The rediscovered potential of "growing" instead of "making" is driving the emergence of new materialities, leading to innovative scenarios in biotechnologies and Biodesign, deeply interconnected and both depicted as game changers in the sustainability discourse. Biofabrication is undergoing a fervent research stage, with few viable material solutions already on the market, but a growing trend of investments for basic research and scaling-up opportunities. Biodesign, an emerging approach drawn on biological components, is also getting increasing attention. Currently, the first design courses and labs are pioneering a transdisciplinary educational path bridging design and science. The novelty of these fields inevitably accounts for many research gaps; among the most urgent issues is the need to understand whether the hypothesis about biogenerated materials and products sustainability is founded or not. Furthermore, Biodesign's expressive potential, definitions and methodologies still need to be explored in the design field. The main objective of this research is to grasp a picture of the rapidly evolving phenomenon of Biodesign, mainly focusing on its potential for a sustainability transition, addressing (i) the state of the art and the contributions that living variables can bring in the sustainable transition; (ii) the new emerging features of biodesigned materials and artefacts, including their potential in design; (iii) the role of biodesigners and designers-in-lab as new professional figures emerging from the field, and their tools and methods. The study is carried out through a mixed methods approach. Knowledge foundations are based on literature review, case studies analysis and expert interviews; moreover, a phase of Research Through Design significantly contributed to the findings and outcomes of the doctoral study. Biofabricated materials have been considered through current sustainability metrics (e.g. LCA), highlighting their crucial role in the circular economy and some overlooked process-dependent environmental burdens. In parallel, many biodesigned materials and artefacts stand out for the possibility of overcoming the concept of sustainability as currently intended, embracing Regenerative Design for those restorative and regenerative features in living and bioreceptive materials. These main findings led to a conceptual framework, defined as Healing Materialities - clarifying the dual nature of Biodesign, pushing both inner and outer sustainability through practical and speculative approaches and material outcomes. The still blurred figure of the biodesigner has been further outlined through the definition of the peculiar activity of biotinkering, based on a co-design with the living. New tools, mainly worksheets and checklists, have been proposed to facilitate designers approaching the field, creating bridges between Biodesign, Green Chemistry, and Sustainable Design strategies. A significant contribution to the research also came from four Research Through Design projects, which saw the candidate working on different materials in the role of a biodesigner and a designer-in-lab, activating collaborations with various universities and research groups and better validating the contributions that designers can have in scientific environments of different transdisciplinary intensity. The study highlights Biodesign's contribution in supporting a radical ecological transition and further encourages the use of regenerative materials and processes capable of balancing in the long run human and non-human needs.
Le potenzialità dei materiali biogenerati guidando l'emergere di nuovi materiali, portando a scenari innovativi nelle biotecnologie e nel biodesign, profondamente interconnessi ed entrambi considerati punti chiave nel discorso sulla sostenibilità. La biofabbricazione sta attraversando una fervida fase di ricerca, con poche soluzioni materiali già sul mercato, ma una tendenza crescente di investimenti per la ricerca di base e opportunità di scalabilità dei processi. Anche il Biodesign, un approccio emergente basato sull’inclusione di componenti biologici, sta ricevendo una crescente attenzione. Ad oggi, i primi corsi e laboratori di design stanno aprendo la strada a un percorso educativo transdisciplinare che unisce design e scienza. La giovane età di queste discipline comporta inevitabilmente molte lacune nella ricerca; tra le questioni più urgenti c'è la necessità di capire se l'ipotesi sulla sostenibilità dei materiali e dei prodotti biogenerati sia fondata o meno. Inoltre, le potenzialità espressive, le definizioni e le metodologie del Biodesign devono ancora essere esplorate in ambito progettuale. L'obiettivo principale di questa ricerca è quello di cogliere un quadro del fenomeno in rapida evoluzione del Biodesign, concentrandosi principalmente sul suo potenziale per una transizione sostenibile, affrontando (i) lo stato dell'arte e i contributi che le variabili viventi possono portare nella transizione sostenibile; (ii) le nuove caratteristiche emergenti dei materiali e dei manufatti bioprogettati, compreso il loro potenziale nel design; (iii) il ruolo dei biodesigner e dei designer-in-lab come nuove figure professionali emergenti, e i loro strumenti e metodi. Lo studio è condotto attraverso un metodi misti. Gli studi fondamentali si basano sulla letteratura, sull'analisi dei casi di studio e sulle interviste agli esperti; inoltre, una fase di Research Through Design ha contribuito in modo significativo ai risultati e agli esiti della ricerca di dottorato. I materiali biofabbricati sono stati considerati attraverso le attuali metriche di sostenibilità (ad esempio LCA), evidenziando il loro ruolo cruciale nell'economia circolare e alcuni impatti spesso trascurati dipendenti dal processo di scalabilità. Parallelamente, molti materiali e manufatti bioprogettati si distinguono per la possibilità di superare il concetto di sostenibilità come attualmente inteso, abbracciando il Regenerative Design per quelle caratteristiche riparatrici e rigenerative dei materiali viventi e biorecettivi. Questi risultati principali hanno portato a un quadro concettuale, definito come Healing Materialities - che chiarisce la duplice natura del Biodesign, in grado di supportare la sostenibilità sia a livello tecnico che concettuale attraverso approcci e materiali pratici e speculativi. La figura biodesigner è stata ulteriormente delineata attraverso la definizione della peculiare attività di biotinkering, basata su un co-design con organismi viventi. Sono stati proposti nuovi strumenti, principalmente worksheet e liste di controllo, per facilitare l'approccio dei progettisti a questa nuova disciplina, creando ponti tra le strategie di biodesign, chimica verde e progettazione sostenibile. Un contributo significativo alla ricerca è venuto anche da quattro progetti di Research Through Design, che hanno visto la candidata lavorare su diversi materiali nel ruolo di biodesigner e designer-in-lab, attivando collaborazioni con diverse università e gruppi di ricerca e validando meglio i contributi che i progettisti possono avere in ambienti scientifici di diversa intensità transdisciplinare. Lo studio evidenzia il contributo del Biodesign nel sostenere una transizione ecologica radicale e incoraggia ulteriormente l'uso di materiali e processi rigenerativi in grado di bilanciare nel lungo periodo bisogni umani e non-umani.
Healing materialities from a biodesign perspective : framing biodesigned materials and artefacts for the sustainability transition
POLLINI, BARBARA
2022/2023
Abstract
The rediscovered potential of "growing" instead of "making" is driving the emergence of new materialities, leading to innovative scenarios in biotechnologies and Biodesign, deeply interconnected and both depicted as game changers in the sustainability discourse. Biofabrication is undergoing a fervent research stage, with few viable material solutions already on the market, but a growing trend of investments for basic research and scaling-up opportunities. Biodesign, an emerging approach drawn on biological components, is also getting increasing attention. Currently, the first design courses and labs are pioneering a transdisciplinary educational path bridging design and science. The novelty of these fields inevitably accounts for many research gaps; among the most urgent issues is the need to understand whether the hypothesis about biogenerated materials and products sustainability is founded or not. Furthermore, Biodesign's expressive potential, definitions and methodologies still need to be explored in the design field. The main objective of this research is to grasp a picture of the rapidly evolving phenomenon of Biodesign, mainly focusing on its potential for a sustainability transition, addressing (i) the state of the art and the contributions that living variables can bring in the sustainable transition; (ii) the new emerging features of biodesigned materials and artefacts, including their potential in design; (iii) the role of biodesigners and designers-in-lab as new professional figures emerging from the field, and their tools and methods. The study is carried out through a mixed methods approach. Knowledge foundations are based on literature review, case studies analysis and expert interviews; moreover, a phase of Research Through Design significantly contributed to the findings and outcomes of the doctoral study. Biofabricated materials have been considered through current sustainability metrics (e.g. LCA), highlighting their crucial role in the circular economy and some overlooked process-dependent environmental burdens. In parallel, many biodesigned materials and artefacts stand out for the possibility of overcoming the concept of sustainability as currently intended, embracing Regenerative Design for those restorative and regenerative features in living and bioreceptive materials. These main findings led to a conceptual framework, defined as Healing Materialities - clarifying the dual nature of Biodesign, pushing both inner and outer sustainability through practical and speculative approaches and material outcomes. The still blurred figure of the biodesigner has been further outlined through the definition of the peculiar activity of biotinkering, based on a co-design with the living. New tools, mainly worksheets and checklists, have been proposed to facilitate designers approaching the field, creating bridges between Biodesign, Green Chemistry, and Sustainable Design strategies. A significant contribution to the research also came from four Research Through Design projects, which saw the candidate working on different materials in the role of a biodesigner and a designer-in-lab, activating collaborations with various universities and research groups and better validating the contributions that designers can have in scientific environments of different transdisciplinary intensity. The study highlights Biodesign's contribution in supporting a radical ecological transition and further encourages the use of regenerative materials and processes capable of balancing in the long run human and non-human needs.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Descrizione: Pollini (2023). PhD thesis_Healing Materialities from a Biodesign perspective.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/207590