Bio Scaffolds: the orchestration of biological growth through robotic intervention

In this paper, we present a series of design methodologies which have emerged from the interaction of living (material) and non-living (machine) behaviours. ‘Bio Scaffolds’ explores a series of design tectonics that emerge from the co-creation between human, machine and natural intelligences. This research examines mycelium’s ability to biodegrade architectural forms, augmenting and modifying form generation. By hacking the degradation rates of natural materials, sacrificial formworks (Snooks, Towards a robotic architecture, 2018) act as non-anthropocentric architectural habitats for mycelium to grow and eventually biodegrade. To manipulate natural growth, dynamic feedback systems are explored. Here, machine, nature and computational form are in constant dialogue with one another. A negotiation between architectural aesthetics and biological agency is investigated, establishing an integral connection between form and materiality. Using this hybrid intelligence—developed at the nexus of human, machine, and mycelium—the intention is to generate unexpected forms, showcased through a series of 3D printed mycelium enclosures. A robotic arm is introduced into the system that can respond to the organism’s natural behaviour by injecting additional mycelium culture into sacrificial frameworks. Equipped with a computer vision system, feedback controls, scanning procedures and a multi-functional end-effector, the machine tends to nature by reacting to its patterns of growth, moisture, and color variation. As the organism begins to grow within the designed geometry, the robot detects and responds to this data by injecting additional mycelium culture into the sacrificial formworks.