Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is the first American firm to partner with biotech startup Pneuma Bio on a new product line of carbon-sequestering materials made from microorganisms such as algae that can be used in commercial architecture and residential buildings. Their OXYA product line was... View full entry

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Maine are leading interesting new engineering research into floor cassettes made using recyclable natural materials that are strong enough to be used in multi-story buildings. Thanks to experiments at UMaine's... View full entry

Archinect has received new project images of the latest 3D printed building prototype produced on-site in Barcelona’s Collserola Natural Park by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC).  The 100-square-meter (1,076-square-foot) Earth Forest Campus project (also called... View full entry

Researchers from Germany's Fraunhofer Institute have discovered a new bioconcrete solution made using cyanobacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae) that sequesters carbon through a process of photosynthesis. Their work for the “BioCarboBeton” project examined the potential of... View full entry

A team of engineers from the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley has secured funding for their innovative Mycotecture Off Planet project. The initiative hopes to construct off-planet sustainable housing and furniture designs from mycelial composite bricks. The $2 million in funding will... View full entry

Engineers at Princeton University have developed a new cement composite, inspired by the material found within certain shells, that is 17 times more crack-resistant than standard cement and 19 times more able to stretch and deform without breaking.  The research team was led by Reza Moini, an... View full entry

A new experimental demonstration glamping concept that represents likely the first building project made using mycelium in the Czech Republic has debuted from the home reconstruction financier Buřinka with a cross-disciplinary team from Mykilio and the Czech Technical University called MYMO... View full entry

Henning Larsen has unveiled a new tool for designers that allows them access to a database of biogenic materials examples taken from around the world. The firm debuted its new Open Detail resource at the AEC Hackathon in Copenhagen. Together with collaborators Copenhagen School of Design and... View full entry

Snøhetta has designed a line of lighting products for Swedish lighting manufacturer ateljé Lyktan.  The line, named Superdupertube, sees a revision of the manufacturer’s 1970s Supertube product, which was given a “contemporary makeover through extensive material research.” Image... View full entry

New findings published in the journal Construction and Building Materials from a team of materials researchers working at the University of British Columbia Okanagan's School of Engineering have demonstrated the sustainable qualities of using wood fly ash by-products as alternatives to traditional... View full entry

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have published their study into how materials made from nanocellulose and algae can be used as sustainable architectural materials. The research, conducted in collaboration with the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, “shows how the abundant... View full entry

Repeated calls for the decarbonization of architecture are sometimes met with criticisms as to their lack of substance, and in some cases, practicality or overall feasibility, Canada's National Observer tells us.  The only mycelium binders on the market are, for example, unsuitable to certain... View full entry

ETH Zurich has published details of new research into lightweight building components produced using 3D printing. Led by doctoral architecture researcher Patrick Bedarf, the Airlements project centers on cement-free mineral foams derived from recycled industrial waste. Working within the... View full entry

The technology was developed by a research team at the University of Maryland, led by Distinguished University Professor Liangbing Hu in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The coating functions by reflecting up to 99% of solar radiation to prevent buildings from absorbing heat... View full entry

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has debuted a new concrete alternative material as part of its participation in the fifth Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB 5), which is taking place now through February 11th at multiple locations citywide.  The firm’s Bio-Blocks technology is being... View full entry