A prototype for a future dwelling, energetic self-sufficient, carbon neutral and nutritionally circular. A delightful urban space to test a new kind of symbiosis between man and cyanobacteria.
For the opening of EXPO 2017 in Astana (Kazakhstan) ecoLogicStudio completed the Bio.Tech HUT, a prototype dwelling that encapsulates the office’s innovation for the integration of advanced biotechnology in the build environment. The project is at all effects an urban algae farm, exploring the anthropological relationship between man and the natural environment in the urban age.
The Bio.Tech HUT is composed of three fluidly interconnected environments that loosely embody the fundamental programs of a dwelling. The Lab is a space of science and rationality, where new species of micro-organisms are domesticated and engineered into artificial cultivars, exhibiting alien growth patterns and resulting into innovative material assemblies.
From the Lab two interwoven corridors lead into the Living Hut, the core space of the dwelling. It is a space of artistic experience divided into two rooms. One is flooded with natural light and hosts HORTUS, Hydro Organisms Responsive to Urban Stimuli. It is inhabited by photosynthetic colonies of cyanobacteria which dwellers are called to nurture with their exhale of carbon dioxide; in turn they receive oxygen and the growing biomass. A form of domestic symbiosis emerges, one that seeks augmented interaction between the world of micro-particles and the space of human inhabitation.
HORTUS and its convolutedness are the spatial embodiment of this new relationship between energy and form. Next to it is the bio-light room, a space of calm, slowness and darkness; the only visible light emitted by bioluminescent bacteria when shaken and oxygenated by the dwelling’s air handling system.
The Living Hut leads into the third and more open environment, the Garden Hut where production is concentrated. The algae photo-bioreactor room is completely clad in growing microalgae. These highly photosynthetic microorganisms generate biomass and oxygen while absorbing carbon dioxide. Central to this part of the dwelling is the harvest area, a communal space of craft, for the processing and transformation of biomass in food and electricity.
The structure and the cladding of the Bio.Tech Hut integrate multiple levels of performance. The programmatic articulation of the dwelling and its performance are deeply interrelated, expressing architecturally this notion of symbiosis between human
and non-human dwellers.
The photo-bioreactor cladding, designed by ecoLogicStudio in collaboration with LGem, is developed from a revolutionary system that uses a high velocity air flow to lift the living medium up into lab grade grass tubes. The fast air stream creates eddies on the liquid surface, and a unique stirring effect that gives the desired O2 / CO2 exchange. Also the bubbles keep the wall of the tubes clear improving the quality and productivity of the culture. The fluid then descends by gravity to complete the loop. Multiple loops are coiled around the garden and the living spaces thus becoming defining architectural elements.
This was achieved by individually designing and numbering each pipe in the system; this kind of integrated system is a world first. Structurally the coils are supported by series of sectional frames in high performance honeycombed polycarbonate. The resulting structure is lightweight, fully recyclable and most importantly has the unique effect of scattering and enhancing the penetration of solar radiation deep into the Hut. This further enhances the growth of the micro-algal organisms.
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BIO.techHUT, Isometric Drawing ©ecoLogicStudio
Bio.Tech Hut demonstrates the feasibility of integrating advanced horticultural systems in an high-end urban environments. It proposes a new aesthetic dimension for sustainable production that is profoundly urban and part of the future fabric of architecture.
The Bio.Tech Hut is 180sqm in plan, can host a large family and it supports 1600L of living cultures of cyanobacteria in its lab grade glass photo-bioreactors. In optimal conditions it is a test bed of self-sufficiency as demonstrated by the data collected in this project.
On oxygenation
The average adult inhales 550L O2/day and it takes 8 large trees to produce that. The average adult also exhales 1kg CO2/day, and it takes approximately 16 large trees to adsorb that. The BIO.tech HUT hosts a total of 1600L of living cultures; in optimal conditions they absorb 2kg of CO2/day and produce 1.5kg of O2. BIO.tech HUT ability to absorb CO2 is equivalent to that of 32 large trees.
On biofuels and energetic self-sufficiency
On average the BIO.tech HUT produces 1.12kg of dry algae per day. Green microalgae like Schiochytrium or diatomee like Phaeodactylum Tricornutum can contain up to 60% oil in dry weight. Hence BIO.tech HUT can produce 672g of oil per day from which approximately 1kg of biofuel can be produced, releasing up to 37 MJ of energy or 10.3 KWh. That is enough to power an average UK home.
On embodied energy and new urban metabolism
A microalgae like Chlorella contains up to 60% proteins, so every day the BIO.tech HUT could produce 672g of proteins, enough to supply the recommended daily intake of 12 adults. An average cow provides 52kg of meat based proteins and it takes 660 days to breed it. Therefore the BIO.tech HUT produces the equivalent meat based proteins of 8 cows. The breeding process consumes on average 2.682 MJ per day to do that, equivalent to the energy consumption of 70 average UK households.
On global warming
Every cow also produces methane equivalent to 4 tons of CO2 per year; for 8 cows that is 87kg per day. If we would switch to an algae proteins diet, the overall net contribution to carbon sequestration of the BIO.tech HUT would be of approx. 90kg per day. It takes 500 square meters of forest to do that