BioMaterial | Shore Thing
Microbial Architecture for Evolving Coastlines
Funding| Autodesk Technology Center
2025: Architecture Ecology Lab (CCA), Digital Draft Lab (CCA),(UCSF) & Autodesk Technology Centers, Maldives National University, University of California San Francisco, Texas A&M University, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, University of Oxford.
Design Team: Alexandra Huerta, Yna Bariring, Austin Graham, Ashley Lasko, Asa Kalish, Aishath Leesha Abdulla, Hassan Haleem
Instructor Team & Advisors: Margaret Ikeda, Evan Jones, Negar Kalantar, Dyche Mullins, Ali Farajmandi, Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed, Ahmed Fariz Nizar, Anastasia H. Muliana, Gábor Domokos, Alain Goriely, Al Bohrani
Links: ShoreThing
Project Description: The Maldives, a nation of low-lying coral islands, faces urgent challenges due to sea-level rise and accelerated shoreline erosion. Traditional responses—such as imported concrete sea walls—disrupt the natural monsoon-driven sand migration and ecological balance of these living islands. In contrast, rural communities often rely on temporary solutions like sandbags, which offer minimal protection.
SHORE thing is a modular, biocemented system co-developed with local communities to address these challenges using site-responsive, biodegradable, and low-tech materials—sand, coconut, and microbes. Rather than resist change, the project embraces the islands’ dynamic nature, proposing adaptive geometries that support seasonal movement and reversible interventions.
The project merges computational design with community fabrication. Inspired by naturally occurring wave patterns and sand tessellations, modules are shaped to allow water to flow through while capturing sediment, echoing the behavior of sand dollars and other marine organisms. Parametric simulations optimize these forms for different sand compositions, allowing gravity and local materials to define the geometry without molds or advanced tools.
At the material level, SHORE thing pioneers microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP)—a biological process that strengthens structures using native microbes like Sporosarcina pasteurii. This creates a porous, erosion-resistant, and biodegradable alternative to concrete, cured under ambient conditions.
The project bridges scales—from kilometers to microns—using computation not as a fabrication requirement, but as a framework for thinking, simulating, and communicating. It enables design that is scalable, participatory, and locally replicable.
SHORE thing redefines coastal resilience by integrating geometry, biology, and social engagement. It proposes a living architecture that works with, not against, the rhythms of island life—offering a blueprint for sustainable futures in climate-vulnerable regions. The project was recognized with the Outstanding Science Award at the Biodesign Challenge.
NEGAR KALANTAR 