At a time when there is an urgent need to find alternate solutions to worldwide environmental problems like air pollution, buildings can no longer only be considered infrastructure to host human beings’ activities. They should also contribute to enhancing the interaction between humans and other lifeforms that play an essential role in the environment.
In recent years, bacteria have proven to be highly beneficial for our ecosystem, playing an important role in processes like bioremediation. Despite their great potential to improve the urban environment, there are only a few examples in which bacteria are taken out of a laboratory and applied in an architectural context. Nevertheless, bacteria have been widely used in industrial-scale biofiltration systems, which offer a sustainable solution for pollution control.
Hence this research seeks to explore how these biofiltration industrial techniques could be integrated into architectural elements. An essential consideration for biofilter design is the medium material that carries and enhances microbial growth. A common material used in biofiltration systems as well as in architecture is ceramics. The purpose of this research is the development of a passive open biofiltration system applied on an architectural scale using ceramics as a support medium for bacteria capable of degrading air pollutants
Yessica Mendez is currently a professor and researcher at the Centro de Estudios Superiores de Diseño de Monterrey (CEDIM). Her thesis project Design for Aging Buildings is exhibited at the Méxican consulate in Barcelona and was published at the International Forum Intelligent Cities / Resilient Landscapes ADD Genova in 2017. She is cofounder of ME-ST and ALTERAT, two professional practices where she focuses on computational design and digital fabrication in architecture.
A. Karen Kay Garza is an architect and biotechnologist who focuses on innovations in environmental design. She has been collaborating on interdisciplinary projects related to building materials AND LIVING ORGANISMS IN COLLABORATION with the Biotechnology Institute OF UANL AND THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE OF CEDIM.
Cite This Paper
Mendez, Yessica G., and A. Karen Garza Chapa. “Embedding Passive Biofiltration Systems Into Architectural Ceramic Elements.” Arts Imagining Communities to Come, Guayaquil, Ecuador, 8-11 November 2021. Cumulus Association, 2023. Accessed [month, day, year].