A modular concrete tile system developed at Florida International University (FIU) is being deployed to test how 3D printed surfaces can enhance marine biodiversity, reduce shoreline erosion, and improve urban water quality. Known as BIOCAP—short for Biodiversity Improvement by Optimizing Coastal Adaptation and Performance—the system is scheduled for pilot installation in spring 2025 at Morningside Park, a public site on Miami’s Biscayne Bay.
The research is led by Sara Pezeshk, a doctoral candidate in FIU’s College of Architecture and a member of CREST CAChE, the university’s Center for Aquatic Chemistry and Environment. Her peer-reviewed paper on the system, published by Springer Nature, outlines a hybrid infrastructure strategy that combines additive manufacturing, ecological design, and responsive material systems. Funding for the project comes from the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Standard seawalls are engineered to block waves but often reflect energy back into the water column, increasing erosion and eliminating habitat zones. Pezeshk’s design introduces concave and convex tiles with shaded grooves, crevices, and recessed pockets—features intended to mimic natural shoreline geometry. Each tile module is designed to retain water, modulate temperature, and expand surface area for colonization by marine organisms.
Filter-feeding species like oysters, barnacles, and sponges can reduce water turbidity and remove nutrients that contribute to algal blooms. Microhabitats embedded in the tile geometry provide refuge from thermal stress and turbulence. Pezeshk’s research describes BIOCAP as a “multipurpose living shoreline.” Unlike constructed wetlands or reef installations, this system attaches to existing seawalls, making it compatible with dense urban infrastructure.
The tiles are fabricated using 3D printing, enabling complex surface formations that cannot be cast using standard molds. Pezeshk draws inspiration from fossiliferous limestone—particularly coral patterns native to Florida’s coastal geology—to inform the surface morphology.Additive manufacturing allows control over groove depth, elevation shifts, and porosity.
This increases both thermal variability and potential for biological attachment. Computational modeling, including multi-objective optimization using Wallacei, was used to configure the tile forms under specific performance goals. Design variables include geometric texture, modular interconnectivity, and rhizomatic spatial logic. Rather than rigid arrays, BIOCAP uses a Voronoi-based system that mimics root networks and allows tiles to adapt fluidly to sediment movement and water flow.
Post-installation evaluation will focus on three main performance indicators: biodiversity enhancement, water quality improvement, and wave energy attenuation. Time-lapse underwater cameras will document marine life colonization patterns across the textured tile surfaces. Species diversity, frequency, and behavior will be tracked over the project’s two-year pilot window.
To assess environmental chemistry, a subset of prototype tiles is embedded with real-time sensors that monitor pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, turbidity, and temperature. These metrics will help determine whether microbial and invertebrate activity near BIOCAP tiles leads to measurable changes in water conditions. Pressure sensors will also be installed on both BIOCAP-modified and adjacent unmodified seawall sections to measure wave force differentials under varying tidal and storm conditions. These data will quantify how the system performs in dissipating energy compared to traditional vertical concrete walls.
Methodology for BIOCAP draws on architectural theory, material behavior, and environmental performance modeling. In the Springer Nature publication, the system is framed within the context of far-from-equilibrium dynamics, emphasizing infrastructure that adapts to environmental forces rather than imposing static forms. A rhizomatic design model—rooted in ecological root systems and non-linear spatial theory—emphasizes distributed connectivity over hierarchical assembly. Tile units are described as self-organizing components that operate within a larger emergent framework shaped by tidal patterns, temperature shifts, and biological interaction.
Rather than eliminating seawalls, BIOCAP challenges their conventional function. The retrofit approach repositions infrastructure as a habitat interface, capable of supporting ecological processes instead of acting as a hard boundary. The Miami deployment at Morningside Park will provide a test bed for BIOCAP under real-world conditions. If the system succeeds in reducing erosion, increasing habitat complexity, and improving water quality, it may be considered for scaling in other urban coastal zones.
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Featured image showcase rendering of BIOCAP tiles. Photo via Sara Pezeshk.
