ABSTRACT
Physarum Polycephalum, also known as slime mould, is a bright yellow, visible, single-celled organism that multiplies with its thousands of nuclei, and fans out in search of nutrients. Though it lacks a brain and nervous system, this organism demonstrates spatial intelligence, finding the most efficient route to food and leaving behind a trace to “remember,” through sensory feedback, where it has already searched. Through multiple experiments, we have recognized several factors that impact the growth of the physarum, these including moisture levels and light intensities.  We have also learned that paths to food can be controlled by the use of chemo repellants such as salt and by the use of light, thus allowing us to better understand the ideal conditions of growth. With such findings, we are able to recreate a stable environment that promotes optimal growth for the Physarum and therefore begin to design ways it can be used in an architectural application.

[SLIME MOULD] – LIVING SCREENS is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at Master in Advanced Architecture in 2016/2017 by:
Students: Catalina Puello, Fabio Rivera, Johana Monroy
Faculty: Areti Markopoulou, Alex Dubor, Angelos Chronis