“The best way to describe what we’re trying to create is a ‘biomechanical cow’s stomach’,” said Rachel Armstrong, coordinator of the Living Architecture (LIAR) research project. LIAR's aim is to develop a building block material that uses living microorganisms to clean wastewater, glean useful resources from sunlight, and even generate electricity.

To do this, the researchers are programming synthetic microorganisms, and inserting them into a microbial fuel cell (MFC), which is then placed inside ceramic blocks. The MFCs are effectively alive, and produce positive and negative charges, which allows them to be programmed in such a way to emulate the different metabolic stages of a cow's stomach.

In combination, the blocks could be used to form 'bioreactor walls', which could then help offset a structure's carbon footprint by keeping waste processing and power generation in-house: "like a digestive system for your home or office," according to Armstrong. In one successful test case, researchers used MFC-laiden bricks to power lights in a selection of urinals at this year's Glastonbury music festival.

One of the researchers' prime concerns is how to create walls that are selectively permeable: that can take in wastewater for processing but still form a shelter. As a coordinated effort between Newcastle University, UWE Bristol, Trento, the Spanish National Research Council, LIQUIFER Systems Group and EXPLORA, LIAR has €3.2 million and three more years to grapple with such problems.

h/t Newcastle University

Watch Armstrong's 2009 TED Talk below, "Architecture that repairs itself?"

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