Living Architecture: Metabolic applications for next-generation, selectively-programmable bioreactors
Hogle, M.,Imhof, B., Hoheneder W., Living Architecture: Metabolic applications for next-generation, selectively-programmable bioreactors, Contributing: Rachel Armstrong, Ioannis Ieropoulos, Lauren Wallis, Jiseon You, Juan Nogales
Keywords: Living Architecture, metabolic applications, bioreactor, programmable, wastewater treatment, energy production
Abstract
Vital natural resources are depleting and being wasted in today’s industrialized and agricultural processes. Critical planetary boundaries’ have been transgressed with major effects on biodiversity loss and climate change. Necessary elements for our daily life such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are being lost through household wastewater. The EU-funded project Living Architecture which is currently under development addresses these issues through a selectively programmable bioreactor that recovers phosphates, cleans water and produces electricity. The Living Architecture system, to be realized in 2019 as a partition wall to be incorporated into existing buildings, is further speculated in design scenarios, including a remote research facility for extreme environments, and for application into the urban context as infrastructure.