PhotoSynthetica Collection by ecoLogicStudio: Biophilic Design Products for Collective Cyber-gardening

London-based architecture and design firm ecoLogicStudio, led by Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, presents its first collection of biophilic design products that includes a desktop biotechnological air purifier, a compostable stool and a 3D printed jewel made of re-metabolised pollution.

The collection is part of the wider PhotoSynthetica research project launched in 2018 by the studio with an academic consortium, to tackle the negative effects of climate change and air pollution on urban wellbeing.

Each piece is conceived to connect the biophilic and digital design spheres and to implement true circularity of production and use. The biomass grown from the air purification process becomes raw material for 3D printing the compostable stool and the jewel.

The PhotoSynthetica Collection is the culmination of five years of research and development, it implements the findings of several recent projects conceived by ecoLogicStudio, from the BioBombola to the Otrivin Air Lab, to Air Office and Tree One.

“This collection is born from the dream of growing the city of the future from the waste and pollution of our current fossil civilization. More than products these first three objects are tools to start a collective process of urban re-metabolization.” — affirms Dr. Marco Poletto.

AIReactor and the first series of compostable stools are now part of the permanent design collection of the Mudac – Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts in Lausanne (Switzerland).

The new desktop biotechnological air purifier, called AIReactor, is an indoor photobioreactor capable of absorbing carbon dioxide and pollutants while oxygenating the air. It is suitable for the domestic realm and ideal for the work and educational environments.

AIReactor is a completely reversible product, made of a few core elements that at the end of their useful life can be re-used, re-cycled or composted.

An elegant interlocking structure consisting of birch plywood components supports a 1 meter tall lab-grade glass photobioreactor hosting up to 10 liters of living photosynthetic micro-algae cultures.

Air is captured from the environment and introduced at the base of the reactor constantly stirring the medium, simulating the effects of waves and currents in the marine environment.

The gentle bubbling keeps the algae afloat, aids oxygenation and produces a soothing sound that emanates with the fresh oxygen from AIReactor into the surrounding space.

The algae harvest is a simple process that can be performed several times per week, collecting up to 7 grams of dry algae per day (one tablespoon).

AIReactor has the same carbon capturing potential of a mature tree and it’s engineered to be an actual carbon neutral product in its entire lifecycle.

The product supports a holistic approach to wellbeing in the urban environment. Cleaner air has direct benefits for respiratory health and the symbiotic connection with nature offers parallel benefits for mental health.

Each reactor can capture diverse air pollutants: 20 grams of CO2 (carbon dioxide) per day; 0,14 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre; 0,29 micrograms of PM10 per cubic metre; and 0,69 micrograms of NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) per cubic metre.

Compostable Stool

The “magic” of AIReactor resides in its capability to re-metabolize pollutants and carbon dioxide into biomass.

This is turned into biopolymer, a valuable substitute of petrol based plastic compounds for making everyday products.

The compostable stool takes this process to a new level by leveraging the potential of digital design and 3D printing technologies for mass customization.

The compostable stool is the result of a research collaboration between ecoLogicStudio and the Synthetic Landscape Lab at the Innsbruck University directed by Prof. Claudia Pasquero.

The inherent flexibility of the biopolymer material is enhanced by the unique pleated morphology of the vertical surface visible from the open top and bottom.

Like the stem of a plant, it can flex and adapt locally to the user body and weight while resisting to its vertical load.

The combination of material bio-composition and morphological articulation creates the possibility for near infinite customisation of the product, thus making it possible to create a global distribution with many local supply chains of production.

The stool comes in a natural color and is 3d printed with a bespoke compound of flexible PLA/PHB biodegradable and compostable filament.

BIO-DIGITAL Ring

The PhotoSynthetica Collection converts waste and pollution into valuable resources and the bio-digital ring is the closest we have come to “grow a jewel” from the emissions of London.

The ring embodies a new kind of technological life, designed by artificial intelligence and bio-digitally grown.

“In this unique object, we can recognize one of the most significant aspects of contemporary technological evolution: its inevitable convergence with living nature. The ring has a powerful symbolic value, it is a call to collectively re-orient our value systems and to recognize preciousness where now we only see dirt.” — Prof. Claudia Pasquero.

Each ring is composed of 30% of algal biomass on a base of polylactic acid (PLA). It weighs 20 grams, thus storing approximately the daily air filtration of one AIReactor.