Researchers at the University of Washington are using engineered living materials to rethink how buildings are made and how they perform in a changing climate.

Scientists are embedding organisms like fungus and bacteria into building materials so they will provide structure while also doing things like capturing carbon or filtering wastewater.

Alshakim Nelson, professor of chemistry at the University of Washington, said construction is responsible for about 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and the goal is to create renewable replacements.

“We potentially could have a building that would be producing its own anticorrosive coatings,” Nelson explained. “Or could actually capture CO2 instead of emit CO2, could potentially self-heal, all due to the actions of the microorganisms that reside within these materials.”

Students at the university are showing how they are using 3D printing with water-based resin to scale up this technology at a public exhibition this month called Engineered Living Materials for the Built Environment. Among the projects are living walls, which can consume waste oil to create biofuels or generate heat for buildings.

Nelson pointed out as humans, we already have relationships with many helpful microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. He added the research is taking those relationships to the next level and hopes visitors to the gallery will find more than just inspiration.

“Maybe even come up with some of their own ideas of what could be done if we integrate these types of organisms into the built environment,” Nelson emphasized.

Along with work from the University of Washington, the exhibit also features research from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California-Davis.

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