Oxygen is one of the main contributing factors to why our Earth is thriving with life, with an estimated 70 to 80% of it being produced by marine life and aquatic plants. But with the rise of de-forestation, rising CO2 emissions and degradation of terrestrial and aquatic environments, oxygen levels within our atmosphere over time might become depleted, causing obvious issues for all organisms inhabiting our planet.
EcoLogicStudio in London, have studied and utilized algae to create a cutting-edge technological structure that can produce an equal amount of oxygen to 40,000 square meters of forest, and up to 150kg of biomass daily. With the combination of architecture and science, EcoLogicStudio recently revealed at Expo Milano 2015, their prototype of the world’s first bio-digital canopy.
The canopy integrates macro-algae cultures and real-time digital protocols on a completely unique architectural cladding structure. Using fluid dynamic laws, the flow of energy, water and CO2, the structure is able to regulate and respond to the current weather conditions it is exposed to. For example, if it is a particularly sunny day, the algae will photosynthesize and allow for a dense covering of the canopy, to reduce transparency and increase the potential for shade to those underneath it.
Designers of the bio-digital canopy say, “At EcoLogicStudio, we believe that it is now time to overcome the segregation between technology and nature typical of the mechanical age, to embrace a systemic understanding of architecture. In this prototype the boundaries between the material, spatial and technological dimensions have been carefully articulated to achieve efficiency, resilience and beauty.”