www.rachelarmstrong.me | TEDGlobal 2009
Dr. RACHEL
ARMSTRONG
MA [Cantab] BMBCh [Oxon]
2009 TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong delivered a talk at the TED global conference in Oxford the latest venture from TED, which was originally established to bring together people from the technology, entertainment and design worlds. The 2009 program is designed to explore and make visible The Substance of Things Not Seen...
An idea worth spreading
Growing a limestone reef under Venice, using carbon dioxide from the atmosphere hat has been 'fixed' into a solid form using 'metabolic materials'. I am collaborating with architect Professor Neil Spiller at University College London and chemist Assistant Professor Martin Hanczyc at the Southern University of Denmark, to experimentally investigate whether a particular kind of 'metabolic material' derived from 'protocell technology', a synthetic, cell-like chemistry with some of the properties of living systems, can produce a solid material by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Under the right conditions the 'protocells' would be able to produce a limestone-like aquatic architecture underneath the foundations of Venice using a 'bottom up' approach to assembly. This is a novel approach to generating architecture since the material would be 'grown', not assembled by humans following an architectural blueprint and provide a sustainable approach to reclaiming this historic city. >> TEDU talk >>TED Fellow talk
