Advances in biodigital systems: combining TPMS with varying porosity and moss for future eco-intelligent environments

Climate change has posed significant challenges to sustainably maintaining indoor comfort and stability, thus calling for alternative solutions. Biodigital systems, obtained by integrating biological and digital principles in newly designed materials, offer a promising opportunity. In nature, porosity is a fundamental strategy for optimizing material distribution, enabling efficient performance through functional differentiation. Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS), as a biomimetic and mathematically defined porous structure, exhibit a higher surface area-to-volume ratio compared to other porous systems. Moss’s adaptable, scalable, and ecological properties make it an ideal model for biodesign. We assume that their combination has significant potential as a biodigital system for enhancing indoor environmental conditions. This study sets up an experiment as a proof of concept and methodology test for the future design of fine-tuned buffering systems that can regulate humidity in the air through a real-time mechanism based on the combination of material, structure, and biological properties. The results show that the humidity change is related to the porosity of moss-integrated TPMS systems, which achieve a bond where living materials and digitally designed systems enhance each other’s properties. This biodigital system shows the potential to contribute to better indoor environments.