We are so grateful to everyone that participated in the ‘Towards Integrative Design: Bio-Integrated & Digitally Fabricated’ Symposium organised by Integrative Design | Extremes at the University of Innsbruck and Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats. We received over 60 abstracts and we welcomed close to 100 international researchers, designers, engineers, artists, architects and students. The two days were filled with an incredible programme packed with inspiring talks and surrounded by beautiful posters, biomaterial pieces, and the mountains.
The Symposium highlighted that the future is both bio-integrated and digitally fabricated in the broadest and richest sense of integrating the sciences, the mythic and magic. Presentations showcased technical innovations from new advancements in bio-welding and utilising local blue biomass to broader reflections on the need for frameworks and a common language to co-design multispecies worlds.
A heartfelt thank you to our three keynotes —Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, Alexander Bismarck, and Fabio Gramazio— for giving us insights into their research process and what motivates their practice to advance new sustainable technologies.
We want to thank all participants for their incredibly inspiring contributions, and especially for creating an atmosphere where thoughts and comments from different perspectives sparked meaningful discussions —on topics such as scaling-out rather than scaling-up and embracing prototypes as essential to the research process.
You can explore the book of abstract and poster exhibition and full papers will be published in the new rendition of the Biotechnology Design journal over the next year.
We closed the Symposium with a Social Day in the beautiful mountains. Despite the clouds, the sky opened just in time to reveal a breathtaking view of the valley below Nordkette. Thank you to everyone who braved the elements—it was a fitting end to a symposium that invited us all to think, feel, and build under extreme conditions.
We look forward to connecting and continuing the discussion in the future. Please reach out to us if you would like to collaborate!
Pictures: Florenz Marks & Charlotte Thorne
What an exciting space week!
I was invited to present at the XXXV ASE Planetary Congress at ESA ESTEC to more than 50 astronauts as well as Dutch policymakers, and researchers and industry partners in the Dutch space sector. I talked about my research on how to use ice to build on Mars but most importantly on how space architecture is an exciting and transdisciplinary field! I got the chance to highlight rhythmic changes occuring on Mars which informs my design process and to show off the work of some colleagues on developing biomaterials for living space architecture.
I am also incredibly grateful to have been invited by their Majesties to the palace for the opportunity to highlight the importance of transdisciplinary research and the need for resources and support tailored to enable advancements in the field.
Thank you very much @andre_kuipers_officieel for inviting me and to Job Schroen for this opportunity and inspiring me during the EXTREME course at TU Delft years ago. Thank you to @lipkensa for providing some exciting mycelium samples 🍄
Finally, as part of the Congress we were invited to the magnificent The Armed Man - a Mass for Piece (Karl Jenkins). This week more than ever, it feels paramount to advocate for peace.
Pictures: Job Schroen, Nathan Reinds
To a new chapter! ✨🌱
I just arrived in Innsbruck (Austria) to start as postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Experimental Architecture @integrative.design.extremes .
I am already inspired by the beautiful mountains and works exhibited around the Architecture faculty, and I am very excited to get started with the whole team Prof. Barbara Imhof @barbara.imhof Judith Ascher-Jenull @judithaj15 Natalia Piórecka @nataliapiorecka Vikki Sandor @vikksand and Frank Ludin.
In 2019, I started my PhD journey at Newcastle University on the topic of "large scale applications of biomaterials for buildings" and looking back, everything went differently than expected.
The work started with a strong focus on theory using systems thinking as, a few months in, the pandemic prevented field studies and lab work. I developed a framework for buildings to adapt to the rhythms of their environment and started characterising responsiveness in materials. When we came back onto campus, the HBBE was still developing facilities and research on biotechnologies and biomaterials at small scale. It was challenging to test these novel materials to monitor their impact on building adaptability. Hence, my thesis presents tools to facilitate bridging scales and knowledge gaps to facilitate the use of biomaterials and biotechnologies for adaptable living buildings. The research highlighted the difficulties in interdisciplinary collaborations emerging from different approaches and ways of communicating. This intersection between architectural design, materials engineering, and biotechnology is intricate yet incredibly promising as we face widespread extreme climates.
Last year, I defended my thesis titled "Rhythmic Buildings - towards living, adaptable buildings", however, communicating the various aspects of scale, maturity, and interdisciplinarity wasn't straightforward. So after one year of corrections and anxiously waiting for feedback: I finally passed and got my PhD!
Thank you to my examiners Robert Schmidt III and Jane Scott and my supervisors Ben Bridgens, Neil Burford and, in particular, I am extremely grateful to Oliver Heidrich for his mentorship. Thank you to everyone at @bio_buildings for creating a welcoming bio community in Newcastle and thank you to my friends and family for their incredible support, especially this past year ❤️
There isn't enough space to condense 4,5 years of research, collaborations and friendships but here is an attempt 🚀🌱
Are you a bio-designer / architect / engineer / scientist working with biologically active materials or organisms? 🌱🧫 Please consider participating to help develop an evolved framework that will guide future interdisciplinary research in biologically active materials and organisms!
The second round of interviews are 90 min interviews with short fun exercises that will take place online in March to gather insights about how state-of-the-art projects and/or research is increasing its technology readiness.
Reach out to Layla ([email protected]) or via Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats (@bio_futures / [email protected]) to learn more 🪐
The project is developed as part of the Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats research group and is funded by @vocatio.be 🚀
The Rhythmic Nest
MICROHOME competition 2022
Trying the Rhythmic Buildings strategy together with the amazing @pippamcleodbrown and @lipkensa
The Rhythmic Nest is an adaptive tiny house that tailors to two different couples following the rhythm of the seasons. The change in users and therefore needs is reflected in the adaptable design.
The Nest is an addition to the observatory grounds of Kielder in the UK which hosts observatory workers in the winter and tourists in the summer. Kielder's forest is a beautiful scenery that also experiences strong seasonal cycles from a warm summer to a cold winter. These environmental aspects are used to the benefits of the users, with help from novel biotechnologies, to create this beautiful Rhythmic Nest.
The process of designing the Nest is highlighted, showing the users’ different schedule and functions as well as the local context as input for the design. This resulted in a self-sustaining Micro Home that reacts to the seasonal rhythms of the users and environment.
The Polish Astrobiological Society recently hosted the Life and Space online conference. I was invited alongside @lipkensa to share our ongoing work on the BIO-TRLs - a project on developing an evolved technology readiness levels for biologically active materials and organisms. Our project is now seeking feedback, thoughts, participants and potential collaborators! 🤝
Are you a bio-designer / architect / engineer / scientist working with biologically active materials or organisms? Please consider participating in sharing insights about how your project and/or research is increasing its technology readiness and collaborate with us on how to develop an evolved framework that will guide future interdisciplinary research in biologically active materials and organisms!
Reach out to me ([email protected]) or via Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats (@bio_futures / [email protected]) to learn more 🌟
Thank you, Polskie Towarzystwo Astrobiologiczne (Polish Astrobiology Society), for the invitation; being part of this event and its inspiring community was a pleasure 🪐
The project is developed as part of the Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats research group and is funded by @vocatio.be 🚀
🌟 Exciting News! 🌟
Today we are unveiling our new logo with Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats! Designing logos has been an exciting part of any projects for me, and wherever I can find an opportunity to draw one I would!
These are some of the logos I am proud to say I (co)-created over recent years:
1. Our brand new logo for🌱 Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats 🌱 – our @bio_futures research group. It was so much fun to co-create this logo that represents all of us @ansbelling@lipkensa@paula_nerlich
2. The logo for OMEInfo – a tool to automate the retrieval of consistent geographical metadata for microbiome research by Matthew Crown @matthew.crown.3
3. The logo for INNOMAT – a set of learning and training packages on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) back when I was a researcher at TUDelft
4. The logo for Aquae van Ellen (AvE) – my dad’s new hydrogeology company. He always included me in thinking about new visions and visuals for his company and I’m happy he trusted me designing the logo for AvE.
Beyond the new logo, we are extremely excited to share that @bio_futures will launch our own website soon🚀🌱
It's already been a couple of months since I got to get my hands and feet dirty with mycelium paste to help with the Living Room 💃🏻🍄
The Living Room is part of More with Less: Reimagining Architecture for a Changing World, the inaugural exhibition at the Farrell Centre, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The Living Room was created by the Living Textiles Research Group (HBBE) following months of research, development and large-scale biofabrication by Jane Scott, Ben Bridgens, Dilan Ozkan, Romy Kaiser, Oliver Perry & Armand Agraviador, with help from Aileen Hoenerloh and Layla van Ellen.
I can finally announce that I am one of the 20 VOCATIO lauréates for 2023✨
We had an incredibly inspiring ceremony on Thursday in Brussels where all of the projects were shown, I'm so grateful to be part of this community of driven and passionate artisans, artists, social scientists and technology scientists!
Merci & dank u to @vocatio.be and my sponsor the family D'Hondt-Bertrand @bertrand.alexia for your support and trust in my vocation in architecture for extreme environments. My project will develop new tools to advance research in biomaterials and biotechnologies for architecture in extreme environments within the Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats group 🌱🌒
#vocatio2023 #vocatiogrant2023 #followyourpassion
_Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats
Co-founded in 2021
Research and networking group on biotechnological and bio-social approaches to habitats in extreme environments
