photo.Synthetica

Bring Photosynthesis to the build environment / store solar energy ecologically / Decarbonize cities / Cultivate the public realm collectively / design new technologies for bio-conscious cities

Do you have any clue about what happens to our cities’ waste? How can you build cities which produce energy while consuming it? How can we create multiple interactions between nature and our urban architecture?

The flows of solar energy, water and oxygen are regulated to respond and adjust to weather patterns and visitor’s movements in real-time. As the sun shines algae would photosynthesise and grow thus reducing the transparency of the Folly and changing its appearance; since this process is driven by the biology of micro-algae is inherently responsive and adaptive; visitors will benefit from this natural shading property while being able to influence it in real-time; their presence will trigger electro valves to alter the speed of algal flow through the folly provoking an emergent differentiation across the space. In any moment in time the actual transparency and colour of the folly will be the product of this complex set of relationships among climate, micro-algae, visitors and digital control systems.

The Urban Algae Folly will produce 35g of Chlorella every day. In term of protein this is the equivalent of 750g of Meat per day. In 6 months the folly will produce the equivalent of protein of a small size cow, which is enough to four of us in the same period. The Urban Algae Folly is also adsorbing 1.5Kg of CO2 per day, produce 750g of Oxygen per day which is the Oxygen that one of us is breathing every day.