Bioshelter Exhibition

One of the first projects I was involved in at Arch_Manu was the proof of concept exhibition of the Bio-shelter. The structure is now installed at the new Sydney Fish Market, but it needed to be assembled before handover to the construction contractor.

The Bio-shelter is an artificial habitat for marine species, The work was motivated by the rapid urbanisation of waterfronts which poses a serious threat to marine biodiversity and water quality. Marine organisms such as oysters, which help clean the water, are missing from artificial seawalls that lack microhabitat like crevices. The Bioshelter project uses data and modelling to design site- and species-specific three-dimensional structures, innovating on the usual two-dimensional habitat tiles of green seawalls and providing evidence for a permanent installation.

The flexible and data driven system of the Bioshelter allows it to be site specific and produced using any large format additive manufacturing facility to to cast unique tiles. The system has the potential to become a design feature of urban waterfronts at the same time as enhancing biodiversity. Research towards commercial fabrication of Bioshelter is in progress.