The painted metal frame black and the complex system of pipes, flowing with a greenish liquid, seem emerging from a science fiction movie. The contrast with the Arcade and the other historic buildings from the Republic Square in the center of Braga, could not be more evident. Perhaps this is why more than a hundred onlookers joined around on the morning of Tuesday, as the creator of the piece presented. “In recent days, as we made the assembly, came a lot of people to us asking if this is a spaceship,” says the architect Marco Poletto signing the piece.
It’s called Urban Algae Folly and is an architectural structure that brings together live microorganisms, in the case algae, and digital technology, which makes the monitoring of biological and physical processes taking place inside. The intention is to “test what may be the future of cities.” “In a way, this is even a spaceship,” continues Poletto. However, this is not going to take to travel outside the planet, but “will allow us to continue to live in it for many more years.” The piece is the result of six years of research of this Italian architect living in the UK, which has been going over the problems of sustainability of the planet. “We have to find new ways to generate energy, food and clean the air around us,” he explains.
This is precisely what the Urban Algae Folly does. The greenish liquid that flows in the pipes that capture the attention of passers-by in the center of Braga is loaded with chlorella vulgaris , an algae with high photosynthetic efficiency, which contains up to 7% of natural chlorophyll – a percentage more High of any known plant on earth. The intent of this architect is that, in future, be possible to build urban infrastructure that not only incorporate elements of nature such as “enhance the properties of nature,” as is the case.
The seaweed Here will develop can be collected and becomes a food product with vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids essential for the human body, as well as proteins. Every day, the structure will generate 35 grams of chlorella, which, in terms of protein is the equivalent of 750 grams of meat. In the three months that will be installed in Braga will be able to produce the half-small cow protein equivalent.
The micro-organisms and embedded technology in this piece are also ten times more effective ten large trees to make the purification of urban atmosphere, ensures its author. The promise is that this structure absorbs 1.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide per day and produce oxygen half that value, equivalent to the daily consumption of a human adult. So is the future, assures Marco Poletto, “we will increasingly incorporate bio-technology and digital technology in urban environments”
The Italian architect vision is that, like the large cities of the Industrial Revolution – that. made its central production of energy your true heart – may be in the cities of the future structures able to return production to urban areas and can return to know where does the energy or the food we eat
<. p> The Urban Algae Folly was created by the London stadium ecoLogicStudio, led by Italian architect and had its first performance at the world exhibition in Milan, which took place between May and October that city in Italy. The piece now installed in Braga uses the same concept and the same technology, but is a completely new structure, which cost 50,000 euros and was commissioned by the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL, the international acronym), of Braga and Francisco Foundation Manuel dos Santos.
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