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B-Pro Show 2023

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Fermentships

Project details

Programme

Year 1

Fermentation can act as a model for the integration into the built environment of a biological systems approach, considering the balance of energy within a system.

The human-microbe partnership has allowed the development of new products for centuries. Fermentation processes are a manifestation of the metabolic vision of spaces which are adaptable to change. Humankind has found ways to adapt the natural metabolic processes of micro-organisms to its own gain, but can this be pushed further to harness not only chemical energy but other forms of energy such as physical or thermal? Could dual systems be created which benefit both fermenting organisms and humans? In a world running out of space and resources, it is important to find new, low waste ways of adapting infrastructure and converting energy.

This project explores fermentation as a transformative process that turns waste into valuable resources within a self-sustaining circular system. We are dedicated to repurposing waste, unlocking latent energy, and optimising underutilised spaces as we seek to seamlessly integrate fermentation into urban communities and ecosystems.

Students

Microbial Metabolism

Interconnected Components within Fermentation

Relationships and interactions among products, processes, organisms, and energy, specifically in the context of brewers' spent grain fermentation system.

Project Circularity

2D drawings. Microbial circular strategies: Solid-state fermentation (SSF) for sustainable biomass transformation and resource recovery.

Material Metabolism

Proposed Casing Systems

2D digital drawings. Single layer of porous lignocellulosic material boosts biofilm and process efficiency. Double layer with mushroom mycelium offers coexistence potential.

Bio-Receptive Material Testing

Multimedia collage. Exploring material combinations for enhanced efficacy and desirable properties.

Bio-Reactive Materials Testing

Multimedia collage. Mycelium growth variations on coco coir and bagasse substrates.

Fermentation and Casing Tests

Multimedia collage. Fermentation efficiency observation with Rhizopus oryzae and beer waste spent grain within bio-receptive vessels.

Thermal Strategies and Preliminary Tests

2D drawings and thermal images from FLIR camera. Thermal strategies for project system and preliminary test to validate the materials’ potential for improving thermal characteristics.

Fermentation Capsules

3D digital drawings. This imagined system functions like a cartridge, wherein the casing material and interior capsule can be tailored to match specific fermentation requirements.

Architectural Metabolism  

Parametric Metaball Iterations Gradient

2D digital drawings. Metaball behavior in computer graphics corresponds to mitosis in cellular biology. For us, they visually represent dynamic energetic interactions.

Parametric Metaball Axonometric Drawings

2D digital drawings. Metaballs’ ability to smoothly blend distinct shapes mirrors how mitosis orchestrates the fusion of biological entities at the cellular level.

Energetic Programming

2D digital drawings. The possibility of sustainably scaling up the fermentation process through architectural programming mediating energetic relationships is explored.

Simulating Thermal Gradients

Thermal images from FLIR camera. Heat generated from one fermentation can be atmospherically dissipated, with observable differences in nested and dispersed spatial arrangements.

Fermentation System as Insulation

2D digital drawings, sections. The system is dynamic and adaptable, it can be changed to accommodate climactic conditions.

Urban Metabolism and Overview 

Mutually Enhancing Interactions

Reconsidering the bioreactor, spatial distribution can allow for connected systems that facilitate novel metabolic assemblages for multi-functional bio-synthetic outputs.

Fermentation City Axonometric Drawing

2D digital drawing and multimedia collage. In a world running out of spaces and resources, it is important to find new ways of adapting infrastructure and converting energy.

Urban Energy Map

Scanned ink on paper drawing. Diverse buildings become a living network of functional biological outputs that contribute to the health of the environmental landscape.