Venice – Algae could play a vital role in the future of urban architecture, according to the latest exhibition from design practice EcoLogicStudio.
On show at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the studio’s Bit.Bio.Bot exhibition invites visitors to grow their own algae and consider future use cases for the biomaterial in urban design. Having worked with the resource for the past decade, EcoLogicStudio is further experimenting with the architectural applications of algae – presenting the idea of ‘living cladding’ that allows walls to become air purifiers, and vertical gardens for algae farming.
‘Bit.Bio.Bot contributes to questioning and redesigning… which led us to the current health crisis,’ explains Claudia Pasquero, co-founder of EcoLogicStudio. ‘If we, collectively, daily and locally, will contribute to transforming air pollutants and water contaminants into highly nutritious aliments, there will be fewer opportunities for unbalanced viral ecologies [to] cause us harm.’
By highlighting the multiple use cases of algae in architectural design, this exhibition points to an urban future imbued Air-purifying Algae.