Rachel Armstrong highlights how developments in molecular

biology and genetics are providing architects with insights into the

properties of living matter, which are set to revolutionise design

through the genesis of artificially evolving architectures.

Artificial Evolution

A Hands-Off Approach for Architects

82

An ideal architecture is one that you can plant as a seed havingprogrammed it with all the information it needs to grow itself in anenvironment where it can organically seek out and connect with theresources that it needs. Through its lifetime it would remain responsiveto its surroundings and adjust according to the demands and needs ofits human habitants. The architecture would be able to reproduce bycloning itself using a germ line structure that offers humans anopportunity to make any necessary genetic adjustments. The end of thelifecycle of the architecture would come when it is no longer responsiveto human activity and becomes an inert, skeletal structure, possiblydecaying into the ecosystem to be recycled by its progeny.

The Molecular House by American architects John M Johansen andMohamad Alkayer operates on these design principles, which havebeen derived from the properties of plants, yet the qualities on whichthis autonomous architecture has been imagined do not belongexclusively to the plant kingdom.1

Life on this planet is about 4 billion years old, and natural systemshave mastered strategies of growth, differentiation, complexity andevolution into locally specialised forms. Architects have already lookedto biology for inspiration through the study of biomimetics, fascinatedby the complex and variable properties of living systems, theirprogrammability through genetic codes, responsiveness to theenvironment, and their ability to change over time. Recent discoveriesat the molecular level suggest that it is possible to transgress theconventions of biological design, raising the possibility of manufacturedliving forms, and in so doing bring new processes, possibilities andorganisms into the architectural domain. For example, theastrobiologist Paul Davies argues that using new molecular sequencingtechniques, modern cells can be understood from molecular fossilsthat lie within them.2 These findings may have implications for ourunderstanding of the origins of ‘higher’ organisms that appear to haveevolved as the result of collaboration between more primitive entities tosurvive the hostile conditions during the Archean period.

Unlike those fossils unearthed through traditional archaeologicalmethods, these cytoplasmic fossils are living and functional within themodern cell, and although increasingly more vestigial members of thecell cytoplasm are being discovered through new methods of analysis,the active fossils are vital organelles such as mitochondria (symbioticbacteria), tubulin (an ancient bacterial energy-producing molecule thatforms the cellular skeleton) and peroxisomes (vesicles that protectagainst oxidation) that work in collaboration with the nucleic acidsequences of RNA and DNA to maintain cellular homeostasis.

Like the Archaea and symbiotic primitive bacteria before them, thetiny ‘machines’ and ‘devices’ that constitute nanotechnology may beregarded as potential symbiotic partners that may become an integralpart of the organism. This symbiosis, however, would not be a randomevent like the arbitrary, wasteful processes described in ‘naturalselection’, but a refined and deliberate relationship that is forced tooccur by human intervention.

John M Johansen and MohamadAlkayer, The Molecular House, 2000The images represent a diary createdby the owner of a molecular-engineered house written during itsconstruction. The project is set in theyear 2200.

HM Jonkers, Self-healingconcrete – wall tests, TU Delft,The Netherlands, 2007In this research project, thesuitability of very specific butotherwise harmless bacteria aretested for their ability to repaircracks and thus significantlyimprove the durability of concretestructures. Such a bacterial repairmechanism would be beneficial forthe economy and the environmentat the same time, as concrete is,worldwide, the most appliedbuilding material. This new type of‘bio-concrete’ would make costlymanual repair work unnecessaryand would minimise the use of rawmaterials, as structures would lastmuch longer.

83

HM Jonkers, Self-healing concrete with Extremophiles, 2007In nature, a huge number of different varieties of bacteria occur and someof these are likely to be well adapted to artificial man-madeenvironments such as concrete. A specialised group of bacteria, the‘extremophiles’, are not only known to love extremely dry and rock-solid conditions as in concrete, but also to be able to produce copiousamounts of limestone. This calcium carbonate-based material, as well asother types of bio-minerals produced by bacteria, could serve to seal orheal cracks in concrete. The major goal of this research project is thereforeto find the right bacteria, which can, when integrated in concrete,actively repair a structure during its 50- to 100-year service life.

Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, Kunsthaus Graz, Austria, 2003Preliminary latex model of competition stage with pliable ‘skin’and roof nozzles.

Suzanne Lee, BioCouture, London, 2007This research project aims to address ecological and sustainabilityissues around fashion. It harnesses nature to propose a radical futurefashion vision, investigating the use of bacterial cellulose, grown in alaboratory, to produce clothing. BioCouture was supported by Dr DavidHepworth, co-director of CelluComp Ltd, and funded by a grant fromthe Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The lack of differentiation between animate and artificial at themolecular level has made materials science a lot more interesting. HMJonkers from the Technical University, Delft, is already carrying outexperiments with concrete that can heal itself with the help of bacteria,and can be used in ‘growing’ buildings. And with the integration ofsensate technologies, architectures will not only be able to change withtime; they will become responsive to their environment.3

The synthetic membranous roof of the elegant, globular glass-panel-clad Kunsthaus Graz in Austria, designed by Peter Cook and ColinFournier, has been bestowed with sentient properties. This fossil-likestructure was originally conceived as a biotechnologically constructedapparatus in which the roof was thought of as a technologised, touch-sensitive skin that hosted all secondary functions of the building, whichin turn was punctuated with autonomously extendable, mobile nozzlesthat moved in response to microclimatic changes. This membrane alsoprovided a dynamic interface with the environment through theactivation of media cells that could be choreographed using varyingdegrees of opacity, translucency and transparency.4 Indeed, architectsare already taking a new approach to architectural practice based on theinterrelationship of emergence and self-organisation concepts wherearchitectural structures are not generated as singular and fixed bodies,but as complex energy and material systems that have a lifespan, andexist as part of the environment of other active systems, and as aniteration of a series that proceeds by evolutionary development.5

In the near future it may even be possible to consider certain formsof architecture as being ‘alive’. In the 21st century, biologists are beingforced to reimagine what constituted living processes throughdevelopments in the field and laboratory. Ground-breaking work byHanczyc, Ikegami and colleagues constitutes the creation of anartificial protocell that resembles a living organism. This entity is notonly capable of movement, but also of primitive ‘sensation’, and is allthe more surprising having been generated entirely from inert materialbrought to ‘life’ in a test tube.6 J Craig Venter has created the mostcontroversy in this field by stripping down a whole living organism andremoving everything that does not contain the components of interest,representing a significant experiment in biological minimalism.7 Evenmore recently, in January 2008, Venter reversed this process andassembled nucleic acid building blocks to create the world’s firstartificially designed organism – Mycoplasma laboratorium8 – anastonishing particle that is currently awaiting the final stage of itsanimation in the cell matrix of an enucleated host organism.

At Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers have constructedfunctional liver tissue from layers of tissue cells that are supportedwith biologically compatible scaffolding that encourages anautonomous blood supply;9 and Professor Samuel I Stupp atNorthwestern University in Illinois is using synthetic molecules toengineer artificially produced bone.10

With Biojewellery, designers Tobie Kerridge, Nikki Stott at the RoyalCollege of Art and Ian Thompson of King’s College London are alreadyputting this ‘bioavailable’ material to use in making living bonejewellery fashioned for couples who agreed to wear rings made fromtheir partner’s bone cells. The cells were harvested from their wisdom

84

85

Tobie Kerridge with IanThompson, Biojewellery,London, 2005–061st row: Designing rings withbioengineered bone tissue. Leftto right: Donated teeth; Growthof bone tissue in vitro; Syntheticpolymer to be used as a scaffold;Preparation of the bioactivescaffold in a ring shape.

2nd row: The Biojewellery projectbegan by looking for couples whowanted to donate their bone cells.Their cells were seeded on to abioactive scaffold, a material thatencouraged the cells to divide andgrow rapidly. The resulting tissuetook on the form of the scaffold,which was a ring shape. Thecouples’ cells were grown atGuy’s Hospital in London.

3rd and 4th row: The final bone tissue was taken to a studio atthe Royal College of Art to be combined with traditional preciousmetals and made into a pair of rings for the couple, so that eachof them has a ring made with the tissue of their partner.

above: Funding was awarded by the Engineering and PhysicalSciences Research Council (EPSRC) as a part of its Partnership forPublic Engagement initiative. The project led to a live debate at theScience Museum’s Dana Centre in January 2006, and an exhibitionat Guy’s Hospital in London from December 2006, which includedthe rings and extensive documentary photos of the project.

teeth and jawbone, and then grown on a biocompatiblescaffold, outside the context of a body.11

Other designers are exploring the potential ofautonomously produced biomaterials. For example, in herBioCouture project, in collaboration with materialsscientist David Hepworth, Suzanne Lee is making newfabric out of bacteria that make raw cellulose, a papyrus-like material, when they are cultured in sugared tea, andfashioning the product into garments that have a fragileskin-like appearance.12

Although the creation of an artificial genome is alandmark step in synthetic evolution, autonomousarchitectures are more likely to emerge using the inclusivecollective principles of organisation exhibited by the cellcytoplasm, which will be regarded as the primary materialof evolutionary change. New emergent relationships andidentities will exist at this intimate level that will rival thealleged uniqueness of animate matter and challenge ourdefinitions of life. Synthetic materials will exhibit molecularconnectedness with networks, which, in turn, have thepotential to make intimate connections with living systems.They will become part of us. 4

Notes1. See http://www.ona.vg/vision/growthhouse.html.2. Paul Davies, in The Origin of Life, Penguin Books, 1999, p 56.3. HM Jonkers, ‘Self healing concrete: A biological approach’, in Self Healing Materials,Springer Series in Materials Design, Vol 100, Springer Netherlands, 2007. 4. Information gathered from Marcos Cruz, member of the Kunsthaus competition teamwith Peter Cook, Colin Fournier, Niels Jonkhans and Mathis Osterhage, April 2008.5. See Michael Hensel, Achim Menges and Michael Weinstock, Techniques andTechnologies in Morphogenetic Design, AD, Vol 76, No 2, March/April 2006.6. MM Hanczyc, T Toyota, T Ikegami, N Packard and T Sugawara, ‘Fatty acid chemistry at theoil–water interface: self-propelled oil droplets’, J Am Chem Soc. 129(30):9386–91, 2007.7. For more on J Craig Venter’s Synthesis of an Artificial Genome, seehttp://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/venter.boot07/venter.boot07_index.html.8. Clyde A Hutchinson III, Scott N Peterson, Steven R Gill, Robin T Cline, Owen White,Claire M Frazer, Hamilton O Smith and J Craig Venter, ‘Global transposon mutagenesis anda minimal mycoplasma genome’, in Science, Vol 286, No 5447, 1999, pp 2165–9.9. See ‘A New Approach to Develop a Biohybrid Artificial Liver Using a Tightly RegulatedHuman Hepatocyte Cell Line’, at http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200119/000020011901A0457975.php.10. For more about Samuel I Stupp‘s genesis of artificial bone, seewww.lib.bioinfo.pl/auth:Stupp,SI.11. For more about Tobie Kerridge’s Biojewellery, see http://www.biojewellery.com/.12. Suzanne Lee, Fashioning the Future: Tomorrow's Wardrobe, Thames & Hudson (London), 2005.

Text © 2008 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Images: pp 82, 84(t) © HM Jonkers; p 83 © JohnM Johansen for Concept & Design. Animation Mohamed Al Khayer; p 84(c) © modelMarcos Cruz, photo Wanda Yu-Ying Hu and Steve Pike; p 84(b) © Suzanne Lee, photoGary Wallis; p 85 © Tobie Kerridge