Profile | Rachel Armstrong

Okay ... so this is the old new way of rapidly constructing buildings ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN8mvhzX9No&feature=PlayList&p=1B2403C08FD2A1D3&index=3 And this is the next generation up, a rapid prototyping project supported by Peter Diamandis founder of the Singularity University ... http://www.weareacasa.com/ And this is another step again in manufacturing paradigms from Dario Bush automated system (NASA I think!) who propose it is possible to 'print' buildings ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEO8JxcsMNY So ... Living Buildings is the next evolutionary stage ... we will grow them ...

My Background: Rachel Armstrong was described as a ‘polymath’, at this year’s TEDGlobal Oxford conference, by TED’s Community Director, Tom Reilly. Armstrong’s extensive interdisciplinary practice engages with a fundamental driving principle – the fundamental creativity of science. Her work uses all manner of media to engage audiences and bring them into contact with the latest advances in science and their real potential through the inventive applications of technology, to address some of the biggest problems facing the world today. What are Living Buildings? At the beginning of this year Armstrong focussed her attention on developing a new model of sustainable architectural practice that would directly combat climate change. Armstrong proposed that genuinely sustainable architeture can best be created by connecting the built environment to natural systems, as opposed to isolating them from each other, and proposed that this can take place through the practice of Living Buildings. This differs from other forms of sustainable architecture in the way that the buildings are constructed (they do not rely on Victorian construction methods but use local materials to 'grow' their functional & structural solutions) and in the materials they use that are able to engage in a 'conversation' with the environment using a chemical language, or 'metabolism'. Living Buildings do not yet exist in architectural practice since they require the development of a new set of dynamic materials that are capable of complex interactions with the environment and Armstrong is developing these ‘metabolic materials’ in collaboration with UCL researchers and international science centres. The core of her research involves a radical interdisciplinary approach that engages practitioners of ‘synthetic biology’ and ‘complexity chemistry’ to work with architects in theoretical and practical settings. What are Metabolic Materials? Armstrong is working with chemist Martin Hanczyc from Denmark, who is interested in the transition from inert to living matter and is exactly the kind change is needed when thinking about the future of the built environment. Hanczyc uses a model system called a protocell, which is a little fatty bag, charged only with a chemical battery and no DNA. Yet the protocell conducts itself in a way that can only be described as living. Protocells can move around and sense their environment. They can also undergo complex physical behaviours, some of which have architectural properties. Such as, modification of the immediate environment, shedding a skin and the production of solids. Armstrong is now working to develop the technology towards producing bottom up construction methods for architectural practice. An example of Bottom Up generated Architecture: Bottom up methods of producing new materials are not new to architectural practice. Some natural materials such as limestone, which is generated by the bottom up assembly fossilized shells of marine creatures, have been in use as building materials since ancient times. What distinguishes Living Buildings from these natural processes is that metabolic agents are being used to retain the 'living' processes by which the original materials were generated so that in the case of the production of limestone, the rock would be able to continue to grow by producing its own artificial ‘shells, so that it would now be able to grow and repair itself. This is possible using the protocell system when the technology is programmed to produce limestone shells by fixing carbon dioxide into a solid, rock-like substance. When this principle is applied to a large scale this 'metabolic' material would possess ecological potential such as the restoration of atolls and even to sustainably reclaim areas that are under stress from changing water levels. Sustainably Reclaiming Venice by growing an Artificial Limestone Reef underneath it: An example of this is the historic city of Venice, which has a tempestuous relationship with the sea and its foundations are built upon wooden piles. We have suggested a new approach to reclaiming this city using the protocell technology and it may be possible, through a series of incremental technological developments, to grow an artificial reef beneath this city. Work is being conducted to engineer the protocells so that they can reliably produce a rock like substance, possibly using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and some exploratory experiments have been completed this summer to demonstrate the concept. It is envisaged that the protocells will interact with traditional building materials so that the solid they produce can be deposited around the wood, petrify the piles and turn the foundations of Venice into stone.The technology can also be programmed so that it prefers shady areas to sunlight, so that the rock produced by the protocells will not be deposited in the canals and some species have already been observed to move away from light, which will be tested in more detail. It will take years of tuning and monitoring the technology before it is ready to be tested on a case-by case basis where the most damaged or at risk houses in Venice that need to be restored can undergo trials and may be a decade or so away. Gradually the protocells will generate an artificial reef-like structure under the foundations of Venice. This will provide a new habitat for local plants and animals that will connect the artificial reef with the natural marine ecology. Because the chemistry that underpins the metabolisms of living systems is everywhere, this new approach to constructing architecture would benefit developing countries as much as First World nations. The Future for Living Buildings: Metabolic materials and their implementation through Living Buildings, provide a new way of making architecture using a bottom up approach to construction and because they have some ‘living’ properties they can be expected to produce a great range of forms and functions within the built environment. Eventually these architectures may be almost impossible to distinguish from natural ones!