University of Virginia 3D-Prints Living Soil Walls that Sprout Greenery
Sourced from Dezeen
University of Virginia researchers have invented a method of 3D printing with seed-impregnated soil, which could be used to create walls and roofs teeming with plant life.
Prototypes built by the researchers start off looking like ordinary raw-earth structures. But over the course of a few days, they sprout and become covered in greenery, leading the University of Virginia (UVA) to compare them to "oversized Chia Pets".
Building elements such as green walls and roofs could be constructed using this method, bringing benefits like natural insulation, flood prevention and green spaces for people, pollinators and other animals, according to UVA.
By combining soil and seeds into 3D-printable "soil inks", greenery could be built into the very fabric of architectural features rather than just layered on top.
This has the potential to reduce the need for more emissions-intensive building materials and replace them with a circular alternative, which the researchers say can be can be reused again and again.
From the Living Architecture Monitor
