Biodesign

Imagine a chair grown from fungus, or a building that fixes itself. This is the future (and in some cases the present!) of biodesign. This is not just another sustainability trend; it has the potential to fundamentally alter how we design our spaces and maintain a connection with our environment.

So, what if our materials were alive? What would that world look like?

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

What Does It Mean to Design With Nature?

Here’s a handy explanation by Raphael Kim, PhD,

“Biodesign is an interdisciplinary field that merges biology, engineering, and design thinking to create sustainable, innovative solutions for environmental, agricultural, and industrial challenges. Unlike traditional design, which relies on static materials, biodesign integrates living systems and biological processes, allowing products and systems to be adaptive, self-sustaining, and environmentally regenerative.”

There are a few key distinctions to make:

1. Unlike traditional design, which relies on static materials, biodesign integrates living systems and biological processes, allowing products and systems to be adaptive, self-sustaining, and environmentally regenerative.
2. Biodesign is not biomimicry: biomimicry imitates nature’s patterns; biodesign uses biologically derived materials directly to create structures.
3. The role of design is shifting from working with synthetic materials, such as plastic and concrete, to creating with living matter, such as mycelium, yeast, and even existing ecosystems.

I highly recommend reading this article if you’re interested in learning more!

A Brief History of the Field

Biomimicry is the precursor to biodesign. Innovators, scientists, and artists alike began taking inspiration from natural structures to build within their respective fields. Its roots stem from craft, biology, and architecture, and the eventual convergence of those disciplines. See a general timeline below:

• In the West, following the push of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, England, figures such as William Morris and Owen Jones criticized mass industrialization and pollution, advocating for craftsmanship and a celebration of nature instead.
• Eventually, this philosophy inspired the Art Nouveau movement across Europe, which also drew upon elements of Japanese art. Architects and applied artists flourished, some of the most well-known being Antoni Gaudí, Victor Horta, Gustav Klimt, Émile Gallé, and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
• In the mid-20th century, biomorphism and biodynamic design gained prominence, again fueled by the environmental degradation of industry.
• Other individuals, such as Buckminster Fuller and Victor Papanek, contributed to advances in the wider field.
• The rise of DIY biology (biohacking) and maker culture in the 2000s–2010s sparked the emergence of subdivisions within what we now term biodesign.
• In recent years, the field has experienced remarkable growth, driven by advancements in biotechnology, computation, and design, and is now engaging with critical and social dimensions, from ethics and inclusivity to broader societal impacts. Neri Oxman’s Silk Pavilion at MIT Media Lab is an iconic early milestone (see video below).
• Of course, biodesigning isn’t exclusive to the West. In many Eastern nations, biodesign has flourished as well, with Singapore and its biophilic approach being a prime example. The authors of this research paper also highlight that the current academic literature on Biodesign is heavily skewed toward Western institutions and the Global North because of its historical links to the Industrial Revolution. However, communities in the Global South maintain deep, long-standing alignments with these exact principles via indigenous knowledge, and this needs to be recognised too.

Read this article for more information!

“Evolution not by natural selection, but by design”

Real-world applications:

While I won't discuss the future implications of biodesign in this article, there are some fascinating current developments in the works.

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Consumer products:

• Mycelium (the dense root structure of fungi) → Companies like Bolt Threads and MycoWorks culture mycelium on agricultural byproducts like sawdust. Under controlled conditions, it self-assembles into a durable matrix that can be tanned, dyed, and treated exactly like animal leather, but with a fraction of the carbon footprint!
• Bio-Synthetic Elastic Fibers: Spandex and Lycra (materials found in most of our clothing) have traditionally been pure petroleum derivatives. Companies like Covation Biomaterials and The LYCRA Company have scaled bio-based alternatives (such as bioPTMEG and corn-derived polymers). These innovations maintain practically identical performance + stretch while using up to 70% renewable, plant-based content.
• Algae-Based Dyes: Traditional textile dyeing is incredibly water-polluting. Startups like Pili and AlgiKnit use engineered microorganisms and kelp to brew pigments, removing heavy metals and toxic petrochemical additives from the clothing lifecycle!

Architecture:

• Photobioreactor Facades: Structures like the Bio Intelligent Quotient House in Germany use a “living skin” made of glass panels containing water and living microalgae. The algae photosynthesise, and the system captures thermal energy for the building’s water and heating systems, while the algae biomass is harvested regularly to be upcycled into food or bio-pharmaceutical products. Also, this was done over a decade ago, so just think of all the new developments!
• Carbon-Capturing Urban Furniture: EcoLogicStudio’s PhotoSynthetica collection featured 3D-printed interior and exterior structures, using a bio-polymer formulated from the waste byproducts of urban air purification! Microalgae within these structures capture CO₂ and localized pollutants, essentially making living spaces functional carbon sinks.
• Mycelium Construction: Structural projects like the MycoTree and MoMA’s Hy-Fi Tower have proven that mycelium grown with agricultural waste (like straw or rice husks) can form solid structural blocks. Because of its dense cell walls and high natural water retention, dried mycelium is incredibly lightweight and has better acoustic insulation than plywood.

Packaging:

• Mycelium again: Lots of progress has been made in packaging by companies such as Ecovative, using mycelium directly inside molds filled with agricultural waste. Over the course of a few days, the fungi knit the waste together to form custom, high-durability packaging blocks. Once used, the packaging can simply be broken up and tossed into a backyard garden, where it naturally composts into soil nutrients within weeks, effectively replacing styrofoam.
• Bamboo + Agriculture-Waste Bioplastics: Other rapid advancements have produced fully biodegradable plastics from structural plant matter. Startups have developed bamboo-based and corn-based bioplastics that degrade entirely in natural soil environments within 50 days while retaining up to 90% of the structural strength of traditional plastics during active use!

Here’s an article that highlights other current innovations in biodesign!

Questions to Ponder

How can we safely monitor the genetic modification of some organic substances for biodesign? How can we ensure that the outcomes of this technology are accessible to all and avoid exclusivity in green innovation? If your next everyday object could be grown, what would you want it to be? What does a future of biodesign — a world in which we collaborate with nature rather than exploit it — look like? I’ll be exploring that in my next article!

Hey! Thank you for reading my article…

I’m a student with a passion for learning and creating lasting change for the betterment of humanity. I am hoping to use Medium as an opportunity to explore my interests and enhance my writing. If you’d like to give me feedback or get in contact, feel free to connect on LinkedIn!