Directed biogenic fabrication : programming cells and their ecosystems to grow civil infrastructure
Name
1136611405-MIT.pdf
Size
10.5 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bcee2929bc4bfdfe5e8f661e831ff9c7
Author(s)
Van Zak, Joshua.
Advisor(s)
Neri Oxman.
Alternative Title
Programming cells and their ecosystems to grow civil infrastructure
Date Issued
2019
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis introduces and evaluates directed biogenic fabrication: a philosophical approach and technical framework for co-fabricating ecologically active civil infrastructure with living cells. I propose that imbuing our buildings and urban systems with life, or at least biologic capabilities, will enable tight interconnections between fundamental species occupying different infrastructural niches, resulting in urban ecosystems that develop and evolve closed-loop resource cycles and equilibrate our atmosphere. As a proof of concept for this generalizable approach, I cover three strategies demonstrating specific tools, techniques, and assessment methods for designing elements of a living infrastructure: (1) Programmable Surface Features and Hydrophilicity -utilizing organic chemistry, computational design, and digital fabrication to engender particular mechanical properties and responsiveness in biopolymer materials; Communication Ecology-templating visual and conformational signals in biopolymer materials that communicate information about the environment to other organisms; and Opportunistic Chimeric Design-exploiting and co-opting the most powerful capabilities evolution has produced in order to grow infrastructural lifeforms. The first two methods are exemplified through two architectural scale pavilions -Aguahoja I and II-while the third is shown through a series of prototypical materials synthesized by two types of bone cancer cells. This thesis makes contributions to the fields of materials science, biological engineering, civil engineering, digital fabrication, and computational design..
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, June, 2019
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 82-88).
Subjects
Program in Media Arts and Sciences
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
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