Abstract
Biodesign is a growing discipline focusing on material futures, alternative production methods and more interdependent solutions with Nature. In particular, it fosters designers to interact with other microorganisms and living matter for the development of materials and potential applications often based on material tinkering and material-driven design methods (MDD). The interweaving of human and other- than-human agencies raises multiple questions and characterizes levels of complexity throughout the design process. The purpose of this article is to elaborate a posteriori on practice-based research to support biodesigners in their interdisciplinary practices. First, it proposes "mattertypes" as a comprehensive term that describes material prototypes resonating with non-anthropocentric design. Mattertypes embody not only human and other-than-human agencies but also situated peculiarities: environmental, social, and systemic factors and implications. Second, it illustrates an approach called MMMM (Micro-Mezzo-Macro-Meta) a scale-based structure that aims to facilitate project workflows and enhance the understanding of the whole process. The scales are explained with practical examples based on the experience gathered during three research projects on SCOBY1 (also called bacterial or microbial cellulose). Namely, a product design BA- and an Eco-Social design MA-thesis, and an interdisciplinary research project investigating and developing packaging, food concepts, and scenarios for more resilient (g)local prospects.
Keywords
Biodesign, prototyping, DIY materials, bacterial cellulose, glocalism
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.118
Citation
Sicher, E., Uğur Yavuz, S.,and Cohen, N.(2023) Designing matter across scales with microorganisms: The MMMM (Micro-Mezzo-Macro-Meta) approach, in Silvia Ferraris, Valentina Rognoli, Nithikul Nimkulrat (eds.), EKSIG 2023: From Abstractness to Concreteness – experiential knowledge and the role of prototypes in design research, 19–20 June 2023, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/eksig2023.118
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Designing matter across scales with microorganisms: The MMMM (Micro-Mezzo-Macro-Meta) approach
Biodesign is a growing discipline focusing on material futures, alternative production methods and more interdependent solutions with Nature. In particular, it fosters designers to interact with other microorganisms and living matter for the development of materials and potential applications often based on material tinkering and material-driven design methods (MDD). The interweaving of human and other- than-human agencies raises multiple questions and characterizes levels of complexity throughout the design process. The purpose of this article is to elaborate a posteriori on practice-based research to support biodesigners in their interdisciplinary practices. First, it proposes "mattertypes" as a comprehensive term that describes material prototypes resonating with non-anthropocentric design. Mattertypes embody not only human and other-than-human agencies but also situated peculiarities: environmental, social, and systemic factors and implications. Second, it illustrates an approach called MMMM (Micro-Mezzo-Macro-Meta) a scale-based structure that aims to facilitate project workflows and enhance the understanding of the whole process. The scales are explained with practical examples based on the experience gathered during three research projects on SCOBY1 (also called bacterial or microbial cellulose). Namely, a product design BA- and an Eco-Social design MA-thesis, and an interdisciplinary research project investigating and developing packaging, food concepts, and scenarios for more resilient (g)local prospects.