Living trees support houses and bridges; mushrooms replace synthetic foam for packaging and insulation; leaves grow into decorative patterns inside glass tiles. For a forthcoming exhibition at The New Institute, curator William Myers has selected dozens of projects that illustrate new ways to harness living systems for art, design and production. Biodesign: On the Cross-Pollination of Nature, Science and Creativity will run from 27 September through 5 January. 

The exhibition will glimpse into our possible future and provide inspiration for designers, artists and scientists in the form of varied, in-depth information on new materials and potential biological applications in architecture and design. A range of events and activities will take place around the exhibition, some during the World Food Festival in Rotterdam.

“As we deepen our understanding of biology, we come to appreciate its magnificent sophistication and potential for design. Many forms of life, such as microbes that live in extreme environments, have tremendous potential for applications from medicine to architecture,” Myers says. “Several of these innovations work to align our behavior with the preservation of natural resources, to erect bridges between ecosystems and the built environment; others are more playful or speculative and provoke us to question the meaning of these new technologies.”

Find out more on the NAI website.