individually tuned for each 3D pixel within a physical object.
The generation of products is therefore no longer limited to
assemblages of discrete parts with homogeneous properties.
Rather, like organs, objects can be computationally ‘grown’
and, for the time being, 3D-printed to form materially
heterogeneous and multifunctional constructs.
These abilities also enable biological augmentation,
for example for short-term energy production and long-
term carbon sequestration in product and architectural
scales, respectively. Microorganisms can now be designed
to mimic ‘factories’, transforming almost any biomass
into bioproducts that are useful for wearable garments,
construction materials, or transportation. E. coli,
a bacterium that lives in the gut, can be transformed into
edible sugar; grass converted into diesel; corn transfigured
into plastic. In an age of ‘biological alchemy’, information
architectures and manufacturing practices (all operating
in high spatial and temporal resolution) unite to grow
rather than assemble. Given that living matter can now
be designed as the built environment, not for it, we must
advance a new kind of ecology where assemblies and mono-
materials are eschewed in favour of multivalent wholes:
a Material Ecology.
Material Ecology
In contrast to the notion of objective function, Nature
optimises for a multiplicity of simultaneous functions
across scales: structural load, environmental performance,
spatial constraints and more. This sets the stage for
Material Ecology: the interrelationship between artificial
things – fabricated with property gradients at the
resolution of Nature, enabling multifunctionality
that matches Nature – and their environs.
The intimate relationship between design and
biology proposes a shift from consuming Nature as a
geological resource to editing it as a biological one. And
this journey from mining to growing is accelerating.
Top-down form generation (additively manufactured)
combined with bottom-up growth of biological systems
(biologically synthesised) opens previously impossible
opportunities, including photosynthetic building façades
that convert carbon into biofuel; wearable microbiomes
that nourish our skin through selective filtration; and
3D-printed matter that repairs damaged tissue.
In the Biological Age, designers and builders are
empowered to dream up new, dynamic design possibilities,
where products and structures can grow, heal and adapt.
But striding Nature’s way is far from natural. It requires
a change in the way we see Mother Nature, from a boundless
nourishing entity to one that begs nourishment by design.
As we master ‘unnatural’ processes at a speed and
sophistication that dwarfs evolution, Material Ecology
propels us into the age where we mother Nature by design.A World Without Parts
At The Mediated Matter Group, we believe that multivalent
wholes designed to match Nature’s many nuances will
far surpass the performance of antiquated assemblies of
mono-material parts. Together we explore this design
approach by combining environmentally informed
numerical simulation, data-driven material modelling,
and multimaterial additive manufacturing. We create novel
and specialised digital fabrication tools and technologies –
for both architects and designers – that engage computational
design, digital fabrication, biology, the environment, and
the materials themselves as inseparable and harmonised
dimensions of design. By pairing the creation of novel
technologies for digital fabrication with speculative
design, we strive to radically rethink how we can design
and make in the Biological Age.
Consider, for example, a building façade without
components – a continuous construction modelled after
human skin – with regions that serve as structure, window,
and environmental filter. To achieve this, my team and I have
invented a robotic platform for 3D-printing biomaterials
where shape and material composition are directly informed
by physical properties (such as stiffness and opacity),
environmental conditions (load, temperature, and relative
humidity), and fabrication constraints (degrees-of-freedom,
arm speed, and nozzle pressure). Or, consider the design of
a ‘body façade’ – a wearable microbiome in the form of a
corset or mask – that can prevent toxins from entering the
human body, while enabling filtration and absorption of
useful substances such as vitamins. To achieve this, myV e s p e r s. M a s k I, s e r i e s I, I I a n d
III. The collection speculates upon
our ability, as designers and makers
in the bio-digital age, to design
(with) life. Each mask undergoes
three iterations: past (physical
matter), present (digital matter)
and future (biological matter) as
it transforms the relic of the Death
Mask into a vessel for containing,
augmenting and possibly recreating
life. Designed for The New Ancient
Collection, curated and 3D-printed
b y S t r a t a s y s. S e e p a g e 3 1 6Photography: Yoram Reshef. Courtesy
of Neri Oxman and The Mediated
Matter Group, MIT Media LabNeri Oxman