Instead of using tubes for algae cultivation, I have moved into flat tanks. These will provide more local colour variation and can also be unitised for ease of installation and mainenance. The downside of this is that the water does not circulate around the building, and therefore gains huge thermal mass, essentially working like a trombe wall...not what you need in the middle of a dessert. Efforts will have to be made to pull the skin away from the programme where heat in not required and vice-versa.
It occurred to me that if I was treating the skin and programme as separate, I might as well have independent systems that maximise each others capabilities. These drawings use a scaffold lattice that acts as structure for the programme, but also houses the algae tanks. The programme interlaces the farm space and also directs light into the depths of the algae farm using sinuous form.
