The architectural concepts and rendered images were derived from the photogrammetry of the experiments which were imported into a 3D model of the Maunsell Fort. The slime mould showed that it can grow along the grid structure and that it also connected to the different layers. It grew all around the grid bars, and connected via one or more pathways to the bait, depending on the humidity levels. The more humid, the more protoplasmic tubes the slime mould produced. In comparison to growth on agar the slime mould grew slower on this grid, needing two weeks to fully develop. Developing architectural concepts in such a set-up and being in cooperation with the slime mould as path designer proved the initial hypothesis of the slime mould as a co-creator. However, it is a work intensive tool, needing a lot of attention and care for the organism. In general it could be noted that to have a slime mould as co-designer is an inspiration in an artistic research process because the outcome will always be unexpected. It was inspiring in terms of shape and form, and there was a lot of room for interpretation for all scales of an architectural concept. The slime mould produced different varieties of connections as well as a straight line for the shortest connection. In the GrAB experimentation the architect developed the paths further in several sketches to come up with a good design. The slime mould designs using the same parameters had a different outcome each time depending on environmental conditions. When seeing the slimy and yellow creature for the first time one might be repulsed by it, but developing a close relationship with the organism and seeing the experiment functioning changes the perspective and towards the end one might find him- or herself even favouring the colour yellow. With respect to the agency of the slime mould, the results were all new and unexpected, being created by a different living culture little known to us. Another reason for the use of slime mould instead of computer simulations was that the slime mould’s intelligence could mediate a glitch which would be more difficult to program unless the software could be made as resilient as the organism used for the concept development.

Experimentation

85

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Architectural design concept derived in collaboration with the slime mould

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

87

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Everything in life changes and transforms : this is the balance in nature. However, the buildings we design stand still and do not change. Our ambition to create a better environment is currently against the cycle of nature and often destroys it. Why are our designs not able to adapt to and evolve with changing conditions? To make this possible, we can observe and learn from nature. From macro to micro, all the knowledge and inspiration we require is in Nature ; we just need to look a bit closer. Ceren Yönetim 

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

89

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the ree Dimensional Growth of the Slime Mould Physarum Polycephalum Linnea Hesse1, Barbara Imhof 2, Ceren Yönetim2, Jochen Leupold 3, Angelo Vermeulen2 & Thomas Speck1

1

Slime moulds, such as Physarum polycephalum, discover food highly

Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg,

efficiently using their chemotactic behaviour by growing in optimised

Botanic Garden, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg and Freiburg

networks. Out of a biological point of view, the “intelligent” growth of slime

Center for Interactive Materials and

moulds is extremely impressive since it is accomplished by a singular giant

Bioinspired Technologies ( FIT ), Freiburg, Germany 2 University of Applied Arts Vienna –

cell formed when individual cells gather and fuse to a polyenergid plasmodium ( Bresinsky et al., 2008 ). Separate Physarum colonies are

Growing As Building : Arts-based

connected by a network of protoplasmatic tubes forming a single organism.

research project

This network is arranged in an optimal way in terms of cost efficient

3 Medical Physics, Department of

transportation of nutriants and metabolites and the spatial covering of food

Radiology, University Medical Center

sources ( Nakagaki et al. 2000 ).

Freiburg

Fig. 1 : Three-dimensional model

This highly efficient multi-directional growth of Physarum polycephalum could be a strong tool to generate optimised patterns which can be

grids of the historic site of Fort

translated into architectural structures. In order to analyse its potential as a

Maunsell in the glove box with

co-designer, the team of the GrAB Project created a 3D spatial scale model

grown slime mould

of the historic site of Fort Maunsell to let the slime mould grow on and inside it. The idea is that P. polycephalum should “investigate” and colonize the overall structure of the fort. This could help identifying an optimised connection between Maunsell Fort towers and designing a landscape pattern which provide outdoor activities as well as bridging the towers. The idea of the GrAB Project is that “In a co-design exercise the fort could be repurposed as a social centre, radio station, music school, museum or a combination of those.” For this purpose, a three-dimensional model grid of the historic site of Fort Maunsell was 3D printed ( Fig. 1 ). The grid is built up of 6 sheets, size 120 x 80 x 50 mm. Sterilised food ( oat flakes ) and the slime mould were placed in strategic points on each layer of the grid. Physarum polycephalum was used as a tool to find optimized patterns in a three-dimensional space showing the connection between different floors of different buildings according to the location of food sources. In order to evaluate the multi-directional growth of P. polycephalum, the

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90

Fig. 2 : 4T Bruker Biospec 94 /20 small animal scanner.

colonised grid was sent to the Plant Biomechanics Group/Botanical Garden ( University Freiburg ) for MRI-analysis. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI ) was performed at the Department of Radiology of the University Medical Center Freiburg ( Medical Physics ), a cooperation partner of the Plant Biomechanics Group. MRI is based on detecting signals from atoms having a nuclear magnetic momentum or “spin”. Due to its high biological and natural abundance ( Borisjuk et al. 2012, Hornak 2008 ), the signals were generated from the hydrogen isotope protium (1H ). The imaging of the threedimensional model grid of the historic site of Fort Maunsell revealed some difficulties when using Magnetic Resonance Imaging : (1 ) The grid was split in half upon its arrival. The three top layers were separated from the bottom layers holding the feet of the model towers. ( 2 ) The 3D grid had to be cut to reduce its size due to spatial limitations of the magnet bore ( Fig. 2 ). Samples made out of the three-dimensional model grid of the historic site of Fort Maunsell were imaged with a 9.4T Bruker Biospec 94 /20 small animal scanner, equipped with a quadrature volume coil with 7 cm inner diameter ( Fig. 2 ) For underlying principle of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging ( MRI ) technology we refer to Hornak ( 2008 ). Four image series ( S1, S2, S3 and S4 ) were acquired using different fields of view ( FOV) and spatial resolutions ( table 1 ). The accumulation of P. polycephalum, that become visible in all image series are positioned along the model grid according to Figure 3. Experiment

FOV [ mm]

Resolution [ µm]

Image acquisition time

S1

50 x 30 x 20

50 x 50 x 50

2h

S2

60 x 60 x 30

120 x 120 x 120

1 h 23 m

S3

100 x 60 x 30

200 x 200 x 200

26 m

S4

30 x 30 x 15

37 x 37 x 37

7 h 6 min

Fig. 3 : Positioning of the slime mould accumulations on the threedimensional model grid of the historic site of Fort Maunsell and their display within the image series S1, S2, S3 and S4. The left half of the grid consisted of the lower three grid layers ; the right half of the grid consisted of the upper three grid layers.

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Fig. 4 : Three-dimensional growth

The high resolution of the images

pattern of the slime mould on the

leads to artefacts when segmenting

three-dimensional model grid of the

the slime mould colony, resulting in

historic site of Fort Maunsell. The

non-smooth 3D Models.

pattern was reconstructed to a 3D model using the image sequence S1 and S4 by application of the open source software package “3D Slicer” Fig. 4

for image analysis and visualisation.

Fig. 5

Fig. 5 : Three-dimensional growth

reduced in comparison to S1 and S4,

pattern of the slime mould on the

leading to 3D models of the

three-dimensional model grid of the

multidirectional growth of the slime

historic site of Fort Maunsell. The

mould with a smoother surface.

pattern was reconstructed into a 3D

Image artefacts resulting from non-

model of the image sequence S2

linear field gradients, due to the

and S3 using the open source

large field of view, lead to

software package “3D Slicer” for

curvatures within the models.

image analysis and visualisation. The resolution of the images was

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The three dimensional growth of P. polycephalum on the model grid was reconstructed using the open source software package “3D Slicer” for image analysis and visualisation ( Fedorov et al. 2012 ; http ://www.slicer.org ). For this a fast segmentation of the slime mould colony was obtained by using the threshold effect of the editor module. Models of S1, S2, S3 and S4 were created with the model-maker module using the label map volumes created with the editor module ( Fig. 4 and 5 ). The background noise is increased within the image stacks S1 and S4 due to the high resolution of the images. This leads to artefacts when segmenting the slime mould colony resulting in non-smooth 3D Models ( Fig. 4 ). The signal-to-noise ratio is increased in the References Borisjuk, L., Rolletschek, H., & Neuberger, T. ( 2012 ). Surveying the plant’s world by magnetic

image stacks of S2 and S3 leading to 3D models with a smoother surface ( Figure 5 ). Image artefacts resulting from non-linear field gradients, due to the large field of view ( FOV ), lead to curvatures within the models S2 and S3.

resonance imaging. The Plant

All models include artefacts caused by air-tissue interfaces which are

Journal, 70(1 ), 129 –146.

unavoidable due to the sample setup.

Bresinsky, A., Körner, C., Kadereit, J.W., Neuhaus, G., Sonnewald, U., 2008. Strasburger – Lehrbuch der

The first analysis of the multidirectional growth of the slime mould using magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) reveals that it is possible to track the

Botanik, 36th ed. Spektrum

growth of P. polycephalum on and in the three-dimensional model grid of the

Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg.

historic site of Fort Maunsell. Nevertheless, further analysis should be made

Fedorov A., Beichel R., Kalpathy-

in order to improve the interpretation of the rather complex MR-images and

Cramer J., Finet J., Fillion-Robin J-C.,

to reduce uncertainties due to artefacts into the 3D models of the slime

Pujol S., Bauer C., Jennings D., Fennessy F., Sonka M., Buatti J.,

mould. The imaging method used here should be further optimised for this

Aylward S.R., Miller J.V., Pieper S.,

application and can only be considered as a “proof of concept”. MRI is a

Kikinis R. 3D Slicer as an Image Computing Platform for the

strong tool for understanding new bio-based building materials, including

Quantitative Imaging Network. Magn

biological materials such as plant fibres ( hemp- or flax-fibres ), grains, straw

Reson Imaging. 2012 Nov ; 30( 9 ): 1323-41. PMID: 22770690.

or oyster mushroom mycelium. It is also a powerful tool for the ( semi-)

( http ://www.slicer.org ) [ 20-08-

quantitative analysis of the multidirectional growth of living slime moulds

2015 ]

providing optimised circulation patterns, or efficient spatial arrangements

Hornak, J. P. ( 2008 ). The basics of

which can be implemented into bio-inspired architecture.

MRI, 2008. URL http ://www. cis. rit. edu/htbooks/mri/index. html, 68.

Acknowledgements T. Nakagaki, H. Yamada, and T. Ueda, “Interaction between Cell Shape and

The authors thank “Growing As Building : Arts-based research project”

Contraction Pattern in the Physarum

funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF in the frame of PEEK 2013 ( BI, CY,

Plasmodium,” Biophysical Chemistry,

AV, TS) as well as the DFG Priority program SPP 1420 ‘Biomimetic Materials

84( 3 ), 2000 pp. 195 – 204.

Research : Functionality by Hierarchical Structuring of Materials’ of the German Research Foundation ( DFG ) and the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 “Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture” funded by the German Research Foundation ( DFG ) for support ( LH, TS ).

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The idea of combining nature with architecture is deeply interesting ; the idea of pushing forward the limits of both in order to make them interact in such a harmonic way. Architects can design organic and unimaginable shapes and this makes me envisage an amazing future. Laura Mesa Arango.

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

95

Material systems Biological materials always have different hierarchical levels of organisation. In trees, order is present from a scale of several metres down to the nanoscale, 10 –9 m. The change in scale and order is linked to emergent properties that appear on every level. Functionality is inbuilt in the material and also refers to the hierarchical level. Widely published research is available on wood and other plant materials.15, 16, 17 Due to the highly structured nature and the resulting complex properties, biological materials are often referred to as material systems. The differentiation between 15 Peter Fratzl, “Biological Materials with Hierarchical Structure and

material and system in biology is blurred. Biological materials are lightweight, not only due to their structure but

Mechanical Function – Lecture Notes”

because of the chemical elements colony, resulting relatively light elements

(Älvdalen, Sweden, 2006 ).

dominate : carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur etc. The highly

16

structured materials are usually anisotropic, and well adapted to a specific

Anne George, Tom Masselter, and

use and location. The processing of those materials takes place under

Thomas Speck, “Advances in Biomimetics,” ed. Anne George

ambient conditions, at a temperature range from -20 to +40°C. The transport

( April 26, 2011 ): 185 – 210,

distances to the organism are usually very short. All these characteristics

doi :10.5772 /574. 17 T. Masselter et al., “Biomimetic Fibre-Reinforced Composites

make biological materials very low energy materials. To introduce some of those aspects into technology, research has to concentrate on the introduction of new structural levels at specific scales.

Inspired by Branched Plant Stems”

Additionally, the sourcing of raw materials and components that are locally

( June 15, 2010 ): 411– 420,

available in the environment has to be facilitated, and low energy processing

doi :10. 2495 /DN100361.

has also to be investigated to a greater extent. One of the materials that are discussed in this context is mushroom mycelium. The mycelium experiments target the creation of solid building material or even building elements out of waste products from wood or other plant material by using it as scaffold and nourishment for the organism. As mycelium grows, it consolidates the fragmented matter. Here growth of an organism is used to create connective tissue between otherwise formless matter. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce the form before the process can start. Different methods for form definition and containing were used, such as ready-made hard plastic templates or 3D printed, styrofoam templates and soft templates of different fabrics. Two different species of fungi and different substrates and structures were explored : straw, hay, wood chips and paper. The substrate also consisted of organic and former living material systems, so a basic structural level is present in the system from the very start. The mycelium experiments are not form generating, but matter-generating processes. Growth is used only in a specific timeframe, with the final product no longer being alive.

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

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For a few years mycelium has become a popular organism to create 18

biologically generated building materials by using readily available resources

http ://thelivingnewyork.com/

( such as straw and wood chips ). Many of the existing experiments focus on

hy-fi.htm

creating volumes that can be used as bricks to emulate, for example,

19

traditional brick walls, as used for the Hi-Fi towers inside the Museum of

http ://philross.org

Modern Art, New York by “The Living”18 or as vault structures seen in Phil Ross’ work “Mycotecture”19.

Oyster Mycelium substrates, mixing and grown material

The GrAB mycelium experiments started with a similar modular approach, but with a twist. It was to investigate how to go beyond the square brick, and generate differentiated shapes which possible require less material imput. For this purpose the GrAB team experimented both with hard and soft templates. Templates were either ready-made, or 3D printed. The advantages of the different template systems were then compared in order to find an efficient way to make mycelium modules that can be assembled into other morphologies and architectures. Making Oyster Substrate At the beginning of each experiment all equipment was cleaned and sterilised with 70% ethanol. 30 grams of straw were cut into 3 – 5 cm pieces : The shorter the pieces the more accurate the form of the template ; the longer the pieces the more stable the structure. Then the straw was mixed with 10% of its weight in wheat bran ( 3 g wheat bran for 30 g of straw ) and four single sheets of old newspaper. This mix was put into an airtight, heat resistant canister (a preserving jar ) and boiling water added. The lid was closed and the mix soaked for one to three days. Thereafter, the water was drained and the substrate mixed with oyster mycelium ( approx. two handfuls ). Then the mix was packed into the template and wrapped, if necessary, with plastic foil. For optimum growth conditions the template was placed in darkness for 3 weeks, in a fridge at 17°C. The structure was finished when the mycelium was clearly seen as a sheet of white all over the substrate. The longer the structure was left to grow the more substrate was converted into mycelium. When exposing the mycelium to sunlight mushrooms will form given sufficient water in the substrate.

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Making Reishi Substrate The wheat grain was soaked during the night with some warm water (12 –18 Mycelium experiment – Grain-Zeolite Substrate

hours ). The grain was covered completely with water, the lid of the plastic box was closed, and on the next day the grain was poured into a filter. Then the zeolite was moistened with some water ( the mixture should not drip ). After that, the grain was mixed with gypsum and the zeolite added to it. For sterilisation the substrate was put into a plastic box ( without closing it completely so that hot air could evaporate ) and into a steamer for 20 minutes at 100°C. After the substrate was cooled down again it could be inoculated with the Reishi plug spawn. Depending on its volume the mycelium needed three weeks to three months to fully spread throughout the substrate. The longer the mycelium was left to grow the more material was used by the organism, making the element lighter and stronger when dried. The best growth condition was a dark, warm ( 27°) and humid environment. To increase the stability of the structure sterilised straw was added to the substrate. The experiments of the Biolab which went beyond the state of the art concerned scaffold templates and soft templates. The solid templates played an important role as introduction and contribution to current research. Solid tubular templates were also used to investigate the mechanical stress resistance of growing mycelium. The findings of these tests are summarised in “Mechanical Tests with Mycelium Stabilized Paper-Straw-Grain-Samples”. The GrAB team expert Thomas Speck conducted the mechanical tests of mycelium tubes at the Plant Biomechanics Group in Freiburg, at the University of Freiburg and the Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies.

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Mechanical Tests with Mycelium Stabilized Paper-Straw-Grain-Samples Stefanie Schmier 1,2, Sandra Eckert 1, 2, Viktor Gudenus 3, Marco Caliaro 1, 2, Georg Bauer 1, 2 & Thomas Speck 1, 2, 3

1

During the last decades biological and bio-based materials have attracted

Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg,

increasing interest in various areas of technical application, in particular in

Botanic Garden, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg and 2

architecture. Beside such traditional building and insulating materials such as timber, cork and straw, ( highly ) processed bio-based material blends

Freiburg Center for Interactive

became the focus of interest. Examples include fibre reinforced composites

Materials and Bioinspired

in which natural fibres, such as e.g. hemp- or flax-fibres, are embedded

Technologies ( FIT ), Freiburg, Germany

either in bio-based matrix materials, e.g. polylactid acid ( PLA ) and lignin, or in technical polymeric matrices. Other examples are very light-weight bio-

3 University of Applied Arts Vienna –

based foamy materials and micro-laminated structures ( Smitthipong et al.

Growing As Building : Arts-based

2014, Nachtigall & Pohl 2013, Knippers & Speck 2012, Pohl 2010, Masselter

research project

et al. 2008, Milwich et al. 2006 ). In addition to the very good physical and mechanical properties a high potential of sustainability is often attributed to these materials and material blends. This potential definitely exists, however it has to be tested and quantified for each material separately ( Antony et al. 2012, 2014 ). An interesting strategy in the field of bio-based approaches deals with the involvement of living organisms either in the entire process of architectural design or in the production of bio-based materials ( Armstrong 2015, Gruber 2011, see also articles in this book ). The latter approach was used for the fabrication of bio-based material blends stabilised by oyster mushroom mycelium, which were then tested for some of their physical and mechanical properties. For testing the mechanical performance of mycelium stabilised bio-based material blends tubular samples were produced. The substrate consisted of newspaper ( 75 g wet ), grains of rye ( Secale cereale ) ( 20 g wet ), straw ( Marschhof Langhalm, Rakuten.de ) ( 2.5 g wet ), and spawn of oyster mushroom mycelium ( Pleurotus ostreatus ) ( 6. 25 g ). The newspaper was cut into small pieces with an area of appoximately 4.0 cm² then mixed with grain and straw, and boiled water was poured over the substrate for sterilisation. After cooling the substrate was shredded in a blender and then

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mixed with oyster mushroom mycelium. The mixture was poured into six PVC tubes of 10 cm length and 4 cm diameter. The tubes were stored in a fridge in the Growing As Building lab at 17° C and kept in darkness to make the mycelium grow and to keep infection from other fungus spores and Fig. 1 : ( A ) Top-view on a tubular

bacteria low. After a growth period of one month the tubular mycelium-

mycelium-substrate-sample

substrate-samples were extracted from the PVC tubes and the samples were

showing the oyster mushroom mycelium, ( B ) cross-sections of a

dried for one week under ambient lab conditions ( temperature 20 – 23°,

tubular mycelium-substrate-sample

relative humidity 55 – 62%) at the Growing As Building lab. Due to desiccation

showing the substrate consisting of

the dimensions of the samples reduced during drying by ca. 20% in length

straw, rye-grains and paper embedded in the oyster mushroom mycelium. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

and diameter, to a final sample size 80 mm x 32 mm ( Fig. 1 ). For the mechanical tests the tubular mycelium-substrate-samples were taken to the labs of the Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg by plane for testing of some of their mechanical properties. The mechanical tests ( compression loading and impact resistance ) were performed at ambient lab conditions between 20 th and 24 th of July 2015 ( temperature 28 – 35° C, relative humidity, 60 –75%). The density of the mycelium-substrate-samples under ambient lab conditions was 305 kg/m³.

Fig. 2 : Instron testing machine used for compression tests in the lab of the Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg. Most important parts are labelled in the figure. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg Fig. 3 : Still-motion images from a video recording of a compression test. Image sequence from A to H: ( A ) Start of the test and first contact of the compression punch with the sample, ( B & F ) increasing deformation during compression, ( G ) state of maximum deformation, ( H ) retraction of the compression punch. The scale bar equals 20 mm. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

The compression tests were conducted at a compression velocity of 10 mm/min on an Instron testing machine ( Instron Wolpert GmbH, Ludwigshafen, Germany, Model 4466 with a retrofit kit to inspect-DC

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standard, Hegewald & Peschke Mess- und Prüftechnik GmbH, Nossen, Germany ) equipped with a 10 kN load cell ( Fig. 2 ) ( for details see : Speck et al. 1998, Thielen et al. 2013 ). One sample was halved ( height of halved samples : 40 mm, diameter : 32 mm ) and the two halves were measured separately. In addition one entire tubular mycelium-substrate-sample ( height of entire sample : 80 mm, diameter : 32 mm ) was tested. All samples were trimmed at both ends to flatten the contact areas with the compression punch and the base plate of the Instron testing machine. The videos of the testing procedure were recorded with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 at 50 frames per second ( Fig. 3 ). Fig. 4 : Stress-strain-curve of a compression test of a of a mycelium-substrate-sample on the Instron testing machine equipped with a 10 kN force transducer, see also Fig. 3. The straight line is fitted to the initial linear part of the stressstrain-curve following the slippage phase and is used for calculating the modulus of elasticity under compressive loading. R² is the coefficient of determination of the linear fit. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

The initial linear parts of the stress-strain-curves following the slippage phase were used for calculating the modulus of elasticity under compressive loading ( MOE ). The results for MOE of the three tests range between 1.7 MPa and 2.7 MPa ( Fig. 4 ). The variations in MOE might be caused by differences in the growth of the oyster mushroom mycelium in various test samples. A critical compressive strength could not be calculated reliably as

Fig. 5 : Impact testing device used in the lab of the Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg. The most important parts are labelled in the figure. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

the samples did not fail in a brittle manner but showed several structural pre-failure events before finally giving way ( Fig. 3 ). The impact tests were conducted on a custom-made drop weight testing rig ( Fig. 5 ). The impact testing device consists of flat-ended rigid aluminium impactors, with masses of 60.5 g and 200.0 g, respectively, that are dropped from a height of 1.94 m. The kinetic energy at impact of the 60.5 g impactor was 1.14 J , and of the 200.0 g impactor 3.81 J. The samples were glued with superglue ( UHU® HART Spezialkleber ) onto a steel anvil which is mounted on a 20 kN force sensor ( 8402 – 6020, Burster Präzisionsmesstechnik GmbH & Co KG, Gernsbach, Germany ) for recording the force exerted by the impactor, transmitted through the sample at a sampling rate of 100 kHz. The whole system is mounted on a massive granite pedestal ( mass ca. 95 kg ). Releasing the impactor triggers data acquisition of the force sensor and recording by the high speed camera ( MotionPro Y4, Integrated Design Tools, Inc., Tallahassee, FL, USA. ) which recorded at a sampling rate of 9930 frames per second ( Fig. 6 ). The sample was halved ( height of halved samples : 40 mm, diameter : 32 mm ) and the two halves were measured

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separately. The halved samples were trimmed at both ends to produce flat contact areas with the steel anvil and the impactor. The non-highspeed videos were recorded with 50 frames per second using a Lumix DMC-FZ1000, and 100 frames per second using conventional mobile phone cameras. Fig. 6 : Still-motion images from a high speed video of two impact tests with a 60.5 g impactor ( Fig. 6 –1, Left hand side ) and a 200.0 g impactor ( Fig. 6 – 2, Right hand side ). Fig. 6 –1 Image sequence from A to F: ( A ) Start of the test, ( B ) first contact of the impactor with the sample, ( C ) increasing deformation during impact, ( D) state of maximum deformation, ( E– F ) bouncing back of the impactor. Fig. 6 – 2 Image sequence from A to H: ( A ) Start of the test, ( B ) first contact of the impactor with the sample, ( C & D) increasing deformation during impact, ( E ) state of maximum deformation, ( F– H ) bouncing back of the impactor. The scale bars equal 20 mm. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

The results of the impact tests proved the mycelium-substrate-samples can resist considerable impacts. In tests with a kinetic energy of 1.14 J ( 60.5 g impactor ) the sample showed only a small deformation during impact but no evidence of permanent failure ( Fig. 6 –1 ). In tests with a kinetic energy of 3.81 J ( 200.0 g impactor ) the sample was considerably compressed, bulged and showed marked permanent fissures ( Fig. 6 – 2 ). Force-time-curves show the existence of several failure events during impact demonstrating the benign failure behaviour of the mycelium-substratesamples. The impact tests prove the potential of the tested samples to be used as energy dissipating material ( Fig. 7 ).

Fig. 7: Force-time-graph of an impact test with a kinetic energy of 3.81 J ( 200.0 g impactor ), see also Fig. 6. © Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

The data presented here represent first results of mechanical tests of dried tubular mycelium-substrate-samples based on oyster mushroom mycelium grown in a substrate consisting of shredded straw, rye grains and

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paper. The results are promising in several aspects : (1 ) the samples proved to be light-weight ( density under ambient lab conditions : 305 kg /m³), ( 2 ) no typical fungal odour could be recognised, and ( 3 ) they are mechanically stable both under static compression ( MOE: 1.7 – 2.7 MPa ) and under impact tests. Further testing of the physical and mechanical properties and production of the samples under strictly controlled conditions should establish if such bio-based material blends have the potential to be used for constructions of larger size under realistic mechanical loading conditions. Acknowledgements The authors thank “Growing As Building : Arts-based research project” funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF in the frame of PEEK 2013 ( VG, TS), and the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 “Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture” funded by the German Research Foundation ( TS, SS, MC, GB, SE ) for support. We also thank Katja Stauffer for help with the layout of the figures.

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nature’s wisdom. American Journal of Botany, 93 : 1455-1465.

Thielen M., Schmitt C.N.Z., Eckert S., Speck T. & Seidel R. ( 2013 ): Structure-function relationship of

De Gruyter Open LTD, Warsaw,

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Designing an architecture which is linked to the analysis of patterns found in nature will enable us to live in a more harmonious and sustainable manner. It is possible to establish a symbiotic system where humans, nature and architecture create a new pattern in the design of existing settlements. Rafael Sánchez Herrera

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

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Solid templates This experiment tested a 3D-printed removable template and the feasibility of using modular wall segments as concept building elements. More specifically this experiment researched ; first, the compatibility of 3D-printed materials with mycelium, and second, the feasibility of removable templates for structural elements with higher design complexity. The mycelium structure was also evaluated in terms of growing conditions ( e.g. number of holes in the 3D-print, growth time ), stiffness of the mycelium element and its connection capacity to other elements. Mycelium

Reishi Mushroom

approx. two handful

www.goba.eu Grain

Wheat

200 g

Zeolite

( Panaceo )

0. 2 l

Gypsum

( without additives )

1.5 g Approx. 280 g of substrate total

Exp Size

20 x 10.5 x 16 cm

Experiment ingredients

The hollow template for a modular building element, similar to a regular triangular prism, was designed using Rhinoceros, and 3D-printed by a makerbot printer. The template was designed in a way such that it was easy to disassemble after the growing process, consisting of four separate parts, symmetrical in two planes, and with additional extrusions for easy fastening. Additionally, the shell like templates included air-ventilation holes to enable aerobic growth. The four template pieces were then individually filled with a novel mycelium substrate, merged and fastened. After three weeks the template was opened and the mycelium element evaluated.

Final result

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

106

Date

Notes

21.07. 2014

The template filled with substrate, wrapped in black foil and hung up

26.07. 2014

H2O added

31.07. 2014

H2O added

06.08. 2014

H2O added

12.08. 2014

Template opened and evaluated

22.08. 2014

Structure completely dried

Experiment development

The Reishi substrate proved to be viscose enough to fill the template completely while also providing a stable structure after the growth process was complete. However, the structure had to be dried inside the template due to adhesive properties between template and mycelium. Removal during the growth process of the mycelium could lead to a fracturing of the structure. The combination of the heavy grain used in the substrate and the short growth period resulted in a heavy mycelium element. Furthermore the humid and warm growth conditions allowed for easy infection with mould. The shape was considered useful as modular architectural structure. Further variations using the same technique allowed for different design concepts with modular hard shell templates, and led to the creation of a template for a flat mycelium panel. Also, multiple panels of curved shapes could be combined into a larger curved structure.

Visualization of an early architectural concept

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108

Architectural concepts for

Architectural visualisation

a mycelium exhibition design

of mycelium grown facades

Curved solid model and mycelium in the template

Architectural visualisation of mycelium grown facades

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Scaffold templates An entirely different strategy was explored to create mycelium modules, one without the need for external templates. Finally, an internal skeleton was created to be embedded within the mycelium substrate. This provides both a Initial proposal for mycelium grown in a basket template

physical structure to contain the mycelium and also adds structural support. Basket templates ( External scaffolding ) For the purpose of this experiment a 3D printed modular structure was designed to serve as a scaffold in the construction of a pole or column of mycelium. The aim of the following investigations was to understand the processes of mycelium growth principles and how to apply them within the architectural context. Mycelium basically transforms organic substrate into fungi tissue. It replaces dead with living matter, thereby changing the attributes of a material. This change and therefore shift in material properties was investigated during the experiments. Through this experiment in particular, the aim was to use modular 3D printed elements that can contain and serve as a support in the construction of mycelium structures until over time it changes into a self-supporting structure. Straw

“Marschhof” Langhalm 3 kg

70 g

cut 5 –10 mm Newspaper

Daily news

140 g

Scaffold

PLA, Makerbot

40 g x 8 modules

Water

bio-lab canister ( boiled )

300 g

Oyster mushroom

60 g

Mycelium

Pleurotus Ostreatus www.pilzzucht.at Exp size

7 x 7 x 42 cm

Experiment ingredients

A column structure for the growth of mycelium was designed to investigate some characteristics and to see whether this can be used as a possible construction element. In this experiment with Oyster mycelium different substrates were used in order to be able to prove their rigidity. The capacity of the mycelium to connect two components was also tested.

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Concepts for basket templates

The following qualities were investigated in this experiment : — Generation of form through structural elements ( 3D printed scaffolding ) Filling and growing mycelium in a basket template

— Structural joints and self-healing ability of the living mycelium over time.

Eight 3D modular structures were printed, then filled with substrate and wrapped in randomly perforated rapid foil. After this they were placed in a dark box and left for one month for the mycelium to grow. After they were taken out of the box and the rapid foil was removed, the mycelium was left to dry, which took one week in summer weather conditions.

Date

Notes

27.03. 2014

The structures filled with substrate, wrapped, placed in black box

30.06. 2014

The structures were taken out of the black box

01.07. 2014

The structure was unwrapped

08.07. 2014

The mycelium was completely dry

Experiment development

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Final result of grown mycelium in basket template

The mycelium grew in a free and random way towards the outside with no infected areas. Due to the scaffold structure a growth of the mycelium toward the outside was also possible as well as greater interaction between the substrate and the external environment. Furthermore, the modular shape was expected to facilitate an extension of mycelium segments after the completion of the growth process. However, experiments trying to connect two dried mycelium elements with living mycelium failed. This open scaffold structure reduced the template material significantly. It added a general structure to the mycelium while providing enough freedom for self-organisation and architectural stability was increased by the merging of the mycelium and the scaffold into a single structure. Cardboard waffle template ( Internal scaffolding ) The panel concept and the internal skeleton were finally combined into an internal scaffold waffle structure. For this template different cardboard materials were laser cut, based on a previous computer developed design. This material was chosen because it integrates easily with the substrate and could become a part of the architectural element when the mycelium is fully grown. Cardboard, as a waste product, is readily available and preserves humidity conditions for the mycelium growth process well. The experiment aimed at investigating template construction, including cardboard scaffold design and substrate filling process. It furthermore concentrates on scaffold integration and stability of the composite element. Special attention was made to the material properties during the growth process and the cardboard stability in its moist state.

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The scaffold was used as a form-giving and structural template that integrated the mycelium into it. This type of scaffold can vary greatly in size and can also be easily designed and constructed. Straw

“Marschhof” Langhalm 3 kg

200 g

cut 5 –10 mm Newspaper Sawdust

Daily news

150 g

“little friends” Hygienestreu

150 g

Weichholz ( soft-wood ) HESA SAATEN, 60 l Wheat bran

„gittis“

100 g

Scaffold

Cardboard, Lasercutter

45 g

Water

biolab canister ( boiled )

300 g

Mycelium

Oyster mushroom

125 g

Pleurotus Ostreatus www.pilzzucht.at Exp size

25 x 25 x 3 cm

Experiment ingredients

Cardboard template

To evaluate this fabrication process better, templates of different forms were designed ranging from flat surfaces to strongly curved higher degree saddle surfaces. These were laser cut from different cardboard materials of varying density. After assembling the laser cut pieces the substrate, inoculated with oyster mycelium, was placed in the hollow spaces. Then the structure was hydrated, wrapped in plastic foil and perforated. The structures were place in a dark box as the mycelium grew, and after a month the elements were taken out and the foil removed. The mycelium took one week to become completely dry in summer weather conditions.

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Process of filling the cardboard template with mycelium substrate.

Final results of flat and curved mycelium grown cardboard templates

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Architectural visualisations of mycelium grown in larger cardboard like templates

Date

Notes

26.06. 2015

The structures filled with substrate, wrapped, placed in fridge

30.06. 2015

Grows well, added H2O Added H2O every 5 days

24.07. 2015

Taken from the fridge unwrapped

31.07. 2015

Completely dried

Experiment development

The use of cardboard proved to be advantageous both during the production process and in the resulting structure. First, it was a highly efficient building material and was easily transported even in larger pieces. Second, it defined the geometry of the structure before it was filled with the substrate. This was important to better visualise the resulting element. Furthermore, the cardboard scaffold integrated seamlessly into the mycelium system, resulting in a composite between substrate and template. The cardboard performed very well in the mycelium’s dried state. However, cardboard with lower density showed high flexibility and tended to disintegrate when regularly exposed to water. This was not a problem when working with simple template geometry if the structure was handled carefully. With complex geometry and the necessary extra handling the higher density cardboard is recommended. The mycelium based mix will integrate into the structure as well as the lower density material but will hold its geometry better.

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

117

So templates Stocking tissue template – cylindrical In this experiment textiles such as cotton and nylon were used as templates to shape substrate and mycelium. It was hypothesized that the mycelium is capable of merging itself with the cotton template until they become a single Filling, wrapping and storage of soft column like templates

element. Furthermore, using textiles as templates was expected to generate sufficient stability while maintaining enough flexibility to guarantee sufficient air circulation. A column structure of mycelium was designed to investigate some characteristics of the connection between mycelium and elastic textiles as a possible construction element. The following qualities were investigated in this experiment : generation of form through stretching soft templates ( cotton textile ), the integration capability of the soft template and a mushroom mycelium. Mycelium

Reishi mushroom

30 pellets ( 3 pellets/layer – 10 layers approx. )

www.goba.eu Straw

“Marschhof” Langhalm 3 kg

150 g

cut 5 –10 mm Sawdust

“little friends” Hygienestreu

300 g

Weichholz ( soft-wood ) HESA SAATEN, 60 l Wheat bran

“gittis“

Exp size

56 g 8.5 x 8.5 x 46 cm

Experiment ingredients

A cotton sock was filled with the substrate, closed and wrapped in rapid foil. The rapid foil and the sock were perforated randomly and the set-up was hung inside a black plastic bag. After one month the cotton sock was unwrapped to allow it to dry.

Date

Notes

30.05. 2014

Cotton sock filled, wrapped, perforated and hung inside black plastic bag

07.06. 2014

Added 100 ml H2O – mycelium is growing inside

07.07. 2014

The cotton sock was unwrapped to let it dry

Experiment development

Although the textile used as a soft template allows for a wide variety of shapes and is freely formable during the growth process, it also generates a very accurate border for the substrate. Further into the growth process the mycelium develops a hard crust fixing the shape of the soft template.

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Process of the experiment

The variable template facilitated completely developed mycelium, despite a large cross section due to ventilation and optimal density. The fabric was integrated in the mycelium structure during the growth process. Holes in the soft template increased the process of evaporation of the water, thereby inhibiting local, superficial mycelium growth. The material composite is useful for longitudinal/bar elements because of its relatively high bending stiffness.

Architectural design concept

Reishi growth in soft template structure

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Due to the easy implementation of the soft template and the resulting rigid composite, other design concepts for modular architectural structures were developed. These concepts focused on wall elements that were easily assembled and allowed a variable wall geometry. Architectural design concepts

Surface – flat During the experimentation with soft textile templates mycelium seemed to penetrate deeply into the fabric. This led to the concept of stretching textiles Mycelium during the growth process

into a complex shape and then growing mycelium on it for possible applications within the field of architecture. Special interest lies in the combination of tensile structures and complex geometry such as double curved surfaces and in the effects occurring during and after the drying process of the mycelium. Once the drying process is completed, the shape is fixed in a final morphology. As a starter experiment, small samples of cotton and mycelium were tested in Petri dishes for their merging capabilities under stretched conditions. The results showed a strong connection around the centre area of the composite. However, the edge regions were easily disintegrated, which resulted in loss of the initial shape.

Mycelium, before and after the growth process. Disintegration of cotton and mycelium in the right hand photo.

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The aim of the following investigations was to find a way to integrate tensioned textile with mycelium and how to apply it within an architectural context. Furthermore, different types of tensioning the shape during the experiment were tested. The outcome of these experiments were used as foundation for further design studies using mycelium in an architectural context. Mycelium uses organic substrate as well as the cotton cellulose inside the textile as nutrition. This way both tissues merge into one composite. In order to obtain a strong enough structure, two layers of textile were stitched together and then filled up with mycelium and substrate. Just as in the waffle structure this results in lightweight structural modules that can quickly cover relatively large surface areas. The added benefit is the morphological flexibility during fabrication. Mycelium

Oyster mushroom

75 g

Pleurotus Ostreatus www.pilzzucht.at Straw

150 g

cut 5 –10 mm

Filling of the two-layered textile with the mycelium substrate

“Marschhof” Langhalm 3 kg

Newspaper

recycled newspaper, cut 1– 2 cm2

Wheat bran

“gittis“

Template

150 gr

none

Jersey textile, 98% cotton

40 x 40 cm

Glass fibre tent poles

500 mm

Water

250 g

Exp size

30 x 20 x 2 cm

Pproportion

( Straw :Newspaper :Oyster )

40 : 40 : 20

Experiment ingredients

The textile templates were tailored to triangular shape. Two layers of textile were needed for each structure. Each layer was perforated with holes every 2 – 5 mm. Then the dry material for the substrate ( straw, newspaper ) was cut with scissors into 5-10 mm long pieces. The material was mixed with 250 ml of cold, previously boiled water. Oyster mushroom spores where added to this mixture before the substrate was stuffed onto a textile template. The mixture consists of the ratio 40 : 40 : 20 of Straw :Newspaper :Oyster. The substrate was sandwiched between the two layers of the textile and sewn shut to prevent the substrate falling out. The structure was then wrapped in plastic foil to reduce water evaporation and was stored for several weeks in the refrigerator at a temperature of 17°C.

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Date

Notes

08.06. 2015

Experiment started

14.06. 2015

Added 25 ml H2O

20.06. 2015

Sprayed on top H2O enriched with mycelium spores

29.06. 2015

Sprayed on top H2O enriched with mycelium spores Turned 180° (upside down ), distinctive rotten smell, all rewrapped in new foil

08.07. 2015

Soft structure removed from the fridge, applied shape, left to grow the mushrooms

09.07. 2015

Structure is watered ( drying too fast to grow mushroom )

12.07. 2015

Structure dried

Experiment ingredients Experiment process

This experiment was successful in achieving a double curved geometry while integrating the soft template in the structure. Mycelium growth was visible after 40 days. The stretched-cotton-membrane template and the substrate were fully merged by the mycelium, integrating the cotton into the structure. The provided perforation on the textile led to better integration of the textile. A Experiment process of growing mushroom

big advantage to this method is the ease of creating new geometry and changing the geometry even in later stages of the mycelium growth process, as long as the structure is still humid. In general, the cotton textile allows structures to be of a larger scale, such as a roof for a building. Since the composite is flexible in its hydrated state it still needs a support structure during the drying process. After drying, the 1.5 – 2.5 cm layer of the structure maintains the geometry of the membrane.

Storyboard illustrating the process

Storyboard Pavilion Overview

of building a structure with mycelium grown soft templates

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Final result

Architectural visualisation of soft mycelium grown templates

The storyboard illustrates the creation of such mycelium grown and integrated membrane structures and gives an example of a potential architectural implementation. It shows the construction of a pavilion using fibre glass tent poles and the soft template mycelium composite. The tent poles are fixed to each other and then formed into a round waveform. Cables are attached to the poles in a distance of approx. 20 cm, creating a saddle surface. The composites are produced, covered and hung in the pavilion to grow. After full growth the cover is removed, and the composite dried. The pavilion could be used as a light-weight, self-stabilising sun protection structure and can also be varied in scale.

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

125

Metabolic systems Metabolic activity is a precondition for living organisms. To create living systems of any kind, circulation and exchange of matter and energy must necessarily happen. The maintenance of a metabolic system is not a trivial task ; it requires careful balancing of inflow and outflow of matter and energy in the system, and between the system and the external environment. The living organisms in the system have to be provided with oxygen, nutrition and an environment that they can thrive in. All waste has to be disposed of either within the system or traded with the external environment. For the project GrAB, in the context of growth, the presence of a system with metabolic activity is a precondition for having an active growth process and maintaining it over time. In the GrAB project’s interpretation of a metabolic system an additive manufacturing process is combined with an algal photobioreactor and calcium carbonate crystallisation. Ideally, the inputs and outputs of this cycle are integrated into a semi-closed loop where recycling of ‘waste components’ is prioritised. This semi-closed loop system is a novel approach on a compromise between the multiple-closed loop systems in nature and the mostly open systems found in architecture. Below is the proposal for such a regenerative system. The printer uses calcium carbonate as primary input, while CO2 is the printer’s main byproduct. This CO2 would be sequestered by growing algae. Algae use solar energy to thrive and produce a lot of biomass as well as using CO2 to produce oxygen under favourable conditions. The capturing of solar energy and transformation into matter is then useable for cyclic processes. The biomass can then be used through microbial processing to produce acetic acid and ethanol, products integral to the printing process. Additional cycles were investigated : thermal energy exchange between the tanks and technical environments, and the introduction of fish. At this point this metabolic cycle is still at a conceptual stage. Further research is needed to model the necessary quantities of all chemical components in this cycle, and consequently verify feasibility. Furthermore, specific hardware will have to be developed to capture and transfer the different components throughout the different physical components. Until such a stage is reached it is necessary to illustrate fundamental ideas. The representation of a metabolic system that combines architecture and biology has to be both easy to grasp and not overly simplifying the concept. Even though biology seems inherently complex with many closed loops and many dependencies, visualisations of the processes are a first step to understanding the cycles. The metabolic cycle as presented to the right

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displays how the calcium carbonate crystallisation with ethanol and acetic acid sets free CO2. This feeds the algae which transform the CO2 into biomass and O2. Through the design process of the installation depicting the metabolic system, the comprehensibility was increased.

Simplified metabolic cycle including algae and printer material ( Calcium Acetate ).

Algae Over the past few decades ( single cell ) algae have been hailed as a resource of the future. First promoted as a ‘super food’ containing high levels of protein and minerals, focus has now shifted towards algae as biofuel. There are different ways in which algae can be transformed into biofuel ; extracted oil can be used as a basis to create biodiesel, or algae can be turned into bioethanol through fermentation. Under specific environmental circumstances some algal species even exhibit the potential to produce hydrogen. An added benefit of culturing algae is that they sequester CO 2, and as such can be instrumental in tackling global warming. Several proposals have been made to integrate algae in architecture ; the BIQ project

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by Splitterwerk Architects ( 2014 )20, and the highway photobioreactor by The Cloud Collective ( 2014 )21 are two examples. 20 http ://www.splitterwerk.at/databas e/main.php?mode=album&album=

Algae are typically cultured in so-called ‘photobioreactors’. A bioreactor refers to a device or system meant to grow cells in a controlled and semi-

2012__The_Clever_Treefrog_1&disps

enclosed environment. Typically, a photobioreactor uses transparent

ize=512&startsite=1

containers, bags or tubes to allow adequate lighting. An algal

21

photobioreactor additionally needs aeration to keep the cells in suspension,

http ://thecloudcollective.org/#/

and a nutrient supply. Extra CO2 can be provided to boost growth, as a

projects/culture-urbaine/

surplus to the atmospheric CO2. A further method to boost algae growth is by including water from fish tanks. The nutrients produced by the fish generate a favourable environment for the algae. In turn the algae can be part of the fish diet. Algae were integrated as a component in the 3D metabolic printer that was conceptualized and partially built at the Biolab. The CO2 output of the calcium carbonate 3D printer is sequestered by using it to grow algae, and the algae can in turn then be used to generate ethanol and acetic acid, two components needed for the printer.

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Calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is the main output of the metabolic cycle. It is used as an extrusion material for the 3D-Printer described in the following chapter. The main by-product of the crystallization process of the calcium is CO 2 which is used to facilitate algae growth. The printing material requires characteristics Calcium carbonate of different particle sizes was tested with different solutions to explore their effect on printing behaviour.

necessary for printing which include apart from stable liquid and solid states, a fast drying process. The aim of this experiment was to establish a CaCO3 printer material which is fast in drying and stays stable when applied in layers on each other.

Foundation

Calcium carbonate ( CaCO3)

eskal 500 ( 5 μm ), eskal 15 (15 μm ), eskal 45 ( 45 μm ), eskal 150 (150 μm )

KSL Staubtechnik GmbH Different particle sizes Acidic acid

Vinegar, 5% acidity

2 tablespoons

“Balsamico Rosso” Vinegar cleaner

3 tablespoons

Frosch Essig Reiniger Container

Small porcelain jars

Utensils

Scissors, Small stick

diameter 70 mm

— CaCO3 ( eskal 15 ) was mixed with vinegar 1 : 2 by adding 2 tablespoons vinegar to 1 tablespoon CaCO3 — CaCO3 ( eskal 15 ) was mixed with vinegar cleaner 1 : 3 by adding 3 In the two left handimages vinegar was added to CaCO3. In the bottom centre picture CaCO3 was mixed

tablespoons cleaner to 1 tablespoon CaCO3 After appearance of bubbles ( CO2 ) the solutions were stirred with a

with vinegar purifier. The two bowls

spoon and then applied with a small stick to black paper. Different patterns

in the right hand picture compares

were drawn to compare printing behaviour of it.

the two different solutions.

The printing and drying characteristics of two different CaCO3 printer materials mixed with vinegar and vinegar purifier were compared. It was discovered that the solution with vinegar purifier needs more liquid (1 : 3 ) than with vinegar alone (1 : 2 ). The printer material with vinegar purifier dried

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Top : patterns can be seen before drying ; Bottom : after drying.

much faster, but applying it on the paper was more difficult because it had a higher viscosity than the printer material which was mixed only with vinegar. Furthermore, the printer material with vinegar alone was much more resistant and stable after drying than the other solution. The image on the lower left shows that the printer material with the vinegar purifier could be easily removed from the paper. It was shown that the drops made with vinegar printer material were really stable while the drops made with vinegar purifier printer material could be wiped away. Since the CaCO3 printer material mixed with vinegar seemed to be stable its reversibility was also tested by dropping vinegar on the already hardened printer material. The drops dissolve the CaCO3 : in this process CaCO3 reacts with the acid ( vinegar ) and releases the CO2.

Dissolving process of carbonate printer material with vinegar. It is shown that one drop of vinegar can dissolve CaCO3 again. When CaCO3 reacts with the acid CO2 is released, which makes this process reversible.

Top : drops made with the vinegar solution stay stable, while below, the carbonate printer material

In addition, a preparation of CaCO3 and boiling water was tested. After applying and drying the printer material on the paper it was completely

mixed with vinegar purifier is

unstable and could be easily blown away. This is due to the fact that CaCO 3

dissolved.

is not soluble in water. It could be shown that a mixture made of vinegar and synthetic calcium carbonate resulted in a stable printing material. Additionally, it was again possible to extract material from the dried printing material by dropping acid onto it, which could be a nice additional feature of the 3D printer.

Components

Ratio

Viscosity

Drying behaviour

Stability

CaCO3 : vinegar

1:2

+

-

+

CaCO3 : vinegar purifier

1:3

-

+

-

CaCO3 : hot water

1:2

+

+

-

CaCO3 : vinegar :Bode sterillium

1:2:2

+

+

-

CaCO3 : vinegar : alcohol

1:2:2

+

+

+

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Mobile Printer The mobile 3D-Printer is a peripheral part of the metabolic system. It stores the calcium acetate and extrudes it in a predefined pattern. When the material is printed the calcium acetate crystallises back to its original state, Calcium Carbonate, binding CO2 in the process. The printer was designed to reflect the self-organised additive and subtractive principles of growth found in nature.

Calcium carbonate printer material tests

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Titel of the article

133

Mobile 3D printer Biomimetics is concerned with the abstraction of good design from nature, as defined by the Centre for Biomimetics in Reading University, UK. With these two versions of a cable driven 3D printer this methodology finds a direct implementation in an artistic way. It is not a biological mechanism transferred into technology but a technological application permitting transfer of organic aspects of growth into technology. The device produces in the same way as any growing matter and organism in nature : it grows the whole structure in one piece, with differentiation of material thickness or 22

intricacy built into the structure. However, this is not fabricated by

Bruckmann, T. Pott, A. Cable-Driven

connecting different elements together, as we still see on every building site

Parallel Robos. Berlin Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag. ( 2013 ),

in architecture. It demonstrates that a 3D printed structure is grown in a

doi :10.1007/978-3-642-31988-4.

similar manner to a tree, from the bottom up and all as one part.

23 Su, YX. Duan, BY. Mechanical Design and Kinematics Accuracy

Therefore, 3D printing has in recent years proven to be a valid technology to mimic natural structures, especially in the hierarchical

Analysis of a Fine Tuning Stable

organisation of natural materials that are difficult to reproduce in a

Platform for the Large Spherical

technological way. 3D printing is a commonly available technology that

Radio Telescope. Mechatronics 10 ( 2000 ): 819 – 834, doi :10.1016 /

allows the transformation of digital models into real tangible objects. As such,

S0957-4158( 99 )00091-4.

it is an interesting technology for the production of biomimetic structures. Addressing current limitations, such as the size of printable objects and the movability of the device, broadens the range of applications for 3D printing. 3D printing in architecture has recently been researched widely. However, limiting factors such as frame-based printers as well as printing with mobile robots using wheels, do not achieve the needed flexibility and mobility. Intuitive and user-friendly 3D printing should not depend on large frames that need to be constructed before a printing process can begin or on a smooth surface that mobile robots can traverse. These factors led the GrAB team to investigate cable-driven robots as a basis for our 3D printing system. The development of appropriate controlling algorithms has opened up the possibility of using wire robots in wide segments of industry 22 from forklift robots to the control of the feed system for large spherical radio telescopes.23 One of the most compelling advantages of a wire robot is its flexibility in transport and deployment. As it does not depend on a rigid frame the wireprinter is light and easy deployable. It can be connected to any standing structure and is thereby unrestricted in its workspace. It is self-calibrating, which makes it extremely user-friendly. Furthermore the wire-robot works in unison with its environment. The 3D printing robot emphasises the possibility of working interactively with the existing environment and reacting to

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previous building-cycles. This feedback loop is a promising aspect of the technique described, and it links technological advances with growing principles seen in nature, such as the construction of termite mounds. A further bridge between biology and technology was found when investigating the fabrication of mussel shells to discover new 3D printing materials. Biominerals are composed of primarily inorganic minerals and tiny amounts of organic molecules, such as proteins. Using calcium carbonate ( CaCO3 ), these experiments promised the development of a biomimetic 24

composite (a printer material ) that can be used with a local 3D printer.

Evans, J. S. “Tuning in” to mollusk

Calcium carbonate is an abundant and important biomineral in nature, in

shell nacre- and prismaticassociated protein terminal

part because the vast deposits of CaCO3 biominerals produced by marine

sequences. Implications for

organisms constitute the largest and most ancient terrestrial reservoir of

biomineralization and the construction of high performance

CO2.24 Inspired by protein-directed CaCO3 formation, many efforts have been

inorganic-organic composites.

made to develop synthetic analogues to mimic natural proteins for

Chem. Rev. 108, 4455 – 4462,

controlling crystal formation.25

doi :10.1021/cr078251e ( 2008 ).

The second main advantage, apart from the printer itself, is the printed 25 Chen CL, Qi J, Tao J, Zuckermann RN,

item ; including also the methodology, process and algorithms used by the

DeYoreo JJ. Tuning calcite

printer. It offers the possibility of transferring organic aspects of growth into

morphology and growth

technology, of building from the bottom up and all as one part, while also

acceleration by a rational design of highly stable protein-mimetics. Sci

incorporating accuracy and precision. Accuracy and precision are two

Rep. 2014 Sep 5 ; 4 : 6266. doi :

important aspects for any kind of fabrication, and in nature growth has low

10.1038 /srep06266.

Diagram illustrating the relationship of accuracy and precision

accuracy, but extremely high precision. For example, each tree looks different, but on a small scale every element down at molecular level is precisely where it has to be to keep the tree alive.

This principle is transferred to the local printer by defining a reference coordinate system based on the built part itself. This feedback loop creates self-organised behaviour, facilitating the printer to cope with any change and delivering a form of resilience to the system. To enable the integration of these different aspects the mobile printer research was divided into two main focus points : the Device and the Item. On one hand, the printing Device itself was researched, combining a wirecable robot with 3D printing and a novel printing material. The device is thereby able to print directly in a given environment using a bio-compatible printing material that is integrated with a full metabolic cycle. On the other

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hand, the method of producing the printed objects, the Items, was investigated by combining nature’s principles of building from bottom up and constructing whole structure in one piece with the principles of low accuracy and high precision found in nature. During the research two versions of mobile 3D printers were developed : one focusing on the Device, one focusing on the Item. Both types of printers are specialised for their individual tasks but they are also related in design. Parallel-Cable 3D Printer, used to investigate the Item The Parallel-Cable 3D Printer was used to investigate biological aspects transferred to printed objects. Therefore the printer is optimised for simple calculation and construction and excels in printing with high precision. It uses a system of six free hanging cables, which are constrained in groups of two parallel cables : The calibration procedure requires manually measuring the positions of all three wall mounts. After this is done the print head can be moved in a Cartesian coordinate system. In this setup the print head can lift material, extrude material through a ‘classic’ 3D printer nozzle or a pump system, but cannot apply any force downward. Functional Diagram of parallel cable printer elements

Small scale prototype

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The first small-scale prototype was built to develop a software Close up of wall mount, balance

framework. No sensors or feedback systems are yet in place, but basic

weights and print head, Right : First

movement and software control was achieved.

Drawing tests – full scale prototype

The next step was to scale it up – above are close-ups of the wall mounts – with counterweights in place to balance the weight of the print head. The current size of the printer is approximately 4 x 5 metres and about 3 metres in height. The actual building area is currently about four cubic metres. Above are the first drawing tests, done with the full-scale prototype. The final version of the printer incorporates an open source extruder for PLA ( Bioplastics ), and to a certain extent is compatible with using open source software to generate the toolpaths needed to print objects. In its current state it succeeded in printing objects up to 100 cm in height, and has proven reliable in continuous operation ( 24+ hours ). It could be envisaged

Final set-up including first printed samples

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Print in progess

that in later stages the printing process could be enhanced through sensory inputs in a feedback loop to be able to react to changes in the environment. Another aspect of the printer is an attempt to control the extrusion process beyond just printing a solid wall with a constant thickness. These prints were based on a simple curved surface, which had additional information about surface thickness and extrusion speed Varying surface qualities, controled

embedded into it. Custom written software enabled printing of these semi-

by digital textures.

transparent models. The information is stored as textures that are applied to the model, and their brightness is translated into extrusion values. The challenges ahead are to refine the algorithms that generate the toolpath, and to increase the level of control over the print beyond just reproducing digital surfaces of the real world, and instead trying to investigate material properties which cannot be modelled by the computer, but which through observation and experimentation can be incorporated to create a hybrid system between the virtual and the material world.

Screenshot of the software setup ( Rhino + Grasshopper + C#)

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Star-Cable 3D Printer, used to investigate the Device The second investigation of our mobile cable-driven 3D printer focuses on the research of the printer itself. It combines high usability, robot manoeuvrability and higher payloads. We aimed at a compact 3D printer solution with easy and fast deployment while using a bio-compatible printing material. All actuators, cable drums as well as the material reservoir, print head and control unit will be combined in one device that will move through its workspace while connected to the wall by six cables. The robot is placed on the floor wherever the user wants to initiate the Base-Coordinate-system ( Zero Point of workspace ). The cables with karabiners are extended to six freely positioned wall attachment points ( eye screws or hooks ). The robot is then initialised, using two to three sensors per cable to find its initial position and the range of its workspace. After loading the 3D object path the robot uses six separate motors to retract and extend the cables to lift itself and to change its position according to this path. In comparison to other 3D printers this cable driven approach is capable of changing the extrusion angle of the printer head. This will make it possible to extrude accurately on non-planar surfaces by maintaining perpendicular extrusion angles and will also allow for extrusion on vertical surfaces. The novel calcium carbonate crystallisation based printing material will furthermore allow for subtraction of material after an object has been printed. This enables adding and subtracting of material in a continuous loop, changing and transforming architecture. The following figures show the prove-of-principal and general design studies as well as the necessary MatLab calculation of cable length and robot angle. The MatLab program of the Star-Cable 3D Printer was combined with the previously developed robot software of the parallel-cable robot. After Rhinoceros prove-of-principle and

receiving the 3D object path the program is designed to calculate the

basic design studies in SolidWorks

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MatLab visualisation path geometry and cable length ; The figures show the visualisation of the cable calculations in MatLab. For better understanding, the robot ( black lines ) has been first shown at the beginning and end of the defined path ( green line ). Then the robot is shown at every 4th point of the path and finally at all points of the path. Centre of mass to printing nozzle is shown in red and cables to random anchor points are shown in blue. The lfinal figure shows the robot angled at 45° perpendicular to the path.

anchor-points and the resulting workspace as seen in the following figure. The six cable lengths for each point of the path are then calculated and converted to steps for the six stepper motors. The Arduino micro-controller receives these values and sends them to the stepper motors. Design results of the Star-Cable 3D Printer are seen in the figures to the right. Further designs include two rotary position sensors that are used to define the location of the wall anchor points. Six nema17 0.65 Nm stepper motors drive a coil with a high-friction surface to control the cable length. The cable is wound around this coil twice and a second spring loaded coil winds up the excess cable. This system is used to heighten the precision of the transferal of movement from the stepper motor to the cable. The motors and sensors are connected to the Arduino which receives the commands from the 3D print program. In future, the Arduino is intended to convert all data and store all necessary information on its own. Cable-driven 3D printers are a promising method of integrating bioinspired feedback loops and interactions with the environment into the architectural prototyping process. Further research in dynamic behaviour Workspace calculation Star-Cable 3D Printer

and an extension in sensors capacities would complement the already existing advantages. Both the parallel-cable and the star-cable systems are viable solutions for mobile 3D printing. Where the Parallel-Cable 3D Printer excels in reliable performance the Star-Cable 3D Printer excels in flexible application.

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Preliminary CAD design of the Star-Cable 3D Printer

Experimentation

141

The autonomous system “nature” is the most complex system there is ; we’ve barely begun to comprehend its implications. Robotics and automation will play a major role in mimicking this system, ranging from the smallest self-organising entity to overall schematics, allowing for complete integration. This opens up possibilities of multiple-closed-loop processes, resource-based self-regulatory environments and balanced interdependence between nature and machine. Viktor Gudenus

Approaches to Bio-inspiration in Novel Architecture Thomas Speck

Over the last decades the idea of using bio-inspiration for a novel ecofriendly and human architecture has attracted increasing interest as much from architects and civil engineers as from material scientists, and also from researchers working in the field of biomimetics. Additionally, the potential of bio-inspired architecture to provide attractive living space at a reasonable cost and in an environmentally friendly manner has been recognised by decision makers in politics and the building industry. However, bio-inspired approaches in architecture are still sparsely used, and neither architects and civil engineers nor the end-users, i.e. tenants and homeowners, are at present fully aware of the real potential of these approaches. For these – and many other – reasons it is highly encouraging that two large interdisciplinary research projects currently deal with this approach, and both try to outline some of the benefits that emerge by applying bioinspiration to architecture and building construction. These two research projects tackle the question from different perspectives, and therefore may help towards a holistic understanding of the potential of bio-inspiration in architecture. ( Armstrong 2015, Nachtigall & Pohl 2013, Knippers & Speck 2012, Gruber 2011 ). The project Growing As Building ( GrAB ), running from 2013 – 2015 at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, aims to take growth patterns and growth dynamics from nature and apply them to architecture, with the goal of creating a new living architecture. The main goal of the project GrAB is to develop novel architectural concepts for growing structures inspired by growth processes and growth patterns found in animals, plants and fungi. The conceptual background of the central approaches used in the GrAB project was mainly defined by architects, designers and artists. The intention was to apply growth processes found in nature for innovative buildings, in close collaboration with biomimetics and natural scientists. As defined on the homepage of the GrAB initiative “three main directions were investigated : (1 ) transfer of abstracted growth principles

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from nature to architecture, ( 2 ) integration of biology into material systems and ( 3 ) intervention of biological organisms and concepts into existing architecture” ( www.growingasbuilding.org ). This kind of approach also includes other aspects outlined in the GrAB-Manifesto “the acceptance of dealing with the unknown in design, particularly when you have things like self-organisation and emergence, and the intention to produce things that are new, useful, safe and aesthetic” ( GrAB Manifesto ). As a consequence of this concept the main focus was not on the development of bio-inspired materials and structures fulfilling specific functions required in houses and other constructions. Instead, particular emphasis was laid on the processes of emergence of form and structure by either mimicking biological growth processes and/or by integrating living beings and their metabolism in the ( self-organised ) formation processes of bio-inspired architecture or constructional materials and structures. The concept applied in the GrAB project allows for transporting to, or for generating in, the bio-inspired products some aspects of the biological role models, namely aesthetic and elegance of functioning, which represent a valuable addition to bio-inspired functionality, which is usually the main focus of interest in biomimetic projects. This proves that this “soft approach” to bio-inspired architecture mainly driven by artists, designers and architects, has its own specific intrinsic merits which are sometimes missing in “hard approaches” to bio-inspired architecture and building construction, which are mainly driven by ( civil ) engineers, materials scientists and natural scientists. The Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 “Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture” started in 2014, representing an interdisciplinary research initiative based on the co-operation between scientists from the Universities of Stuttgart, Freiburg and Tübingen, and the satellite institutions Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History ( SMNS ) and Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics ( IPB ). All scientific projects of the TRR 141 are handled by natural scientists ( biologists, physicists, chemists, geologists ), and mathematicians, material scientists, engineers and architects on an interdisciplinary basis. Each project is headed up by at least an architect and/or an engineer and also a natural scientist. A more detailed description of the structure of the TRR 141, of the various projects, and of the scientists involved can be found online ( www.trr141.de, see also Speck et al. 2015 a ). The strategy chosen in the TRR 141 projects represents the “hard approach” to bio-inspired architecture and building constructions. Here the quantitative analysis of the form-structure-function-relationships of the selected biological concept generators provides the basis for the transfer into novel biomimetic materials and structures with clearly defined specific

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A

B

C

Fig. 1 : Biological concept generator Bird-Of-Paradise flower with violet perch ( A ) and demonstrators of the biomimetic façade shading system, ( B ) double flectofin® and ( C ) simple flectofin® in different positions of closure, © PBG University of Freiburg and Julian Lienhard, ITKE University of Stuttgart.

desired ( multi-) functionalities. The biomimetic process sequences applied follow either the “Top-Down-Approach” ( = Technology Pull ) or the “BottomUp-Approach” (= Biology Push ) as defined in Speck & Speck ( 2008 ). It represents a creative transfer of functionalities and underlying structures that emerged in more than 3.8 billion years of biological evolution from biology to technical applications. Such ‘new-inventions’ inspired by nature typically include several modifications and abstraction levels, as e.g. scalingup or scaling-down of dimensions found in the biological role models and the use of often entirely different materials ( Knippers & Speck 2012, Schleicher et al. 2015, Speck et al. 2015 b ). In this type of approach the predictable transfer of functionalities from the biological concept generator to the biomimetic product is central, and the loss of ( some ) of the aesthetic value existing in the biological role model is inevitable or has at least to be accepted. Sometimes, however, the biomimetic products not only show the physical functionality transferred from biology but also possess a functional elegance similar to the mostly highly aesthetic biological role models. For applications in architecture these ( still rare ) cases represent the “royal road”

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and are considered as ideal solutions combining bio-inspired functionality with the natural beauty of functioning. A recent example is the biomimetic façade shading system flectofin ®, a hinge-less resilient solution inspired by the elastic deformation processes taking place in the perch of the Bird-OfParadise flower ( Strelitzia reginae ) during bird pollination. The façade shading system flectofin ® was developed in an interdisciplinary R&D-project from biologists/biophysicists of the Plant Biomechanics Group ( PBG ) of the University of Freiburg ; civil-engineers/architects of the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design ( ITKE ) of the University Stuttgart ; and textile engineers of the Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering ( ITV ) Denkendorf. The compliant flapping mechanism was produced as a demonstrator of size 2.0 x 0.25 metres, composed of hand-laminated glass-fibre-reinforced polymers, and fine-tuned by local adjustment of the fibre orientation. In the case of the double flectofin® demonstrator the backbone has to be bent by a 25 millimetres displacement of one support to activate a large, wide and fast deflection of both 2-metre long fins ( Speck et al. 2015 b, Schleicher et al. 2015, Lienhard et al. 2011 ). It could be argued that a shortcoming of the GrAB approach is the fact that a transfer of specific desired functionalities from the biological concept generators to buildings is complicated and often hardly possible when the GrAB concept is applied. However, as “the acceptance of dealing with the unknown in design” is a central paradigm of the GrAB initiative, this challenge was well known from the start, and accepted as a consequence of the “soft and open approach” in which the emergence of ( sometimes ) unpredictable bio-inspired aesthetics is a central aim. On the other hand, in the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 the central objective is the development and production of novel biomimetic materials and structures with clearly defined specific ( multi-) functionalities for building construction. The transfer of the aesthetic value and the elegance of functioning seen in most if not all biological concept generators are highly desired but not a basic prerequisite in this “function-centred approach” towards a biomimetic transfer process. Sometimes the first laboratory demonstrators of biomimetic solutions differ entirely in their appearance from their biological role models and – by complete mirroring of the desired functionality of the biological concept generators – may have lost their aesthetic value partly or entirely. If aesthetics, or even further reaching, if the evolutionary originated “beauty of biological design”, could be defined as an inherent property of biological role models, it would be interesting to see if this property can be purposefully transferred in a biomimetic process to novel technical materials,

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structures or products, in the same manner as other properties e.g. mechanical or physical functions, have been transferred. As aesthetics is a central paradigm, and highly desired in architecture, biomimetic developments in the field of building construction and architecture will be the most promising approaches to tackle this question, which also is of deep interest in other fields of biomimetics. Acknowledgements The author thanks “Growing As Building : Arts-based research project” funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF in the frame of PEEK 2013 and the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 “Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture” funded by the German Research Foundation ( DFG ) for support. He is much obliged to all colleagues and students from GrAB and SFB-TRR 141, in particular Dr. Tom Masselter and Dr. Olga Speck, for helpful discussions.

Literature

Armstrong R, ( 2015 ): Vibrant

Nachtigall W. & Pohl G. ( 2013 ):

Speck T., Knippers J. & Speck O.

architecture : matter as a co-

Bau-Bionik : Natur – Analogien –

( 2015 b ): Self-x-materials and

designer of living structures. De

Technik. 2 nd ed., Springer

-structures in nature and

Gruyter Open LTD, Warsaw, Berlin.

Vieweg, Berlin, Heidelberg.

technology : Bio-inspiration as

GrAB Manifesto see page 167

Schleicher S., Lienhard J.,

Gruber P. ( 2011 ): Biomimetics in Architecture : Architecture of Life and Buildings. Springer, Wien, New York.

Poppinga S., Speck T. & Knippers J. ( 2015 ): A methodology for transferring principles in plant movements to elastic systems in architecture.

driving force for technical innovation. AD Architectural Design, 85 /5 : 34 – 39. [Special Issue ‘Material Synthesis : Fusing the Physical and the Computational’]

http ://www.growingasbuilding.or

Computer-Aided Design, 60 :

Speck T. & Speck O. ( 2008 ):

g/ (10’08’2015 )

105 –117.

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Knippers J. & Speck T. ( 2012 ):

DOI.org/10.1016 /j.cad. 2014.01.0

research. In : Brebbia, C.A. ( ed. ),

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Design and Nature IV, 3-11. WIT

principles in Nature and

Speck T., Knippers J. & Nickel K.

Architecture. Bioinspiration and

( 2015 a ): Biological Design and

Biomimetics,

Integrative Structures – Analysis,

7. DOI:10.1088 /1748-

Simulation and Implementation in

3182 / 7/1/015002

Architecture. In : Freiburger

Lienhard J, Schleicher S.,

Zentrum für Interaktive

Poppinga S., Masselter T.,

Materialien und Bioinspirierte

Milwich M., Speck T. & Knippers J.

Technologien ( FIT ), Report 2014,

( 2011 ): Flectofin : a nature based

39 – 41. FIT, Freiburg.

Press, Southampton.

hinge-less flapping mechanism. Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, 6 : DOI:10.1088 /17483182 /6 /4 /045001

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Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall was a welcoming hosting institution and I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Director Dr. Sylvia Mattl-Wurm and Public Relations Officer Suzie Wong for their most generous and continuous support.

Headline Bold My curatorial goal for the symposium was to promote

Headline Bold Collection Strategies and Interventions into the Canon,

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Reflections on the Future Edited by Barbara Imhof

The following conversations were recorded during a panel under the theme “Transfer of biological growth into technology – between fiction and fact” on March 25th 2014 at the University of Applied Arts. The panelists were Rachel Armstrong, Petra Gruber, Julian Vincent and Angelo Vermeulen. The topics represent important aspects of the artistic research project Growing As Building and give a good overview of current discussions on the convergence of disciplines and their implications at a societal and technological level. Further topics include self-organisation, agency, emergence and resilience. The implications of error and risk were discussed and a different perspective was adopted, viewing it as a potential for innovation. Above all, the conversation circles around values and questions of ethics when looking at the integration of biological and technical systems, adding humans to the loop and making everybody an equal participant.

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153

Petra Gruber

e selfgrowing house

and continually reassessed contracts

There are examples that we have

of exchange with non-human

seen working with the technologies

participants. This is extremely

of biology, creating objects and then

challenging.

keeping them as a kind of static object with every living thing either

Petra Gruber

being killed or, having stopped

If you think about growth in nature,

growing, remaining in a permanent

you realise that it is always a

state. There are other technologies

combination of mechanisms. We

where things keep changing. This is

have a form of blueprint, but we also

also an issue in architecture : do you

have the ability to adapt. We have

want your house to keep changing?

different mechanisms working on

Or do you want to have a stable

different levels. The question is : if

environment that remains the same

we translate this into technology,

for twenty years? When we research

which levels do we translate to

what we actually want from growth

where? For example, we as the

in architecture, what does it deliver

GrAB team agreed on the fact that

for us? We have discovered the

we do not want the house to be

importance of self-design. We want

changed in large ways so that we

the house to repair itself, we want

can accommodate small changes,

the house to regenerate itself, but

and we basically want the house to

we do not want to take care of it

remain at least spatially the same.

and we do not want to renovate it.

We could live with a sort of living

In fact there are all sorts of things

wall that changes the material’s

that we would prefer not to do.

property or changes the chemistry or whatever. We could live with

Rachel Armstrong

changes at a specific level and the

I think that there is an associated

question is, where do we want to

point in that : the ethics of working

introduce those levels and how do

in this way. This is a big question

we do it? What do we transfer to

that needs to be central when

which part of the technical system

considering growing your buildings :

that supports our environment?

the responsibilities that we have towards these materials, the

Rachel Armstrong

relationships that we nurture. We

The way I would rephrase that is as

may decide that there is a hierarchy

a way of setting limits to the system.

of relationships and that we can

You need to be aware that you are

establish some kind of order. We

designing with probability as

may decide that these are ecologies

opposed to taking deterministic

in which we are entangled and we

decisions about particular aspects of

therefore need to create negotiated

the design process, and also to

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154

understand that they may fail to do

important to have both reductive

something unexpected or fail to

approaches in terms of methodology,

operate within the expected limits.

where we look at aspects of the

This is because they may reach the

different components that are

limit of one end of the spectrum or

participating and also propositional

the other, and therefore the risk of

approaches where, for example,

that needs to be designed into the

Karin Barad looks at performativity

output.

or Isabelle Stengers looks at constructivist approaches. I think that you need to have a nested ecology of different methodologies for looking at things like self-

Petra Gruber

Selforganisation

organisation and emergence, which

I’ve been recently reading about self-

then need to be experimentally

organisation in biology and was very

tested so that we can begin to

interested in some aspects of it. The

understand how we can actually

term “stigmergy” came up, which is

work with them. At the moment, we

apparently a design based on factual

tend to have a habit of just

evidence or the fact that artefacts

describing what they are – but we

are present and agents can learn

can get much more directly engaged

from that situation. You do not need

by trying to disturb and create

direct communication but you do

perturbances and trying to establish

need a specifically created

just how far the limits of this range

environment to draw further

of outcomes may extend. I believe

conclusions and this is related to the

that there is an emergent

methodology we use in our

technological platform in this but

workshop. We work with students

that we have not established the

who are here for a limited amount of

parameters in which these things

time : they create a design and then

can be operationalised, including the

people collaborating on the project

matrices and the infrastructures that

take over the results and continue

enable these kinds of responses to

from that point.

take place.

Rachel Armstrong

Julian Vincent

My interest in self-organisation is in

From my point of view, life is a

its operationalisation. How do we

series of assembly processes. One of

actually work with this phenomenon

the problems is that our technology

in order to direct it in ways that can

has tended to move away from

be applied to a design and

assembly processes, many of which

engineering context? With these

are traditional e.g. weaving and

complex phenomena, it is both

spinning, through to processes

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155

which require much more chemistry, such as modern adhesives. Actually, when you are committed to chemistry, you lose the detail that you put into the structure and can

Feedback from biology – agency, selforganisation

Angelo Vermeulen

get with the assembly side of things,

Julian gave me an insight last

and it is the detail which is

summer : it is the idea of an ontology

important. When you talk to aircraft

that describes a network of

manufacturers, their sort of ideal, if

problems and actions that can

you like, is to make an aircraft on a

interact with a number of

sock machine, so you just have a

independent agents. We start with a

hole in the wall, and spinning around

set of objectives that we want to

it you have something which is

attain ( for example, build a wall of

assembling the fibres. Then maybe

certain dimensions and orientation )

you could infuse some resin into it.

and a set of agents that share the

But the advantage is that you have a

necessary knowledge and ideas. The

continuous structure ; you have no

agents then start operating. So there

joints. Racing cars are some of the

is some direction but, at the same

most advanced technologies that

time, you have all these agents that

exist. You can afford to crash in a

can do their own thing, each with

car, since you will not fall out of the

their own idea of how the objectives

sky, and so therefore the car makers

are to be attained. If an agent meets

can push design further. They say

a problem it can go back to the

that the big problem is joining the

ontology and ask for guidance. The

components. If you could make a

ontology doesn’t impose an overall

structure without any joints, then

solution but suggests to the agent,

you are going to be able to make a

perhaps in general terms, how it can

car that is a unit structure. Returning

overcome its specific problem. For

to biology, if you look at your

instance the suggestion might be to

skeleton the only bits that are really

use a different material, or use

carefully engineered are the joints.

larger or smaller particles. It’s then

That is where the problems occur :

up to the agent to decide how it

the joints.

implements the suggestion. That is an interesting twist ; it gives the agents enough autonomy that they do not have to go to a higher authority to ask what needs to be done but, at the same time, there is a structuring force that pushes things toward a final conclusion and emergence happens. I think that it is

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156

truly interesting, and the advantage

we will do it in a straight line, there

of using a system like this is, I think,

is a certain amount of listening to,

that it is more efficient because

observing and working with these

people ( the agents ) do not have to

systems as if they are part of your

constantly ask what needs to be

world, in order to take them on the

done. It is very flexible : things can

journey discussed previously.

adjust and it is also very resilient. Julian Vincent Julian Vincent

That actually encapsulates one of

The agents refer to some sort of

the big problems that you have as a

central unit only when they have a

biologist. When you are doing any

problem. In the system I am working

experiment with a biological system,

on that central unit will be informed

you do not necessarily know at the

by the functional resolutions that

start what problem the biological

termites and ants use, so it will be

system that you are trying to

based more on the way in which a

investigate has solved. In other

biological system would solve a

words, if you say I want to learn

problem, rather than how an

more about this system, I do not

engineered system would solve a

necessarily know how that system is

problem. The engineering system

responding to its environment and

needs a much more open approach

what it actually evolved to do. And

to design, which is going to be very

so you start doing experiments and

much related to its surroundings, so

you may well find that, at the

it is more of a contextual answer to

beginning, some experiments do not

a problem, and is therefore adaptive.

really tell you anything of interest and it is the organism itself which is

Rachel Armstrong

One of the things about working

“telling” you what you should be doing to it in order to find out

with systems that involve agents is

something useful and interesting. In

that they also give you information

biology it is very important to

about the next steps. Whether those

observe carefully and realise that the

are short term or long term depends

organisms you are looking at are

on how perceptive you are, which in

very different from yourself.

turn becomes how familiar and immersed are you in this kind of reality. As your experience of working with this sort of system increases it starts to provide information that you could never have imagined. Instead of thinking that if we want to go from A to B,

Reflections on the future

157

the future. I think that the resilience and robustness of biology also perform that kind of function. This resilience also gives them a certain Angelo Vermeulen

Resilience in biology & design

degree of predictability that actually

Resilience will be one of the main

enables you to work with it, as a

words of the future : building

design and engineering system with

resilient systems. It is a post-

a relatively predictable idea of

sustainability concept. We all know

success in terms of redesigning and

that part of the world is already

re-engineering. There is actually

messed up and we will not be able

quite a degree of conservatism in

to go back to where we came from.

terms of its performance.

Resilience is more about thinking about systems that can absorb

Julian Vincent

shocks and that can always fall back

When you look at the safety factors

into a healthy balance.

in biological systems, you find they

Now, to obtain something like

are pretty much the same as the

this, I am interested in the concept

safety factors we use in engineering

of co-creation : doing things together.

systems. That, of course, assumes

When I am talking about doing things

that we understand the risks and

together, I am not just talking about

errors that the biological system

collaboration between people but

has to cope with and draw the

also about people working with

proper comparisons with

technological and biological agents

engineering. But you have got to

as a force to re-shape things. That is

define what an error is. There is a

what I envision.

slight problem there because that is implying that you have expectations

Rachel Armstrong

for the system.

I think that the resilience and robustness of biology can be thought

Angelo Vermeulen

of as a kind of living over

Is mutation, and more specifically

engineering systems. Despite the

unwanted mutation, the error

limits of biological systems which

you’re talking about?

may fail or may do something unexpected, they are usually

Julian Vincent

relatively conservative in terms of

You do not know what “unwanted”

their performance. So therefore, you

is because you do not know what

know there is a kind of spectrum of

the selective advantage of a

opportunity within that in the same

mutation is. Even a very small

way as you would over-engineer

percentage selective advantage can

architecture, based on projections of

drive you towards a particular

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158

structure or a particular morphology.

you do not like being wrong, then

Of course, the selective advantage is

you will never learn.

one way of capturing the interrelationship between the

Petra Gruber

organism, its environment and its

We could also say that in a more

context. That selective advantage is

abstract way we also create the

going to change with the context,

context. We do not only create an

whether it is biotic or physical.

object somewhere, but also create an entire system. The definition of failure or error or risk depends on the environment that we give it. We do not create a single artefact

Julian Vincent

Error, risk & innovation

somewhere without being able to

This whole matter of risk and failure

judge where it is happening. In the

is very important, and certainly you

Biolab, we create systems.

rarely find it taken into consideration

Yesterday, we had a difficult time

by biologists. It is only in

finding the right calculation for a

engineering that failure actually

glove box. It took two hours to fix

becomes a problem because we still

the flow of air in an almost sealed

have problems designing complex

box. We are creating environments

structures. The approach to failure in

and not merely making bits and

biology and technology is very

pieces.

different. The tendency of always being “failsafe” in technology is that

Rachel Armstrong

failure is prevented by not allowing a

But essentially, what we are dealing

failure to start. In biology, the

with could be used creatively. Neil

approach is that failure is inevitable.

Stephenson, for example, talks

The best thing we can do is to

about innovation-starvation, and he

control it and to make things

suggests that during the second half

damage tolerant so that you can

of the 20th century, we have gone

accommodate failure in a manner

out of our way to eliminate risk and

that means that you are still alive

error, and to modernise and

and still able to do something. Even

standardise everything. This has led

if the failure is going to be severe,

to an age of what we might call

you’re still likely to have enough life

punctuated equilibrium advances in

left in you to crawl away into a cave

design and engineering, such as the

and sit down until it gets better.

invention of the airplane, the train

These are two different approaches

and rockets. We now have

to failure.

increasing incremental changes but

You cannot learn by being right. You can only learn by being wrong. If

Reflections on the future

the fundamental forms of computing have not changed since the middle

159

1 Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science

of the last century. Stephenson is

evolution by using different kinds of

suggesting that our obsession with

technologies, and therefore we are

eliminating risk is reducing

introducing different factors into

innovation. Indeed, the Centre for

biological systems in order to shape

Existential Studies is setting up in

outcomes. This has provoked a lot of

Cambridge and even this reknown

ethical debate in terms of genetic

university is trying to eliminate the

modification, so it may not always

risk of human damage, although we

be easy to do. I am hoping to use

live in an age of advanced machines.

information systems to try to

In some ways, they are directing

produce faster growth and better

more of their energy towards

performance of plants in specific

unexpected or unwanted outcomes

systems. Can we do that? Can we

and actually ignoring the whole field

start hybridising some of these

of possibility between these

technologies, the NBIC1 technologies,

extremes. Perhaps there are

in ways that start to demonstrate

different ways of looking at these

influences that do not happen

notions of error, risk or the

spontaneously in natural biological

unexpected, as a kind of design

systems? In this era of advanced

strategy. Because of the examples

technologies, they may actually play

that we preserve, it will come from a

a part in the kinds of questions that

whole generation of designers

you are raising. How we deal with

working in artificial life and those

unexpected events? How do we

who are trying to introduce different

start to operationalise these systems

kinds of programs, like Karl Sims ;

that we call biological in ways that

trying to mutate these little blocky

can produce things that are new but

forms of life to create increasingly

also useful, safe and aesthetic ; and

complex forms. And yet the

are also community- and ecological-

humanist is the God in the system.

system building? Those are huge ambitions and they are the right ones. I do not think that we have simple answers to these questions. I think that many of these things are

Julian Vincent

Directing evolution

still emerging on many scales : from

Evolution is not directed. It is only

the molecular to the macro scale of

contextual. It is all in the relationship

ecologies themselves.

between the organism and its environment. Rachel Armstrong

Since the 1990’s or even earlier, we have been trying to influence

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

160

you have open systems, things will inevitably change. It will quite simply happen. The amount of change that we can accommodate is dependent Angelo Vermeulen

Philosophy of change – constant flux

on our sensory system and on our

Architecture is traditionally pretty

processing of information. We rely

much the opposite of continuous

on algorithms and we rely on basic

change. Not that architecture does

unchanging information that we do

not evolve or change, but the

not need to process, because

traditional view of architecture is to

otherwise, information processing

create a space and preserve it as

would overload and we would not be

long as possible. It is an important

able to code : it would be too

part of the history of architecture. If

stressful for us. It is again

we are thinking about architecture

interrelated in the context of our

and social interactions in

perception and our capabilities. The

architecture, imagine the core fabric

way we interpret these notions of

of a city constantly changing. It

change is in a way also dependent

would be extremely stressful and

on our biological system, so it

difficult to navigate, and hence you

demonstrates what we can achieve

want a simple static structure.

and it is up to us to decide.

Personally, I do not find it easy to think about implementing organic

Rachel Armstrong

change in buildings and cities. I think

Julian mentioned Heraclitus earlier,

we are very interested in allowing

and his philosophical view of the

error, mutation, or evolution to

world was that everything is in

come up with novel solutions and

constant flux and change is

innovations that are resilient, but at

inevitable. It is an illusion that things

the same time we want to retain

do not change, which probably also

some core structure. I suppose it’s a

relates to a previous question from

balance. But then the question

the public : how can I stand outside

becomes : who decides on that

this system and observe what is

balance between change and fixed

actually happening? It has to do with

structure? Who takes governance

how we synchronise rhythms,

here? Who decides on the

whether we are looking for changes

equilibriums and determines how

across generations, whether we are

much change is allowed?

looking for change in different time scales and how much control do we

Petra Gruber

actually have over the changes? Or

I think that the concept of change is

is this a cultural and perceptual

inherently interconnected with the

exercise that we have to go through

concept of openness, and as soon as

if we are going to think about these

Reflections on the future

161

kinds of technologies? I do not think

both of those desires can actually be

that there is a standard answer to

met at the same time?

this, and it is part of the process of attempting to influence change.

Angelo Vermeulen

If you think at a more fundamental Petra Gruber

level, what makes change stressful,

I think that speed changes in a way

I think, is its speed. If the speed of

because architecture is in constant

change and the number of changes

change. Things age and we have to

are too high, if there are too many

rebuild them. The way we are

changes happening at the same time,

interacting changes so suddenly

at a certain point you will get totally

that we have the opportunity to

overwhelmed and you just cannot

interact with architecture. This is

handle it anymore. It becomes really

actually a tiny difference, but for us,

difficult if the rules of the game

it is a big difference because we can

change constantly, because your

influence it.

capacity to deal with change is fine as long as the overall governing rules

Rachel Armstrong

stay the same. You can still deal

The sociologist Steve Fuller talked

with the examples Rachel brought

about people acclimatising very

up, because there is a set of rules

rapidly through the 1990’s, including

that we can handle because we

older people who were getting onto

have become used to them over

the Internet and actually finding it

many years. But imagine that those

easy! So he says that there is

rules are changing all the time. Then

actually more anxiety about our

it becomes really difficult.

capacity to deal with changes, rather than our actual ability to deal with them once they are happening.

Petra Gruber

Imagine if gravity fluctuated …

Consider the IT Group that is discussing Moore’s law, which says that the performance of the

Angelo Vermeulen

Yes, exactly!

information systems doubles every eighteen months or two years. This notion of change is almost part of our cultural fabric and in fact, we look for it. As human beings, we seek the novelty of change as an excitement but we also want the comfort of stability. Finally, a question for architects : how do you manage to create a context in which

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

162

Participatory Systems Initiative at TU Delft. A good example to explain the concept of participatory systems is by using the model of energy Angelo Vermeulen

Values

production. The classic model is

What I am using is a co-creation

once again top-down. There’s a

approach, which basically starts with

central large energy company that

offering people a central idea, and

distributes the energy to the people.

then we take it from there. I do not

A participatory system would entail

have a blueprint, and nobody in the

that each house becomes an energy

team does. Julian witnessed this

production unit in itself. The surplus

during a workshop we did some

energy is put onto a smart grid and

time ago, and compared it to how

then is negotiated between the

termites work. What happens is that

users. The way in which that is done

the group starts adding and

is through artificial agents : software

removing things all the time, and

that runs through the network and

gradually you find the solution that

does all the negotiation. The values

you have been looking for. It is a

that are important here are for

very different approach than

example transparency,

traditional top down thinking. It is

empowerment and self-management.

much more lateral. I would like to

The idea is that, if the whole system

expand this way of working to

becomes transparent and all of its

include not just people but also

agents more autonomous, you

biological organisms and artificial

generate trust, and this trust in the

intelligence ; to get all of them to co-

system will actually make it overall

create and give them proper agency

more resilient. From the social

within that co-creation process.

sciences perspective, it is crucial to

Conceptually I envision it as a

be aware of the specific values that

round table where all these different

get integrated into your technical

types of agents negotiate and decide

system. Technology operates not

on which steps to take. This is of

just in isolation, but within a social

course quite abstract, because there

fabric. We prefer to talk about

is no physical round table. I am

’socio-technical systems’ pointing

interested in simulating these

out the inherent interplay between

interactions using agent-based

technology and people.

simulations, and then simulating what happens when you start experimenting with values. This idea of using ‘values’ comes from the perspective of social sciences. I am working with the

Reflections on the future

163

‘conversation’ with these agents requires new forms of communication so that we may understand each other better. Rachel Armstrong

Ethics

In design, you have to accept

In the third millennium, our

dealing with the many contradictions

experience of the world is

and unknowns that shape our

encountered through many different

everyday encounters, particularly

kinds of perceptual lenses. The

when self-organisation, emergence

Internet has acted as a catalyst in

and material limits influence the

this respect. It allows us to

performance of these systems. Once

understand that there are many

things become material there are

overlapping worldviews that coexist,

risks of failure or of being surprised

some of which are contradictory. On

by them. You have to accept that in

the one hand, for example, we may

some way. But how then do you

see ourselves as mechanical humans

reinterpret that in terms of the

with no free will, driven by our

success of your design?

selfish genes and some kind of

Designers and engineers get out

program that is making us do what

there and choreograph the world.

we do. On the other hand we may

Therefore, there needs to be a set of

regard ourselves as being agentised

values on which choices are based.

ecological humans entangled within

You were talking about ethics, the

a plethora of systems, in which our

qualities of space and our

identities are actively edited from

relationship with the natural world.

social and cultural interactions.

They are rippling and multifactorial –

These existential dilemmas, of

and when you start throwing stones

course, are unresolved and must

at them to see how they respond to

simply coexist. While this may not

design, there are beliefs that, in

seem like a particularly rational way

making decisions, one needs to be

to understand the world, rationality

aware of.

is not our only form of understanding reality. We have feelings, emotions, memories and

Angelo Vermeulen

One interesting thing that this

aesthetic experiences. While we

discussion gets me to think about is

post-rationalize some of them they

‘open or closed systems’. If we

cannot all be fully understood

collaborate with biology to generate

through scientific investigation.

new systems, will we actually

Things get even more complex when

enslave biology? Will we create a

we appreciate the role of

framework where biology performs

nonhumans in shaping our

only its assigned role and where, in

experiences. To have a proper

the end, we still get to evaluate

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

164

what has been generated and make the final decisions? Or do we envision a more open philosophy where biology is not only a creation tool, but where it also gets its own agenda and can create things that you did not anticipate. And once it has done that you accept it. This is a difficult ethical question. You can talk about collaborating with biology to generate a new world as architects but ethically, how do you then approach that biology? Julian Vincent

These questions of ethics are all products of evolution and survival. The species that did not survive are the ones that did not support the other members of its species. You have got to be careful to realise that discussions about ethics are not absolutes ; they depend on the context of action.

Reflections on the future

165

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

166

Manifesto Our vision is to deal with the unknowns in design, including self-organisation, emergence, risk, failure and rare or generate

unexpected events ;

transparency and

create a context

responsibility when

within which these

designing systems ;

autonomous produce things that

principles can occur

are new, useful, safe

spontaneously – and even be sustained ;

and aesthetic ; establish a duty of care and qualitative relationships with materials ; integrate ecosystems

establish biological

with technical

paradigms and

systems and make it

hybridisations ; which

possible for them to

make it possible to

evolve ;

apply these life-like develop quality

strategies as forms of

environments and

technology ;

contexts for social systems ; create community and ecological system building ; create participatory systems ; both during the design process and during the life cycle.

Manifesto

167

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

168

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

169

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

170

Authors

Barbara Imhof, project lead,

Petra Gruber, co-project lead,

Waltraut Hoheneder,

architecture, LIQUIFER

architecture, biomimetics,

architecture, design,

Systems Group, AT

Ethiopian Institute of

implementation, LIQUIFER

Barbara Imhof is the co-project

Architecture, Building

Systems Group, AT 

leader of GrAB – Growing As

Construction and City

Waltraut Hoheneder is an

Building. She has a background

Development, Addis Ababa

architect, product designer and

in architecture, having studied at

University, ET and transarch

researcher with a diverse

the Vienna University of

office for biomimetics and

educational background,

Technology VUT, Bartlett School

transdisciplinary architecture,

including a diploma in

UCL, London, and graduated

AT 

architecture at the Academy of

from the Angewandte ( Studio

Petra Gruber is an architect with

Applied Arts Vienna, Prof. W.D.

Wolf D. Prix ). She holds a Master

a strong interest in inter- and

Prix and a diploma in

of Science in Space Studies from

trans-disciplinary design. She

International Business Studies at

the International Space

gained a PhD in Biomimetics in

the Vienna University of

University in Strasbourg, France

Architecture in 2008 from the

Economics and Business, as well

and a PhD in space architecture

Vienna University of Technology

as several years of Product

from VUT ( 2006 ). She taught at

( VUT ). She was Assistant

Design Studies at the Academy

the VUT ( assistant professor for

Professor at the Department for

of Applied Arts, Prof. M. Thun.

8 years ), the ETH Zürich and

Design and Building Construction

Her professional experience

amongst others at the Chalmers

at VUT and collaborated as a

ranges from market research

University in Gothenburg. She

research fellow at the Centre for

studies at Fessel+GfK to design

combines artistic with scientific

Biomimetics at the University of

responsibilities within large-scale

education and she has lived in

Reading, UK, in 2007. She taught

projects at COOP HIMMELB( L )AU

various places in Europe and the

Biomimetics in Energy Systems

such as BMW Delivery Center,

U.S.A. where she is integrated

at the University of Applied

Munich and JVC Entertainment

into international networks. In

Sciences in Villach, Austria and

Center, Mexico. As co-owner and

2004 she co-founded LIQUIFER

held lectures and workshops at

co-manager of LIQUIFER Systems

Systems Group, a platform of

universities worldwide. In her

Group her recent work

experts from different

own company, transarch, she

concentrates on conceptual

backgrounds ( engineering,

works on biomimetic and trans-

research and development

science, architecture, design )

disciplinary design projects, in

projects in the field of

working on R&D projects mainly

collaboration with an

technological and demographic

in EU-Framework Programmes,

international network of

changes and their potential for

for the European Space Agency

scientists. She published widely,

future societal developments.

and the Austrian Science Fund

most importantly the book

Her special interest focuses on

“Biomimetics in Architecture :

transformable minimal spaces

FWF.

Architecture of Life and Buildings”

and related product design.

in 2011. Since 2013, she has been Visiting Professor for Architectural Design at EiABC, Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Biographies

171

Damjan Minovski, architecture,

Viktor Gudenus, mechatronics,

Tanja Oberwinkler, biology,

programming

robotics 

biomimetics

Damjan Minovski studied

Viktor Gudenus studied

Tanja Oberwinkler is a

Architecture in the studio of Wolf

Mechatronics/Robotics at the

microbiologist with a special

Prix at the University of Applied

University of Applied Sciences

focus on biomimetics. She

Arts in Vienna. He was tutor for

Technikum-Wien in Vienna.

graduated in Genetics and

programming and rapid

During his studies he attended

Biotechnology at the University

prototyping in different studios.

biology classes at the University

of Salzburg, Austria in 2006 and

Since his graduation in 2011 he

of Vienna. His Master Thesis was

gained a PhD in Biochemistry at

has worked as freelance visual

conducted at UC Berkeley’s Poly-

the University of Munich,

artist, producing architectural

PEDAL Lab as a Marshall Plan

Germany in 2011. In her PhD

visualisations for renowned

Scholar, where he researched

thesis she investigated microbes

architecture offices like

the integration of Lizard

thriving in extreme habitats with

Asymptote and Coop

locomotion in robotics. He is

special emphasis on metabolism.

Himmelblau. Since 2012 he has

currently registered as a Doctoral

Additionally she holds a Master

been part of the architecture

Student at the Vienna University

of Science in Biomimetics in

collaborative SeMF focusing on

of Technology.

Energy Systems from the

Mapping and Fabrication in the

University of Applied Sciences in

context of architecture.

Carinthia, Austria. In 2006 she was working at the NASA Ames Institute in California, USA, holding a Planetary Biology grant, and for one semester studied at the University of Reykjavik, Iceland. Currently, she is employed at the medical device company Panaceo coordinating research studies on human applications of the alumosilicate zeolite.

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

172

Julian Vincent, biology,

Thomas Speck, Biology,

Angelo Vermeulen, ecology,

biomimetics, mechanical

Biomimetics, University of

art, Delft University of

engineering. University of

Freiburg, Botanic Garden,

Technology, Participatory

Oxford, UK 

Plant Biomechanics Group,

Systems Initiative, NL

Julian F.V. Vincent is a zoologist.

and ‘Freiburg Center for

Angelo Vermeulen is a space

In 1968 he joined the Department

Interactive Materials and

systems researcher, biologist,

of Zoology at the University of

Bio-Inspired Technologies

artist and community organiser.

Reading, UK, developing

( FIT ), DE

As a trained scientist, Vermeulen

expertise in materials and later

Thomas Speck is a biologist who

is as at ease collaborating with

in biomimetics. He co-founded

is specialised in Biomimetics,

practising scientists as he is

the world’s first Centre for

Functional Morphology and

constructing multimedia

Biomimetics in 1991 at Reading.

Biomechanics of Plants. He is full

installations in galleries, and

In 2000 he was appointed

professor at the University of

building communities through

Professor in the Department of

Freiburg ( D), since 2001 Director

design and co-creation. In 2009

Mechanical Engineering in Bath,

of the Botanical Garden, and

he initiated SEAD ( Space

where he created the Centre for

Deputy Managing Director of the

Ecologies Art and Design ), an

Biomimetic and Natural

‘Freiburg Center for Interactive

international network of

Technologies. He retired in 2008.

Materials and Bio-Inspired

individuals working in art,

He was part time lecturer at the

Technologies ( FIT )’. He works

science, engineering and

Royal College of Art & Design

with his research group and

advocacy. Its goal is to reshape

and Imperial College London until

international partners from

the future through critical

2010. He has extensive

academia and industry on

reflection and hands-on

experience in biomimetics and

different projects in biomimetics,

experimentation. From 2011-

has researched and consulted in

bio-inspired materials and

2012 he was a member of the

many interdisciplinary contexts,

surfaces, biomimetics in

European Space Agency Topical

such as mechanical engineering,

architecture, biomechanics and

Team Arts & Science ( ETTAS ),

materials science, architecture,

functional morphology, methods

and in 2013 he was Crew

design, creativity, biology,

of biomimetics, and other fields.

Commander of the NASA-funded

materials, food physics, food

He has published widely and is

HI-SEAS Mars simulation in

texture. He is, and has been, a

co-founder and member of many

Hawai’i. His space-related work

member of numerous scientific

biomimetics societies ; among

led him to start research at Delft

and advisory boards. He is the

others he is board member of

University of Technology,

Founding President of the

the German Bionic Competence

creating new concepts for

International Society of Bionic

Network BIOKON and speaker of

starship development. He has

Engineering ; Senior Research

the Baden-Württemberg

held faculty positions in Europe,

Associate in Zoology, University

Competence Network

the US and the Philippines. In

of Oxford, UK; Honorary

Biomimetics. He holds various

2012 he was Michael Kalil

Professor of Biomimetics at the

patents and has received several

Endowment for Smart Design

University of Rhein-Waal,

prices for his work. Thomas

Fellow at Parsons, and in 2013

Germany ; Adjunct Professor at

Speck acted as scientific expert

he became TED Senior Fellow.

Clemson University, USA.

for GrAB, delivering information

Vermeulen’s art and design

on plant growth, biomechanics

projects have been exhibited

and biomimetic transfer. 

worldwide.

Biographies

173

Andreas Körner

Laura Mesa Arango

Ioana Binica

( March 2014 – September 2014 )

(October 2014 – April 2015 )

( May and June 2015 )

Andreas Körner is currently

Laura Mesa studied Architecture

Ioana Binica holds a diploma in

finishing his Master’s degree in

at the University of Los Andes in

architecture from the University

Architectural Design at Unit20 at

Bogotá, Colombia and holds a

of Architecture and Urbanism Ion

The Bartlett School of

Master of Sciences in Urban

Mincu in Bucharest, Romania.

Architecture, UCL London.

Strategies, studio Excessive,

Further, she is a licensed

Andreas has previously attended

University of Applied Arts in

architect in Romania. Ioana has

the University of Applied Arts

Vienna. She is currently enrolled

started a Masters in architecture

Vienna, Studio Greg Lynn and

in the Doctoral Programme of

in the studio of Zaha Hadid at the

Vienna Technical University from

Architecture at the University of

University of Applied Arts which

where he received his Bachelor's

Innsbruck. She has worked in the

she currently pursues in the

Degree. He gained professional

fields of architecture and urban

studio of Hani Rashid. Ioana

experiences in the fields of

planning in different offices and

spent one year as an Erasmus

design and architecture through

also as an independent architect

student in Thessaloniki, Greece

internships at SOMA in

in Colombia.  

and has also acquired work experience from various offices

Vienna/Salzburg and Studio Lovegrove London.

Mariya Korolova

in Romania.

( May – November 2015 ) Rafael Sánchez Herrera

Mariya Koroleva has a Masters in

Alexander Nanu

( March 2014 – April 2015 )

architecture and structural

( June and July 2015 )

Rafael Sánchez studied

engineering from the PGASA

Alexander Nanu is currently

Architecture and Industrial

Architecture and Civil

studying architecture in the

Design at the University of Los

Engineering University in

Studio Hani Rashid at the

Andes in Bogotá, Colombia and

Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine.

University of Applied

holds a Master of Sciences from

Currently, she is studying in the

Arts. Alexander holds a Bachelor

the Programme in Urban

Masters programme of

degree in architecture from the

Strategies, studio Excessive,

architecture in the studio of Zaha

Technical University of Vienna,

University of Applied Arts in

Hadid at the University of

where he also visited the Master

Vienna. He also has practical

Applied Arts. Mariya has been

Programme. Further he studied

work experience through his

working in various architecture

at the Royal Institute of

work in architecture offices as

offices in the Ukraine and has

Technology, Stockholm and

Designer and Architect for eco-

founded her own design studio

visited there the Performative

sustainable building projects.

Digital Architects with her

Design Studio taught by Ulrika

colleague Atanas Zhelev.

Karlsson. He has been working for various architecture offices,

Ceren Yönetim  ( March 2014 – August 2015 )

Atanas Zhelev

for example soma architecture,

Ceren Yönetim is currently

( September – November 2015 )

Vienna. At present Alexander is

enrolled in the Master of

Atanas Zhelev is an architect

working on a film directed by

Architecture in the Studio of

graduate and designer from

Roland Emmerich for Wideshot,

Greg Lynn and the painting

Bulgaria. He completed a

Vienna in the field of Production

studio of Emma Rendl Denk at

Bachelor in Architecture and Civil

Design.

the University of Applied Arts

Engineering at the Tokyo

Vienna. Before, she studied at

University of Science in Japan.

the Vienna University of

He is currently studying in the

Technology in the Masters

studio Zaha Hadid for his Master

Programme of Architecture.

of Architecture at the University

Ceren holds a Bachelor degree in

of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria.

architecture from Mimar Sinan

Atanas Zhelev worked at Kengo

Fine Arts University in Istanbul,

Kuma Associates and

Turkey ( 2011 ). She has been

Archicomplex in Tokyo, Japan

accumulating professional work

and has recently established his

experience in several offices in

own design studio Digital

Istanbul and at the German

Architects.

Archaeological Institute ( DAI ). At present Ceren works as a freelance architecture designer for housing projects.

Built to Grow : Blending Architecture and Biology

174

Acknowledgements

Mohammedneja Shikur

Rachel Armstrong,

( November 2013 – July 2014 )

Department of Architecture,

Mohammedneja Shikur received

Planning and Landscape,

We would like to extend our gratitude to the following

his Bachelor’s Degree in

Newcastle University

people who supported the project GrAB.

Architecture in 2013 at the

Rachel Armstrong is Professor of

Ethiopian Institute of

Experimental Architecture at the

UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS

Architecture, Building

Department of Architecture,

Rector Gerald Bast

Construction and City

Planning and Landscape,

Development, Addis Ababa

Newcastle University. She is also

PROJECT COORDINATION

University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

a 2010 Senior TED Fellow who is

Alexander Damianisch, Angelika Zelisko, Wiebke Miljes

Mohammedneja participated in

establishing an alternative

architectural research projects at

approach to sustainability that

STUDIO GREG LYNN

the Institute of Architecture and

couples with the computational

Greg Lynn, Bence Bap, Parsa Khalili, Maja Ozvadic

has gained professional

properties of the natural world to

experience in several offices in

develop a 21st century

INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE

Addis Ababa such as MAT

production platform for the built

Klaus Bollinger, Roswitha Janowski-Fritsch, Sabine

consulting architects, Biniyam Ali

environment, which she calls

Perternell

consulting architects, BET

‘living’ architecture. Rachel has

architects, AEON architects as

been frequently recognised as a

INFORMATION AND EVENT MANAGEMENT

well as many private projects.

pioneer. She has recently been

Anja Seipenbusch-Hufschmied

featured in an interview for PORTER magazine, added to the

ANGEWANDTE INNOVATION LABORATORY

2014 Citizens of the Next

Alexandra Graupner

Century List by Future-ish and listed on the Wired 2014 Smart List. She is one of the 2013 ICON

Michael Rossak

50, and described as one of the

http ://members.aon.at/microlab/

ten people in the UK that may shape the UK’s recovery by Director Magazine in 2012. In the same year she was nominated as one of the most inspiring top nine women by Chick Chip magazine and featured by BBC Focus Magazines in 2011 in ‘ideas that could change the world’.

Acknowledgements

175

Barbara Imhof, LIQUIFER Systems Group, Vienna, Austria

Credits

Petra Gruber, transarch, Ybbs, Austria www.growingasbuilding.org

all images credit : GrAB team 2013 – 2015 except :

The research was funded by the Austrian Science Fund ( FWF ): AR 202-G21 in the arts-based research programme PEEK 2012

p.10, 16, 178 /179 : Bruno Stubenrauch, exhibition ‘Built to Grow’, Angewandte Innovation Laboratory, 2015 p. 27: Miro Straka p. 29 : Barbara Imhof p.31 : Brian Peters, BuildingBytes ; ICD/ITKe research Pavilion, Stuttgart 2014 – 2015 p.32 : courtesy of NASA p.35 : Lienhard J, Schleicher S, Poppinga S, Masselter T, Milwich M, Speck T, Knippers J., 2011 p.36 : H.M. Jonkers, TU Delft, NL; Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg & EMPA Dübendorf ; courtesy of NASA

Copy editing : Jo Lakeland

p.37: Susan L Shafer for ecovativedesign.com, 2015

Layout, cover design and typography :

p.38 : courtesy Rachel Armstrong, 2012

Alexander Ach Schuh

p.39 : GrAB team, Damjan Minovski

Cover photo : GrAB 2014

p.48 /49 : GrAB team, Angelo Vermeulen

Printing : Holzhausen Druck GmbH, Austria

p.54 /55 : GrAB team, Damjan Minovski p.60 /61 : GrAB team, Rafael Sanchez Herrera p.64 /65 : GrAB team, Waltraut Hoheneder

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data

p.70 : Wikimedia Commons

A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at

p.72 / 73 : GrAB team, Ceren Yönetim

the Library of Congress.

p.82 /83 : GrAB team, Ceren Yönetim p.86 /87: GrAB team, Ceren Yönetim

Bibliographic information published by the German

p.91/92 : Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

National Library

p.94 /95 : GrAB team, Ioana Binica based on a

The German National Library lists this publication in the

collaborative design with Jiri Vitek

Deutsche Nationalbibliografie ; detailed bibliographic data

p.100 –102 : Plant Biomechanics Group Freiburg

are available on the Internet at http ://dnb.dnb.de.

p.104 /105 : GrAB team, Rafael Sanchez Herrera p.107: GrAB team, Rafael Sanchez Herrera

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved,

p.115 : GrAB team, Ioana Binica based on a collaborative

whether the whole or part of the material is concerned,

design with Jiri Vitek

specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, re-use of

p.116 /117: GrAB team, Barbara Imhof

illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on

p.124 /125 : GrAB team, Rafael Sanchez Herrera

microfilms or in other ways, and storage in databases.

p.132 /133 : GrAB team, Damjan Minovski

For any kind of use, permission of the copyright owner

p.142 /143 : GrAB team, Viktor Gudenus

must be obtained.

p.150 /151 : Damjan Minovski for LIQUIFER Systems Group, 2012

This publication is also available as an e-book ( ISBN PDF 978-3-0356-0747-5 ISBN EPUB 978-3-0356-0741-3 ) © 2016 Birkhäuser Verlag GmbH, Basel P.O. Box 44, 4009 Basel, Switzerland Part of Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Printed on acid-free paper produced from chlorine-free pulp. TCF ∞ Printed in Austria ISSN 1866-248X ISBN 978-3-0356-0920-2

987654321 www.birkhauser.com

p.168 /169 : GrAB team, Rafael Sanchez Herrera

Vectoria Bold The Vienna City Library at City Hall

Titel of the article

177

The book explores different pathways of experimenting with biology and architecture in the new field of Living Architecture. It takes architectural visions of a selfgrowing house and looks at growth patterns and dynamics from nature to apply them to architectural visions. The book presents ideas, approaches and concepts for grown structures developed by an interdisciplinary team from the fields of architecture, art, biology, robotics and mechatronics. The core part of the book establishes the relevance of the two and a half years artistic research work conducted under the project name GrAB – Growing As Building. This includes hands-on experiments in a biolab with biological role models such as the pathfinding slime mould, mycelium structures and metabolic systems around a novel 3D mobile printer. Excerpts from conversations with different experts about agency, emergence and resilience, and a discussion about the immanent values and ethical aspects of this research are reflected to contextualise the work within our world of change.

ISSN 1866-248X ISBN 978-3-0356-0920-2 www.birkhauser.ch