Bio-Inspired Design: Self-Healing Buildings and Fungal Coatings ft. Anna Sandak

Bio-Inspired Design: Self-Healing Buildings and Fungal Coatings ft. Anna Sandak

In Other Words

Her research on engineered living materials: building materials (coatings, inks, composites) that contain living fungi, bacteria or algae kept alive to give functionalities conventional static materials can’t.

Key Takeaways

• Head of the materials group and associate professor at the University of Primorska (Slovenia), formerly InnoRenew CoE, moved from biology/forestry to materials science, now working at the biology–materials interface.
• ERC Consolidator project ARCHI-SKIN: a living fungal-biofilm coating for building facades that self-heals scratches, gives UV protection (via melanin), bioremediates air pollutants and replaces toxic biocides, the fungi go dormant in bad conditions and regrow.
• EIC Pathfinder project REMEDY / ‘ARCHI-Biome tattoo’: printable living inks with fungi, algae and bacteria consortia for high-resolution, functional, aesthetically pleasing building decoration; part of a 10-project Engineered Living Materials portfolio working jointly on regulation and market acceptance.
• A nationally-funded (ARIS) spin-off sends the biofilms to space to test whether extreme conditions produce more resilient strains for use on Earth (and possibly in space); first samples returning.
• Loves the interdisciplinary ‘cross-feeding’ where real innovation happens; three wishes: more time, less/faster admin, and even more structured interdisciplinary exchange. Sees AI potential in materials discovery and cutting admin, but flags data-protection risks.