ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rachel Armstrong - Applied scientist, innovator
TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong is a sustainability innovator who creates new materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to "grow" architecture.

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" >>

More profile about the speaker
Rachel Armstrong | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Rachel Armstrong: Architecture that repairs itself?

蕾秋.阿姆斯壯:能夠自我修復的建築物

Filmed:
1,344,794 views

蕾秋表示,為了拯救世界上正在下沉的城市,如威尼斯,我們需要在建材中使用惰性材料,使建築物具備自我修復的能力.另外,蕾秋介紹了一種能夠自我修復,並防止氧化的材料,而這種材料,是不具生命的
- Applied scientist, innovator
TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong is a sustainability innovator who creates new materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to "grow" architecture. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
All buildings房屋 today今天 have something in common共同.
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今天世界上的建築都有些相同之處
00:19
They're made製作 using運用 Victorian維多利亞時代 technologies技術.
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他們都運用了維多莉亞時期所發展的技術
00:22
This involves涉及 blueprints藍圖,
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像是藍圖的繪製
00:25
industrial產業 manufacturing製造業
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使用工業製造出的建材
00:27
and construction施工 using運用 teams球隊 of workers工人.
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以及許多的建築工人
00:30
All of this effort功夫 results結果 in an inert惰性的 object目的.
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結果創造出來的卻是一個毫無"生氣"的物體
00:33
And that means手段 that there is a one-way單程 transfer轉讓 of energy能源
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這是一種單向的能源轉換
00:36
from our environment環境 into our homes家園 and cities城市.
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把能源從大自然傳到我們的城市和家裡
00:40
This is not sustainable可持續發展.
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這一點也不符合永續發展的觀念
00:42
I believe that the only way that it is possible可能 for us
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我相信唯一的解決方法
00:45
to construct構造 genuinely真正的 sustainable可持續發展 homes家園 and cities城市
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是把建築與自然環境結合
00:48
is by connecting them to nature性質,
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建造出能永續使用的家和城市
00:50
not insulating絕緣 them from it.
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而不是把它們區隔開來
00:53
Now, in order訂購 to do this, we need the right kind of language語言.
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因此,我們需要的是一種正確的"語言"
00:57
Living活的 systems系統 are in constant不變 conversation會話
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長久以來,生態系統和自然界
00:59
with the natural自然 world世界,
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不斷地透過新陳代謝
01:01
through通過 sets of chemical化學 reactions反應 called metabolism代謝.
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來進行對話
01:05
And this is the conversion轉變 of one group of substances物質
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也就是,一種物質轉換成另一種物質
01:08
into another另一個, either through通過
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或是
01:10
the production生產 or the absorption吸收 of energy能源.
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物質經過能量的吸收與作用而變成另一種物質
01:13
And this is the way in which哪一個 living活的 materials物料
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這就是生命體如何以一個永續的方式
01:15
make the most of their local本地 resources資源
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來運用
01:18
in a sustainable可持續發展 way.
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所需的資源
01:21
So, I'm interested有興趣 in the use of
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所以,我對於把能重複代謝的物質
01:23
metabolic新陳代謝 materials物料 for the practice實踐 of architecture建築.
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運用到建築科技上非常有興趣
01:28
But they don't exist存在. So I'm having to make them.
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但這種物質目前並不存在,所以,我打算創造它
01:30
I'm working加工 with architect建築師 Neil尼爾 Spiller斯皮勒
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我和英國巴特列特建築學院的建築師
01:32
at the Bartlett巴特利特 School學校 of Architecture建築,
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史畢樂先生
01:34
and we're collaborating合作 with international國際 scientists科學家們
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還有其他科學家合作
01:36
in order訂購 to generate生成 these new materials物料
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從零開始
01:38
from a bottom底部 up approach途徑.
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研發這種新的材料
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That means手段 we're generating發電 them from scratch.
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也就是說,我們將是研發這類材料的先驅
01:42
One of our collaborators合作者 is chemist化學家 Martin馬丁 HanczycHanczyc,
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化學家Martin Hanczyc也是我們團隊中的一員
01:46
and he's really interested有興趣 in the transition過渡 from
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他對於這種物質轉換的研究
01:49
inert惰性的 to living活的 matter.
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非常有興趣
01:51
Now, that's exactly究竟 the kind of process處理 that I'm interested有興趣 in,
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談到要研發永續材料
01:54
when we're thinking思維 about sustainable可持續發展 materials物料.
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是我非常樂見的
01:56
So, Martin馬丁, he works作品 with a system系統 called the protocell原始細胞.
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所以,Martin採用了一種名為"原生細胞"的系統
02:01
Now all this is -- and it's magic魔法 --
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這彷彿就像魔術一樣-
02:04
is a little fatty脂肪 bag. And it's got a chemical化學 battery電池 in it.
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在這個圓圓胖胖的袋狀物裡,裝著一個化學電池
02:07
And it has no DNA脫氧核糖核酸.
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它並不具有DNA
02:10
This little bag is able能夠 to conduct進行 itself本身
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這個小小的袋狀物能夠自行運作
02:12
in a way that can only be described描述 as living活的.
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就像是有生命一樣
02:15
It is able能夠 to move移動 around its environment環境.
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它能夠自己在環境中移動
02:18
It can follow跟隨 chemical化學 gradients梯度.
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或是跟隨化學梯度移動
02:20
It can undergo經歷 complex複雜 reactions反應,
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它也能通過複雜的化學反應
02:23
some of which哪一個 are happily高高興興 architectural建築的.
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它們對於建築非常有幫助
02:27
So here we are. These are protocells原始細胞,
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這些原生細胞
02:29
patterning圖案 their environment環境.
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能夠仿造他們所在的環境
02:31
We don't know how they do that yet然而.
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我們目前還無法得知他們是如何做到的
02:34
Here, this is a protocell原始細胞, and it's vigorously大力 shedding脫落 this skin皮膚.
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這個原生細胞,它正在脫離他的表皮
02:38
Now, this looks容貌 like a chemical化學 kind of birth分娩.
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有點像小孩出生一樣
02:40
This is a violent暴力 process處理.
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是一個非常激烈的程序
02:43
Here, we've我們已經 got a protocell原始細胞 to extract提取 carbon dioxide二氧化碳
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這邊是一個能夠從大氣中把二氧化碳抽離出來的
02:46
out of the atmosphere大氣層
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原生細胞
02:48
and turn it into carbonate碳酸鹽.
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之後,二氧化炭將會被轉換成碳酸鹽
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And that's the shell貝殼 around that globular球形 fat脂肪.
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而這些就是球狀物邊緣的硬殼
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They are quite相當 brittle. So you've only got a part部分 of one there.
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他們非常的脆,所以我們能夠弄到的並不多
02:55
So what we're trying to do is, we're trying to push these technologies技術
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現在我們研究的,就是對這項科技
02:58
towards creating創建 bottom-up自下而上 construction施工 approaches方法
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發展出由下到上的建築技術
03:00
for architecture建築,
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並且應用在建築上
03:02
which哪一個 contrast對比 the current當前, Victorian維多利亞時代, top-down自頂向下 methods方法
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這跟目前採用這種維多莉亞式由上而下
03:05
which哪一個 impose強加 structure結構體 upon matter.
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加強結構的方法並不一樣
03:08
That can't be energetically起勁 sensible明智.
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因為這並不符合永續的概念
03:11
So, bottom-up自下而上 materials物料
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所以,由下到上的材料
03:13
actually其實 exist存在 today今天.
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確實存在
03:15
They've他們已經 been in use, in architecture建築, since以來 ancient times.
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這種材料早在古代就已被使用在建築上過
03:18
If you walk步行 around the city of Oxford牛津, where we are today今天,
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在英國的牛津
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and have a look at the brickwork磚砌,
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他們牆上使用的磚
03:23
which哪一個 I've enjoyed享受 doing in the last couple一對 of days,
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和我最近做的事不謀而合
03:25
you'll你會 actually其實 see that a lot of it is made製作 of limestone石灰石.
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你可以看見他們大量使用了石灰岩
03:27
And if you look even closer接近,
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再靠近一點看
03:29
you'll你會 see, in that limestone石灰石, there are little shells砲彈
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你可以看見石灰岩中的殼
03:31
and little skeletons骷髏 that are piled upon each other.
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還有一些殘骸堆積在裡面
03:34
And then they are fossilized化石 over millions百萬 of years年份.
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隨著時間,它們現在都已成了化石
03:37
Now a block of limestone石灰石, in itself本身,
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這些石灰岩本身
03:39
isn't particularly尤其 that interesting有趣.
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並不是甚麼特別有趣的東西
03:42
It looks容貌 beautiful美麗.
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雖然它看起來美極了
03:44
But imagine想像 what the properties性能 of this limestone石灰石 block might威力 be
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但想想這些石灰岩磚的特性
03:48
if the surfaces were actually其實
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如果它們的表面
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in conversation會話 with the atmosphere大氣層.
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和空氣有接觸的話
03:53
Maybe they could extract提取 carbon dioxide二氧化碳.
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他們或許就能吸收二氧化碳
03:56
Would it give this block of limestone石灰石 new properties性能?
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這些沉積物能賦予石灰岩新的價值嗎?
03:59
Well, most likely容易 it would. It might威力 be able能夠 to grow增長.
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非常有可能.它能夠生長
04:02
It might威力 be able能夠 to self-repair自我修復, and even respond響應
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自我修復或是對周圍環境的
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to dramatic戲劇性 changes變化
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立即變化
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in the immediate即時 environment環境.
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能夠有反應
04:08
So, architects建築師 are never happy快樂
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但建築師對這些一塊塊的東西
04:11
with just one block of an interesting有趣 material材料.
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當然還不滿足
04:14
They think big. Okay?
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他們想要的還不只是如此
04:16
So when we think about scaling縮放 up metabolic新陳代謝 materials物料,
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提到增加能夠代謝的材料時
04:19
we can start開始 thinking思維 about ecological生態 interventions干預措施
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我們先考慮生態干預
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like repair修理 of atolls環礁,
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像是修復珊瑚礁
04:23
or reclamation開墾 of parts部分 of a city
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和城市中曾經
04:26
that are damaged破損 by water.
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遭受水災的地方
04:28
So, one of these examples例子
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這些例子
04:30
would of course課程 be the historic歷史性 city of Venice威尼斯.
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就跟威尼斯一樣
04:33
Now, Venice威尼斯, as you know, has a tempestuous洶湧 relationship關係 with the sea,
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和海有著密不可分的關係
04:37
and is built內置 upon wooden piles.
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而且威尼斯整個城市是建築在木頭上的
04:39
So we've我們已經 devised設計 a way by which哪一個 it may可能 be possible可能
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所以我們想出了一個計畫
04:42
for the protocell原始細胞 technology技術 that we're working加工 with
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就是使用原生細胞的科技
04:44
to sustainably可持續 reclaim回收 Venice威尼斯.
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來修復威尼斯
04:47
And architect建築師 Christian基督教 Kerrigan克里根
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而建築師Christian Kerrigan
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has come up with a series系列 of designs設計 that show顯示 us
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已經有了一連串的設計
04:51
how it may可能 be possible可能 to actually其實 grow增長 a limestone石灰石 reef
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來告訴我們要如何在威尼斯底下
04:54
underneath the city.
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種植石灰岩礁
04:56
So, here is the technology技術 we have today今天.
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這就是我們現今所擁有的
04:59
This is our protocell原始細胞 technology技術,
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原生細胞科技
05:01
effectively有效 making製造 a shell貝殼, like its limestone石灰石 forefathers祖先,
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有效率地生產石灰岩上的那些沉積物外殼
05:05
and depositing沉積 it in a very complex複雜 environment環境,
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並把它們放置在複雜的環境中
05:08
against反對 natural自然 materials物料.
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對抗自然的素材
05:10
We're looking at crystal水晶 lattices格子 to see the bonding結合 process處理 in this.
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我們現在看的是水晶晶格的結合過程
05:13
Now, this is the very interesting有趣 part部分.
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這是一個非常有趣的部分
05:15
We don't just want limestone石灰石 dumped everywhere到處 in all the pretty漂亮 canals運河.
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我們不要只是把石灰岩丟在威尼斯美麗的運河裡
05:18
What we need it to do is to be
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我們要做的是
05:20
creatively創造性 crafted精雕細琢 around the wooden piles.
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讓它們圍繞著水底下的木頭
05:24
So, you can see from these diagrams that the protocell原始細胞 is actually其實
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你可以從這些圖中看見原生細胞正在
05:26
moving移動 away from the light,
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遠離光源
05:28
toward the dark黑暗 foundations基金會.
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朝著深色的底座靠近
05:30
We've我們已經 observed觀察到的 this in the laboratory實驗室.
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我們在實驗室中就觀察出了這點
05:32
The protocells原始細胞 can actually其實 move移動 away from the light.
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原生細胞是有趨光性的
05:35
They can actually其實 also move移動 towards the light. You have to just choose選擇 your species種類.
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但也有些不同種類的原生細胞是有向光性的
05:38
So that these don't just exist存在 as one entity實體,
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他們不只是以一種實體的狀態存在
05:40
we kind of chemically化學 engineer工程師 them.
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我們利用化學工程改良他們
05:43
And so here the protocells原始細胞 are depositing沉積 their limestone石灰石
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原生細胞沈積在石灰岩上
05:46
very specifically特別, around the foundations基金會 of Venice威尼斯,
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有目標地包覆著威尼斯的底座
05:49
effectively有效 petrifying僵化 it.
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使底座更堅固
05:51
Now, this isn't going to happen發生 tomorrow明天. It's going to take a while.
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但這不是一蹴可及的.我們還需要一段時間
05:55
It's going to take years年份 of tuning調音 and monitoring監控 this technology技術
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我們可能還需要幾年的時間做觀察並且調整
05:59
in order訂購 for us to become成為 ready準備
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接著才能
06:01
to test測試 it out in a case-by-case逐案 basis基礎
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在威尼斯受損的建築上
06:03
on the most damaged破損 and stressed強調 buildings房屋 within the city of Venice威尼斯.
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測試
06:06
But gradually逐漸, as the buildings房屋 are repaired修復,
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等到建築物漸漸被修復之後
06:09
we will see the accretion吸積 of a limestone石灰石 reef beneath下面 the city.
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我們將看到石灰岩礁和城市的底座附著在一起
06:12
An accretion吸積 itself本身 is a huge巨大 sink水槽 of carbon dioxide二氧化碳.
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這整個沈機物會是由一大塊固體狀的二氧化碳組成
06:16
Also it will attract吸引 the local本地 marine海洋 ecology生態,
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而且還會使附近的海洋生態
06:19
who will find their own擁有 ecological生態 niches壁龕 within this architecture建築.
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趨於穩定
06:23
So, this is really interesting有趣. Now we have an architecture建築
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這非常的有趣.我們有一座城市
06:26
that connects所連接 a city to the natural自然 world世界
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能夠與大自然
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in a very direct直接 and immediate即時 way.
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有最直接的關連
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But perhaps也許 the most exciting扣人心弦 thing about it
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但最讓人感到興奮的
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is that the driver司機 of this technology技術 is available可得到 everywhere到處.
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莫過於驅動這項科技的元素都處都可以找的到
06:37
This is terrestrial陸生 chemistry化學. We've我們已經 all got it,
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那是現在地球上現有的,要取得它們完全不成問題
06:40
which哪一個 means手段 that this technology技術 is just as appropriate適當
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這意味著,這像科技不但適合在
06:43
for developing發展 countries國家 as it is
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開發中國家使用
06:45
for First World世界 countries國家.
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也適合在已開發的國家中使用
06:47
So, in summary概要, I'm generating發電 metabolic新陳代謝 materials物料
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總而言之,我正在開發這種能夠代謝的素材
06:50
as a counterpoise平衡 to Victorian維多利亞時代 technologies技術,
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來和維多莉亞式的科技取得平衡
06:53
and building建造 architectures架構 from a bottom-up自下而上 approach途徑.
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並以一個下到上的方式應用到建築上
06:56
Secondly其次, these metabolic新陳代謝 materials物料
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第二,這些代謝材料
06:58
have some of the properties性能 of living活的 systems系統,
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存在著一些生物的特質
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which哪一個 means手段 they can perform演出 in similar類似 ways方法.
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他們和生物有些相似處
07:03
They can expect期望 to have a lot of forms形式 and functions功能
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應用到建築上
07:06
within the practice實踐 of architecture建築.
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它們能夠有各種不同的型式與功能
07:08
And finally最後, an observer觀察者 in the future未來
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最後,當未來的人
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marveling驚嘆 at a beautiful美麗 structure結構體 in the environment環境
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對這些美麗的建築讚嘆不已時
07:14
may可能 find it almost幾乎 impossible不可能 to tell
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將分不出來
07:17
whether是否 this structure結構體
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這個建築
07:19
has been created創建 by a natural自然 process處理
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是自然生成的?
07:21
or an artificial人造 one.
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還是人造的?
07:23
Thank you.
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謝謝!
07:25
(Applause掌聲)
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掌聲
Translated by Dennis Lin
Reviewed by Yung Hsiang Tseng

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rachel Armstrong - Applied scientist, innovator
TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong is a sustainability innovator who creates new materials that possess some of the properties of living systems, and can be manipulated to "grow" architecture.

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" >>

More profile about the speaker
Rachel Armstrong | Speaker | TED.com