Now Jessica Green, an associate professor at the University of Oregon, is venturing out into the built environment (offices, malls, cars), where she’s using a combination of architectural modeling software, genetic sequencing and microbial ecology to map these microbiomes in the hopes of influencing their designs. “We’ve learned that architects are impacting what microbes live where,” says Green. The surfaces of desks, for example, foster different kinds of colonies than the walls near indoor air-conditioning vents. “It’s a new dimension to their work.”

While “sick-building syndrome” is a real issue, and very much in Green’s sights to eradicate, the idea is not to eliminate bugs entirely. That would be impossible. “Getting rid of microbes is yesterday’s idea,” says Green. “The question is how well can we colonize our surroundings with the good guys.”

This is pretty brilliant.

Design to encourage certain types of microbes.

Never thought of this.

I wonder if Apple and Google are considering this for their new HQs:

http://www.businessinsider.com/apples-monolithic-beauty-vs-googles-chaos-what-new-hqs-reveal-about-their-personalities-2013-2

To me, both structures vaguely reference the Pentagon, Apple's more so. 

That's brilliant. I never thought of Apple as Pentagon-as-circle till now:

So what does that make Google?