Energy is at the centre of the development of the contemporary urban landscape, however we are facing a situation where the energy structures of these cities are often segregated, hidden from the places of urban life. The bio-technological Prototypes presented aimed to subvert this paradigm of segregation, through the study of morphology, materiality and aesthetic novelty generating the emergent qualities of specific flows of energy and information.

GreyLess designers hiked to Valldaura for a pre-installation site visit to determine an ideal location to place the phytodepuration system. The ideal location would be adjacent to: crops that need to be irrigated, water tank, and visible from the house. After the site visit we acquired more information about the tanks that can be accessed. Currently, two rain water basins about 2 meters from the back end of house provide the house with clean water. Farther into the forest resides a black and gray water tank that are combined and unaccessable. In the future, the residents of Valldaura plan to separate black and grey water tanks. For this installation we will use the existing water tank to simulate grey water that will flow through our system.

Final Form:
The 4th prototype was a single, linear form incorporating the slow sand filter, algae slide within the high and low pools to create one coherent system. Arriving to our final form, we depart from the single slope design we have used in our past prototypes to developing it in section, giving us a more refined geometry to optimize the water vectors as they flow through the system. In the past each prototype was developed based on discrete paramaters and developments and changes in those parameters. In this prototype we will fully integrate all of the lessons learned from previous prototypes as well as the full scope of parameters into eachother.

[Image below depicts the mapping of parameters for the final prototype, prior to integration and site strategy.]

Parameters:
Post Midterm Review, we stepped back from the prototype to analyze which parameters were successful, need to be improved, and new parameters to be implemented.

What was successfull?
-Increase surface area for hosting biofilm: after extracting contour lines from the digital model surface, the contours of each tooth are distorted from each other by increasing the apex point offset from the centerline of the tooth.

What needs to be improved?
-Using diameter of the teeth to replicate effective aggregate size instead of depending on the Venturi effect to drive the perimeter of the flumes.

-Improve entrance/exit curve oscillation in perimeter of the flumes in order to get the water to reach the outer extents of the slide. This will be done by developing each flume in section.

-Ensure that the profiles of the final contouring of the form doesn’t negatively effect the water pathways.

-Centerline of the water flow in each row needs to be offset from those of the row before and after instead of being aligned. In the upcoming prototype enhanced by using curved interruption vector lines rather than straight lines, this is something we did in the 2nd prototype, and want to re-incorporate in our new form.

New Parameters:
modular structure strategy
water flow vectors superimposed with interruption (curved) vectors as was done in our 2nd prototype.

-Arduino Outputs

Output Ranges:
Converting outputs in ardruino code to get the numerical data in a form we can translate to a projection. In order to do this, we will send the arduino translations to grasshopper via firefly where we will use the data to manipulate the geometry of the water flow vectors for the projection data visualization before being visualized in processing.

 Hygroscopic behavior of 1mm thick pieces of linden wood, 5x times sped-up.

(Click image to view video)

Within this architectural context, hygroscopic morphology is defined by the study of forms made from materials that tend to absorb moisture from air. The goal is to produce kinetic energy by nature itself, without any artificial mechanical assistance. It is therefore anticipated that this type of “natural technology” can be exploited and the produced energy can be used for creating some kind of architectural structure with a function, useful for the community. In our case, the community consists of the people affiliated with IaaC and the Valldaura campus.

During our first visit to the site, we found ourselves in the middle of a thick mist. The phenomenon seems to be common in the area, as the mountains and hills around gather large amounts of humidity when the sun is absent. Humidity in its usual form, as well as in the form of fog and rain is the “machine” that provides the kinetic energy we are called to use. But rain and fog are also water. Pure water, in fact, that can be consumed after minimal purification procedures. It can also be collected and stored. Some hygroscopic materials are able to trap the water droplets of rain on their fibrous structure. In fact, installations of simple mesh materials have been used successfully on this purpose in many cases. So, hygroscopic morphology is much more than the kinetic energy produced by specific materials like wood.

We decided to focus on combining these two hygroscopic behaviors and creating some kind of mechanism that would be able to collect water. A kinetic water collector that would adapt to the humidity conditions by changing its shape: exposing the collecting meshes during high humidity time and protecting them when the environment is dry.

[ Dimitris Aidonis - Efilena Baseta - Carlos Bausá - Karl Francalanza ]

Our first goal is to achieve this production of mycelium, important are

-type of cellulose based input
-sterilization proccess
-type of mushrooms
-growing time of mushrooms

Second goal is while we are creating the materials, to find a possible use in architecture. This will be based on the quality and type of the material we will produce in this time.

The final goal is to fabricate this possible use, it can be:

-a module of a system
-a building block to construct
-a smaller scale object (furniture)

Resarch group:
Gökhan Catikkas
Hristo Ivanov Kovachev
Renata de Castro Lotto
Giombattista Areddia

MYCELIUM GROWING / SUPPLYING v1.0

Mycelium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in soil and on or within many other substrates. A typical single spore germinates into a homokaryotic mycelium, which cannot reproduce sexually; when two compatible homokaryotic mycelia join and form a dikaryotic mycelium, that mycelium may form fruiting bodies such as mushrooms. A mycelium may be minute, forming a colony that is too small to see, or it may be extensive.

In 2013, a company called Ecovative Design announced that they were developing an alternative to polystyrene and plastic packaging by growing mycelium in agricultural waste. The two ingredients would be mixed together and placed into a mold for 3–5 days to grow into a durable material. Depending on the strain of mycelium used, they could make different varieties of the material including water absorbant, flame retardant, and dielectric.

http://www.ecovativedesign.com/mushroom-materials/

Phil ross (artist biologist) tries to research the potential of mycelium materials

http://philross.org/projects/mycotecture/#projects/mycotecture/

Our purpose is mainly trying to do it with the mushrooms we found around the property of Valdaura so that what we design in the end would be fitting to the concept of local materials better.

As we walked around we found a lot of mushrooms growing on tree roots, but not so many growing freely on the soil we collected them all to start experimenting. After we started our research and found out that the mushrooms growing on tree branches or roots were very hard growing ones so we started searching for fast growin, mycelium forming mushrooms and ideal conditions to do the proccess.

We found a simple method on youtube to form mycelium. This method uses cardboard and warm water to sterilize the cardboard for 20 minutes.

After this they put little pieces of mushroom tissue in the container and wait.

We continued trying different methods to sterilize sawdust and different types  of mushroom to grow mycelium.

We found a mycelium supplier and got some already grown mycelium. He told us that to grow more from that bag needed very precise conditions like humidity and temperature. We will try to shape our final product with this already started growing mycelium.

We mycroscoped our own grown mycelium tissues and saw the web like structure.

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT v1.0

The purpose is to crate different functions  with the similar modules wich can be created as “building” bricks

Our inspiration comes from already existing installation and from the existing patterns in nature. By research and try & error principle we struggle to find harmony and function mixed with a spice of innovation. With the help of our digital tools we are convinced of a positive conclusion.

MODULE DESIGN v1.0

Instead of using pipes and form cylinders we thought about using more organic geometric modules to make combinations of objects.

One idea was putting led lights around the block and connect the cables insida to generate electricity from tree roots for a little glow in the dark.

The modules could be completed with completed with different caps for different purposes like a little table, shading or seating elements.

PROTOTYPING V1.0

We constructed our container prototype with simple material and because we could not grow mycelium, just to see the module in scale we started building our prototype from gypsum

The bag of mycelium we ordered has arrived so that now we could start playing with the real material

The gypsum model had the imperfect texture like mycelium and gave us the idea of the final product

We also tried pressed newspaper pieces to produce a material strenght close to mycelium.  Because mycelium we had was limited, to play with the joints we were searching for the substitute materials.

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT V2.0

Using only Modules grown from myicellium we insist on creating a multifunctional Installation. The combination of a children playground, resting place, defined event space mixed with aviculture, agriculture and fencing properties will provide Valldaura with a unique structure.

An Installation that has imaginable and unimaginable properties at the same time. Creating interesting view points, constantly changing spectacle of lights and shadows, may be even a nesting place for birds or shelter for wild animals.

We reshape our modules over and over in order to make them fit and interlock together without any joints but in the same time to be able to fulfill all other functions. Like a shape that interlocks but is still comfortable for a person to sit on

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT – APPLICATION V1.0

We are working on two possible positions for out Installation. The first is as a secret place deep in the Valldaura forest near the campus. It will act as a surprise and unexpected opportunities for the people exploring the forest paths. The second is an Installation as a renovation are. The location is the entrance of the campus. Installation which will provide a curious entrance experience for the arrivers and in the same time provides an upgrade for the already existing functions on that spot.

The next logical step after locating our possible position was the separation and position of the different functions in the Installation according to the surroundings. Using grasshopper we put our gradient, functions and the various way of positions that our modules can acheave in the software and use it to emerge with a new more functional pattern

PROTOTYPE PRODUCTION V2.0

The containers were made to test different mycelium growth proccess in different joints with different conditions. Various types of vertical and horizontal joints were researched.

To fix the mycelium we tried to dehumidfiy and bake the myceilum shell baking resulted in a harder mycelium piece and after leaving to dry under the sun for couple of days the pieces were getting harder.

It is undersandable that without contct with air or humidty mycelium does not grow inside the piece after 2 cm and creates a shell around the brick piece.

Sample 8A is the most succesfull and strong block produced, so the research contiunes on the method 8A and about the quailties of the material generated.

MYCELIUM GROWING / SUPPLYING v2.0

Block Production

Filling

Growth

Unboxing

Blocks

The installations, in the terrace of the University Building at Campus Nord,  consist of a couple of algae bioreactors that treat wastewaters from the University area. The algae grow by catching the sun’s energy in form of Photosynthesis, and are fed by the nutrients dissolved in the wastewater. Periodically, the algae biomass is collected and it is transferred to a laboratory, were it is digested anaerobically to obtain biogas.

Also in the terrace the students could visit a series of constructed wetlands that are also used for treating wastewaters. In one of them they have installed a pair of electrodes that catch the energy from the redox reactions produced by the microbial activity that are in the soil.

This project entails a focus on mycelium and its relation to architecture. Our objective is to design an architectural installation using Mycotecture (fungus made blocks) in Valldaura Self Sufficient Labs.

Through this process we have grown the mycelium in order to study the substance and its properties. This included various experiments, using a variety of combinations in order to achieve the best results.

A typical single spore germinates into a homokaryoticmycelium, which cannot reproduce sexually; when two compatible homokaryotic mycelia join and form a dikaryotic mycelium, that mycelium may form fruiting bodies such as mushrooms.

After studying its form and the materials capabilities, we then moulded the material to create blocks which we will later construct into a furniture piece.

In order to direct the angles and shapes of these blocks, a study of ergonomics was conducted. This study acted as a catalyst towards creating a sufficient and comfortable furniture piece that would cater to leisure activities such as resting, seating and group discussions.

In order to test the capabilities and strength of the design, two prototypes where contracted. These prototypes tested contrasting methods of construction, which included stacking and notching.

The First prototypes showcases the method of stacking, where shapes where moulded out of shredded paper. In order to test how this stacking method would work, the structure was sliced into sections. Each section was then moulded out of shredded paper and then stacked on top of one another to achieve one continues and stable form.

The second prototype focuses on a series of notches. In order to stabilise the structure, notches where inserted into each piece. Each notch then intersects with one another, creasing a stable unified form.

In order to further investigate the material, the following experiment where conducted.  The mycelium blocks where crushed and torn apart allowing us to test and study its internal form. These Blocks where then tested in sunlight, darkness, heat and sprayed with water/ glue in order to investigate which additional element would strengthen the material.