habitable zone

Two zones of complementary micro-climate, driven by captured sun.

An artificial rock face.

A habitat for archaic life forms structured by the symbiotic exchange of energy and stability between technogenic materials.

Energy harvested by a solar panel is transferred to a peltier element which pumps heat from one zone of a concrete panel to another.
Whenever the cool surface drops below the dew point, moisture condenses from the air, soaks into the volcanic pumice that is part of the concrete aggregate, providing a source of water for the spores of mosses, algae and fungi that land there.
Conversely, rain that falls naturally onto the warm zone evaporates more quickly due to the heat, creating a micro-desert that might or might not conserve the steel fiber in the mix.

Engineered to be exposed to the elements for decades, the sculpture forms a techno-organism that will continue to change its appearance due to weathering and colonization by life forms adapted to exist on freshly exposed rock surfaces such as the leftovers of volcanic eruptions and the buildings in our cities.