Arup: The Algae House book launches at Venice Biennale

The Algae House is a new book on the world’s first prototypical building equipped with an algae bioreactor facade, and built by SPLITTERWERK and Arup .

Developed by Edith Hemmrich, Mark Blaschitz and Jan Wurm, all of whom played key roles in the creation of the BIQ House and its algae facade, The Algae House book was launched at the 14th Venice International Architecture Biennale.

The Algae House, together with three other ‘Smart Material Houses’, formed part of the International Building Exhibition 2013 in Hamburg. Microalgae are cultivated in glass photo bioreactors to generate energy and also control the light and shade into the building.

Featuring innovative floor plan typologies including the ‘Hamburg Apartment’ and ‘Milan Apartment’, The Algae House presents contemporary refinements of Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘open plan’, Adolf Loos' ‘Raumplan’, and Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s ‘Frankfurt Kitchen’.

The publication features recent essays, an initial summary and detailed plans and visuals from the first hand-drawn sketches, floor plans and cross-sections. A photo essay of the project by Austrian architectural photographer Paul Ott is also a highlight of the book.