Future Of Construction: "Growing"Buildings

Could it be possible that we, one day, could grow our buildings and, thus, cities in the same manner as we grow trees?

This sounds absurd of course. There is no way to do that, correct?

Well, do not be so sure about that. This is one of those instances where applying what we know might get us in trouble. Naturally, we cannot claim this ability is with us today yet it could be down the road.

NASA, in fact, is working on this exact concept. It believes that the construction on the Moon and Mars is going to be akin to growing a tree. A tree does not require anyone to construct it. Instead, it is naturally programmed to end up looking like a tree.

The world of material sciences is advancing at a rapid pace. Actually, it might be making the most progress of anything that is out there. We are already seeing the ability to develop self healing concrete and bricks that can reproduce themselves. This means that "growing" structures and furniture could well be on its way.

3D printing already went organic with the capability to print out organs. This is obviously in its embryonic stages but it will provide some insight into the future of organic materials. Using fungi as a building component adds an interesting twist since it can be stored during travel in a dormant state yet be unleashed to "grow" into the structure. After that, it will die providing a "dead" building (after all who wants to reside in a live house that is always moving).

Bio-mineralism is at the core of what we are discussing. This is the concept of using a living material that will harden or stiffen tissue. Hence, we see the conversion from a soft tissue living structure, like a mushroom, into something that is hard and sturdy.

How about the idea of using bacteria to heal concrete?

We can only imagine the possibilities if some of these technologies do come to fruition. Once again, the disruption is likely going to be enormous. Will it ever happen? I think we can safely say it will since they already have produced results. At this point, scaling and cost remains a question. The fact that NASA is looking at it for space makes it a bit more viable since the cost of doing anything out there is enormous. Thus, the pricing point is much higher as compared to on Earth.

Using living materials to create our products and structures is an interesting concept. This is something that is going to continue to be explored since, as I mentioned, the material sciences is really advancing rapidly. We are seeing a host of problems that are trying to be addressed through this manner. As we delve more into nano-technology, it is likely we are going to see a lot of breakthroughs in areas on the macro scale.

Thinking along these lines starts to make one question the future of some of the companies we see before us. What is their business model going to look like in a decade or two. While it is not easy to think about how a company can be blindsided, just take a look at Nokia. Their market share evaporated, seemingly overnight, with the introduction of the smartphone.

Today, we are playing with technologies that will not only destroy a company but can take out an entire industry.

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Posted via Steemleo