Extract: 'Materials that are self-repairing, regulate internal environment, and communicate with their surroundings - dive into the ocean and you will find limitless examples that indicate how the ilk of smart materials could shape the city of the future. Your diving guide is Melissa Sterry'. Published in the Mar/Apr 2012 issue of Sustain magazine.

1. [72] sustain’ MAR/APR 2012 sustain’ MAR/APR 2012 [73]
Thebottomofanoceanmaynotstrike
youasanobviousplacetolookwhen
researchingthecityofthefuture.What
couldyoupossiblylearnaboutthiscity
fromthestudyofaquaticlife?Afuturist
cumdesignscientist,Ispendalottime
readingpapers,reportsandpresentations
aboutfuturecities.However,fromthis
mountainofresearch,Iciteonlyamolehill,
forthegreatermajorityoftheseproposals
merelydressuptheoldbuilt-environment
paradigmandparadeitasthenew–the
wolvesinsheep’sclothingofsustainability.
Castyourmindbackoverthehistoryofarchitecture
anddesign.Mentallywalkthroughthevariousschools,
thinkingabouthowonedifferentiatedfromanother.
Regardlessofthecentury,thecivilizationorthe
continent,ifyouprogressthroughthevariousstylesin
order,adistincttrendwillemerge.Bothtechnologically
andaesthetically,designstylestendtoswingfromone
extremetoanother.Thisisatrendweseeinallformsof
culturalexpression,frommusictofashion,dancetoart.
Whiletechnologicalinnovationscan,andoftendo,shape
ouraestheticpreferences,thestreetbetweentechnology
andtasteisn’tone-way.Manyofthesustainability
conceptsbeingtoutedas‘new’areinfactvintage–ideas
thatareyears,decades,insomeinstancescenturiesold.
Consequentlywearecurrentlysatatopaninnovation
bottleneck.Allthatisrequiredtounleashthepotentialof
hundreds,thousands,possiblyeventensofthousandsof
sustainabilityinventions,isaculturalshiftintheirfavour.
Open,undetermined&explorativedesign
While smart materials, Adaptatronics (adaptive
structure technology) and Bionics (also known as
Biomimetics, Biomimicry and Biognosis) have all been
around for some time, it’s only now that humanity is
getting serious about tackling sustainability challenges
that such innovations are migrating en masse to
market. However, as Dr Tuba Kocaturk pointed out in a
lecture we gave earlier this month on Design Futures,
for the CIOB at the University of Salford, attempting to
fit this new school of technologies into the existing built-
environment paradigm is like trying to put a square
peg into a round hole. In his recent paper ‘Biomimetic
designprocessesinarchitecture;morphogeneticand
evolutionarycomputationaldesign’, Achim Menges
highlighted how ‘open, undetermined and explorative’
design and engineering approaches are imperative
to the application of intelligent materials and systems.
However, postulation is easier than practice, especially
whenunlikethepresentersonBluePeter, we have not
the benefit of a project someone, somewhere
“did earlier”.
Backtotheocean…whatnuggetsofknowledgeabout
futurecitiescanwefishfromtheBigBlue?Whetheror
nottheiroveralldesign,oranelementofit,issourced
directlythroughBiomimeticprocesses,agreatmanyof
themostdisruptivetechnologiescomingtotheforein
architecturemimictheNaturalWorld.Historicallythe
technologicalhasbeentheantithesisofthebiological,
sharingfewifanycharacteristics;thereinthenew
waveoftechnologysimplydoesn’twashwithtoday’s
predominantdesign,engineeringandconstruction
practices.However,diveintotheoceanandyouwillfind
limitlessexamplesthatindicatehowtheilkofsmart
materialscouldshapethecityofthefuture,solet’sdo
justthat…
Self-repairing&resilientmaterials
Unknowntoscienceuntilthe1990s,Thaumoctopus
mimicus–theMimicOctopus,livesinthetropical
seasofSoutheastAsiaandisthefirstmemberofthe
cephalopodfamilytohavebeenobservedimpersonating
otheranimals.Abletomimicseasnakes,lionfish,
jellyfish,stingrays,flatfish,flounders,seaanemones,
giantcrabsandbrittlestars,theoctopuscaninstantly
changeitsshape,itscolouranditsmarkings,totakeon
theformofacreature,oftenapoisonousone,thatwill
deflectapredator.Whiletheonlypredatorsyouraverage
buildingneeddeflectareinsects,suchaswoodboring
beetlesandtermites,therearepotentialadvantages
toembeddingbehaviorssimilartothoseoftheMimic
Octopuswithinoururbanhabitats.Structurallyadaptive,
chromataphoric(colour-changing)smartmaterialsand
buildingenvelopescould,intheory,endowman-made
structureswithoneofthecorecharacteristicsofliving
things-Homeostasis-theabilityofanorganismto
regulateitsowninternalenvironment.
However,tobetrulylife-life,asdoestheskinofthe
MimicOctopus,suchmaterialswouldalsoperform
severalothertasks;suchasself-repair,communicate
withtheirsurroundingsandprovideresiliencetoexternal
threats.Theymayadditionallyembedafeaturefound
inanotheraquaticspecies,Ostreidae,theOyster,which
asfilterfeederhelpstocleansetheoceanofexcessive
sediment,nutrients,andalgae.Pollution-busting
buildingmaterialsisaconceptbeingexploredbymy
AVATARgroupcolleagueDrRachelArmstrong,whois
researchingthepotentialofprotocelltechnologythat
harvestsandstoresenvironmentalpollutantsthrough
chemicalprocesses.Severalotherresearchprojects
areexploringthepotentialofsmartmaterialstoharvest
andfilterwaterfromrainfall,snowandfog,whichif
successfulcouldhelptacklewatershortages.
Amuchbroaderspectrumofpossibility
Afellowshape-shiftingoceaniccompanionoftheMimic
OctopusisTetraodontidae,thePufferfish,whichhasthe
capacitytorapidlyinflateitsstomachsoasto
becometoolargeforitspredatorstoeat.Adaptingthis
defensemechanismtothebuiltenvironment,wesee
itexpressedinsmartmaterialsandbuildingenvelopes
thatexpandandretractinresponsetochangingheatand
humiditylevels.Thisproperty,especiallywhenaligned
withchromataphoricsensitivitytosunlightandhumidity
levels,couldenableconstantandaccuratepassive
managementofinteriortemperatureandairquality.
Whilebioluminescenceisaveryrarecharacteristic
inland-dwellingspecies,it’scommonplaceinthe
ecosystemsthatinhabittheocean’sdeepestdepths.
Createdthroughachemicalreactioncalled
chemiluminescence,inwhichchemicalenergyconverts
toradiantenergy,bioluminescenceenablesorganisms
togeneratetheirownlight,beittoattractprey,detracta
predatororcommunicatebothwithitsownspeciesand
others.Oneofthemostbeautifulcreaturestoexhibit
thisabilityisAureliaaurita,morecommonlyknown
astheMoonJellyfish,whichhasbecomeapin-up
girlofmarineecologyjournals.Agrowingnumberof
scientists,artistsanddesignersareexperimentingwith
bioluminescentmaterials,inparticularnovelaesthetic
applications.However,chemiluminescenceprocesses
presentamuchbroaderspectrumofpossibility,suchas
thepotentialtodevelopmaterialsthatprovidekinetically-
triggeredemergencylightingduringpoweroutages
causedbybothnaturalandman-madehazards,suchas
seismicactivityandexplosions.
Theaestheticandthefunctional
Onebyone,thedotsinthesmartmaterialspictureare
beingjoined,asbreakthroughsinmicro-engineering
mergewiththoseinnano-electronics,sensory
technologyandcomputationaldesign.Oftheresearch
projectsexploringthepotentialofthisinterdisciplinary
space,Biornametics–ArchitectureDefinedbyNatural
Patterns,isoneofthefewtoplaceequalemphasison
theaestheticandthefunctional.LedbyDrBarbara
ImhofandDrPetraGruberoftheUniversityof
AppliedArts,itseekstoexploreanewmethodologyto
interconnectscientificevidencewithcreativedesignin
architecture.Biornameticsacknowledgesthefactthat
livingsystemshaveevolvedaprocessofcontinuing
adaptationtoacomplexandchangingenvironment.
Alongwithmyownresearchproject,TheBionicCity,
forwhichI’minvestigatingthepotentialofbuildinga
Biomimeticblueprintforurbanresiliencetonatural
hazards,ImhofandGruber’sprojectisoneofthefew
thattrulychallengesthetraditionalbuilt-environment
paradigm–rejectingsomeofthemostfundamental
assumptionsthatunderpinthemostcommondesign,
engineeringandconstructionpractices.
Morethanmetaphors
Theoceanfloorisn’tanaturalhabitatforHomosapiens,
amatterofwhichweareacutelyawareduringour
brief,technologicallyfacilitatedvisits.Theexpanse
ofwateronEarthissovastandourexplorationofit
solittle,thatweknowmoreaboutthesurfaceofthe
Moonthanwedoaboutthewaterydepthsofourblue
planet.However,oceanshavehostedlifefor3.8bn
years,sustainingitthroughmultipleplanetary-wide
catastrophesthatwipedoutmostland-dwellingspecies,
thereinareworthyofourexplorationandconsideration.
Inmarinespecieswefindmorethanmetaphors,as
theyillustratelivingtechnologieswithgreaterefficiency,
resilienceandsophisticationthananythinghumanity
hasyetcreated.Oceanecosystems,inparticularcoral
reefs,areamongstthemostcomplexadaptivesystems
inexistence,comprisingmyriadmutuallybeneficial
symbioticrelationships,inmanycasesnumberinga
widercommunityofspeciesthanwehaveyetrecorded,
letalonestudiedinsuchdetailastofullyunderstand.
Unlikemanyotherfuturists,Iverymuchdoubtthatour
futurecitieswillsitatoporbelowtheoceans’waves,
consideringmostsuchproposalstobetechnicallynaïve
andconceptuallyflawed.However,thereareagreat
manysubtlewaysinwhichourfuturecitiescouldfind
solutionsbelowthewaterline.Atatimewhentheilk
ofJamesHansenandProfessorJohnBeddingtonfear
humanitycouldberapidlysinkingoutofitsdepth,what
betterplacetofishforabrighterfuture?
MelissaSterry,DirectorandHeadof
TechnologyatEarth2HubLtd,PhD
ResearcherattheAdvancedVirtual
andTechnologicalArchitecture
ResearchgroupatUniversityof
GreenwichandVisitingFellowatthe
UniversityofSalford.
FISHINGFORTHENEW
ARCHITECTURALSCHOOL
Materials that are self-repairing, regulate
internal environments, and communicate
with their surroundings – dive into the ocean
and you will find limitless examples that
indicate how the ilk of smart materials could
shape the city of the future. Your diving guide
is Melissa Sterry…