An Exploration into Biogeomorphic Interactions for Enhanced Weathering of Urban Stone Structures

Fertile Fluxes’ bio-integrated architectural intervention centers on the ecological interactions in nutrient flows as functional relational systems across scales over time.

Weathering structures are both subtractive and additive. The physical environment is a catalyst to uncovering new and continuously evolving aesthetic architectural dimensions.

Mapping limestone buildings across London uncovered unique and recurring relationships between material, morphology, environment, and biological growth patterns.

Through combined research agendas, the team connected the transformative properties of microbial co-cultures, lithic adaptive plant species, and water.

The methodology initiates natural and ecological successions in urban environments through a formally connected system that supports self-sustaining and resilient ecosystems.

Crafting synthetic lichen co-cultures bypasses the challenges of their slow growth. Co-culture permutations considered which species freed inorganic phosphorus the quickest.

Lichen modify their surrounding environments through material and chemical transformations. Secreted organic acids unlock inorganic phosphorus in mineral substrates.

Lichen are nutrient transformers in macro-pathways like phosphorus cycles. Known as a pioneering species, these symbiotic organisms contribute to local ecologies both in life and death.

Calcareous materials challenge vegetation. Embracing ideas of circular economy, a soil-less substrate using biodegradable waste supports seed establishment and microbial interaction.

Following seasonal patterns of growth and decay, the cyclical nature of weathering is foundational to agencies in the designed system, regarding inoculation and maintenance.

Water absorption through capillary action is hard to predict and control but holds high potential for sustainable design integration because of its bio-receptive capacity.

Studies of water and thermal dynamics as they relate to geometry. These are aimed towards qualities of programmatic and aesthetic variety, climatic resilience, and spatial richness.

The plaster model with deep perforations serves as a visual demonstration of how the individual relationships (water, lichen, plants) are related in a specific geometry.

Experiments offer valuable insights into how environmental parameters influence plant and microbial growth, serving as a proof of concept for advanced calcareous weathering.

Through investigations of classical architecture profiles, ornament and rustication, we identify lattice structures, interior voids, and channelling as inoculation strategies.

Formally emergent environments: classical profiles reconfigured as mediators between biotic and abiotic weathering agents.

Plaster sledging, conventionally employed in classical profile fabrication to craft uniform shapes for running mouldings, took on a new role in the chair assembly prototype.

The functional ornament design features thoughtful geometries for water channelling, protective pocketing, and increased surface area for a diversity of microclimates.

Expedited weathering timeline, achieved through functional ornamentation inlayed with seeded biomaterial and optimised micro-climate inoculation of synthetic lichen.

A mélange of reconfigured classical profile strategies celebrates both London’s stone building heritage, as well as natural rock weathering processes for resilient ecologies.

Integrated ornament and building roughness and thickness can bolster the biological functions of a structure, enhancing the connections between the building and the biocene.