A one week workshop was organized with the participation of architects, designers & project leaders of Atelier Luma and environmental, chemical, aerospace engineers and architects of Politecnico di Milano.
The final prototype has been exhibited during the Ā«Eco-visionairesĀ» at the Royal Academy of Arts of London
The objective of the workshop was to verify if microalgae biomass can become their own cultivation device while providing a domestic system that has enhanced performances.
The workshop evolved in the design of first prototype for a domestic photobioreactor whose structure is made with microalgae biomass, therefore creating an iterative process.
This photobioreactor is used to assess the capability of cultivating microalgae with household grey water at a domestic scale while also purifying the indoor air.
The design of the prototype is based on the Taylor vortex fluid hydrodynamics principle. The final prototype consists in two concentric acrylic cylinders, with the inner rotary cylinder also hosting LEDās.
The mixing of the microalgae is provided by the inner rotary cylinder powered by a step motor. The structure & auxiliary components of the bioreactor are manufactured using Atelier Lumaās material & 3D printing techniques. In fact, with 3D printing, its fabrication used āminima materiaā, thus minimizing also impacts on the environment.
Exhibition
āEco-Visionaries: Confronting a planet in a state of emergencyā at the Royal Academy of London
Duration
October - December 2019
Location
London (UK)
Collaborators
Curated by: Atelier Luma
Contribution
- Conceptual design
- Digital fabrication of the alga based filament in the WASP 3MT 3D printer
External links
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/event/algae-design-eco-visionaries-architecture-talk