gladys chavis says that casting manufacturers should be regulated to reduce plastic production thanks for your comments. plastic is controversial but of course it's extremely versatile no wonder scientists are hard at work developing bioplastics. architecture to do is looking for more sustainable raw material what if we could build our homes not with bricks or concrete but out of living growing plants. would is one of the oldest building materials in the world. trees and certain other plants have a property that distinguishes them as a source of building materials they grow. in human forests in northeast india tree roots have been trained intended sometimes over a period of centuries to form bridges they are living structures. if you built a steel bridge in that climate it would soon rust and become unstable fall off its load capacity would decrease. but with the living roots you get the opposite effect it grows steadier bigger stronger and anywhere in ten is repaired by the new roots that grow up. with. the idea of a living structure fascinates heiko hammond he's not a gardener but a