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In an age grappling with environmental challenges and the rapid advance of technology, architects and designers are exploring innovative ways to create sustainable and intelligent solutions for our built environment.
Leading the charge in this quest for a harmonious blend of nature and technology is ecoLogicStudio, a London-based architecture and design innovation firm founded by Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto. Their recently published book, titled “Biodesign in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Deep Green,” is poised to redefine the discourse on the future of urban living.
Pioneering a New Age of Architecture
Since its inception in 2005, ecoLogicStudio has been at the forefront of architectural innovation. The firm has garnered international acclaim for its pioneering projects, which seamlessly integrate systemic thinking, computational design, biotechnology, and digital prototyping. Their “broadened” approach to design, spanning scales from the microscopic to the global, has transformed each project into an experimental laboratory, a visionary testbed for the future of urban habitation.
A Decade of Evolution
Over the past decade, ecoLogicStudio has undergone a remarkable transformation. From their first book, “Systemic Architecture: Operating Manual for the Self-Organizing City,” to their latest venture, the firm has evolved into a design innovation consortium. Their partnerships with esteemed academic institutions like the University of Innsbruck, The Bartlett UCL in London, and the IAAC in Barcelona underscore their commitment to pushing the boundaries of architectural and design innovation.
Three Pillars of Innovation
The title of ecoLogicStudio’s new book, “Biodesign in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Deep Green,” encapsulates the three foundational pillars of their research. First and foremost is the concept of “cutting-edge blue-green masterplanning.” This notion revolves around creating urban environments that are not only sustainable but thrive on ecological principles, offering a blueprint for cities of the future.
The second pillar revolves around “biodesign applied to architecture.” Here, ecoLogicStudio explores how biotechnology can influence and enhance architectural design, weaving the principles of the natural world into the fabric of our built environment.
Lastly, the book delves into “Artificial Intelligence as a Medium for the Design of Future Cities.” In an age where technology is rapidly reshaping our world, ecoLogicStudio views AI as a powerful tool for envisioning and shaping the cities of tomorrow.
Reimagining the Urban Landscape
One of the book’s key insights is likening artificial intelligence to natural organisms like slime moulds, spider webs, microalgae colonies, or mycelium networks. Just as these natural systems exhibit intelligence in their morphology, behaviour, and appearance, ecoLogicStudio envisions urban landscapes and architectures that reflect this same intelligence.
Rather than extracting resources from the planet, their designs aim to regenerate and thrive through waste metabolization and pollution filtration, embodying a new kind of artificial circularity.
Two Parts, Infinite Inspiration
“Biodesign in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Deep Green” is a 364-page volume divided into two main parts. The first part, titled “PhotoSynthetica,” explores immediate design solutions that engage with the urban microbiome. It includes concepts such as photosynthetic architecture, bio-digital sculptures, and cyber-gardens, all aimed at creating an immediate and positive impact on our cities.
The second part, “Deep Green,” takes a broader and longer-term perspective. Operating beyond human perception and lifespans, it envisions synthetic landscapes and deep territorial planning that can transform our urban environments in profound ways.ecoLogicStudio Book
All images in this article are courtesy of ecoLogicStudio. ecoLogicStudio Book
