Soft Living Architecture: An Alternative View of Bio-informed Practice

Soft Living Architecture explores the invention of new architectures based on living processes, combining biomimicry, biodesign, bioinformatics, and natural computing. It examines approaches such as using life-like systems and growing cell and tissue cultures, raising ethical and theoretical issues about the nature of design and the design of nature.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 06 September 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Soft Living Architecture delves into the realm of innovative architectural designs that are inspired by living processes. By seamlessly merging two rapidly evolving fields, biomimicry and biodesign in architecture, alongside bioinformatics and natural computing in the natural sciences, this groundbreaking book pioneers a unique intersection. It stands as the first comprehensive exploration of both the theoretical and methodological aspects of architecture and design that directly engage with the natural world.

Within its pages, readers are introduced to a diverse array of approaches, ranging from the incorporation of life-like systems into building design to the utilization of actual growing and living cell and tissue cultures as architectural materials. This visionary approach results in the creation of architecture that possesses the remarkable ability to adapt, learn, and evolve alongside humanity.

The utilization of "living architecture" represents a cutting-edge and speculative approach, yet it also ignites a growing wave of designers across the globe to embrace alternative viewpoints on sustainability and environmental design. The book meticulously examines the ethical and theoretical considerations that arise alongside case studies of experimental practices, aiming to unravel the meaning of "natural" in the Anthropocene era and raise profound questions about the essence of design and the design of nature.

This thought-provoking and occasionally contentious book serves as a compelling testament to why it will become increasingly essential to embrace living processes in architecture if we are to thrive in a sustainable future. By delving into the intricate interplay between human civilization and the natural world, Soft Living Architecture offers a transformative perspective that challenges us to reimagine the possibilities of architectural design and its role in shaping a harmonious and resilient world.

Weight: 514g
Dimension: 161 x 240 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350011359