Future Materials

http://www.nextnature.net/themes/microbial-factories/

I have been watching a lot of TED talks on ideas of the future and find the ones on new technologies in potential architectural materials very interesting.

Metabolic architectural materials are currently being developed and have the potential to completely redefine how we think about our built environment. It seems incredibly illogical that we are still currently designing to add to an unhealthy pit of embodied energy with no effective system of decay or reuse.

On the same note i have been thinking about what i makes natural ecosystems sustainable - density and diversity. Growth (to become more dense) is only healthy if diversity occurs simultaneously (and of course it is always within the limits of natural carrying capacities).

I also found the following talk and concept particularly interesting:
http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_wertheim_crochets_the_coral_reef.html

I can't quite pin point what i find so fascinating about this project but i think it has something to do the integration of so many different disciplines, purposes and reward.