This chapter describes how architects and artists develop their work through looking at nature and finding role models for proto-architectural applications. Artistic research methodologies are being used to transfer growth strategies in nature into concepts for a new living architecture. The chapter also describes the example of the artistic research project GrAB - Growing As Building, which was conducted between 2013 and 2016 at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna with an interdisciplinary and international team of architects, artists, engineers and scientists. The project was funded through the Austrian Science Fund, a funding institution for fundamental scientific research in Austria. The programme of developing and enhancing the arts is part of the FWF services and represents a unique opportunity to develop research in an artistic context. GrAB emerged from another artistic research project funded by the FWF: Biornametics – Architecture Defined by Natural Patterns explored a new methodology to interconnect scientific evidence with creative design in the field of architecture. GrAB took this exploration further and specifically looked at growing structures with focus themes on explorative growth, material systems, technological transfers and closed-loop systems. The investigations were multifaceted and broad at the beginning and were narrowed down to biological role model research which could be conducted in a biolab established at an art school (Figure 9.1). The slime mould was investigated as part of the theme of explorative structures. Looking at the slime mould through an artistic lens, informed by renowned biologists yielded new insights into the interpretation of its behaviour and proto-applications for architecture and the arts.

When an article about one of the largest biospheric projects entitled “Noah’s Ark—The Sequel” (Reingold 1990) appeared in September 1990, the author Edwin Reingold could not anticipate that Biosphere 2 would become the proof that constructing a closed ecology is one of the toughest challenges for humankind and for long-term spaceflight. It is not commonly known that it is in fact a prerequisite for future space exploration to have a reliable closed-loop life-support system in place. To date, nobody in the world has such a system ready. We now know that the Biosphere 2 experiment failed to a certain extent because of soil bacteria respiring and producing a lot of carbon dioxide. This means that the oxygen levels decreased (Fisher Smith 2010) quickly and dramatically. It seemed that the wrong choice of soil was made for the climate in Arizona. Soon after the door was sealed, the crew already felt the change in the atmospheric composition, although they were only 3 months into the mission (Broad 1993).