Bit.Bio.Bot wants you to farm algae at home as protein source and to purify air

at the venice architecture biennale 2021, ecoLogicStudio unveils the ‘Bit.Bio.Bot’ exhibition, educating visitors on domestic microalgae cultivation and encouraging them to grow it inside their own homes. created along with the synthetic landscape lab at innsbruck university and the urban morphogenesis lab at the bartlett UCL, the exhibition takes shape as an urban laboratory combining advanced architecture with microbiology. the project generates an artificial habitat, which actively showcases how cultivating algae in today’s urban sphere could facilitate air purification, carbon dioxide removal, access to sustainable food and alternative protein sources, as well as the establishment of a deeper connection between humans and nature.

image courtesy of marco cappelletti

Bit.Bio.Bot. functions based on the process of photosynthesis, powered by the sun and by the living culture metabolism of spirulina platensis and chlorella  — which find themselves among the most nutritious organisms on earth and widely consumed as health supplements. ecoLogicStudio’s lab consists of three interlinked systems: the living cladding, the vertical garden, and the convivium. composed of ten photosynthetic curtains, the living cladding turns walls into efficient air purifiers. each curtain is three meters high and one meter wide, featuring 35 meters of digital welding, which forms a cavity capable of containing 7 liters of micro-algae cultures.

image courtesy of marco cappelletti

meanwhile, the vertical garden creates a thick buffer zone between the living cladding and the convivium, dedicated to an intensive model of vertical algae farming. each garden section, made of lab-grade borosilicate glass and 3D printed bioplastic components, accommodates 10 liters of micro-algae cultures in a potent growing medium. while producing algae actively, the vertical garden is able to absorb CO2 at a rate equal to three large mature trees, providing a clear path to carbon neutrality in architecture.

image courtesy of marco cappelletti

seeking to explore the culinary potential of microalge, the convivium takes shape as a large shared table encouraging visitors to experiment and taste the algae. the table hosts 36 unique pieces of crystal glassware 3D printed by swarovski, where people can observe the fresh harvest. each crystal piece is made of delicately fused glass layers – arranged in a matrix that algorithmically follows the morphogenesis of micro-algae cells, thus generating a variety of visual patterns.

image courtesy of marco cappelletti

the experimental space is also formed as a means to test the co-existence between human and non-human living organisms, in the context of a post-pandemic urban sphere. ‘Bit.Bio.Bot contributes to questioning and re-designing some of the logics which led us to the current health crisis. 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 exploit unsustainable food supply chains and polluted atmospheres to reach our organism and cause us harm,’ asserts claudia pasquero, co-founder of ecoLogicStudio.

image © NAARO

image © designboom

 
image © designboom

image courtesy of marco cappelletti

project info:

name: Bit.Bio.Bot
architects: ecoLogicStudio (claudia pasquero, marco poletto)
project team: claudia pasquero, marco poletto with eirini tsomouku, oscar villarreal, claudia handler, korbinian enzinger, terezia greskova, alessandra poletto, emiliano rando, joy bolois
academic partners: synthetic landscape lab IOUD innsbruck university, urban morphogenesis lab BPRO, the bartlett UCL
with the additional support of: innsbruck university, swarovski, ecoduna, destination wattens, anonymous donor