{"id":13243,"date":"2018-07-20T10:39:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-20T14:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archdesign.utk.edu\/?p=13243"},"modified":"2025-01-30T11:19:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T16:19:30","slug":"smart-houseplants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archdesign.utk.edu\/smart-houseplants\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlikely Partnership Yields Unique Research toward \u201cSmart\u201d Houseplants"},"content":{"rendered":"
That\u2019s the subject of breakthrough research by unlikely partners:\u00a0 The School of Interior Architecture and the Department of Plant Sciences.<\/p>\n Led by Rana Abudayyeh, assistant professor in Interior Architecture; Neal Stewart, professor of plant sciences in the UT Herbert College of Agriculture; and Susan Stewart, a 2018 Interior Architecture graduate, this unique research is featured in a perspective published in Science <\/em>magazine<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s leading academic journals, in July.<\/p>\n The team is looking at using synthetic biology to engineer houseplants to \u201ctell\u201d us when a hazardous substance, such as mold, radon gas, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other harmful pollutants, is present in the atmosphere inside our homes.<\/p>\n The authors of the perspective believe that \u201cplant walls\u201d inside our homes would provide the dense foliage needed to act as biosensors while also serving our innate need for plants.\u00a0 The plants would alter their normal states, such as changing color, to alert us to potential hazards.<\/p>\n \u201cBiophlic design builds on our innate affiliation with nature, so integrating biophlic elements within the interior volume carries rich implications spatially and experientially,\u201d says Abudayyeh. \u00a0\u201cBuilding responsive capabilities into interior plants is revolutionary. \u00a0It allows biophlic elements within space to assume a more integral role in the space, actively contributing to the well-being of the occupant holistically.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figure>In the future, your houseplants could alert you to health hazards in your home.<\/p>\n