algaerium bioprinter by marin sawa digitally yields health food

algaerium bioprinter by marin sawa digitally yields health food

the application of printing technologies to the production of food has been developing over the last years, in which scientists and creatives alike have been exploring the possibilities of this digital means to be used for agriculture and nourishment purposes. marin sawa investigates this realm with her ‘algaerium bioprinter’, a device which adapts industrial-scale production to a domestic technology, demonstrating just how microalgae can be cultivated within the comforts of our own home–essentially providing digitally printed health food on demand.

the bioprinter provides a process whereby algae cells can be ruptured and their nutrients readily absorbed, while at a macro scale it envisions an immediate future where algae farming forms a significant part of urban agriculture, while reinforcing food safety in our cities. essentially the algaerium functions as an ink reservoir which contains superfood microalgae such as chlorella, spirulina and haematococcus. the selection of algae strains that sawa has selected reflect a variety of colors which the cells come in, allowing for colourful printed patterns. the study and research of microalgae living systems is not a new one to the london-based designer, who is currently developing technology to print algal-based energy and filtering devices.

the algaerium acts as an ink reservoir

super foods are pushed through the veins of the device

up close of the processing
photo by sue barr

algae samples

marin sawa working in the lab

testing out printing devices

an ‘alagerium bioprinter’