Tag Archives: Venice Architecture Biennale

This DIY wooden bicycle is an open source design that makes you think about sustainable living!

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This bicycle made of plywood was created with an intent to get more people to focus on sustainability. The open source design is called ‘Openbike’ and despite the obvious problems that come with a bike made from plywood, it is still an affordable and lightweight alternative to those who want to live on a budget but are also eco-conscious. You can download the files to build your own bike here!

“This is not about bicycles! Open your eyes, this is about you, about your attitude towards the future. Do you think that the pollution of the cities will disappear by itself? Do you think traffic jams are caused by others?” reads the Openbike website which makes the mission statement of the design very clear – they’re not claiming to offer the durability or a thief-proof bike but rather shift your perspective on affordability and sustainability.

The multidisciplinary Spanish design studio wants to reduce carbon emissions in cities by empowering people with technology which is why they made Openbike so that the files can be downloaded and fabricated by anyone in the world. They have been prototyping designs since 2017 and the final version is can be used by anyone, incorporates storage racks to transport goods, and employs a simple construction from widely available materials like off-the-shelf plywood.

Architects Raquel Ares and Iñaki Albistur said, “It is a manifesto on sustainable urbanism, urban transport, distributed manufacturing, shared knowledge, the community, and the responsible use of resources, that materializes in the design of a non-polluting urban transport, the bicycle, that can be manufactured by its own use within the city where it is going to be used.”

To fabricate the bike, you have to download the drawings from their website. Then you can take the drawings to a local digital fabrication workshop where the CNC machine cuts the body of the bicycle from plywood and uses 3D printing for elements such as the saddle, front hub, and hand grips which could also be recycled from old bikes depending on the resources available.

The fabrication files for Openbike are licensed under creative commons 4.0, allowing the designs to be improved, modified, manufactured, and shared again by anyone across the world making it a truly accessible design that only gets better. Based on these principles of open design, Arquimaña encourages further development based on the use of local resources but with global techniques and tools adapted – this way each bike is a little unique, localized but also could be scaled on a global level based on characteristics.

The aim is to empower citizens as a transforming agent, putting technology at their service and prioritizing local production with local resources, which generates active and productive cities, looking to the future from an ecological perspective, trying to reduce carbon emissions to a minimum. The project is part of the global fab city initiative, which challenges cities to produce everything they consume by 2054!

Openbike hopes to offer citizens the necessary methods for manufacturing a non-polluting means of urban transport, the bicycle, by themselves. The project isn’t really about the bike itself, though, but rather the idea that people should think about how they can contribute to a better, more sustainable future.

Designer: Arquimaña

This sustainable structure is made of probiotic materials!

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Sustainable architecture is one thing but structures made of mushrooms and microbes are a whole new level! The Living is a New York-based innovative studio that puts biology, computation, and sustainability at the core of their work. They designed a structure from mycelium which is what NASA is experimenting with for housing on Mars and now they have designed ‘Alive’ – an architecture prototype to promote various microbial communities through the calibration of grain, light, and airflow. It showcases the idea of ​​living together with concepts related to different microbial communities, as well as to different human communities. Experience it virtually here!

Alive is pushing the boundaries for probiotic buildings and multi-species architecture. The installation is exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale to demonstrate how organic materials with microbial properties could be used in architecture to help create healthier environments for humans. It has a room made of rough organic, porous material that provides a large surface area and many different microclimates for various types of microbes. Alive also includes macro-spaces for humans and micro-spaces for microbes, as well as material interfaces for exchange between these different species.





The unique structure represents an evolution of ongoing research by The Living, the team constantly works with biologists and academics to explore the potential of multi-species architecture and how best to harness the microbes that surround us all the time. Advances in biological technologies such as bio-computing, bio-sensing, and bio-fabricating are offering new opportunities for using living organisms in architecture.

“As a society, we are increasingly aware of how a good gut microbiome promotes individual health, and in a similar way, it is now clear that a good urban microbiome promotes public health. This means that instead of creating architecture and spaces that are sterile and antibiotic, we should develop environments that are alive and probiotic,” said David Benjamin, Founder and Principal at The Living.

This structure shows potential for creating urban microbiomes that would help cities evolve their architecture into more sustainable development by using bio-receptive materials for construction instead of concrete which would also cut down heavily on carbon emissions. The construction industry contributes to more than a third of the global carbon emissions and most of it comes from concrete!

Bio-receptive materials trap and host microorganisms in surfaces containing pockets with different temperatures, moisture levels, airflow and nutrients. These organic, living materials support colonies of microbes that in turn promote the health of people in their vicinity. This is a sustainable, natural and organic alternative construction material that works for both humans and the planet.

The Alive installation is constructed from dried fibres of luffa – an inexpensive, renewable and fast-growing vegetable that grows on vines in tropical and subtropical regions. Luffa’s fibrous surfaces form a strong and organic material that is ideally suited to hosting diverse microbes and could be easily adapted to form panelling products or partitions for use in architectural projects.

“The project is a prototype for the architecture of the future, but at the same time, it is relevant to current buildings. It can be easily adapted into many environments like today’s offices and restaurants, with partition walls and acoustic tiled ceilings, or tomorrow’s buildings with microbial facades that remove pathogens from the air,” adds Benjamin.

The design promotes the architectural potential of luffa and other probiotic materials while also creating spaces that allow different levels of light and airflow. Researchers and previous collaborators Kevin Slavin and Elizabeth Henaff will use a DNA sequencer to determine what species of bacteria lived in the material to continue the research and make this a material that can truly be used beyond exhibitions. Alive is truly eye-opening, with combined efforts of designers and scientists it is possible to find sustainable alternatives that can be scaled to solve bigger problems!

Designer: The Living

A design studio planted 1200 trees that will grow into a forest at the end of Venice Architecture Biennale

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Danish design studio EFFEKT has planted seeds for 1200 trees at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 which will grow into a mini forest during the six-month exhibition where architects from across the world come to showcase their work. The coolest part is that these live in a grow table that will be remote-controlled from Denmark. This forest surrounds seven of EFFEKT’s projects and forms a fictional landscape of living trees. “Our installation in Venice showcases a series of ideas, concepts, strategies, and designs for living and building, for producing, consuming, and revitalizing the ecosystems we are part of and depend upon,” said EFFEKT on their unique way to leave their footprints behind while reducing their carbon footprint!

The installation is called ‘Ego to Eco’ and it is shaped as a physical representation of a natural ecosystem backed by research and sprinkled with design projects made by EFFEKT over the last few years. The team says projects like these can offer potential solutions to the challenge how we design ecosystems. It investigates new ideas for living and building, for producing, consuming, and revitalizing the ecosystems we are part of and depend upon – a community that stands on the pillars of architecture and natural balance.

The architectural prototypes were selected to spark curiosity in the visitors and promote discussion regarding new, resource-efficient ways of living and building. The seven projects seek to explore how we can design future communities rooted in the principles of nature. By asking the right questions and collaborating across sectors on projects such as these, EFFEKT strives to bridge the gap between cities and natural ecosystems for the mutual benefit of both human and non-human life.

The presented projects include the forest tower, responding to the question: “can architecture help people reconnect with nature? And the nature village, responding to the question: ‘can real estate development enable ecological restoration? Everyone on this planet is all part of the same ecosystem — and by thinking and acting accordingly we believe we can find the answer to urgent questions,” says EFFEKT.

The recirculating irrigation technology pumps water and nutrients to the roots of the plants through an ebb-and-flow grow table, with excess water drained and collected in a tank below. Pressure, humidity, and temperature sensors are connected to a controller box, that enables real-time monitoring and operation of the system, offering optimal growing conditions for the plants. The one-year-old trees of Pinus Sylvestris, Picea Abies, Pinus Sitchensisa, and Larix Eurolepis will grow over the course of six months and will be planted at the end of the exhibition as a part of the firm’s ‘nature village’.

Designer: EFFEKT