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# Biological Concrete
- URL: https://www.protein.xyz/biological-concrete/
- Published: 2013-01-08T20:27:58.000Z
- Updated: 2025-05-28T11:01:52.000Z
- Description: New cement promises symbiotic decoration of building façades
- Author: Protein
- Tags: Seeds, Art & Design, Technology, #protein, #Import 2024-06-11 13:15, #author-change-2025-05-28

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/fc/71/fc716215-5729-441a-bd07-e2b50bc413b1/content/images/S3/protein/3600/63fbb54e-e249-4148-ac17-7ff70b1f335e.jpg)

Urban farming, rooftop gardening and [hydroponics](http://prote.in/feed/2011/11/the-green-house-shop?ref=protein.xyz) all proffer a vision of urban architecture with an added layer of sustainability. By rengineering humble concrete, the [Structural Technology Group](http://www.upc.edu/?ref=protein.xyz) has developed a building material which incubates pigmented oranisms. The concrete provides a striking visual appearance bundled together with environmentally beneficial attributes.

The patented biological concrete encourages and accelarates the growth of a select group of pigmented organisms, such as lichens, moss, microalgae, and fungi. The speed at which the concrete fosters it microorganism communities is key: ensuring aesthetic appeal ahead of blotchy buildings was paramount in the researchers concerns. Biological Concrete's been designed to work with mediterrean buildings, and in addition to providing a symbiotic aesthetic the new material increase thermal efficiency and helps the building double up as a carbon sink!

Admittedly this project isn't as mind blowing as [transparent concrete](http://prote.in/feed/2008/04/transparent-concrete?ref=protein.xyz). But as vertical farming, [hydroponics](http://prote.in/feed/2011/11/the-green-house-shop?ref=protein.xyz) [et al](http://prote.in/feed/2012/05/protein-future-of-food-forum?ref=protein.xyz) have already raised our expectations of how architecture can help provide a sustainable future, so too does Biological Concrete propose a future where a city's architectural façades provides a visual metric of its symbiotic sustainability.