Algae-Powered Buildings: A Strategy to Mitigate Climate Change and Move Toward Circular Economy

Abstract

By 2050, the global urban population is expected to raise by 2.5 billion. Equivalently, the required building space in square footage is projected to be doubled. Thus, the importance of emerging sustainable architecture as a new approach to energy conservation is increasingly highlighted. Algae are well known for their high capacity to simultaneously sequestrate carbon dioxide and produce clean energy carriers. Such unique characteristics of algal communities put them among the most qualified candidates to be used in bioinspired architectural designs. They could be utilized whenever energy and water saving is a matter of concern or an efficient management of liquid and solid waste is needed. Today, algal cells are considered in the design of solar thermal collectors, improved indoor air conditioning systems, lighting systems, shading, etc. Algal photobioreactors as part of building compartments have also been considered as a nature-based alternative to large glass surfaces. However, since the technology is still in its infancy, it has not been yet included in green building regulations. The present chapter reviews the current-state of the microalgae-based bioinspired designs in the development of green architecture. It also briefly covers the systems in which sunlight energy is converted into value-added products such as biomass, biogas, and biodiesel through microalgal photosynthesis. A strong synergy between biologists and civil engineers would be needed to progress towards more economic, sustainable, and cleaner algal-based architecture.