Algae Power
Algae have just been assigned a new task to fulfill the shared mission of many of today's designers, engineers, and architects to find an abundant, cheap, non-polluting way to generate energy. Amy Franceschini already enlisted algae in her pioneering explorations to split the bond between oxygen and hydrogen in water molecules in order to release hydrogen, the ultimate energy panacae. Now, algae have been summoned by Splitterwerk Architects to produce their new building's energy supply, bypassing such conventional alternatives as solar and wind that continue to frustrate large-scale applications.
The structure is called BIQ for an International Building Exhibition in Hamburg. It is covered with a bio-adaptive façade of microalgae. This extraordinary concept will become a reality later this month when the building opens.
To create the algae façade, the building is covered in louvres that contain the algae and act like bioreactors that encourage the algae’s growth. These bio-reactors trap the heat energy created by the algae, which can then be harvested and used to power the building. Once the building is completed, it will be evaluated by scientist
This is the first commercial-scale solution to renewable energy that uses live algae as a smart material.