Biodesign & Cultivated Matter
3. Juni 2026, 17.00 Uhr ONLINE
Exploring Biofabrication and New Material Possibilities
Talk von Weronika Turowska bei Fashion & Technology.
Online via Zoom us06web.zoom.us
This talk examines biodesign and biofabrication as emerging methodologies within post-anthropocentric design and material practice. Drawing from my experience within the MA Biodesign programme at Central Saint Martins, as well as my professional work within the HBBE Living Construction Hub at Northumbria University, the presentation reflects on working between design studios and laboratory environments, and on the shifting role of the designer when collaborating with living systems, scientific processes, and interdisciplinary research.
Through a series of material experiments and research-led projects, the talk explores how microorganisms, cultivation processes, and biological matter can inform alternative approaches to material creation. Particular attention is given to the experience of working alongside scientists and researchers, and to how laboratory-based methods challenge conventional design processes, notions of authorship, materiality, and fabrication.
The presentation will include insights into experimental workflows, hands-on material samples, and reflections on the aesthetic and ecological dimensions of biofabricated materials in relation to future design practices.
Weronika Turowska is a biodesigner, material researcher, and maker. She is a graduate of the MA Biodesign programme at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and currently works as a Senior Research Assistant within the HBBE Living Construction Group at Northumbria University. She is part of the UKRI BBSRC-funded project Sustainable Style for Clean Growth: Innovating Textile Production through Engineering Biology.
During her postgraduate studies, Weronika investigated bacterial spore-based hygromorphic materials and questions of material agency through contemporary craft and indoor environments. Her previous projects also include the use of bacterial cellulose in the design of tactile objects intended to alleviate chronic nerve pain, presented during the New European Bauhaus in Brussels.
Through UAL’s MEAD Fellowship, she additionally explores ways of making biodesign knowledge more accessible by developing design-oriented protocols and alternative approaches that enable designers to engage with living matter beyond traditional laboratory environments.
