In this project we investigate the integration of living bacteria into a 3D printable biopolymer composite for architectural applications. We specifically focus on incorporating cellulose-producing bacteria to grow 3D bacterial cellulose in-situ as a localised protective skin on a printed geometry. The embedding and reactivation of the bacterial cellulose opens a pathway to ask how a biopolymer might be activate its own maintenance within a living architecture.
Bacterial Cellulose (BC) is a natural and biodegradable biomaterial which shares many characteristics with plant cellulose while offering additional benefits such as good tensile strength, high water-holding capacity, and responsive growth. To produce and test large-scale samples, the research relaxes controlled lab conditions and pursues a more resilient culturing method, a kombucha culture or SCOBY. The living bacteria is integrated into the paste material, robotically 3d printed into architectural geometries, and stages of dormancy and reactivation are evoked.
The project proceeds via a sequence of exploratory experiments that 1) test the compatibility of the living bacteria against each constituent material of the base biopolymer composite, 2) test the printability of this new material in an architectural scale element, and 3) reactivate the bacteria and evaluate the growth of bacterial cellulose films at the surface of the samples.
The Eco-Metabolistic Architecture project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101019693).
The Eco-Metabolistic Architecture project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101019693).