EcoLogics Studio demonstrated a revolutionary blend of architecture, biology and digital technology in Milan, Italy, last week.
The strange contraption, dubbed an ‘Algae Canopy’, generates as much oxygen per day as 400,000 square feet of natural woodland.
EcoLogics says its “world’s first bio-digital canopy integrates micro-algal cultures and real time digital cultivation protocols on a unique architectural system.”
Flows of water and energy to the living structure are regulated by weather patterns and visitor usage, while sunlight increases photosynthesis, causing the structure to generate organic shade in response. The canopy can produce over 300 pounds of algae daily.
The structure represents a trend in architecture, where architectural and ecosystem design are fused together. In the structure the canopy adapts its features based on manual as well as environmental inputs.
“This process is driven by the biology of mico-algae is inherently responsive and adaptive; visitors will benefit from this natural shading property while being able to influence it in real-time.”
The company sees organic systems tied to high-tech ones in current and future buildings and infrastructure. It also sees the convergence of urban and rural designs towards more uniform organic models. Basically their vision take sustainability to a whole new level, where high tech systems that control living plants are fused directly into architecture.
“In ecoLogicStudio we believe that it is now time to overcome the segregation between technology and nature typical of the mechanical age, to embrace a systemic understanding of architecture. In this prototype the boundaries between the material, spatial and technological dimensions have been carefully articulated to achieve efficiency, resilience and beauty.”
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