Living Architecture

Another technological breakthrough in material science had arrived. This discovery would leapfrog us into an era of living architecture and buildings!

This invention has immense impact on global visions of moving towards a sustainable future with greener and eco-friendly materials and architecture. Imagine now the modern steel and concrete structures we live in could help generate provide breathable air like plants and trees.

Julian Melchiorri (a graduate from Royal College of Art) had developed a synthetic biological leaf, which absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant via the natural photosynthesis process.

The material of this leaf is extracted directly from the fibres of silk as it has an amazing property of stabilising molecules.

How it works is chloroplasts (components of biological plants that converts Co2 and H2O to produce O2) are extracted from plant cells and placed inside this silk protein. This results in a photosynthetic material that is living and breathing as a natural leaf does!

The concept its pretty simple.

With this invention, when used as interior or exterior materials, the lighting (natural or artificial) a building receives is no longer limited to illuminate surroundings, but at the same time to create much needed oxygen for us, especially in dense cities with scarce plants!

Many ideas can spark from such a fundamental breakthrough, including creation of large scale filters (much like our air conditioners today) that oxygenate air from the outside environment when passed through to internals of a building.

…and finally in far sight, this synthetic leaf triggers the development of "living architecture" which could help humanity survive in far future.

It definitely supports Space X / Elon Musk’s vision of colonising Mars where we would need to grow a city in space or other planets without breathable air!