Going Hog Wild For In-Vitro Pig Jerky Architecture

The thought of consuming animal flesh makes some swoon and others gag, so Terreform ONE's architectural proposal utilizing dried Petri-dish harvested pig skin as a cruelty-free and entirely eco-friendly construction material will undoubtedly illicit all sorts of diverse and emotional reactions. Is it revolting, fascinating, somewhere in between, or is it actually just a sick, twisted eco-Frankenstein joke? Odd, yes, but rest assured this is a legitimate concept. Clearly, the Brooklyn-based, non-profit eco-architectural design group has a very unique perspective of the future in which sustainability reigns supreme through the incorporation of "victimless shelter(s)". The collaborative think tank -- consisting of artists, scientists, architects and students -- regularly develops innovative sustainability solutions and technologies for transportation, infrastructure, energy, buildings, waste treatment, food, water, and media spaces and they are confident that oinky households aren't so far-fetched after all.

If you're scratching your head and questioning why on Earth they would want to use pig skin to build dwellings, bear in mind that the organic material is traditionally considered one of the more durable and resilient that we have at our disposal. Commonly utilized to cover books, automotive interiors, create fashion accessories and some sports equipment such as gloves and balls, pigskin may be organically-derived but it is notorious for carrying a very high environmental impact due to the way that it is processed and cured. In addition to the fact the skin comes at the sacrifice of living creatures, a high volume of chemical pollutants are released into the atmosphere and our water supply during the tanning process -- some developing nations even make a habit of discarding the effluent waste right into nearby wetlands.   

Terreform ONE's concept eliminates the negative impact on Mother Nature and animals by cultivating pig skin cells under controlled laboratory conditions until they come together into cohesive skin panels that can then be dried out like architectural jerky. They also use collagen powder, xanthan gum, mannitol, cochineal, sodium pyrophosphate, and recycled PET plastic scaffolding to help their pig skin structure take full form. Absent of all harmful environmentally-polluting chemicals, the pieces are then anchored together to create a football-shaped home of the future. While still in the prototype stage, their design offers an innovative example of science and architectural design melding together with futuristic, eco-forward thinking. Greenies might find it hard to deny the fact that dwellings constructed with laboratory grown pig skin are almost as close to nature as one can get without harming a sentient being, but how would you feel about actually living in one of these babies? Do you think that you might squeal with delight?