Material Interaction Within the Living Matter Workshop
In collaboration with Adam Blaney

This workshop aims to develop a biomaterial system, as a proof of concept, builds towards a vision of 'living buildings'. It questions “How can digital systems be used to strategically guide the growth of living materials?”. Answering that serves as a tangible example of the potential benefits of incorporating living materials into the built environment, such as improved adaptability, sustainability, and reduced environmental impact. Additionally, fabrication through digital methods provides an opportunity to explore and refine the technologies and methods needed to create viable living building materials and systems. Digital tools offer precise control and guidance, which are essential in shaping the growth of living materials into desirable structures. 

The workshop will demonstrate the modulation of living materials' properties by employing both global and local stimuli across their growth/surfaces. In this regard, the local stimulus will be generated through magnetism and/or electric current. By introducing conductive wires into a mould and running a charge through it would promote microorganism growth in selected areas. As a result, the system will act as a programmed gardener which then opens up new forms of material interactions to guide growth properties.