SPACE10's latest project displayed last week at Copenhagen's CHART art fair hosts the secret to combating malnutrition, greenhouse gases and ending deforestation - a pretty steep demand for a structure only four meters tall. The hero of this story is a microalgae that runs through the three hundred and twenty meters of tubing entwined around the pavilion.
IKEA's future living lab worked with bioengineer, Keenan Pinto and three architects, Aleksander Wadas, Rafal Wroblewski and Anna Stempniewicz to build a photobioreactor that facilitates the high production of microalgae that can be grown almost anywhere on the planet. During the three days of the fair, 450 liters of algae was grown as visitors got to experience the full extent of the neon green process.
Spirulina, a form of microalgae, has already been deemed "the ideal food for mankind" by the UN over forty years ago due to the impact it could have on our health and environment. It has more protein than any other food source and is packed full of vitamins and minerals. Better yet, as a photosynthetic organism, it absorbs carbon dioxide to produce useable energy and oxygen and can be further used as livestock feed rather than the soy based protein that requires rainforests to be cut down.
The exhibition granted a great opportunity to showcase the potential of the "super crop of the future" to a wider audience as they interacted with the space within and around the bioreactor, sampling the spirulina chips courtesy of the chef in residence, Simon Perez.
Our mission at SPACE10 is to explore ways to make the world better, more meaningful and more sustainable.
Previous projects by SPACE10 follow the same theme. Their Heat Harvest devices recharges phones from the heat redirected from electronic goods and hot saucepans whilst the Smart Chair slopes after being sedentary for too long to encourage the user to be more active.
Biological technologies within architecture are becoming increasingly popular to provide solutions and awareness of world issues; biodegradable mushroom root material appears in the Shell Mycelium Pavilion at the Kochi Muziris Biennale 2016 and Terreform ONE's emergency shelter incorporates a cricket farm to feed the growing population.
News via: SPACE10.
