Natural coral might be straining under oil spill pressure in the Gulf of Mexico, but a living manmade version could become an effective, carbon-negative way to "grow" walls. Scientists from several European universities are collaborating to develop the material.
Researchers from the University of Greenwich, the University of Southern Denmark, the University of Glasgow and the University College London are working with protocells, which are engineered bubbles of fatty oil suspended in an aqueous solution.
Danish scientists even got protocells to behave like the marine organisms that build coral, capturing carbon dioxide in solution and turning it into carbon-based materials. The idea is to ultimately get the process to generate calcium carbonate. Imagine architects being able to order a solution that grows limestone walls for a project, effectively trapping CO2 in the process.
As Gizmag's Ben Coxworth points out, this type of artificial process is already on display, albeit in a futuristic, interactive art installation setting. Canadian sculptor and architect Philip Beesley's Hylozoic Ground environment presents visitors with arrays of fragile touch sensors. Scientific designer Martin Hanczyc developed the project's living chemistry feature: protocells that turn visitors' exhalations into carbon-containing solids.
With Hylozoic Ground currently on display in Venice for the architecture biennale, the European scientists are talking about potentially using protocells to stabilize wood piles and keep the city above water. Whether this kind of artificial coral could actually help Venice remains unclear, but with design this amazing, I wouldn't mind seeing these guys give it a go. The Floating City could use the support.
Photo: Architect and sculptor Philip Beesley's interactive Hylozoic Ground installation at the Venice Biennale in Architecture turns CO2 into something more concrete. Credit: Philip Beesley.
Tags: Buildings and Structures, Carbon Emissions, Green Science, Green Tech, Materials
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