The second life of micro-organisms. Bio-digital design for a new ecology of space and behaviour

Authors

  • Alessandro Valenti University of Genova (Italy)
  • Claudia Pasquero ecoLogicStudio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19229/2464-9309/942021

Keywords:

systemic design, bio-digital design, restorative design, biotechnology, dark ecology

Abstract

To reflect today, as designers and researchers, on the issue of Second Life, is to pose questions not only about the potential contemporary articulations of the term within a disciplinary field defined by knowledge that intertwines sectors like Urbanism, Architecture, Interior Design and Design but also to explore the very concept of life rendering living organisms – both human and not – as an active part of the speculation and the eventual experimentations giving new meaning to actions like regeneration or reuse. To do so, it is necessary to amplify the range of intervention and to engage other disciplines like biology and computer science, but also philosophy, anthropology and many more. An example of this practice is systemic design, a method defined by the combination and integration of systemic thought, computational design, biotechnology and prototyping. It is an extended approach to design – ranging from the micro to macro – incorporated in applications where projects and installations become interactive laboratories based on interspecies collaboration. A testament to this approach is the work carried out by a multidisciplinary entity like ecoLogicStudio, through theory and practice.

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Author Biographies

Alessandro Valenti, University of Genova (Italy)

Architect and PhD, is an Adjunct Professor of Interior Architecture at the Department of Architecture and Design and a Guest Professor at BUCT University in Beijing. He has always dealt with new forms of living, focusing his research on the relationships between architecture, design, interiors and their cross-pollination with other forms of knowledge. He is especially fascinated by the combination between analogue and digital worlds.
E-mail: alessandro.valenti@unige.it

Claudia Pasquero, ecoLogicStudio

Architect and PhD, in addition to her role as co-Founder and co-Director of ecoLogicStudio, collaborates with various academic Institutions. She holds an academic position both at the Bartlett School of Architecture UCL in London, and at Innsbruck University.
Email: claudia.pasquero@uibk.ac.uk

References

Antonelli, P. and Tannir A. (eds) (2019), Broken Nature – XXII Triennale di Milano, Electa, Milano.

Ballocchi, A. (2018), “Biologia e digitale – L’architettura di domani passa da qui”, in Wise Society, 16/02/2018. [Online] Available at: wisesociety.it/architettura-e-design/biologia-digitale-architettura-pasquero/ [Accessed 15 May 2021].

Bateson, G. (1977), Verso un’ecologia della mente [or. ed. Steps to an Ecology of Mind, 1972], Adelphi, Milano.

Bullivant, L. (2012), New Arcadians – Emerging UK Architects, Merrell Publishers Limited, London.

Morton, T. (2019a), Cosa sosteniamo?, Aboca, San Sepolcro.

Morton, T. (2019b), Come un’ombra dal futuro – Per un nuovo pensiero ecologico, Aboca, San Sepolcro (AR).

Nicoletti, G. (2008), “La resurrezione della carne”, in Domus, n. 910, pp. 78, 79.

Otto, F. (2008), Occupying and Connecting – Thoughts on Territories and Sphere of Influence with Particular Reference to Human Settlement, Axel Menges, Stuttgart.

BIO.tech HUT. At the EXPO 2017 in Astana (Kazakistan), ecoLogicStudio created a pavilion synthesizing the studio’s research through the prototype of a future algae farm that explores the anthropological relationship between mankind and the natural environment in the Anthropocene. AGATHÓN 09 | 2021

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Published

22-06-2021

How to Cite

Valenti, A. and Pasquero, C. (2021) “The second life of micro-organisms. Bio-digital design for a new ecology of space and behaviour”, AGATHÓN | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, 9(online), pp. 42–53. doi: 10.19229/2464-9309/942021.