What inspired your exploration into bioluminescent organisms as a sustainable lighting alternative in Natural Splendour?
My interest in bioluminescent organisms for Natural Splendour was sparked by a NASA article on increased light pollution around Christmas. The contrast between festive charm and its environmental toll - carbon emissions, material waste, and costs - made me wonder if we could preserve that magic in a more regenerative way.
As a speculative, futuristic design, Natural Splendour explores the potential of using natural light, but working with living organisms brought significant challenges: as a non-scientist, keeping them alive for extended periods was tricky, and their glow, while captivating, was much fainter than conventional lighting, requiring specific setups to enhance visibility.
These limitations, however, fit the project’s purpose well, as festive decoration doesn’t require specific levels of lumen output and is only needed for a few weeks each year.
In your work with oyster mushroom mycelium in ALBA, how did you adapt your design process to account for the unique growth cycles and textural properties of mycelium?
Working with mycelium for ALBA was unlike working with traditional materials; we couldn’t just put in extra effort to speed things up. Instead, we often had to sit back, wait, and hope the mycelium grew as expected. Knowing the material would require time, we adapted our process by setting up prototypes much earlier than usual in the design sprint.
This way, while we waited on growth, we could return to research, even as other groups moved ahead with prototyping. In the final weeks, the stress of the upcoming submission and presentation led us to moving samples between our different flats with varied temperatures and humidity levels to try accelerate growth.
Since we couldn’t open the samples to check progress without risking contamination, we relied on prototypes using materials like felt to explore shapes and textures, though they didn’t really capture mycelium’s final qualities. Weekly check-ins with our professor were tricky - we had to rely on descriptions alone, saying, 'It seems to be growing fine,' without opening the samples.
Can you walk us through your ‘Organism Driven Material Design’ methodology? How does it influence each phase of your project development?
My ODMD methodology adapts the principles of Material Driven Design (MDD) to focus on the integration of living organisms into the design process.
It consists of four key phases: first, understanding the organism through scientific research to grasp its natural habitat and behavior; second, exploring the organism’s behavior by investigating its capabilities through active experimentation; third, defining the organism as material, which involves establishing clear guidelines to ensure it functions reliably within the design; and fourth, crafting symbiotic designs, where the organism-driven material seamlessly integrates into the overall project, supported by optimal living requirements in exchange for the desired material qualities (in my case light).
This methodology not only creates a win-win relationship between designer and organism but also influenced my design process significantly as it required me to fully understand the biology and chemistry before jumping ahead with experimentation - ensuring a more thoughtful and informed approach.
Could you describe the process of moving from digital sketches in Blender to CNC-cut sheets in Polychroma? What technical steps are involved in translating 3D digital designs into large-scale physical installations?
In the case of Polychroma, we translated our 3D designs into 2D cut patterns by hand, meticulously labeling and orienting each individual triangle piece to ensure they fit together at the correct angles.
Our team spent days in the desert, re-wiring the pieces in the right order, constantly calculating and counting to determine where each piece belonged. In a different yet somewhat similar project, where we constructed a flying hot air balloon out of thin rice paper, we discovered how to utilize Rhino 7 and Grasshopper to accelerate and automate these processes.
This technique significantly streamlined our workflow, and it’s a method I would definitely return to if I faced similar challenges again.
In the ‘Cena fuera de línea’ project, you combined metal covering with magnetic interference to create a phone-free experience. What were the key technical steps and materials involved in creating a seamless off-signal effect?
The Cena fuera de línea project aimed to create a phone-free dining experience using metal and magnetic interference. As a second-year student, I worked within the resources and skills available in my university’s FabLab to develop a prototype made from 3D-printed PLA components with a bronze spray finish.
While this initial version served as a concept prototype, it would be great to revisit the design with proper materials and techniques to achieve a truly seamless off-signal effect. The goal would be to refine the interference and signal-blocking methods to create a more immersive experience that encourages genuine, tech-free interaction.
How do you usually discover and research new materials, especially those that are unconventional or require unique handling, like bioluminescent organisms or mycelium?
I discover new materials through digital research, design expos, and by following leaders in material innovation. By now my media algorithm is trained to highlight emerging materials and relevant design events. When selecting materials for my designs, I’m drawn to the take unconventional choices.
For example, in my bioluminescent work, I sought to go beyond the more commonly seen glowing algae to explore less-known bacteria and fungi. Similarly, while most of my classmates chose non-living biomaterials for their projects, my group wanted the challenge of working with live mycelium.
I believe speculative, concept and futuristic designs gain a 'wow' factor from using uncommon, surprising or ‘weird’ materials, especially when they evoke reactions of disbelief - responses that underscore the potential of these materials to shift perceptions.
How do you see the relationship between traditional craft techniques and new technologies, such as 3D printing or digital fabrication, evolving in design?
I see the relationship between traditional craft and new technology as similar to how painters often start with precise still-life work before moving on to abstraction or experimental styles. Learning traditional techniques builds respect for materials and processes while also revealing their limitations.
In a project I worked on, FANkenstein, I crafted fan blades from MDF wood by hand, cutting and filing each piece for hours in the wood-workshop. The result was a beautifully intricate pattern, turning the fan into a unique art piece rather than a practical, scalable design.
New technology, however, would allow me to create a 3D file and use CNC-cutting or 3D-printing, making it feasible to scale up, increase precision, and streamline production. Knowing the value of each approach - and when to use one over the other - should help designers balance uniqueness with efficiency.
