Nature and technology: a wall that grows plants
The relationship between architecture and nature is complex. On the one hand, I enjoy framing nature as art in my home. On the one hand, we try at all costs to avoid the presence of disturbing “real” nature in walls and structures that can be damaged by roots and leaves. At the same time, green roofs, vertical gardens and flower boxes are used to bring the city closer to nature and improve people’s well-being. Sometimes buildings are constructed using materials that are completely separated from flora and fauna. Advances in biomaterials and new technologies are gradually changing this situation, but we still need to ask ourselves whether we should separate the structures and buildings we occupy from the nature that surrounds them. . This was the question that inspired researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) to develop geometrically complex 3D-printed soil structures that allow plants to grow freely.
The team has developed a method of 3D printing using bio-based materials that incorporates circularity into the process. Instead of traditional concrete and plastic materials, the soil itself and local plants are mixed with water and inserted into the printer to use raw materials to form walls and structures. By combining speed, cost efficiency and low energy demand with locally sourced bio-based materials, we have evolved the process of additive manufacturing to create fully biodegradable 3D printed structures that are returned to earth at the end of their useful life. can do. .
The team consisted of Ji Ma, Assistant Professor of Science and Materials Engineering in UVA’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences. David Carr, research professor in UVA’s Department of Environmental Sciences; He is Ehsan Baharlou, an assistant professor at the UVA School of Architecture, and Spencer Barnes, a student at the university. Burns experimented with the most suitable mixtures for printing. He had two ways of doing this: printing the soil and seeds in successive layers, and mixing the seeds with the soil before printing. Both approaches worked.
As Ji Ma points out in this university-published article, “3D-printed soil tends to lose water faster and retains water more strongly,” Ma said. “3D printing makes the environment around the plants drier, so we need to incorporate plants that prefer drier climates. The reason we think this is the case is because the soil is compacted. When you push the soil out, it pushes out the air bubbles, and when the soil loses the air bubbles, it holds water more tightly.”
David Carr, in turn, was responsible for finding the ideal composition of soil for printing and the most conducive plant species. He suggested plants that would grow naturally in areas that seemed marginal to life, native plants that actually grew on bare rock. The seeds selected are sedum (stonecrop), commonly used on green roofs. The physiology of this species is similar to that of cacti, in that it can survive with little or no water and may even dry out to some extent to recover.
The team published its first results earlier this year in a paper titled “3D Printing of Ecologically Active Soil Structures.” Research on this technology continues, and next steps include formulation of soil “ink” for larger structures with at least one floor, soil failure at greater tensions, etc. I’m trying to predict a problem with In addition, researchers experimented with different layers within the wall panels to isolate the inner walls and maintain moisture on the outer walls. This is just the beginning, but it could be a step closer to bringing nature closer to human fabrication.
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