The Naked Scientists Podcast Can you grow a building?
Feb 4, 2025
This discussion features Martin Dade Robertson, a Professor specializing in emerging technology and building growth, alongside Jonathan Desialov, an expert in biomaterials using fungi. They explore revolutionary concepts of growing buildings like trees and the intriguing use of mycelium as a sustainable alternative to traditional materials. The conversation highlights self-assembling structures, the potential for self-healing, and the impact of climate change on future construction practices—transforming how we think about our built environment.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Tree-Like Growing Buildings
- Growing buildings like trees offers a model for construction using natural resources locally and efficiently.
- This approach imagines buildings that self-assemble, survive, and may even live after construction.
Benefits of Growing Buildings
- Growing buildings could sequester carbon, reversing emissions typical in construction.
- Self-assembling buildings could maintain and heal themselves adaptive to environmental changes.
Microbial Materials in Buildings
- A type of self-healing concrete uses embedded bacterial spores that activate to mend cracks with calcium carbonate.
- Mycelium, fungal root networks, are grown into insulation materials with good acoustic and thermal properties, even fire resistance.