From Concrete to Cultivation: How AI and Robotics Are Rewriting Architecture's Material Logic

"Artificial intelligence and robotics, once used to accelerate construction processes, are now being rethought as tools for cultivation."

"Printed structures that grow, breathe, and decay. Cultivation, in this context, refers to designing with biological materials, where growth and decay are active parameters, merging digital precision with ecological intelligence."

"Newer projects, such as the MycoMuseum at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, reinterpret these tools through a biological lens. Instead of shaping concrete, they cultivate living materials, marking a shift from pure optimization toward regeneration."

Cities face mounting climatic and social pressures that demand redefinition of building materials and systems. Artificial intelligence and robotics are being rethought as tools for cultivation rather than solely for speeding construction. Printed structures can be designed to grow, breathe, and decay by using biological materials and treating growth and decay as active design parameters. Incorporating mycelium and other natural materials into fabrication introduces a logic of the living, where computation and fabrication meet biological adaptability. This approach shifts priorities from pure efficiency toward empathy and regeneration, positioning architecture as an agent of active environmental repair.

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