biomateriais: The Latest Architecture and News

As you read this, you may notice that you are surrounded by several items made of plastic. This omnipresence is no coincidence; the versatility of plastic has made it suitable for a variety of applications, and was described by its inventor—Leo Baekeland— as “the material of a thousand uses.” However, when it comes to environmental impact, the problem lies in its very qualities: it is so durable, adaptable, and easy to produce (430 million tons per year) that, according to UN data, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the oceans, rivers, and lakes every day.

In the built environment, plastic has been incorporated into various materials, products, and construction systems, contributing to an environmental crisis that seriously affects the well-being of millions of living beings. Faced with this problem, one possible direction is to shift away from utilizing it. The search for plastic-free alternatives is marking a path toward a future where architecture is progressively disassociating itself from these polluting materials, promoting sustainable solutions that reduce our dependence on it and contribute to preserving the environment.

Amid the ongoing environmental crisis, bioeconomy has gained significance across different domains, particularly in the construction sector, where efforts there is a push to enhance sustainability. This shift in mindset has also influenced the realm of interior architecture. With a growing awareness of climate change and the imperative to protect our planet, architects and designers are increasingly embracing biomaterials. The result is the creation of spaces that not only captivate visually but also demonstrate a proactive commitment to the environment.

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Add cabbage leaves, orange peels, onions, bananas and a few slices of pumpkin to get... cement. That's right, researchers from the University of Tokyo in Japan have developed a technique through which it is possible to produce cement from food waste. Besides being used in construction, the innovative initiative is edible as well. You can make boiled cement into a delicious meal by adjusting flavors, adding seasonings, and breaking it into pieces.

The relationship between architecture and nature is complex. If, on the one hand, we enjoy framing nature as art in our homes; on the other hand, we try at all costs to avoid the presence of obstructive "real" nature in our walls and structures, which can be damaged by roots and leaves. At the same time, we use green roofs, vertical gardens and flower boxes to bring cities closer to nature and improve people's wellbeing; but we also construct buildings with materials that are completely dissociated from fauna and flora. Although the advancement of biomaterials and new technologies is gradually changing this, we should nevertheless ask ourselves whether the structures and buildings we occupy need to be separated from the nature that surrounds them. This was the question that led researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) to develop geometrically complex 3D-printed soil structures on which plants could grow freely.