-In thinking through the development of the project I am attempting to set up a narrative that ties into future aspirations of the city [Chicago], post-human futures, and biotechnical mergers. The project is attempting to achieve an architecture which would lay forth one possible scenario culminating from the merger of biology and technology where body/building and biology/technology collapse. Following the development of the scaffolding and the processes which would lead to its construction, the programmatic organs will be discussed in more detail as well as its relationship to the human and ecology.
Northeast of the Chicago loop a plan has been created to continue Daniel Burnhams plans for Chicago and the aspirations of a continuous lake front green belt. Within this post-human scenario the implementations of autonomous robotics and advanced technologies that have evolved to symbiotically fuse with biological processes. Utilizing Lake Michigan as a breeding ground for the robots and mineral depository, the site becomes the ecoline between land and lake. Water is a vital component in all biological processes, the lake is where minerals such as calcium carbonate is “harvested” in the creation of the printed scaffolding.
The site becomes a datascape as information within the existing context near the site is recorded and processed allowing simulations to be projected in real-time through the atmosphere. Once the simulation becomes stable within area of operations, the robots are activated, congealing the simulation before them with a composite mix of organic minerals creating a structural network for the biological growth to adhere. A cellular cross section allows for evapotranspiration to deliver the necessary materials for printing to the robots as they continue along the simulated path. After the scaffolding has become properly mineralized genetically designed cells are injected into the hardened members, proceeded by a dense network of roots that eventually will encapsulate the scaffolding before a mature biological growth begins to take over the exterior. A component of the genetically engineered epidermis yields a plant capable of processing data as electrical pulses–water-filled sacs on the plant create a habitat for the bacteria live which processes the electrical pulses and pass them along the optical fiber root system.
Bacterial computers become an integral part of the project, processing data within the landscape to both simulate the datascape and perform the necessary functions allowing the scaffolding system to respond to environmental conditions through electrical pulses. Instead of traditional computers of silicon and metal, the processing of data is carried out through bacteria within vats of water. This process could either be carried in within large pools on the site or within a complex network of smaller assemblages, where water and bacteria live within a biological network of genetically engineered plants cultivating from the injected scaffolding. The micro-structure of the plants act as optical fibers transmitting electrical pulses and exchanging raw data from the environment.
The dense layers of roots and matured growth interwoven within the scaffolding system yields a stable surface as it grows into lake, creating a surface suitable for programmatic functions. Acting as a sort of mangrove forest along the edge of the lake, the system of scaffolding and roots create a barrier reducing erosion and habitat for lake species. As minerals and other organic materials flows into the scaffolding and rooting system the new topography above becomes stabilized setting the groundwork for the programmatic organs to be grown within the scaffolding…
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