Architecture could turn to bacteria to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. One suggestion is to harness bioluminescent bacteria to generate light and reduce the amount of electricity use for lighting.

Another is incorporating bacteria that metabolise carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the surface coatings of buildings, enabling them to act as carbon sinks.

These ideas come from Rachel Armstrong, from University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture, who believes buildings could be constructed with ‘living’ materials to help tackle climate change.

Biological systems could be engineered into smart paints to protect buildings and improve the atmosphere. “Buildings offer a huge engineered surface area on which we could develop new applications, especially biological ones,” she says.

In collaboration scientists at the University of Southern Denmark, Armstrong has been exploring the use of cell-based systems that make carbonates from carbon dioxide, thus acting as a carbon sink. She says this is the first step towards developing a smart surface coating that could extract carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the environment.