Émilie Gibert
Co-Habiting With the Living: Redefining Design Practices Through the Lens of Terroir
‘Cyanobacteria made plants possible, which made animals possible, which made humans possible, which made buildings possible’ — B. Colomina
What if we could grow buildings that breathe and capture carbon, just like a tree?
“Matter of Place” proposes a living building material made from cyanobacteria and oyster shells from the Swedish coast. Through photosynthetic biomineralisation, these microorganisms absorb CO₂ and transform it into solid structural matter, using solar radiation which is one of most net-negative fabricating process that we know of.
Designed as a living building skin, the facade cladding simultaneously captures carbon and insulates existing buildings. Each tile’s geometry is computationally shaped from local solar data, so every facade is grown for its own micro-climate. This degree project illustrates the concept of ‘bio-digital terroir’ where microbial agency, climatic data and human knowledge converge to open a path toward a future rooted in earth ecology and heritage.
