Maps and Journeys- Further Research and Final Idea

In William Myers 'Bio Design: Nature, Science, Creativity' He demonstrates many ways in which nature and science are coming together to produce sustainable materials for the future to help the environment. Many of the pieces he demonstrated may feature heavily in the homes of tomorrow, as well as in the structure of the buildings themselves. I thought it important to research this side of the biological process as machine, as it is very much becoming a literal reality as well as the metaphorical one that I envisioned in my initial ideas for this project.

The most interesting one to me is the bio-light, which are containers of either bioluminescent bacteria, or enzymes and proteins which are needed to sustain illumination. These work at a lower temperature to produce incandescent lighting:

I started reading about this kind of product, and found that scientists all over the world are starting to develop lighting using sources such as this to find sustainable alternatives to electricity. For example, a French biochemist, Pierre Calleja, spent years developing an alternative to street lighting using bioluminescent algae. You can see that in his TED talk here.

After some further research I also found one example of artwork done by an artist and scientist, Hunter Cole, which was done using bioluminescent algae in petri dishes:

I became really excited by the idea of incorporating this into my project, and I suggested in a tutorial with Rosie that I create a lit map of the world using the petri dishes of bacteria to show how the world may be lit in the future. However, she felt that it did not need such a literal translation of the project. So instead, I proposed that I create a design of a futuristic lighting source that may enter the homes of tomorrow. This would be to demonstrate what kind of products we may be seeing in the future due to an increased need for sustainable products. My only concern with this project is the accessibility of all the supplies necessary to make this possible. I will have to do more research into this before proceeding.