Team:London BioHackspace/Art and Design

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Applications: Art & Design

Bacterial cellulose is a versatile structural material, allowing it to be shaped in a variety of ways to accommodate different uses. Due to its many unique properties, bacterial cellulose has become a material that many designers are keen to explore. The following projects demonstrate a few of many projects that explore the potential of bacterial cellulose.

The Xylinum Cones project by Designers Jannis Huelsen and Stefan Schwabe presents a production line that uses living organisms to grow geometrical objects. They grow bacterial cellulose in a suspended mould that is then dried and added to a sculptural assembly. Their aim is to develop a renewable cellulose composite for future industrial uses.

In Zuzana Gumbosova’s project Invisible Resources she explores the future potential of bacterial cellulose by experimenting with different patterns of feeding and nurturing the liquid culture to control growth. Her research led her to develop a concept for a device – in effect a biological printer, except the device ‘feeds’ in the specified area to stimulate the growth. Essentially the device could work like a 3D printer so you could create your design on the computer, send the information to the device, the device would then distribute the nutrients in the right areas to stimulate the growth of the cellulose culture to grow your designs.

Suzanne Lee, founder of BioCouture, is pioneering a biodesign and manufacture future for fashion, sportswear and luxury brands. She is exploring the use of bacterial cellulose to grow sustainable, compostable clothing. The BioCouture atelier is currently investigating the use of living microorganisms to produce the world’s first ‘grown’ shoe. The shoe speculates on an alternate future where, instead of relying on materials derived from unsustainable petrochemical industries or land needed for food, we move to a biotech model. Lee says, “We propose closed loop systems of synthetically engineered organisms that will ferment materials, directly forming into finished products with no need for chemical dyes or finishes and zero waste. We believe in a beautiful, better, biodesigned future.”