Sustainable Style for Clean Growth
CO-GROWN



UKRI BBSRC Engineering Biology Mission Award


BioDesign Competition

OPEN CALL
Imperial College London, Tom Ellis and KY Labs,
Norhumbia University, Living Construction Group

                                       
                                                                   

                                                                   

                                                               

COMPETITION
DESIGN BRIEF

HOW CAN ENGINEERED LIVING  MATERIALS RESHAPE THE FUTURE OF EVERYDAY OBJECTS?

2026-2027



This open call invites emerging designers, architects, artists and makers to explore the creative potential of  bacterial cellulose (BC) and biologically integrated colour systems through comercially relevant design proposals.


While bacterial cellulose: microbial leather itself is not a completely new material, recent advances in engineering biology are enabling entirely new approaches to how it is produces, coloured and functionally modified.

This challenge focuses specifically on the emerging potential of self-dyed microbial leather, produced through microbial co-cultures that grow both the material and its colour simultaneously.

The competition asks participants to imagine what kinds of products and objects become possible when colour and material emerge together during growth.






APPLY HERE  


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