Proto-materials: Material Practices in Architecture at Molecular and Cellular Scales

Dade-Robertson, M; Zhang, M; Figueroa, C; Hernan, L; Beattie, J; Lyon, A; Ryden, M; Welford, M

Proto-materials: Material Practices in Architecture at Molecular and Cellular Scales

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Martyn Dade-Robertson

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.

Abstract

Vitruvius suggested in his texts On Architecture that architecture is an imitation of nature, but what happens when architecture becomes nature and we begin, through the design of biological systems, to become architects of nature? Just as the latter part of the twentieth century was transformed through information technologies, it is widely predicted that the twenty-first century world will be radically changed by the emergence of biotechnology. Biological systems exhibit a wide variety of forms and functions, make highly efficient use of energy and other resources and are capable of processes such as programmed self assembly and adaptability which are very difficult or, in some cases, impossible to achieve using more traditional human engineered systems. To this end, Synthetic Biology has been heralded as an important technological and design paradigm, enabling the development of complex material systems.