This book explores the growing field of bio-design through interdisciplinary creative practice. The volume illustrates a range of experimental working techniques while offering a foundational understanding of lab practice principles. The book highlights the myriad of opportunities presented by microorganisms that have reshaped the planet and made it habitable.
The book provides an account of the creation of living materials from the point of view of an architectural design practitioner. The transition from traditional design practice to laboratory investigation is captured, highlighting strategies of creating partnerships across a range of fields. The book demonstrates laboratory methods and ways of investigating the development of living materials and celebrates the growing body of practitioners, scientists, activists and anthropologists who are reimagining new strategies for addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
Designer's Guide to Lab Practice looks at ways in which integrating living components with needs of their own would not only help offset the environmental impact that we have on our planet but could also create a closer relationship with nature. It is a working manual as well as a guide to emerging practitioners seeking to transition into a field that is yet to be defined and that offers the promise of a new era of human habitat making as a direct response to the looming ecological crisis.
Author(s): Assia Crawford
Series: Bio Design
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 170
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Series Editor’s Preface
Ethics and Society
Acknowledgments
1 This Is Not the Beginning
Growing Materials
Cell Culture
Fungus
Bacteria
Algae
Building Fabric
2 Design in the Lab
Approaches in Bio-Design
Home Labs and Experimental Design Spaces
Working in a Science Lab: Shadowing, Collaboration and Conversation
Health, Safety and Waste Disposal
Setting Up a Design Wet Lab
Contamination and Aseptic Conditions
Species Matter
Designing a Process
Working in Multiples, Experiments and Setting Up Controls
Viewing the World
Imaging Larger Samples Areas
Imaging Individual Cells
Surface Imaging
Spectroscopy
Imaging Photosynthetic Organisms
3 Working Methods
Working with Fungus
Fungal Species: Sourcing and Considerations
Liquid Culture
Agar Petri Dishes and Slants
Grain Spawn Preparation
Bulk Substrate Preparation
Working with Microalgae and Cyanobacteria
Cultivation Modes
Microalgae Suspension Cultivation Systems
Sourcing Microalgae Culture
Cultivation and Incubation
Media Preparation
Nutrient Sources
Microalgae Harvesting
Working with Bacterial Cellulose
Strains
pH
Static vs. Agitated Culture and Oxygenation
Temperature
Fermentation Time
Nutrient Media
Harvesting, Drying and Posttreatments
4 Experiments in Design
Mycelium Casting
Student Project: Mycelium Making
Extrusion-Based 3D Printing
Clay 3D Printing for Coral Restoration
Bio-composites and Photosynthetic Organisms
3D Printing with Bio-laden Hydrogels: Photosynthetic Textile Bio-composites
3D Ceramic Photosynthetic Bio-composites
5 Where to Next?
The Consciousness Shift
Plurality of Practice
Constructing Networks: the Relationship between Scientific and Creative Practice
Glossary
Index
