Nicholas Agafontsev
Recreating the Dream Material
How can I express a dream in a material?
In my daydreams, since being a child, I can create all kinds of structures with minimal effort. The precise way different materials are combined has interested me for a long time as I desire to make parts of my dreams a living reality. As the nature of materials and their combinations becomes revealed to me I figure out the technicalities of an ecologically-compatible pan-material sculpture, where the sensations and properties of different materials transition from one to the other.
I want materials that integrate into biological cycles which can be kept intact or left to be destroyed, producing habitats and aiding bio-diversity.
I want sculptural materials that can be easily manipulated by hand.
In researching the farming of corals as a means of coral-reef restoration I discovered a process that protects metal from destruction by an expansive environment: the ocean. The material is commonly called bio-rock. It was developed by Wolf Hilbertz, an American architect in the seventies and eighties (1). He envisioned self-building AI driven structures that grew in the oceans (2).
Here is an excerpt from The Responsive House by Hilbertz (2):
1. Evolutionarily self organizing environmental open systems capable of forming higher orders of organization; dynamic morphological and psychological manifestations in transactional symbiotic response to continually changing interior and exterior forces.
2. Man – animal – technology – nature symbiosis including the interpretation and effectuation of behavioural social and other information from animate and an inanimate sources for environmental solution generation and processes.
3. The environment as an evolutionary code and the interfacing of information and morphogenic systems.
4. Exploration of man's inner and outer self in a rapidly evolving certain synergistic setting with the prospect of enhancing and complementing organic and Socio cultural evolution, both being covered the result of organism – environment interaction.
5. The development of morphogenic ( material distribution, manipulation, and reclamation) systems on land, in air and water, under the earth, on polar ice caps, and an extra terrestrial space.
6. Energy requirements, energy harnessing development and energy conservation.
7. The Socio-political and biological implications of proposed complex symbiotic environmental systems.
RECREATING THE DREAM MATERIAL: BIOROCK
The creator of this material having such a progressive view of bio-inspired design including ecological, social and computer technology is very inspiring. However I plan on creating without the use of computers, retaining a hands on approach, reducing intermediate stages between my dreams and their creation in reality while empowering myself to pursue creation with utopian ambition.
The restoration of coral reefs in the Pemuteran Bay Bali with Biorock commenced in the year 2000. The bio-rock helps corals grow because a the small voltage applied across the metal armature attracts the minerals corals need to grow, helping them grow and mineralize.
Richard James Breen in The Biorock Book compiled a wide range of information on the topic and made some experiments himself (3). His precedent gave me ideas on how I can grow this material and how I can avoid some of his failures, namely replacing a metal anode with a graphite one.
While bio-rock has been used as a marine equivalent to concrete up until now, (a large scale material), I’m interested in using it at a small scale, bringing sentimentality for ocean life with me through the creation of wearables and other accessories.
Process
Part 1: An analogous process with copper
AA batteries in a two battery pack provide a low maximum voltage of 3 volts.
Two electrodes are put in an electrolyte connected to the battery. One becomes a cathode and another becomes an anode.
The anode is a copper pendant and the cathode is a copper wire.
The setup is prepared before water is introduced
The salt is dissolved in hot water, creating an electrolyte. The electrolyte is full of sea salt and all the associated dissolved minerals, including calcium ions and carbonic acid.
The reaction begins.
The pendant dissolves because it is the anode.
Chlorine gas generated aids in its degradation.
The dissolved copper is deposited on the cathode like how calcium would be deposited in the creation of calcium carbonate on bio- rock.
The copper oxide changes from red to black
Cu2O -> CuO when exposed to air like how calcium will combine with carbonic acid in seawater to produce calcium carbonate.
Dissolving heavier metals like copper in seawater is wasteful, and environmentally questionable.
The energy source is two AA batteries, they combine to produce three volts.
The anode is replaced with a graphite rod that is not susceptible to corrosion.
The cathode is stainless steel, it is protected by the electricity.
The electrolyte is water with dissolved sea salt.
Crushed marble is a source of calcium that should be dissolved bit by bit over time.
A small amount of baking soda contributes some carbonic acid to the mixture.
Conclusion
Due to time constraints I have not yet witnessed the formation of this stone as of the publishing time for this work. As my bio-rock takes it’s time I contemplate where it exists in my dreams. And as I continue to explore materials and objects the places of my dreams are closer to being realized. Calcium carbonate/ limestone is nicknamed the bones of the earth. These bones have grown from water, as have we.
“What you search for searches for you”- Jean-Guy Dallaire
Bibliography
1.Wolf Hilbertz – Home [Internet]. www.wolfhilbertz.com. [cited 2023 Jul 27]. Available from: http://www.wolfhilbertz.com
2.Hilbertz W. The Responsive House. Allen E, editor. 1972; Available from: http://www.wolfhilbertz.com/downloads/1972/ hilbertz_evolut_environ_1972.pdf
3.Breen RJ. The Biorock Book - MArch Architecture - Unit 16 - Bartlett School of Architecture by Richard Breen - Issuu [Internet]. issuu.com. 2016. Available from: https://issuu.com/richardbreen/docs/binder1
Consulted with:
Hélène Day Fraser about long term project planning
Patricia Vera about a perspective on dreaming as an aspect of research
Serge Agafontsev about chemistry
Emily Carr Electronics lab about soldering and electrical supply
I plan to ask the Wooden Boat building club at the Vancouver Maritime Museum about installing a setup that grows bio-rock off the side of their dock
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