Informed by Microbes

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores an alternative framework for human settlement by harnessing the environmental knowledge of microbes and advanced biotechnologies. It discusses the principles and practices underlying this platform’s development, with radical implications for design practice and its pedagogies by focusing on microbial cities, or biofilms, to address the environmental challenges of the Anthropocene era. Biofilms, formed by diverse communities of microbes, have played a crucial role in shaping the biosphere for billions of years, whose complex organisational principles resemble human settlements and engage in cooperative behaviours to enhance collective resilience. By studying and collaborating with microbes, humans can establish new forms of infrastructure and cohabitation that promote ecological collaboration and sustainability. Central to actualising this microbial framework is the bio-digital platform, where electroactive bacteria and artificial intelligence interface, exchanging electrons produced from metabolising organic waste. This convergence of organism, information, and machine offers transformative possibilities for cities.