Algae canopy for urban areas generates oxygen equivalent to 400,000 square feet of wooded forest

(NaturalNews) The merging of technology and nature seems to be what London-based ecoLogicStudio is all about. However, the company's revolutionary new Urban Algae Canopy prototype sets a fresh standard for futuristic bio-digital architecture, combining the best of integrated material, spatial, and technological mastery for the natural enhancement of urban spaces.

Unveiled during the recent EXPO2015 in Milan Italy, the Urban Algae Canopy was presented as part of the Future Food District project. A mock-up of the concept was presented as the world's first bio-digital canopy integrating micro-algal cultures and real-time digital cultivation protocols in a unique architectural system.

Put simply, the canopy utilizes the latest advancements in biomass production to generate beneficial compounds for urban spaces. In this case, the canopy harnesses the natural activity of micro-algae to generate oxygen, producing an amount equivalent to what would naturally be generated in 400,000 square feet of natural woodland, according to the company.

A 1:1 scale version of the device was demonstrated at the event, revealing unique cultivar systems that push the limits of urban sustainability. Virtually everything about the design is fluid in the sense that it responds to alternating weather patterns and other changing factors and stimuli.

ecoLogicStudio has pictures of the Urban Algae Canopy in all of its glory as presented in Milan, Italy, on its website.

"The flows of energy, water and CO2 are therefore regulated to respond and adjust to weather patterns and visitors' movements," explains ecoLogicStudio. "As the sun shines more intensively algae would photosynthesize and grow thus reducing the transparency of the canopy and increasing its shading potential."

"[S]ince this process is driven by the biology of micro-algae is [sic] inherently responsive and adaptive; visitors will benefit from this natural shading property while being able to influence it in real-time; their presence will trigger electro valves to alter the speed of algal flow through the canopy provoking an emergent differentiation across the space."

Is "agri-urbanism" the future of sustainable living in cities?

It might sound complicated, but the takeaway here is that innovators are actively developing unique methods of integrating nature with technology for the purpose of improving both the environment and living conditions for humans and animals.

The Urban Algae Canopy serves as a blueprint for the sustainable production of energy in urban environments -- a functional form of art and architecture, if you will, that is both inspirational and practical.

"A hybrid of architectural and ecosystem design, the canopy is made to adapt its features based on manual as well as environmental inputs, letting users exert control (via a digital interface) within a larger dynamic system," explains Urbanist.

"For EcoLogics, this is only a step toward a larger vision -- organic systems tied to high-tech ones in current and future buildings and infrastructure, as well as a breakdown of the differentiation between urban and rural, cities and nature."

One of the primary stated goals of ecoLogicStudio is to redefine the "city" concept, incorporating agricultural and ecological systems into a single "agri-urban" concept. Architecturally speaking, the notion bodes inextricably necessary if humanity ever hopes to become a better steward of an already excessively damaged planet.

"In ecoLogicStudio we believe that it is now time to overcome the segregation between technology and nature typical of the mechanical age, to embrace a systemic understanding of architecture," says the company.

"In this prototype the boundaries between the material, spatial and technological dimensions have been carefully articulated to achieve efficiency, resilience and beauty."

Sources:

http://www.ecologicstudio.com

http://weburbanist.com