Coloured by Flavo

Coloured by Flavo

Coordination/Researcher TUDelft/Avans:
Elvin Karana

Coordination WDKA:
Aldje van Meer
Charlotte Bik

Scientist:
Colin J. Ingham & Radi Hamidjaja

Researchers/Artist/Designer:
Ivan Henriques
Emma Van Der Leest

MA Student, Researcher TUDelft:
Ward Groutars

Partners:

TU Delft, Avans University of Applied Sciences, CARADT, Willem de Kooning Academy, Wageningen University & Research, Protospace, Hoekmine B.V , BlueCity Lab

 

Structural Color

Structural Color is by no means a new phenomenon. Back in the 17th century, English scientists Robert Hooke and Isaac Newton observed the first structural colour in nature. Structural colour is visible in a number of organisms including the peacock tail feather, in which nanostructures interact with incident light to reflect intense hues, the Morpho butterfly and the shield of a beetle amongst others. Microscopically structured surfaces interfere with light and creating iridescent colours. In this research, we collaborate with Flavoacteria grown on low-value industrial waste, to create structural colour.

 

How does the Flavobacteria produces its structural color, and what is it exactly?

The challenge is to explore possibilities of the creation of objects and artifacts that are alive and can grow in such a way that the color of the artifacts colors can change through the structure of the objects in relation to the light reflecting the iridescence color.

How can we keep the Flavo alive? Within this question it opens for multiple ones; do we need to keep it alive? why and for what purpose? Can we use the properties of the structure to give color to our buildings, fashion and daily objects, without using polluting dyes? Can we grow it in symbiosis with other natural occurring organisms in our city?

 

 

The initial experiments occurred in collaboration with scientists Raditijo Hamidjaja and Colin Ingham from Hoekmine BV and TU Delft researchers Elvin Karana and MA alumni Ward Grouters. During this exploration it has shown that the geometry determines in certain angles, the light reflects from surfaces and interferes constructively. Other angles show us that the light interferes destructively; different colours therefore appear at different angles. The iridescence only happens when the bacteria is alive or after a few days before death.

 

 

 

 

Picture extracted from the scientific paper “Genetic Manipulation of Structural Color in Bacterial Colonies” where they show a study of the genetic manipulation of the structural coloration of Flavobacterium IIR WT and mutants / Diagram explaining how the light occurs being scattered by the  structure of the bacteria colony.

 

Except from the documentary Life That Glows, 2016. It is a British nature documentary programme made for BBC Television, first shown in the UK on BBC Two on 9 May 2016. The programme is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Life That Glows films the biology and ecology of bioluminescent organisms, that is, capable of creating light.

 

Research

Ivan and Emma harvested wild type Flavo bacteria from the Maas River in Rotterdam and De Esch, a city park. Flavobacteria are found in soil and fresh water in a variety of environments. The samples were stored in test tubes and jars. Immediately after the harvest they diluted drops of the water into a nutrient medium in the lab. They used cell spreaders to gently spread all the organisms in the petri dish. The water contains hundreds of other organisms such as bacteria and micro algae. In order to keep them alive, salt and a composition of nutrients are added to activate the Flavo bacteria. The process of isolating the Flavo could take days in order for them to light up between the other organisms. Once isolated, the colony can grown on its own.

 

 

Dissemination of Knowledge

workshop TUDelft

 

In September 2019, Ivan and Emma gave a series of workshops for TUDelft bachelor students from diverse engineering background. In this workshop, basics of laboratory protocols and usage were given, apart from an introduction of bioart and biodesign led by the artist/designer/reserchers Henriques and van der Leest. The aim for this workshop is to expand the students’ knowledge of emerging materials (smart and living materials) and their material pallets for prototyping.

 

The students were exploring possibilities of variables set by the workshop leaders. They divided themselves in groups and each one decided to go in depth in each of techniques with the focus in the change of time. They were observing the passage of time in of the bacteria from their transfer until their growth with the structures that they created.

In the first pictures, students used a 3D printer to create a surface where the flavo bacteria could adapt easily and create geometries to compose an artifact.

 

In a second moment, the same group created spheres with an edged rings to test the growth in such a surface.

 

The second group custom made petri dishes to fixate the bacteria with variable of resins to test their adaptation in flexible and hard materials, to keep the color over a long period.

The second test, is observing their growth. What is the influence of the gravity on the growth of the Flavo bacteria?

Below, the picture on the left, the flavo bacteria growing from top to down, on the right, growing from bottom to top.

 

 

The third experiment the elaboration of a candle that represents the ‘time’ and the flavo bacteria growing on its surface from top to down.

 

The third group within the research of time, created a zootrope, where each ‘slide’ was a petri-dish, inoculated with the flavo bacteria in different days.

The Zootroop made by TU students Pia van der Theems, Tomas de Vries and Marijn Soeterbroek

 

Workshop WDKA at BlueCity

 

In January 2020 Ivan and Emma gave an elective at Willem de Kooning students called ‘The Microbial Map of Rotterdam’. Students from different studies got a general introduction about biodesign and growing bacteria and fungi in the lab. The goal was to create a ‘living’ map that shows the city grid of Rotterdam including its soil life.

This installation presents 16 square petri dishes containing Flavobacteria and other microorganisms that were harvested from respective locations in Rotterdam. The Microbial Map shows the invisible yet important microbial life beneath our feet. It shows the collaboration between different species. They interact by showing different structures and colours produced by fungal mycelium to yeast and Lichen, a symbiosis between a fungi and algae or cyanobacteria and Flavobacteria that are present in the Maas river, ponds and canals in the city. All together they represent and grow the city boundaries of Rotterdam. The variety shows the beauty of different structures, colours, patterns that are as diverse as our city. Making the invisible visible forms your perception, experience and appreciation for the city and its nature.

Below two video’s of the Microbial Map of Rotterdam, here you can view all the photo’s of the process.

 

The Microbial Map of Rotterdam from Hilde Berkers on Vimeo.

Coloured by Flavo from Kamelia Markovska on Vimeo.

 

Janine Benyus – Biomimicry in action

A self-proclaimed nature nerd, Janine Benyus’ concept of biomimicry has galvanized scientists, architects, designers and engineers into exploring new ways in which nature’s successes can inspire humanity.

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you’ll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.

Why you should listen

In the world envisioned by science author Janine Benyus, a locust’s ability to avoid collision within a roiling cloud of its brethren informs the design of a crash-resistant car; a self-cleaning leaf inspires a new kind of paint, one that dries in a pattern that enables simple rainwater to wash away dirt; and organisms capable of living without water open the way for vaccines that maintain potency even without refrigeration — a hurdle that can prevent life-saving drugs from reaching disease-torn communities. Most important, these cool tools from nature pull off their tricks while still managing to preserve the environment that sustains them, a life-or-death lesson that humankind is in need of learning.

As a champion of biomimicry, Benyus has become one of the most important voices in a new wave of designers and engineers inspired by nature. Her most recent project, AskNature, explores what happens if we think of nature by function and looks at what organisms can teach us about design.

What others say

“The sophisticated, almost pro-growth angle of Benyus shows the great potential profitability of copying some of nature’s time-tested, nonpolluting, room-temperature manufacturing and computing technologies.” — New York Times

William McDonough – Cradle to Cradle design

 

Architect William McDonough believes green design can prevent environmental disaster and drive economic growth. He champions “cradle to cradle” design, which considers a product’s full life cycle — from creation with sustainable materials to a recycled afterlife. The green-minded architect and designer asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account “all children, all species, for all time.”

Why you should listen

Architect William McDonough practices green architecture on a massive scale. In a 20-year project, he is redesigning Ford’s city-sized River Rouge truck plant and turning it into the Rust Belt’s eco-poster child, with the world’s largest “living roof” for reclaiming storm runoff. He has created buildings that produce more energy and clean water than they use. He is building the future of design on the site of the future of exploration: the NASA Sustainability Base. Oh, and he’s designing seven entirely new and entirely green cities in China.

Bottom-line economic benefits are another specialty of McDonough’s practice. A tireless proponent of the idea that absolute sustainability and economic success can go hand-in-hand, he’s designed buildings for the Gap, Nike, Frito-Lay and Ford that have lowered corporate utility bills by capturing daylight for lighting, using natural ventilation instead of AC, and heating with solar or geothermal energy. They’re also simply nicer places to work, surrounded by natural landscaping that gives back to the biosphere, showcasing their innovative culture.

In 2002, McDonough co-wrote Cradle to Cradle, which proposes that designers think as much about what happens at the end of a product’s life cycle as they do about its beginning. (The book itself is printed on recyclable plastic.) From this, he is developing the Cradle to Cradle community, where like-minded designers and businesspeople can grow the idea. In 2012, McDonough began collaborating with Stanford University Libraries on a “living archive” of his work and communications. He has been awarded three times by the US government, and in 2014, McDonough was appointed as Chair of the Meta-Council on the Circular Economy by the World Economic Forum.

What others say

“His utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that — in demonstrable and practical ways — is changing the design of the world.” — Time

Heather Barnett – What humans can learn from semi-intelligent slime

 

Heather Barnett creates art with slime mold — a material used in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design. Inspired by biological design and self-organizing systems, artist Heather Barnett co-creates with physarum polycephalum, a eukaryotic microorganism that lives in cool, moist areas. What can people learn from the semi-intelligent slime mold? Watch this talk to find out.

Why you should listen

Heather Barnett creates fascinating biodesigns with the semi-intelligent slime mold. While it has no brain nor central nervous system, the single celled organism, Physarum polycephalum, shows a primitive form of memory, problem-solving skills and the apparent ability to make decisions. It is used as a model organism in diverse areas of scientific research, including biological computing, robotics and structural design. “It is also quite beautiful,” says Barnett, “and makes therefore for a great creative collaborator. Although ultimately I cannot control the final outcome, it is a rather independent organism.“

 

Paul Stamets – 6 ways mushrooms can save the world

 

Mycologist Paul Stamets lists 6 ways the mycelium fungus can help save the universe: cleaning polluted soil, making insecticides, treating smallpox and even flu viruses.He believes that mushrooms can save our lives, restore our ecosystems and transform other worlds.

Why you should listen

Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of Stamets’ research is the Northwest’s native fungal genome, mycelium, but along the way he has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies, including pesticidal fungi that trick insects into eating them, and mushrooms that can break down the neurotoxins used in nerve gas.

There are cosmic implications as well. Stamets believes we could terraform other worlds in our galaxy by sowing a mix of fungal spores and other seeds to create an ecological footprint on a new planet.

What others say

“Once you’ve heard ‘renaissance mycologist’ Paul Stamets talk about mushrooms, you’ll never look at the world — not to mention your backyard — in the same way again.” — Linda Baker, Salon.com

 

Jae Rhim Lee: My mushroom burial suit

Here’s a powerful provocation from artist Jae Rhim Lee. Can we commit our bodies to a cleaner, greener Earth, even after death? Naturally — using a special burial suit seeded with pollution-gobbling mushrooms. Yes, this just might be the strangest TEDTalk you’ll ever see …

Why you should listen

Jae Rhim Lee is a visual artist and mushroom lover. In her early work, as a grad student at MIT, she built systems that reworked basic human processes: sleeping (check out her it-just-might-work vertical bed from 2004), urinating and eating (and the relationship between the two). Now she’s working on a compelling new plan for the final human process: decomposition.

Her Infinity Burial Project explores the choices we face after death, and how our choices reflect our denial or acceptance of death’s physical implications. She’s been developing a new strain of fungus, the Infinity Mushroom, that feeds on and remediates the industrial toxins we store in our bodies and convert our unused bodies efficiently into nutrients. Her Infinity Burial System converts corpses into clean compost. And if this vision of life after death appeals to you, explore the resources at Lee’s company, Coeio.

What others say

“Jae Rhim Lee’s work challenges the boundaries prescribed by society and 
culture between self and other by proposing unorthodox relationships for the 
mind/body/self.” — MIT

Michael Pawlyn – Using nature’s genius in architecture

How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing energy from the sun.

Michael Pawlyn takes cues from nature to make new, sustainable architectural environments.

Why you should listen

Michael Pawlyn established the architecture firm Exploration in 2007 to focus on environmentally sustainable projects that take their inspiration from nature.

Prior to setting up the company, Pawlyn worked with the firm Grimshaw for ten years and was central to the team that radically re-invented horticultural architecture for the Eden Project. He was responsible for leading the design of the Warm Temperate and Humid Tropics Biomes and the subsequent phases that included proposals for a third Biome for plants from dry tropical regions. In 1999 he was one of five winners in A Car-free London, an ideas competition for strategic solutions to the capital’s future transport needs and new possibilities for urban spaces. In September 2003 he joined an intensive course in nature-inspired design at Schumacher College, run by Amory Lovins and Janine Benyus. He has lectured widely on the subject of sustainable design in the UK and abroad.

His Sahara Forest Project, covered in this TEDTalk, recently won major funding >>

Mitchell Joachim [Terreform ONE] – Don’t build your home, grow it!

Rachel Armstrong – Architecture that repairs itself?

Venice is sinking. To save it, Rachel Armstrong says we need to outgrow architecture made of inert materials and, well, make architecture that grows itself. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon, too.

Why you should listen

Rachel Armstrong innovates and designs sustainable solutions for the built and natural environment using advanced new technologies such as, Synthetic Biology – the rational engineering of living systems – and smart chemistry. Her research prompts a reevaluation of how we think about our homes and cities and raises questions about sustainable development of the built environment. She creates open innovation platforms for academia and industry to address environmental challenges such as carbon capture & recycling, smart ‘living’ materials and sustainable design.

Her award winning research underpins her bold approach to the way that she challenges perceptions, presumptions and established principles related to scientific concepts and the building blocks of life and society. She embodies and promotes new transferrable ways of thinking ‘outside of the box’ and enables others to also develop innovative environmental solutions. Her innovative approaches are outlined in her forthcoming TED Book on Living Architecture.

Watch Rachel Armstrong’s TED Fellows talk, “Creating Carbon-Negative Architecture” >>

What others say

“Scientists need to work outside their own areas of expertise to make new technologies that are pertinent to the 21st century and to collaborate, both with other scientific disciplines and the arts and humanities.” — Rachel Armstrong

Emma van der Leest – Growing the next generation of biodesigners

Emma van der Leest dives into biodesign: the cross pollination between science, design & technology. How nature’s sustainable materials could become tomorrow’s consumer products?

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxRotterdam, an independent event.