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Could you grow a house?
Could you print a scaffold in the shape of a house, and then use the same techniques discussed in Anthony Atala's TED Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html to coat the scaffold with tree cells? Possibly spraying it on as seen on this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXO_ApjKPaI
Keeping the structure alive would of course require a root structure. Perhaps one that already exist, or one that is fabricated in a similar manner. Imagine durable, self sustained, self repairing, eco friendly structures.
Topics: science technology
Nov 5 2012: Hi Jerry!
Durable, self sustained, self repairing, eco friendly structures are a GREAT idea. Along the same line....my brother-in-law built his home years ago into a rock ledge. The rock ledge was actually the entire back wall of the home, and the front was all glass...facing south of course:>) So, the sun heated the rock ledge, which radiated heat back into the home. There was also a natural spring coming out of the ledge, which he piped into the home for their water source. They were off the grid, using lanterns for light, and a woodstove for cooking and another source of heat. It is a very clever and lovely, all natural structure, which is about an 1/8th of a mile from the road on the side of the mountain, and you can only drive up a little way, so one has to be hardy to live there. They back-packed everything they needed. Bringing in the supplies was not exactly an easy event!!!
Dan Geurin 10+
pat gilbert 100+Oct 15 2012: That is truly amazing what an incredible technology that will be for the most painful type of injury.
I have seen videos where they train a tree to grow a bridge
It seems to me that nano engineering has the most potential in this area.
Nov 11 2012: I like to think TED members are not geeks. In real life, are there really any geeks? Most superficially geeky people have a real life story if you get to know them. Geeks in fiction are somewhat obsessive, statistics-oriented, narrow-focused. I'd like to think TEDsters try to have the bigger picture, try to connect to people and the environment, try to speak to the soul.
Nov 11 2012: Yes but currently most people are provided with shelter by taking from nature. I would prefer a more symbiotic relationship. Not many people are living in caves, igloos, or dung huts anymore. The world population and economy is growing by leaps and bounds. People who go from third to first world status will put a higher demand on the environment. However crude this idea may start out, there are clever people who could refine the methods used for construction. Technology is not just about nanobots and such anymore. Today there are several biohacker hacker spaces. Biohackers are thinking of a future where living cells are a part of our everyday lives. From bio-luminescent lighting to the fusion of the living and the electronic. There are already many species that coexist with nature in such a way that they could not live without each other. A relationship built on nurturing each other. Imagine a house that would grow leaves in the summer allowing the house to stay cooler. A house capable of providing shelter for several hundred years with little maintenance. Nature has provided us with so much, but will we eventually outpace nature?
Nov 9 2012: Here are some 'shaping' attempts to form house structures out of ash, lime and willow trees:
Video 1 (German):
Video 2 (English)
Video 3
Nov 10 2012: Thank you for sharing. I wonder if that is as far as they will take it? Still I am looking at a one piece structure. While that does seem fun and interesting, I don't think it is efficient enough. I have also seen people using mushrooms as blocks for construction. They claim it is stronger than concrete. You might find that interesting. http://inhabitat.com/phillip-ross-molds-fast-growing-fungi-into-mushroom-building-bricks-that-are-stronger-than-concrete/mushroom-furniture-10/#
Nov 8 2012: Hard to build an igloo in South Africa too. Who knows, maybe trees could one day be genetically modified to tolerate extreme temperatures. There has been a lot of research into extremophiles. Perhaps the solution lies within their genes.
I think it should be taken into consideration the number of pollutants that are created manufacturing the items to build a house. Manufacturing, transportation, deforestation, work related accidents, coal burned to produce electricity, strip mining for the coal, oil needed to run all of these machines, and the actual construction with large machinery could all be reduced. As a society we are breaking a lot of ground on energy conservation. Imagine how much energy would be saved by producing a home this way. I would love to see a cost analysis on this. Maybe this would make the dream of owning a home attainable by everyone. Imagine driving through a neighborhood that looks like a forest.
Nov 5 2012: Well the roots would help anchor the house. Perhaps rebar could be wrapped around the house, and then anchored to the ground. Over time the bark would grow around the metal. Let us say that the house was damaged. Would it be relatively easy to repair using the same techniques that were used to build it?
Jerry WhidbyNov 5 2012: From Prison Break? Yes, I have a tattoo of everything described in this post on my arms and back. :) Really I just enjoy when people punch holes in my ideas. It allows me to look at things from a different perspective, and reevaluate those ideas. I enjoy finding solutions to problems. A forum like TED allows me to bounce those ideas off of other geeks. I hit the jackpot when someone with real resources finds an idea interesting enough to pursue. I have seen several TED talks that were ideas that I had thought of in the past. Enough that I thought I would start posting them as I had them. When I was a child I came up with the idea of trapping light with mirrors. All of my science teachers said that it was impossible. Later in life I came upon an article were students at MIT were trapping light. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1998/mirror.html I had envisioned this as a way to provide solar energy at night. I never stopped asking every single science teacher about this idea. I do not believe you have to be a scientist to come up with ideas. An imagination and a love for science can go a long way. Unfortunately there aren't many places for people like that to vent their ideas.
Nov 1 2012: If you are referring to Mr. Joachim's article, I believe he is using pig cells. He made a few jokes in the video that might lead you to believe that he wanted to use human cells. He does clarify this in the comments of that article. I think that using tree cells would be a more practical approach. If you have ever owned a leather jacket, then you know that you have to condition the leather a lot. I can not imagine what it would take to maintain an entire house made of skin cells that are constantly exposed to UV rays. On the other hand trees love the sun.
Oct 24 2012: Jerry, There is a TED talk by Mitchell Joachim about sustainable architecture titled "Don't build your home, grow it! ". http://www.ted.com/talks/mitchell_joachim_don_t_build_your_home_grow_it.html
Oct 24 2012: Thank you Madhavi for the link. That was the closest idea to what I have in my head so far. I linked back to this conversation. With any luck Mr. Joachim will read this post, and give me some feed back. I would think that the cell structure of a tree would be pretty simple. An added benefit is that every year your house would be more energy efficient and stronger than the previous years since the house would add a new growth ring.
I pointed out on his post that the meat house was pretty much a tipi. There seemed to be a lot of revulsion at the idea of living in a meat home. Perhaps this idea would be more acceptable in people's minds.
Oct 24 2012: I believe and if I can find where I saw it, they are trying to create a "giant" 3d printer that prints with "concrete" or a concrete like material. If I can find it I will post on here
concrete printer
Oct 17 2012: "Imagine durable, self sustained, self repairing, eco friendly structures."
Are you familiar with shape-memory alloy? Here is a video demonstrating the concept, that could applied to houses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgORKTp_0ME
Oct 19 2012: I am aware of that technology. When it first came out there was talk of car bodies that would repair themselves by spraying hot water on them. I believe it is used in robots for muscle wire also. It is definitely a great technological achievement that I always thought would be very useful in outer space, or battle ships perhaps.
Imagine a tanker truck pulling up into a yard, pulling out a hose, and spraying a structure with LOW COST tree cells. Heck why limit it to houses. You could make furniture and boats too. No need to cut down a forest. You would be creating an artificial forest instead. Perhaps interior design might be possible too for things like counter tops and stairs.
Oct 17 2012: I've seen the living bridge photos and they work because they are part of an ecosystem. So we would have to adjust our way of living with nature because now we would have a new level of intimacy with "all" the flora and fauna associated with tree's. And nature needs time since most of what we force feed or grow seems to quickly wither and die. (Quite the psycho-social adjustment. Have a baby and start to grow a house and save for post secondary education! Culture defined by a symbiotic relationship with living things.) Your home as an ecosystem rather than one or two types of plants might grow faster/stronger and be more self sustaining over time and seasonal changes.
chen xin


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Smothering Seaweed
Zebra mussels in the Great Lakes. Mitten crabs in San Francisco Bay. Transplanted species have permanently altered their new habitats. Now a hardy, unwelcome seaweed threatens California waters.
An aquarium variety of Caulerpa taxifolia, infamous for smothering nearly 15,000 acres of sea grasses in the Mediterranean, was recently discovered in Agua Hedionda Lagoon, just north of San Diego. It can tolerate cold and nutrient-poor water, and its ability to grow in sand or mud and on rocks and sea grasses makes it an exceptional invader, able to virtually carpet the seafloor to a depth of over 100 feet. It also secretes toxins poisonous to fishes and invertebrates that deter these potential herbivores.
Containing and eradicating the weed is challenging, but possible. Unlike most algae, which release gametes dispersed by ocean currents, this strain spreads through vegetative reproduction-fragments that break off from the alga regrow into new individuals.
Biologists from Merkel & Associates who found the weed in the lagoon are applying chlorine to the plant to kill it, and an extensive monitoring system is in place to devise further eradication strategies.

subset: commoncrawl