Moss Project

Notes on bioreceptive surfaces

Cf.

Gaps

  • Near-surface ecologies are not explicitly covered.
  • Existing green projects can be expensive.
  • Large surfaces in the cities are lifeless.
  • Current designs do not promote healthy microbiomes.

Conceptual Points

Mosses, bryophites, soils, etc. construct their own habitats and niches by accumulating organic debris, redistributing and retaining water, creating local microclimate.

Existing Projects

Foreground for Mosses: Designing 3D Printed Clay Bryobricks to Enhance the Built Environment | ASLA 2021 Student Awards

Poikilohydric Living Walls by Marcos Cruz by The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL - Issuu

Geometry

Cf. Moss Project, Near Surface Ecologies

Microtopography is important for small habitat structures.

Reserach in this area covers natural and artificial surfaces.

Types and terms:

  • geomorphometry
  • soil surface microtopography
  • leaf surface microtopography 1
  • phyllosphere
  • surface metrology
  • surface texture
  • microform, microform classification maps
  • anisotropy
  • heterogeneity
  • urban hydroecology

Ecological

Microtopography

Liu, Yali, Jianqing Du, Xingliang Xu, Paul Kardol, and Dan Hu. ‘Microtopography-Induced Ecohydrological Effects Alter Plant Community Structure’. Geoderma 362 (2020): 114119. https://doi.org/10/gjctt6.

Alpert, P. ‘Microtopography as Habitat Structure for Mosses on Rocks’. In Habitat Structure: The Physical Arrangement of Objects in Space, edited by Susan S. Bell, Earl D. McCoy, and Henry R. Mushinsky, 120–40. Dordrecht: Springer, 1991.

Capturing microtopography

Lucieer, Arko, Darren Turner, Diana H. King, and Sharon A. Robinson. ‘Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to Capture Micro-Topography of Antarctic Moss Beds’. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Special Issue on Polar Remote Sensing 2013, 27 (2014): 53–62. https://doi.org/10/gf84w4.

Stovall, Atticus E. L., Jacob S. Diamond, Robert A. Slesak, Daniel L. McLaughlin, and Hank Shugart. ‘Quantifying Wetland Microtopography with Terrestrial Laser Scanning’. Remote Sensing of Environment 232 (2019): 111271. https://doi.org/10/ggttfg.

Graham, Jake D., Nancy F. Glenn, Lucas P. Spaete, and Paul J. Hanson. ‘Characterizing Peatland Microtopography Using Gradient and Microform-Based Approaches’. Ecosystems 23, no. 7 (2020): 1464–80. https://doi.org/10/gk5m3z.

Vidal Vázquez, E., J. G. Vivas Miranda, and A. Paz González. ‘Characterizing Anisotropy and Heterogeneity of Soil Surface Microtopography Using Fractal Models’. Ecological Modelling 182, no. 3 (2005): 337–53. https://doi.org/10/bdvnn9.

Diamond, Jacob S., Joshua M. Epstein, Matthew J. Cohen, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Yu-Hsin Hsueh, Richard F. Keim, and Jamie A. Duberstein. ‘A Little Relief: Ecological Functions and Autogenesis of Wetland Microtopography’. WIREs Water 8, no. 1 (2021): e1493. https://doi.org/10/gq426f.

Impact on urban hydrology:

Microtopography

Voter, Carolyn B., and Steven P. Loheide II. ‘Urban Residential Surface and Subsurface Hydrology: Synergistic Effects of Low-Impact Features at the Parcel Scale’. Water Resources Research 54, no. 10 (2018): 8216–33. https://doi.org/10/gfb7j6.

Technological

To extend...

Evans, Chris J., and James B. Bryan. ‘“Structured”, “Textured” or “Engineered” Surfaces’. CIRP Annals 48, no. 2 (1999): 541–56. https://doi.org/10/dzp47f.

Lonardo, P. M., H. Trumpold, and Leonardo De Chiffre. ‘Progress in 3D Surface Microtopography Characterization’. CIRP Annals 45, no. 2 (1996): 589–98. https://doi.org/10/dbp6xv.


Footnotes

  1. Yan, Kun, Wenhao Han, Qiliang Zhu, Chuanrong Li, Zhi Dong, and Yanping Wang. ‘Leaf Surface Microtopography Shaping the Bacterial Community in the Phyllosphere: Evidence from 11 Tree Species’. Microbiological Research 254 (2022): 126897. https://doi.org/10/gq4zjz.˄

Products

Ogut, Ozge, Nerantzia Julia Tzortzi, and Chiara Bertolin. ‘Vertical Green Structures to Establish Sustainable Built Environment: A Systematic Market Review’. Sustainability 14, no. 19 (2022): 12349. https://doi.org/10/gq4279.

Making Notes

Notes on making techniques

  • Multiple baseline-based prints in one habitat
  • Multiple generated prints in one habitat
  • Process-realistic implementations of form-making processes such as bark growth, stone erosion, sediment accrual, etc.
  • Accumulation of nutrients, movement of water, sun and shading, air flows, spore sedimentation, etc.
  • Printing with clay with two substrates one of which is intended to be destroyed: washed away or burned, for example.

References

Perini, Katia, Paola Castellari, Andrea Giachetta, Claudia Turcato, and Enrica Roccotiello. ‘Experiencing Innovative Biomaterials for Buildings: Potentialities of Mosses’. Building and Environment 172 (2020): 106708. https://doi.org/10/gg5t6q.

Croce, Silvia, and Daniele Vettorato. ‘Urban Surface Uses for Climate Resilient and Sustainable Cities: A Catalogue of Solutions’. Sustainable Cities and Society 75 (2021): 103313. https://doi.org/10/gmnmwd.

Perini, Katia. ‘Greening the Building Envelope’. In Bioclimatic Approaches in Urban and Building Design, edited by Giacomo Chiesa, 401–14. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021.

Perini, Katia, Paola Castellari, Dario Gisotti, Andrea Giachetta, Claudia Turcato, and Enrica Roccotiello. ‘Mosskin: A Moss-Based Lightweight Building System’. Building and Environment 221 (2022): 109283. https://doi.org/10/gq4276.

Julinova, Patrice, and David Beckovsky. ‘Perspectives of Moss Species in Urban Ecosystems and Vertical Living-Architecture: A Review’. In Advances in Engineering Materials, Structures and Systems: Innovations, Mechanics and Applications, edited by Alphose Zingoni, 2370–75. London: CRC Press, 2019.

Jang, Katherine, and Heather Viles. ‘Moisture Interactions Between Mosses and Their Underlying Stone Substrates’. Studies in Conservation, 2021, 1–13. https://doi.org/10/gj64nz.


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