Here are some advances in building science.
But first, I think that picture above is a real photo, of something that sounds like an artificial tree, and you can read about it in the first article below. Image credit: Picoplanktonics large-format photosynthetic objects - Valentina Mori for Biennale di Venezia - 2025
Photosynthetic living material uses bacteria to capture CO₂ in two different ways
Jun 2025, phys.org
The 3-meter-high, tree-trunk-like object can bind about as much as a 20 year old pine tree.
They stably incorporated photosynthetic cyanobacteria into a printable gel material that grows while removing carbon from the air, and requires only sunlight, artificial seawater with readily available nutrients, and CO2.
via ETH Zurich: Dalia Dranseike et al, Dual carbon sequestration with photosynthetic living materials, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58761-y
Living fungus-based building material repairs itself for over a month
Apr 2025, phys.org
Materials made from organisms that are still alive. That is all.
via Montana State University: Mycelium as a scaffold for biomineralized engineered living materials, Cell Reports Physical Science (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102517
Physics reveals the optimal roof ratios for energy efficiency
Apr 2025, phys.org
Based on the physics of these airflows and heat transfer, if a roof peak is shorter than roughly three feet, it should be about three or four times wider than it is tall to minimize heat loss. And if a roof peak is taller than three feet, it should be an equilateral triangle with a height-to-width ratio of one.
via Duke University: A. Bejan et al, Why people shape roofs the same way, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2025.108909
Passive cooling paint sweats off heat to deliver 10X cooling and 30% energy savings
Jun 2025, phys.org
Not so much paint but a carpet that can get wet thereby using evaporative cooling:
What truly set CCP-30 paint apart was its self-replenishing ability—absorbing water from rain and atmospheric moisture to sustain evaporative cooling over time—without compromising how the paint interacts with light when wet.
via Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology: Jipeng Fei et al, Passive cooling paint enabled by rational design of thermal-optical and mass transfer properties, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adt3372
Sustainable cooling film could slash building energy use by 20% amid rising global temperatures
Jun 2025, phys.org
It's a bioplastic metafilm constructed from polylactic acid (PLA) using a low-temperature separation technique that reflects 98.7% of sunlight and minimizes heat gain.
via University of South Australia and Zhengzhou University in China: Yangzhe Hou et al, A structural bioplastic metafilm for durable passive radiative cooling, Cell Reports Physical Science (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102664
Beyond shade: Researchers improve radiant cooling to make outdoor temperatures feel cooler
Jul 2025, phys.org
They used water-cooled aluminum panels and see-through, infrared-reflective thin polymer film, which allows both efficient cooling and visibility.The team constructed a nearly 10-by-10-foot "tent" and also painted the inward-facing side of the panels black to absorb incidental heat, such as body heat from people within the structure.The researchers found that their structure had a mean radiant temperature of about 78 degrees F. This was not only lower than the ambient air temperature of approximately 84 degrees but also more than 10 degrees cooler than the mean radiant temperature of about 90 degrees that a person would have otherwise experienced due to heat radiating from surrounding surfaces.
via UCLA: David E. Abraham et al, Efficient outdoor thermal comfort via radiant cooling and infrared-reflective walls, Nature Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01558-0
Self-cleaning glass uses electric field to remove dust particles within seconds
Aug 2025, phys.org
The transparent, coverable self-cleaning glass uses a square wave electrical signal (5 kV, 10 Hz) on a sandwich-like structure with a quartz glass base layer, etched with indium tin oxide electrodes, and then a polyethylene glycol terephthalate film placed as an insulating dielectric layer
via State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Coal-Fired Air Pollution Control at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou: Meng Yang et al, Coverable Self‐Cleaning Glass via Abnormal Transport and Jump of Charged Particles, Advanced Science (2025). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202509404
Novel cement lets buildings cool themselves
Aug 2025, phys.org
They created a cement that reflects light and emits heat instead of absorbing it, using tiny reflective crystals of a mineral called ettringite on its surface; the crystals were made by pouring the cement into a silicon mold covered in holes that created depressions in the cement's surface where the ettringite crystals could grow.
via Southeast University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering, China: Guo Lu et al, Scalable metasurface-enhanced supercool cement, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv2820
Living cement: Scientists turn bacteria-infused cement into energy-storing supercapacitors
Sep 2025, phys.org
They add Shewanella oneidensis, a bacterium known for its ability to transfer electrons to external surfaces via so-called extracellular electron transfer. Once embedded in the cement matrix, these bacteria create a network of charge carriers capable of both storing and releasing electrical energy. Because microbial activity gradually fades due to nutrient depletion or environmental stress, the researchers designed an integrated microfluidic network within the cement that can deliver a nutrient solution containing proteins, vitamins, salts and growth factors to keep the bacteria alive or "reawaken" the system.
via Aarhus University: Living microbial cement supercapacitors with reactivatable energy storage, Cell Reports Physical Science (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102810.
Silver-nanoring coating points to 'self-regulating' smart windows—without power or tinting
Sep 2025, phys.org
The microscopic silver rings increasingly block near-infrared light as sunlight becomes stronger—without making the glass less transparent.
via Aarhus University Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center: Xavier Baami González et al, Thermoplasmonic Nanorings for Passive Solar‐Responsive Smart Windows in Energy‐Efficient Building Applications, Advanced Functional Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202518295
World's first mushroom-powered waterless toilet appears in botanical garden
Sep 2025, phys.org
The MycoToilet - At the back, a system separates liquid from solid waste. Solid waste enters a mycelium-lined compartment, where fungi absorb odors and microbes break it down into compost.
via University of British Columbia: http://www.ubc.ca/
New air filter could turn every building into a carbon sink
Oct 2025, phys.org
Nanofibers coated with polyethylenimine polymer makes a carbon sponge that can be cleaned by solar heating or low-energy electricity methods.
via University of Chicago and Nanyang Technological University: Ronghui Wu et al, Distributed direct air capture by carbon nanofiber air filters, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv6846
An edible fungus could make paper and fabric liquid-proof
Oct 2025, phys.org
Post PFAS world:
Researchers first blended T. versicolor mycelia with a nutrient-rich solution of cellulose nanofibrils. They applied thin layers of the mixture to denim, polyester felt, birch wood veneer and two types of paper, letting the fungus grow. Placing the samples in an oven for one day inactivated the fungus and allowed the coating to dry. It blocks water, oil and grease absorption, because the surface of mycelium naturally repels water.
The best part?
It changes their colors, forming mottled yellow, orange or tan patterns.
via University of Maine: Sandro Zier et al, Growing Sustainable Barrier Coatings from Edible Fungal Mycelia, Langmuir (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c03185
Cooling paint harvests water from thin air
Nov 2025, phys.org
Porous polymer coating made of polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene (PVDF-HFP) that reflects up to 97% of sunlight and radiates heat into the air, keeping surfaces up to 6° cooler than the surrounding air even under direct sun. ... By removing UV-absorbing materials, we overcome the traditional limit in solar reflectivity while avoiding glare through diffuse reflection.
via University of Sydney and Dewpoint Innovations: Ming Chiu et al, Passively Cooled Paint‐Like Coatings for Atmospheric Water Capture, Advanced Functional Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202519108
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